Community Organizing Suddenly Falls Out of Favor

Up until November 4, 2008, being a community organizer was a fantastic vocation. In fact, it was that role--unlike say military or law enforcement experience, business experience, or executive experience of any kind--that qualified someone to become the U.S. president. Now, when average, non-ideological citizens themselves engage in participatory democracy, they've somehow morphed into a "mob" rather than a community organization. Yesterday, ordinary citizens met with Congressman Chris Murphy in Simsbury, CT about healthcare. Murphy did not exactly cover himself in glory: Swing-district solons like Murphy will have to make a fundamental decision, perhaps one that will directly determine their political career going forward: vote the way the party machine tells them to or represent their constituents. And whose more out of touch: the politicians themselves or the reporters/editors that cover them? In this video, an outspoken, grassroots concerned citizen interacts with two seemingly clueless reporters from the local paper, the Hartford Courant.Here's the bottom line: while the free enterprise system can sometimes be unfair if not corrupt, and healthcare insurance reform is needed, the average American does not want socialism