“There’s something happening here and you don’t know what it is, do you Mr. Jones?”
Bob Dylan
The big story out of New Hampshire this week is not that Clinton won and Obama lost, or that Hillary cried and was punished with sexist attacks from the press, or that Edwards refuses to concede, or that McCain is calling himself anti-establishment, or that Obama was rude when he called Hillary “likeable enough”, or how many times and by how many candidates was the work change thrown into each and every speech.
The big story is that in a nation notoriously indifferent to its own democracy in terms of actual participation by its electorate, unprecedented numbers of voters turned out to make their voices heard. TV sets all across the country were tuned in to watch the primary in a state of 1,300,000 voters. Towns ran out of ballots and were forced to substitute absentee ones. Hoards waited in lines snaking around polling stations, sometimes for hours, in order to cast their votes. Tens of thousands of volunteers made phone calls, drove people to polls, helped out at high schools and civic centres around the state.
The over-medicated, television numbed, consumption obsessed giant that is America woke up to the reality that it has been conned, manipulated, used and lied to. And the giant has had enough.
THAT is was happened in New Hampshire. It is one of the most inspiring stories in the history of American politics.
Now let’s pick up the ball and run with it.
On January 22nd there will be a rally in support of Roe VS. Wade and in opposition to Representative Jores’ ballot initiate trying to declare that life begins at the moment of conception, in the capitol rotunda in Helena at noon. Try and be there.
And our own Dr. Sue Wicklund will be reading from her new book “Our Common Secret: The Journey of an Abortion Doctor” at the Country Bookshelf in Bozeman at 7pm on January 17th.
AND
On Martin Luther King Day, Jan 20th, there will be a parade down the main street of Bozeman beginning at Main and Grand at 12:30 pm and ending at the public library with a rally and entertainment.
AND
Our regular monthly meeting will be on the FIRST Thursday of February instead of the second, for logistical reasons, at the Livingston Public Library. Gabe Furshong, the man who has spearheaded the movement across the state helping cities to pass initiatives demanding the return of our troops from Iraq, will address our membership about how we can do the same thing here in Livingston and thus join the hundreds and hundreds of cities across America who have already done this. We will also be electing our new board, so please make sure to mark down this date on your calendars.
Get involved and stay involved!! Uncle Sam needs you!
To connect to our website go to http://www.montanawomenfor.org
