There is going to be a peace march on January 27 in Olympia, and some folks involved in the planning want to make a short detour and involved Rep. Brian Baird’s Olympia office. That Baird has voted for funding the Iraq War after voting against authorizing it seems to be the issue.
Protesting in front of, inside of, or occupying the office of Rep. Baird is a bad idea. Its about as a bad idea as I’ve ever heard.
I’m convinced the only reason its being considered is because his office is directly on the parade route. Had the parade gone a different direction or had Baird’s office been up on the west side or even down on Plum St., no one would be talking about involving his office in the protest.
Baird is a target of convenience, not conscious.
Baird voted no on authorizing the war.
It is also bad politics. The WSDCC is also meeting in Olympia that day (several of the members are taking time out of the meetings to participate in the march) and several local Dems are helping organize the march. Including a protest of a Democratic elected official, you put the Dems, at least in Thurston County, in a bad place.
Apparently, the desire to include Baird’s Olympia office in the protest is coming from the national level of one of the organizations that is also helping put together the march. This just may be an example of something that may seem like a good idea thousands of miles away, but when you look at it close up, isn’t that good of an idea at all.
There will be a meeting on Monday where this will all be hashed out, hopefully in favor of not treading on Brian.
Emmett, respectfully, you don’t have a clue. The Democrats are a party that supports this war. If Baird wants to oppose the war, this will give him the perfect opportunity. He can come out of his office and join the party. Or he can send a staff member to go with them.
This war has to end. Any means that serves that end will be good by me.
What are the chances that Baird will even be there, four weeks into the new congress, on a Saturday afternoon?
Your comment though that “Democrats are a party that supports the war though” proves my point.
You may have a case nationally, that Democrats haven’t done enough to end the war. Now that we’re in the majority, I’ll guess we’ll see.
But, how can you say locally that Democrats in Thurston County, or even Washington, are a part that “supports the war?” I doubt causing divisions within the local progressive community will actually do anything to stop the war.