On Gandhi’s birthday tomorrow, which the UN has recognized as the International Day of Nonviolence, there will be a massive march in Washington DC to push for a broad range of progressive policies. As our friend Alex Kane explains over at Alternet:
The rally is taking place under the banner of the “One Nation Working Together” coalition. Endorsing organizations ranging from the NAACP to the American Federation of Teachers to CodePink Women for Peace are hoping to see tens of thousands of people at the Lincoln Memorial call for the creation of new jobs, the strengthening of the safety net and the need for quality public education, among other demands.
Larry Cohen, president of Communications Workers of America, a union that represents over 700,000 people, sees the One Nation Working Together coalition as a “big tent” of progressives working together. The union, along with groups like the National Council of La Raza, a Latino rights organization, and Green For All, an environmental group pushing for green jobs, are key organizers behind the effort, which was first put together by the NAACP and the Service Employees United International 1199 union.
While the organizers apparently stress that the march is focused on issues rather than on political parties, the march seems to be in part an effort to rally Dems to vote in the upcoming midterm elections.
On a strategic level, I question whether having such a wide range of issues on the table, even though I think they are all connected, is a wise move. It would seems to make it more difficult for the wider public or the administration to take a clear message from the march.
Despite my concerns, radical groups like the War Resisters League will be present, and if I could be there I would.