Back in 2009 when the Affordable Care Act was being debated, all it took was for three or four tea partiers to gather with anti-Obamacare signs on a street corner and they got all sorts of publicity. Now that the tables have turned, that sort of publicity appears hard to come by, at least in Michigan’s 7th Congressional District.
This past Saturday, the group Jackson Progressives organized a pro-ACA rally in Jackson, Michigan, home of 7th District Congressman Tim Walberg’s district office. Although Walberg was invited, he was, as predicted, a cowardly no-show. A standing room-only crowd of well over 400 people jammed into a room at the Commonwealth Commerce Center to hear speeches from people whose lives have been saved and improved by Obamacare. The crowd heard rousing speeches from Eli Ruben of Michigan United, Marjorie Mitchell from MICHUCAN, and Lauren Bacans of Planned Parenthood. They all spoke of the tens of thousands of 7th District residents who are helped by the ACA, sometimes in life-saving ways.
The speeches were frequently interrupted by chants of “Where’s Walberg? Where’s Walberg?”
>
Another no-show at the event was the local media. Although they mentioned in the rally in an article just the day before, the Jackson Citizen Patriot, the local MLive affiliate, has had no reporting at all on the large rally right in their own hometown.
In other words, they knew about it. They just ignored it.
Maybe if those in attendance had worn tri-cornered hats instead of pussy hats, they would have been considered newsworthy…
UPDATE: Another stat worth noting: Number of public events attended by Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Dingell from the neighboring 12th Congressional District last week: 70+, number attended by Republican Tim Walberg: ZERO.
UPDATE 2: Three days after the event, the Citizen Pat now has a post up about the rally HERE.
