The revolution starts with dessert.
Let them eat cake.
And brownies. And cookies. And apple pie. Hell, go ahead and throw in some Wheat Thins and cheese cubes. Just don't let them near a laptop.
That was the lesson learned at the Santa Fe home of Robert Haspel and Lynda Taylor-husband, wife and
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co-directors of the non-profit Sustainable Communities-when they hosted 20 of their closest strangers on July 31.
The event was one of more than 600 "Just Desserts" parties sponsored by
across the country. The purpose was to "Give Republicans What They Deserve" by rallying support for Democratic candidates in the last 100 days before the November elections.
"It's getting to the point that the only candidates that make any sense are Democrats," says "Hutch" Hutchison, one of the party's attendees. "I used to vote for Republican candidates when they were qualified. But now they all hide under the banners of nationality and Christianity and they don't seem to know or understand much about either one."
Moveon.org knows how to incite the fervor of the liberal masses. Enter the "Just Desserts" parties, which promised political discussion, cherry pie and a podcast featuring the likes of Al Franken and US Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.
The podcast began shortly after 8 pm as a map of the United States and a picture of Moveon.org Executive Director Eli Pariser were projected from Haspel's laptop onto the living room wall.
"Tonight is not just about pie and cookies," Pariser begins. "Tonight is about the last 100 days until…"
Until…the sound cut out.
"It must be the Republicans jamming the signal," Taylor cracks.
Haspel fiddled with the laptop as the guests talked amongst themselves and nibbled on mini meringues. The sound eventually resurfaced as Al Franken delivered a tepid punch line.
"…I hate to contradict you, but I think Alaska is on the continent…"
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The revolution will not be podcast. Instead, Taylor opened the room up for discussion. Each member of the group introduced themselves. Many are transplants from places like Minnesota and California, Louisiana and Washington, DC. Yet their concerns-the environment, Iraq, Dick Cheney-and their commendations-
An Inconvenient Truth
, Patricia Madrid, strawberry sorbet-are largely congruent.
"Everyone has a different perspective but they're still the same problems," says 69-year-old Bill Zunkel. "I think it's important to get people together to discuss these issues. Groups like this get me energized."
Which is precisely what drew 26-year-old Brian Moe. "You can sit around and listen to Air America all day but nothing is going to happen," Moe says. "When you organize people to take action, this is what makes things happen."
