Grassroots activism worked for the extreme right, can it work for us?

[bluedawg12]

There are many tools and tactics for any political movement to chose from.

Getting out into the streets for marches and protests, boycott’s, letter writing campaigns, phone call campaigns, direct entrance into the political process via elected office, party activism in favor of select candidates.

What about the keyboard commandos? People who are not near any major urban centers and find themselves isolated from protests and marches? Can they be of use for a political movement? Can uniting like minded people across the nation via the inter net bring about grass roots change?

The rw has a case study of how such grass roots activism has worked against our interests. The one difference is: money. It takes millions of dollars in order to have a central organization to harness and focus grass roots energy and dedication, to frame the issues and to stay on message. Never-the-less, it is worth a look at how one of our major opponents did it.

One key bit of information to keep in mind is why they do it, “they are part of the effort to infiltrate and influence secular institutions of all sorts in an attempt to remake them in the image of their Biblical morality.”

The other important thing to note is that they have been successful in inserting themselves into the dialogue, they got themselves a place at the table.

Concerned Women for America has declared:

"To compare rich, privileged homosexual lobby groups allied with transsexuals and sadomasochists to brave civil rights crusaders - who risked their lives to advance freedom - insults every black American who overcame real injustice and poverty," said CWA President Sandy Rios... "It's time for the homosexual lobby to stop co-opting the black civil rights struggle. The Task Force's agenda of promoting perversion - including public homosexual sex, sadomasochism and bisexuality - would offend the vast majority of African-Americans who understand the difference between God-designed racial distinctions and changeable, immoral behavior."
http://scienceblogs.com/dispatches/2006/02/coretta_scott_king_on_gay_righ.php

..........

Concerned Women for America (CWA) is the organization founded by Beverly LaHaye, wife of conservative activist Tim LaHaye, in 1979.

CWA seeks to "bring Biblical principles into all levels of public policy."<1> Its activities center around six "core issues": family, sanctity of human life, education, pornography, religious liberty, and national soverignty.<2>

In 2001 the CWA initiated the Culture and Family Institute, headed by Robert Knight, which is intended to "focus. . . with particular emphasis on the homosexual activist movement and other forces that threaten to undermine marriage, family and religious freedom."
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Concerned_Women_for_America

........

Contributors : Steven Gardiner
Last modified 2006-08-28 03:10 PM

Concerned Women for America (CWA) is the largest Christian Right organization targeted at women.

With a monthly newsletter (Family Voice) that is mailed to 200,000 subscribers, a daily syndicated radio show ("Beverly LaHaye Live") that reaches upwards of 350,000 people on twenty-eight stations nationwide, an annual budget of $10 million and what may be the most effective multi-issue, grassroots lobbying network in existence.

Though CWA is a multi-issue organization, its "special role" in the Christian Right has been that of an exemplary foil to the women's movement: the good, pro-family, "spirit-controlled" women, who, in LaHaye's words, are "truly liberated" because they are "totally submissive" to their husbands (The Spirit Controlled Woman, , p. 71).

CWA activists, though they may appear to be showing dangerous signs of independence, are in fact doing the will of their husbands and their Christian duty to promote pro-family values.

CWA national headquarters are located in Washington, D.C. and employ some 25 full-time staff people. In principle, and for the most part in fact, the national office controls not just CWA's philosophical direction, but directly instructs local chapters on which specific issues to act on ---

<snip>

The well-known phrase "kitchen table activist" has its origins in a pamphlet entitled "How to Lobby From Your Kitchen Table," distributed by CWA beginning in the early years of the Reagan Administration.

Borrowing a structure common in the fundamentalist/evangelical world from which most of the Concerned Women are drawn, the basic CWA unit is a "prayer chain."

In the case of Concerned Women for America, a "prayer chain" does more than pray. Seven individuals, including a prayer leader, form a prayer group;

seven such groups form the chain;

and seven chains form a local chapter of CWA which is run under the direction of a chapter leader.

Each chapter thus consists of fifty members. Chapters are under the direction of a regional director who reports to the national CWA headquarters.

<snip>

When an important "pro-family" issue--e.g. abortion legislation, funding for the National Endowment for the Arts, or gay rights--is about to come before Congress, CWA activates its "535 Program" (435 Representatives and 100 Senators). The program instructs all CWA members to drop an avalanche of letters and phone calls to legislators and public officials at both their Capitol Hill and home offices. The effects of such efficient organizing can be devastating as thousands of letters and phone calls bombard Capitol Hill in a matter of days.

<snip>

What are they so worried about? Though the focus of CWA has always been the women's movement, they are also active in opposing sex education, gay rights, drug and alcohol education, funding for the National Endowment for the Arts, and, of course, the Freedom of Choice Act. Until recently, LaHaye and CWA also spent a good deal of time fretting about communists. But apart from these issue positions, CWA is part of the Christian Right effort to change the way we structure our entire society; they are part of the effort to infiltrate and influence secular institutions of all sorts in an attempt to remake them in the image of their Biblical morality. As LaHaye put it in an interview with Ms. Magazine, "Yes, religion and politics do mix. America is a nation based on biblical principles. Christian values dominate our government. The test of those values is the Bible. Politicians who do not use the Bible to guide their public and private lives do not belong in office" (Feb. 1987).

<snip>
It is with exactly this type of small, easily overlooked victory that successful political movements are built. Far away from the scrutiny of a Presidential election or high-profile piece of legislation, local institutions: school boards, libraries, hospitals, citizens' commissions, neighborhood associations and precinct-level political organs are the key battlegrounds in grassroots organizing. Each victory legitimizes the agenda of the victorious group, forcing allies and opponents alike to accommodate themselves to the demonstrated power of a group like CWA. Conclusion The politics of Concerned Women for America are the politics of reaction.

At the same time, since the bottom line is political power, CWA has jumped into the middle of the current anti-gay backlash for example, leading a successful effort to stop a City of Boston ordinance which would have extended family leave benefits to gay and lesbian partners of municipal employees. They are, in short, willing to work on issues that will be effective organizing tools for their ultimate political ends.

<snip>

http://feminism.eserver.org/cw-of-a.txt

[Jamastiene]

1. I'm in that boat too.

I'm way out here in the boonies and cannot afford to travel to protest. I would like to do something other than just fight like cats and dogs in GD and GD: P and here sometimes too.

And yes, we do need to organize and put lots of money into PR for our cause. It's the only way we will ever be considered human in anyone's eyes.

[bluedawg12]

2. Exactly! There's a lot I learned from this.

1.) The right wing nuts have been at this for decades.

2.) They are well funded, that group, CWA, has something like $10 million dollars for lobbying.
(talk about your lobbying group - it's not gays, we are working toward civil rights).

3.) A lot of the stuff I have read here from some "progressives", comes directly from rw propaganda.
Ex: don't compare gay civil rights to AA civil rights, is directly from CWA in 2006!!!!

4.)They were able to mobilize 200,000 to 300,000 people for letter and phone campaigns and politicians, swamped with such activism knuckled under. Imagine what we could mount with the inter net.

5.) We already have big groups in place, with money, the HRC comes to mind. They, or someone like them, could develop an inter net grass roots email action list, and we could have real impact on politicians, candidates, businesses to influence their gay rights policies,etc.

6.) It documents their real agenda, a rightwing, theofascist dominion over this nation.

This CWA group, I have seen them on TV, tweety for example a few years ago, they have media trained speakers who get out there with there anti-gay message.

I thought the research was interesting because it showed how they have done it and been effective for decades. The CWA are still around working against us!

With some real leadership, our energy could be harnessed and the power of the inter net is awesome. Plus, we still have rallies, marches, boycotts, something the rightwingnuts never even bothered to do!

:pals:

[Jamastiene]

3. What kills me is that they have been talking about a "gay agenda" for years.

Yet, we've never really had one. Maybe, it is high time we develop one and go with it. The only way we are going to break down the walls keeping us away form the table is to push and push hard. A PAC might be one avenue we could take. It is one we've never used before that I am aware of. :pals:

[bluedawg12]

4. Kicking because - CWA is the group intent on defaming gays as parents

and have promised that gay families with children would be their next target.

Now, in Tenn., we see in another thread that it begins.

[TEmperorHasNoClothes]

5. do you think they care about their issues more than we care about our rights?

Because it sure seems that way to me. Our community did a great job in the week after H8 was passed. There's a DOMA protest saturday- I'm not sure what the turn out is going to be. We need a few folks in the national spotlight-- someone to step up and be our Martin Luther King.

[xchrom]

6. well the middle of winter is a pretty good way

to insure a less than robust turn-out.

[bluedawg12]

8. Winter is one reason, the other is: protest send only one message

"protest." To really get an idea across there would have to be writers, journalists, which we have, as I find quite a few good bloggers, But still, we also would need folks in print press, and mostly good TV media spokes-gays, with message discipline, a real pro or two.

I am proud of the work our community and our allies have dones thus far, it has been a sacrifice and act of love and loyalty. Everyone could probably find something better to do than protest, but yet, people have done it!

I may be biased, but I think we rock! :applause:

[xchrom]

9. oh i agree -- lgbtiq have done ALL the heavy lifting when it comes to

achieving our equal rights -- equal treatment under the law.

we have EVERYTHING to be proud of.

[bluedawg12]

10. We know if we don't lead and push on these issues many will be happy

for the issues--and us--to go away.

[xchrom]

11. you nailed it..

[bluedawg12]

7. I think politically it's in a different, as in well funded, league.

They are top down, as opposed to grass roots, bottom up movement.

Millions of dollars for think tanks, print magazines, now bloggers, plus there is a coalition of pro-business right wingers, then the global ideologues (neocons) and religious leaders all riding the same right wing train.

In short, the top of our power structure.

By comparison we are really grass roots. We are spread nation wide and connected by the inter tubes (heh heh), so while their story is interesting in how they used the phones and letters and managed to mount 1/2 million letters at the drop of a hat to deluge pols or businesses, they did start with about $10 million in endowments.

However, we could use the same model with the inter-net. Imagine, 500,000 emails to certain pols dragging their feet about marriage rights.

What we lack is central leadership. We seem to have fragmentary groups, but no one heavy hitter.

Plus, with the money these folks have they have professional PR people, spokes-persons, an organization.

This stuff is very expensive now. Look at the vast amount of money PE Obama had to collect for his campaign, granted it was nationwide and very much on the ground - but even a smaller campaign would probably run around $15 million to get it up and running, as a nationwide gay rights movement on par with some of the rw groups, who by the way, always probably beg for money, anyway, they have to feed the beast.

We could do it smaller and on the cheap and use the tubes.

I don't think we are apathetic, I think we just have real jobs and lives and it's also stressful, people need a break from fighting the bad news that comes up every day.

Summary: Yeah, we need central organization.
I am not disappointed in our response- it's amazing people have done what they have already done and given.

OK, I'll do it - just find a billionaire donor and I promise an ass kicking movement, for $7.5 million, shoe string! :fistbump: :evilgrin:

[Christian30]

12. I work in the LGBT movement, and...

there are actually a few national conferences every year: Creating Change, hosted by the Task Force, The Leadership Conference, hosted by Victory Fund, and many others. None of them get more than 2,000 attendees, the majority of which are people employed in the movement. It would be great is more every day folks would attend to network with other activists, learn how to affect change, etc.

On a similar note, recent studies in the movement estimate that less than 5% of LGBT adults donate to any gay rights organization. All told, the movement probably has about $350 million to spend annually on working for our rights, giving services to undeserved members, etc. So, that's with the 5% adults, gay-friendly businesses and foundations. Imagine what we could to if 50% of LGBT adults gave. This is important because it's one of the reasons that Jews, despite being a minority of similar size to LGBT people, are able to consistently protect and advance their interests. Culturally, Jews are raised to given to their community, while us queer people (mostly raised by straights) are not.

[bluedawg12]

13. Good points and one other thing - "fear."

I know there are still legitimate concerns about being self identifid as being a gay or lesbian publicly.

Job loss/discrimination, as mentioned right here in another thread is one major concern.

Organizatons with generic names such as Human Rights Campaign, or Victory Fund, may ease those concerns more than group names with gay and lesbian in them. I know it sounds awful to say that, but reality is what it is.

I agree, that grass roots donors can increase funding, still $350 million is a big annual haul, and yet, I never hear of these conferences in amy media, or press coverage. So, with that much money are they just preaching to the choir?

[Christian30]

14. Hmmmm.

Thanks. I realize, living in NYC, that I'm somewhat privileged in terms of being able to navigate my life completely "out." That said, I think HRC is part of the problem. They are to the gay rights movement what the DLC is to progressives. Too safe and too willing to compromise.

To your other two points. Yes, $350 million sounds like a great deal of money, and it is, until you realize what we're up against. Focus on the Family alone has an annual budget of about $150 million. And Heritage Foundation has about $50 million. So just two of the top anti-gay organizations account for more than half of what we have to fight them. It's truly David and Goliath.

Regarding the conferences, they're fairly well advertised on gay blogs and they usually take out ads in gay publications. I agree that they could do more to promote their importance, but if you're on the mailing list of one of these organizations, they tend to cross-promote.

[bluedawg12]

15. David and Corporatism, too.

Not only does the rw solicit donations on the basis of "cultural wars," but they also get funding on ideological grounds, namely, the entire right wing philosophy.

The Heritage is a good example, they publish, as a think tank, on many conservative issues.

Imagine if gay rights had the support of major churches, corporations, as does the right.

For the right wing, gay rights is nothing more than a political pinata to be smacked regularly to shake dollars out of conservative wallets, because they also stand together on the economy, foreign policy, war, the whole gamut of their politics and raising the specter of evil gays is a sure fire barn burner at any rally, err....convention, or on a mailer, or emails.

Still, the internet could also be a great way to unite GLBTQ Americans, with get-out the message mailing lists.

I'll keep an eye out for conferences on the blogs. Thanks.

[Fearless]

16. Far right activism is far more...

About large donors and throwing money at problems (i.e. Prop 8 and the Mormon Church or similar vote on marriage activists in MA). Rarely have they found the numbers that the left has. Likewise, up until this election, the left rarely found as much money as the right.