Pointless stunts and involvement

Pointless stunts and involvement 

They were different groups with different gimmicks, but the message was the same.

On Thursday, a group called 350.org showed up at the Las Cruces office of Steve Pearce dressed as referees to call a foul on oil and gas donations given to the congressman. Months earlier, a local group of protesters came bearing pink slips.

I like theatrics as much as the next guy. And, I have a deep and abiding appreciation for the unique right of Americans to petition our government. But each time I see a protest outside Pearce's office, I think back to the Saturday morning last April at the Cineport 10 Theater, where Pearce was holding a town hall meeting.

The theater wasn't filled, but there was a good crowd. One after another they stood to shower praise on the congressman. The only objections were from those who believed Pearce had not been militant enough in pushing his conservative ideology. There wasn't a moderate in sight, more less anyone who could remotely be considered a progressive.

I should stress here that Pearce did everything right. He sent a notice to the media announcing the meeting, and held it in a comfortable, easily accessible location. It's not his fault that the protesters who showed up at his office couldn't be bothered to take an hour out of their Saturday morning to actually address the congressman face to face.

I fully realize that even the most powerful oratory would not have changed Pearce's mind. That's shut tighter than a bank vault, and not even the reincarnation of Daniel Webster himself would cause even a moment's reflection.

But there is value in getting involved in the debate, regardless. Certainly more value than engaging in pointless stunts outside his office.

Speaking of pointless stunts, Santa Fe New Mexican reporter Steve Terrell wrote about an incident last week in which the knucklehead wing (my judgment, not Steve's) of the Occupy Santa Fe movement crashed a dinner held for legislators and ended up injuring one of the guests.

Republican lawmakers were being wined and dined by the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council when the protesters crashed the party, carrying satirical "dinner menus and programs" made of cardboard and began flinging them at the guests. A woman accompanying Rep. Bill Rehm, R-Albuquerque, was struck in the eye and reportedly suffered a scratched cornea.

Protesters were "hurling the cards like karate stars," claimed Sen. Clint Harden of Clovis, looking to make as much political hay of the incident as possible. No word on whether they came swooping down from ropes hidden in the ceiling wearing black ninja outfits.

Jeff Haas, a spokesman for the protesters, compared their plight to that of blacks fighting the water hoses of Bull Connor during the Birmingham bus boycott.

"While Occupy believes that confrontation and civil disobedience are often effective, as demonstrated by Dr. King and Rosa Parks ..." I apologize to those of you who read that while eating your breakfast.

Earlier in the session, Occupy protesters were wrestled from the House gallery after disrupting Gov. Susana Martinez's State of the State address.

So here's my problem. I genuinely admire most of those in the Occupy movement, and agree with their goals. And, I can't deny that they have changed the political narrative. In 2010 the election was all about reining in big government. This year it will be about the shrinking middle class and the growing disparity between the incredibly wealthy in this country and the rest of us.

Occupy has shined a light on an issue that needed to be exposed, and for that I am grateful. But if they don't get control of their knuckleheads, the whole thing will implode.

Walter Rubel has been a newsman for more than 25 years and is managing editor of the Sun-News. He can be reached at wrubel@lcsun-news.com.