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A Winning Message: Bring the Troops Home, Bust the Banksters, Democratize the Economy
Sep 14, 2010
Baraboo, WI - Decrying the excesses of big banks and Wall Street speculators, the Rev.
Jesse Jackson told more than 7,000 cheering progressives at a county
fairgrounds in rural Wisconsin Saturday that: "There is a contest for
the soul of America.
Urged on by the crowd that had gathered for Fighting Bob Fest,
the annual progressive chautauqua on the Sauk County Fairgrounds in
this central Wisconsin community, the civil rights leader and two-time
presidential candidate declared that America would have to choose
between being of a country where a tiny elite controls the vast majority
of wealth or one where the great mass of Americans have a chance to
survive and thrive.
"We cannot subsidize bankers and leave people homeless on the streets of America," Jackson said. "It's time for a change!"
"We will fight back!" chanted the crowd, which packed the grandstand
and field for one of the largest Bob Fest gatherings in the nine-year
history of the event.
For Democratic strategists who worry about an "enthusiasm gap"
in this year's mid-term election season, Jackson offered the antedote.
His adamant address had thousands of people -- many of them from rural
and smalltown Wisconsin-on their feet and cheering. And this year's
Fighting Bob Fest drew more than twice as many people as a highly
publicized and expensively promoted "Tea Party" event-which featured
television personalies, "Joe the Plumber" and Congressman Paul Ryan,
R-Janesville-held the same day in Racine, Wisconsin.
The enthusiastic response for Jackson's populist speech offered a
reminder that there is no enthusiasm gap. There's a message gap.
When the message is muscular, the enthusiasm is there.
Jackson wasn't the only one drawing cheers on a day that heard
rousing speeches from former Texas Secretary of Agriculture Jim
Hightower, Congressman David Obey, Congresswomen Tammy Baldwin and Gwen
Moore, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Barrett and other
prominent speakers from Wisconsin and across the nation.
A Saturday that began with overcast skies and scattered rain showers
ended with bright sunshine and a rollicking, old-school rallying of the
progressive faithful in the tradition of Robert M. La Follette, the
Wisconsin governor, senator and 1924 presidential candidate for whom the
festival is named.
Jackson, who was honored with a lifetime achievement award by
festival organizers, hailed the progressive movement led by La Follette,
which campaigned for economic and social justice at home while opposing
empire building abroad.
Sounding antiwar themes that were very much in the La Follette
tradition, Jackson called for bringing US troops home and reallocating
resources from fighting wars abroad to fighting unemployment at home.
"We want for America what we provide for Iraq and Afghanistan," said
Jackson. "We want jobs for Chicago...jobs for Milwaukee...jobs for Sauk
County."
Sounding economic justice themes that repeatedly brought the crowd to
its feet, Jackson warned that: "We've globalized capital without
globalizing human rights, without globalizing workers' rights, women's
rights, children's rights. Let's democratize our economy!
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© 2023 The Nation
John Nichols
John Nichols is Washington correspondent for The Nation and associate editor of The Capital Times in Madison, Wisconsin. His books co-authored with Robert W. McChesney are: "Dollarocracy: How the Money and Media Election Complex is Destroying America" (2014), "The Death and Life of American Journalism: The Media Revolution that Will Begin the World Again" (2011), and "Tragedy & Farce: How the American Media Sell Wars, Spin Elections, and Destroy Democracy" (2006). Nichols' other books include: "The "S" Word: A Short History of an American Tradition...Socialism" (2015), "Dick: The Man Who is President (2004) and "The Genius of Impeachment: The Founders' Cure for Royalism" (2006).
Baraboo, WI - Decrying the excesses of big banks and Wall Street speculators, the Rev.
Jesse Jackson told more than 7,000 cheering progressives at a county
fairgrounds in rural Wisconsin Saturday that: "There is a contest for
the soul of America.
Urged on by the crowd that had gathered for Fighting Bob Fest,
the annual progressive chautauqua on the Sauk County Fairgrounds in
this central Wisconsin community, the civil rights leader and two-time
presidential candidate declared that America would have to choose
between being of a country where a tiny elite controls the vast majority
of wealth or one where the great mass of Americans have a chance to
survive and thrive.
"We cannot subsidize bankers and leave people homeless on the streets of America," Jackson said. "It's time for a change!"
"We will fight back!" chanted the crowd, which packed the grandstand
and field for one of the largest Bob Fest gatherings in the nine-year
history of the event.
For Democratic strategists who worry about an "enthusiasm gap"
in this year's mid-term election season, Jackson offered the antedote.
His adamant address had thousands of people -- many of them from rural
and smalltown Wisconsin-on their feet and cheering. And this year's
Fighting Bob Fest drew more than twice as many people as a highly
publicized and expensively promoted "Tea Party" event-which featured
television personalies, "Joe the Plumber" and Congressman Paul Ryan,
R-Janesville-held the same day in Racine, Wisconsin.
The enthusiastic response for Jackson's populist speech offered a
reminder that there is no enthusiasm gap. There's a message gap.
When the message is muscular, the enthusiasm is there.
Jackson wasn't the only one drawing cheers on a day that heard
rousing speeches from former Texas Secretary of Agriculture Jim
Hightower, Congressman David Obey, Congresswomen Tammy Baldwin and Gwen
Moore, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Barrett and other
prominent speakers from Wisconsin and across the nation.
A Saturday that began with overcast skies and scattered rain showers
ended with bright sunshine and a rollicking, old-school rallying of the
progressive faithful in the tradition of Robert M. La Follette, the
Wisconsin governor, senator and 1924 presidential candidate for whom the
festival is named.
Jackson, who was honored with a lifetime achievement award by
festival organizers, hailed the progressive movement led by La Follette,
which campaigned for economic and social justice at home while opposing
empire building abroad.
Sounding antiwar themes that were very much in the La Follette
tradition, Jackson called for bringing US troops home and reallocating
resources from fighting wars abroad to fighting unemployment at home.
"We want for America what we provide for Iraq and Afghanistan," said
Jackson. "We want jobs for Chicago...jobs for Milwaukee...jobs for Sauk
County."
Sounding economic justice themes that repeatedly brought the crowd to
its feet, Jackson warned that: "We've globalized capital without
globalizing human rights, without globalizing workers' rights, women's
rights, children's rights. Let's democratize our economy!
John Nichols
John Nichols is Washington correspondent for The Nation and associate editor of The Capital Times in Madison, Wisconsin. His books co-authored with Robert W. McChesney are: "Dollarocracy: How the Money and Media Election Complex is Destroying America" (2014), "The Death and Life of American Journalism: The Media Revolution that Will Begin the World Again" (2011), and "Tragedy & Farce: How the American Media Sell Wars, Spin Elections, and Destroy Democracy" (2006). Nichols' other books include: "The "S" Word: A Short History of an American Tradition...Socialism" (2015), "Dick: The Man Who is President (2004) and "The Genius of Impeachment: The Founders' Cure for Royalism" (2006).
Baraboo, WI - Decrying the excesses of big banks and Wall Street speculators, the Rev.
Jesse Jackson told more than 7,000 cheering progressives at a county
fairgrounds in rural Wisconsin Saturday that: "There is a contest for
the soul of America.
Urged on by the crowd that had gathered for Fighting Bob Fest,
the annual progressive chautauqua on the Sauk County Fairgrounds in
this central Wisconsin community, the civil rights leader and two-time
presidential candidate declared that America would have to choose
between being of a country where a tiny elite controls the vast majority
of wealth or one where the great mass of Americans have a chance to
survive and thrive.
"We cannot subsidize bankers and leave people homeless on the streets of America," Jackson said. "It's time for a change!"
"We will fight back!" chanted the crowd, which packed the grandstand
and field for one of the largest Bob Fest gatherings in the nine-year
history of the event.
For Democratic strategists who worry about an "enthusiasm gap"
in this year's mid-term election season, Jackson offered the antedote.
His adamant address had thousands of people -- many of them from rural
and smalltown Wisconsin-on their feet and cheering. And this year's
Fighting Bob Fest drew more than twice as many people as a highly
publicized and expensively promoted "Tea Party" event-which featured
television personalies, "Joe the Plumber" and Congressman Paul Ryan,
R-Janesville-held the same day in Racine, Wisconsin.
The enthusiastic response for Jackson's populist speech offered a
reminder that there is no enthusiasm gap. There's a message gap.
When the message is muscular, the enthusiasm is there.
Jackson wasn't the only one drawing cheers on a day that heard
rousing speeches from former Texas Secretary of Agriculture Jim
Hightower, Congressman David Obey, Congresswomen Tammy Baldwin and Gwen
Moore, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Barrett and other
prominent speakers from Wisconsin and across the nation.
A Saturday that began with overcast skies and scattered rain showers
ended with bright sunshine and a rollicking, old-school rallying of the
progressive faithful in the tradition of Robert M. La Follette, the
Wisconsin governor, senator and 1924 presidential candidate for whom the
festival is named.
Jackson, who was honored with a lifetime achievement award by
festival organizers, hailed the progressive movement led by La Follette,
which campaigned for economic and social justice at home while opposing
empire building abroad.
Sounding antiwar themes that were very much in the La Follette
tradition, Jackson called for bringing US troops home and reallocating
resources from fighting wars abroad to fighting unemployment at home.
"We want for America what we provide for Iraq and Afghanistan," said
Jackson. "We want jobs for Chicago...jobs for Milwaukee...jobs for Sauk
County."
Sounding economic justice themes that repeatedly brought the crowd to
its feet, Jackson warned that: "We've globalized capital without
globalizing human rights, without globalizing workers' rights, women's
rights, children's rights. Let's democratize our economy!
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