Operation American Spring Launch a "Vanguard" Moment

[Jim Delaney]

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Upon my return from DC on the 20th, and except on my own blog,  I was hesitant to post my observations regarding the OAS launch on May 16th. But, perhaps now is the time.

Hard for me to sugarcoat what was for me a launching disaster.

On the 16th, flash floods, heavy rain and cold winds ushered in what, at best, can be described as an anemic OAS turn-out on the Washington Mall. Though we put our best face forward, the acute disappointment—indeed, the dismay-- among the few hundred OAS participants was palpable.

Owing to the paucity of participants--variously reported as  somewhere between 324 to 2,000--it was often difficult to even locate the rally amid the throng of tourists which dwarfed the number of OAS participants on the Mall.

Once the weather cleared, we cautiously anticipated an appreciable uptick in participant numbers on Saturday, the 17th. But, alas, the weekend "crowd" was no less anemic.

Though we met some stalwart and energized patriots from all over the country and enjoyed a pleasant meeting with Col. Riley at the Washington Monument—he actually remembered me—my companions and I couldn’t shake our painful disappointment. 

Among OAS participants, here are some of the refrains, or variations thereof, we so often heard: “What happened? “I can’t believe this.” “So where are all those patriots?” “This is scary.” “This is terrible.” “This is embarrassing.”  “This sucks.” “I’m pissed. Doesn’t anyone care?” “This is ridiculous.” And the most poignant: “It really is all over, isn’t it.” “Man, are we in trouble.”

Recalling what appeared to have been a sizable and determined internet base of supporters and prospective participants, the dismal OAS showing was both surprising and mystifying to us all.

So, what DID happen?

While speakers from among the participants added some congealing fervor, I couldn’t help shake the notion that high-profile patriotic speakers may well have encouraged more participation, more clout. Apparently, even patriots like to be “entertained”. But, that's only speculation.

Also, I can't ignore Glenn Beck's mischaracterization of OAS as "irreponsible and dangerous", and who, onThe Blaze, equated OAS with the 1848 Marxist "Spring of Nations", describing OAS hearts as "cold and hard". That ringing endorsement did little to rally supporters. And then there were other “conservative” personalities and bloggers who described the event as a “coup”. Wow! 

Coupled with a virtual media black-out leading up to the May 16^th launch, I naturally wondered if the cacophony of negativity from the right hadn't, in fact, fatally undermined the OAS effort from the start. In this vein, I wondered if it was possible that self-destructive and narcissistic turf wars among patriotic organizations  and personalities on both the local and national levels may have materially contributed to the discouraging OAS launch. OR was it simply a matter of “sunshine patriots” doing what they do best: whine and complain, but ignominiously failing to get off their dead asses and be counted? Well, from my lowly perspective, all of these toxic factors most certainly contributed to the lackluster launch.

If there is a lesson here, for me it is this: if there is no fire in the belly of patriots, no sense of urgency, no recognition that only convincing action—not blog posts and commentary alone--can turn the Marxist tide, then the OAS  effort will continue to limp along to little or no avail and the country’s downward spiral into a fetid socialist abyss will be irreversible.

So, in short, and despite the single-minded leadership of Col. Riley and the dedication of  OAS organizers and participants alike, the OAS launch was extraordinarily disappointing and, for me, it does not bode well for the Republic's survival.

Happily, Col. Riley, undeterred, intends to push forward with the hope that real patriots from around the country will eventually step up and be counted, failing which, folks, it REALLY is all over.

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editoral note:

CLICK HERE:

http://tpartyus2010.ning.com/forum/topics/unity

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[PHILIP SCHNEIDER]

I too am confused by our nation's conservatives. How convinced are they that our nation is in real peril? Or don't they care?

Jim I'm of the same opinion, if this OAS is a true representation of the willingness of conservatives to save our nation then, "it REALLY is all over.

I'm guessing we're all going to watch closely the results of the coming elections. I hope for a conservative TEA PARTY landslide but have seen TEA PARTY candidates fail to energize voters in primaries already. I'm not convinced the power of our votes will bring change. I guess we'll know for sure if the liberal progressive democrat machine has won in November.

[gmiller]

Jim:  I think your assessment is mostly right. Only 2 exceptions:

- This was planned as a peaceful event as executed as such. There was some talk about contingency planning in case OAS people were attacked and that's about it.  It seems that nasty, false rumors were started. Idiots like Beck were all too quick to pick up on it and use it against the movement as were the 5th communist and not invented here crowd. Base on other datapoints, I seriously question Beck.

- Looking at all the videos, it appeared that there were a lot more people Sunday than Friday, when the various venues were considered, even more when you considered that they were coming and going, not all there at once and the "letters of the alphabet" deployment scheme was designed to spread the numbers over weeks.

I thought he predictions of 10MM+ people were absurd from the get-go. Monitoring Internet/email and other activity, I was thinking 5-10,000, but even my Conservative estimates proved wildly optimistic. I communicated my estimates to leadership and advised them to reset expectations, but they actually doubled down.  In the past, I have seen overoptimism and self-deception before. While our Tea Party nearly always got a lot more show ups than RSVP's, most other organizations events were overestimated. I remember an early impeach Obama San Diego rally that had 800+ signups to go on Facebook alone, plus more email and web. Weather was perfect, it was a weekend event on the San Diego harbor front, but only 60 actually showed. and that was a day event, not  a multi-week, difficult, risky-sounding thing like OAS was made out to be.

But, there are other factors. There have been sooo many disappointments- National leaders, pundits and most religious leaders have never really stepped up against the regime and its crimes, leaving it all to a very few unknowns or minor celebrities like us.Consider that the American Revolution was started by the elite, the highly educated.  Half of Declaration of Independence signers were clergy. Where are their equivalents now?  Stuffing their faces with the nourishment of corrupt gains, collaborating with the regime, with those on the political outs mostly trying to act more like the opposition in power.

The oppression now is worse than it was in 1776, in most ways: http://onenationundergodradio.com/UnfitToRule2.pdf 

 We don't seem yet to have the hard core of "3 percenters" to get REAL change going. 3% would be over 9 million. If it takes much longer, it may be too late.

[Mary Wilder]

LANYON ( below) If we allow the Gov't to make us afraid to be FREE, and fight the way we must now, peacefully, ( personally- atheist or Saint, I think ALL Americans should go and kneel in front of the White House  and sing God Bless America) THAT would scare that 0! It is worth fighting, In the 60's marching and getting spat on, eggs and tomatoes thrown at us, for the equal rights of ALL, was not easy. THIS will be much harder, but it is a fight  for our COUNTRY. Either we don't give up, stop being afraid ( that is what they want)or we will be reading  a hidden book, in a hidden place, to our great grandchildren- about a Country the PEOPLE USED to OWN!

[Mary Wilder]

This reminds me of when I was a little kid. I asked my Mom "why doesn't God send someone to DO something, ( about this  , or that) and she answered "He did, He sent YOU"

[Mary Wilder]

This made me cry. OMG where are the AMERICAN PEOPLE?!

[LANYON]

No support from Glenn Beck, FoxNews, various conservative websites. Moles spreading fear in many conservative websites. People afraid that the federalized police forces would initiate trouble with attendees as excuse for retaliation. Lack of transportation coordination (Amtrack, tour bus companies) for those who don't have vehicles but had the desire to be present. If Rolling Thunder or other of the many bike organizations would have been included, people would have felt more safe and secure. These were the same problems that farmers on tractors, truckers had with their marches. Everything else was so well coordinated to the point that it seemed that it was a military exercise for storming the beaches. I believe that, now that we know how to do it, and that all went well, the next time will be smoother and more people will be willing to be present. Only videos, photographs and accounts of the situation, on location, will convince others that there's nothing to worry about. And, DC authorities now know, for sure, that the march had good, patriotic intentions. In 2009, Beck was successful with his march because of the great publicity. Everyone also remembers Sharpton's march on DC, just afterwards, and how they trashed the complete area with mountains of garbage.