Date: Sat, 23 Jun 2001 20:06:40 -0700
From: rdestep136@EARTHLINK.NET (RDeStep)
Subject: McCain Rally Wise and Why Nots
To: AZRKBA@asu.edu


Friday's Horizon ( kaet@asu.edu ) panel gave us yet another reason to
wonder if journalists get out much.

The panel unanimously opined, as it looked down its collective nose,
that the McCain Recall and associated rallies on June 30th at 10am, in
Tempe, Tucson, and Yuma were a waste of time. "There is no
constitutional method to recall a Senator y petition," they scolded, as
if we were not aware of the politics in play.  And, besides, it would be
difficult to get the signatures required to hold the election, we were
duly warned, as if this were the only goal.

Perhaps the usual faces on Horizon don't have the skills, motivation, or
time to investigate the matter in an any more in-depth method than the
usual horse race journalism template. If they had scratched the surface
of the individual activism which is driving this, they would realize we
were already gaining before a single petition was signed. In other
places around the country, McCain has been asked to explain the
rebellion in his home state. Rather than handle it with aplomb, McCain
was recently quoted as saying, "I don't know, and I don't care!!" What
an Orator. We couldn't buy that kind of media time, so instead we have
arranged for him to kick himself in the groin. Better for McCain to
waste 15 seconds of airtime in front of millions of future skeptics,
putting out brush fires, than it is for him to push the pabulum of
McCain-Feingold/Lieberman/Edwards-Kennedy.

Finally, the journalists guffawed, "We don't know why they are
protesting at McCain's Tempe office. He won't even be in town (chortle,
chortle). Tough. McCain is rarely in town. Why should his personal
location be of any importance to us? As well, since we are having
concurrent protests at Tempe, Tucson, and Yuma, the fact that he can't
be at four places at once (those cities, and in front of a TV camera
some place in Oregon) I supposed that is all a wasted effort as well.
The fact is, the rallies will be used to publicize the recall, publicize
the deficiency of the rights-infringing McCain-sponsored bills, and,
perhaps more importantly, to have fellow activists network together for
the first time so that they can do more later.

It will be hard to say. The journalists who love McCain (R-Media) will
do their best to protect him, to the point of using veiled snide remarks
on camera about the protesters, or, more likely, not showing up o cover
this Tri-City Rally.

Rick DeStephens
One of Many
Glendale, Arizona