My understanding based on an email from Gumbun was that the turn out was pretty low and there was not a lot of power to their presentation. We know the rally happened because some of our friends were there. I am sure they will write something about their experiences but they are just getting back.

While I am very disappointed, I am not altogether surprised as Ripper discovered at some point that Healthcare Now was not expecting a high turn out and major supporters of single payer health care like Elliot Gould didn't even know the rally was happening. It was clearly not as well organized as I hoped for.

My sense is that we could have done a better job had we started our own rally.

Still I believe our faxes, emails, calls, and even the small number of people at the rally had an impact:)

Well, I got there at 2PM, and there weren't thousands of people there. Maybe there had been larger crowds earlier. Some people were sleeping and one woman seemed distressed from the heat. The people present didn't seem to need convincing about the need for better health care options. A girl with a clipboard was taking names for a petition. Some people wore their org's t-shirts or ballcaps.

There were other people in business attire walking in the vicinity, but none of them seemed to venture into the crowd, and I actually felt stared at when I did so. Someone was speaking, then another and two supporters simply held a banner as a backdrop. A tiny group of dissenters demonstrated nearby.

It all seemed very ad-hoc.

I was glad to meet Jason and Rip, and had some provocative discussions, and an Ollieburger, with them.

Well you got us some news on this Stilli.

Thanks!!!

Hey now . . .

Doing something beats the hell out of nothing.

A big thanks to all who did attend and put their personal time and effort into it. Keep up the pressure on both the single-payer and the public option. It's a long long ways to the bottom of the 9th inning.

Here's a little news: During the House energy and commerce committee meeting, just before passing the bill clearing the way for a floor vote this fall, there was an amendment putforth on the single-payer issue:

Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) had offered an amendment that would replace the committee's plan with a more comprehensive government health program known as a "single payer" plan -- an alternative modeled after systems like those in Canada and Britain that is strongly supported by liberal activists. Weiner withdrew the amendment after Democratic leaders promised that his measure would be brought before the full House for a vote.

link

And ... Last evening Bill Moyer's went over the Wendell Potter interview that was first aired the first week of July with some additional information.

There's a short blog piece with links and a surprise at my Cafe blog.

Bill Moyers Points to TPM Cafe Over Wendell Potter Interview

Take a read and see who he mentioned without calling out her name.

Again ... Thanks to all who took the time to attend the rally.

~OGD~