The Reaction: Economic Recovery and Financial Stability Primer

By Carol Gee

The final vote on the original economic stimulus package took place some days ago in the U.S. House of Representatives. Now there is a major deal in the making. The agreement will get final passage in both houses of Congress. And it will probably be on the President's desk by Friday. On January 30, Ed Kilgore at the Democratic Strategist asked, "What was the meaning of "Zero?" The number "0" was the grand total of "aye" votes in the Republican column. Kilgore concluded,

This development may well hasten the day when the Republican Party finally faces a choice of reconsidering its ideology, or consigning itself to a long-term minority status.

Influencing how elected officials vote is an old and time honored type of activism. Telephone calls and e-mails to Senators and Representatives regarding pending legislation is one of the favorite tactics in use today. "Organizing For America Takes First Action for Obama Agenda," was reported on (1/30/09) at The Huffington Post. At the same time, the We Campaign - Repower America, joined in the mobilization emphasizing clean energy projects that should be included in the economic recovery package.

Going one step further: house meetings -- E-mailed from Organizing For America, Obama's army website (2/9/09). To quote from the e-mail I received:

Americans have organized Economic Recovery House Meetings in all 50 states -- including 382 in California, 255 in Florida, 115 in Ohio, 199 in New York, 105 in Washington, and 149 in Texas. That's more than 3,587 meetings in 1,579 cities and 429 congressional districts.

. . . Share your story about how this economic crisis is affecting you and your family and join your fellow Americans in supporting bold action to speed our recovery:

http://my.barackobama.com/sharestories

Thank you for organizing so much support at this crucial moment for our country,
Mitch Stewart, Director, Organizing for America

President Obama takes to the road and to the airwaves -- The President's first prime time press conference was his own effort to mobilize grassroots pressure on Congress to get something done.

Internet resources -- for use by citizens as they participate in the process:

The White House Blog - Announces the establishment today (2/10/09) of an official website for the Financial Stability Project just begun by the Treasury Department.

[FinancialStability.gov] - a website now in development that anyone will be able to use for tracking the government's proposed new Financial Stability funds [see the new FS Fact Sheet - PDF 7 pgs.]