Thoughts on the Take Back the Capitol events in D.C.

 by David Safier

Last Monday through Friday while I was in D.C. participating in and blogging about the Take Back the Capitol events, I watched no television and only had time to scan the Star and the NY Times websites, and a few blogs, quickly in the morning. That was pretty much my total contact with the MSM. So I don't know how much coverage the Take Back events received. The events were newsworthy, but I didn't get the sense they were big news.

But I felt something else happening that was important, news or no. The events made the Republicans at the Capitol and the denizens of K Street nervous, maybe even a little intimidated. That's been happening to those folks more and more lately — and it's about time. It can take the bounce out of people's step when they feel people who don't like them are in close proximity. I think the week's events helped, in a small way, with the unbouncing of the conservative D.C. power structure.

When groups of people sat in their Congress members' offices — for hours — waiting to talk to their Rep or Senator, some of the office doors were locked on the constituents, and other staff left their doors open but made the people wait in the hall. One Congressman was seen scurrying to the elevator as the constituents approached. (Kyl's staff, by the way, was friendly and accepting, allowing us to sit on the chairs, couch and floor and eat our bag lunches. They spent time talking with us, in a friendly, conversational manner. I don't much like their boss, but kudos to the staff for their graciousness.)

When, on the next day, large groups of marchers made their way to K Street and filled intersections, completely blocking and rerouting traffic, that must have been a bit unnerving for the drivers and people looking down out of office windows. "Hey, this is our little fiefdom. Your kind doesn't belong here. What the hell is going on? Why aren't the police stopping them from blocking our streets?"

It was as if a group of "don't belong here" people walked into a posh country club and sat in the dining room, or marched through into a gated community and stood chanting in the streets. That's unnerving. "We're here, you can't ignore us. Oh, and, by the way, you'll be hearing from us again, and again, and again," the events said. It was the Occupy movement on the move.

People made their way into a number of Republican fundraisers and insisted on being heard. And they were heard, before they were ushered out. There should be no safer haven for the powerful than a posh hotel meeting room filled with rich Republican donors. And yet, the 99%-ers crashed the party and were in their midst. That's a little scary.

There's got to be a sense among the conservative rich and powerful that something's happening, and they're not able to control it.

Through it all, the D.C. police acted professionally, so far as I could tell. I don't remember hearing of any instances where the police overreacted to the events. I imagine no police force in the country is so used to crowds of people as the D.C. police, so they know how to handle themselves.

One important thing I learned from the week was how committed the SEIU is to getting the word out about problems with income disparity and joblessness in the country. They were a major presence in the Take Back week. I met lots of youngish people (in their 20s and 30s) who work for the union — smart, energetic, serious people. I can't tell you how much I enjoyed seeing so many young folks of that caliber working to make good things happen. It's abundantly clear why Republicans want to break the unions. At their best, unions stand for the rights of working people and the unemployed, which means they're a counterforce to the Koch Brothers and the corporations who want to dictate the direction our country takes.