Coffee Party in New York Kicks Off Political Movement

Saturday, March 13, was a crappy, wet day in New York City. The rain not only fell from the sky, but also seemed to fall up from the asphalt, attacking me from all sides. There were mangled umbrella skeletons blown across Lafayette Street, just around the corner from the Bleecker Bar, where one of the NYC Coffee Party kickoffs was taking place. Despite the bad weather (I only live five blocks away and had the "go? not go?" conversation with myself) people from Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and at least one New Jersey-ite ventured out to attend.

When I first heard of the Coffee Party a handful of weeks ago, I was excited. People had finally sprung up en masse to counter all the yelling and screaming of the Tea Partiers. But, after doing some research, and finding little in the way organizational or action strategy, I worried it was a movement in name only.

Is the Coffee Party Movement the product of a simple Facebook post that overtook its poster to become the nationwide response to the Tea Party Movement? Or, is it a calculated, mid-term election tool to mobilize independent and disenfranchised Democratic voters to come out against Republicans and "Blue Dogs" in the fall?

I spoke with Jeannine Stepanian, a Coffee Party Media Liaison on Friday afternoon -- the day before the kickoff event. Jeannine was very friendly; a volunteer donating her time like many others involved in the Coffee Party, but had little to offer in the way of articulating a platform or a plan of action. Instead of being a top-down organization deciding on platforms and issues with implementation strategies at the outset, they are bottom-up. Their platform will depend on what their members want, as determined by the outcome of Saturday's kickoffs.

I posed an obvious question to Jeannine about the name Coffee Party. She acknowledged that the original formation of the group was in direct response to the divisive, angry language and actions of the tea partiers. But, she was careful to point out that they are not interested in being known only as the reaction to the teabaggers. But with media outlets like NY Daily News proclaiming: "Coffee Party kicks off movement to take on the Tea Party," and CNN reporting, "New party bills itself as an alternative to the Tea Party," Coffee Party as anti-Tea Party may be difficult to shake.

The Coffee Party, as well as the Tea Party, is a 501 c 4 organizations, similar to a 501 c 3 non-profit organization in that they are both tax exempt. However, if I plunk down a $20 donation to The Coffee (or Tea) Party, I can't take that as a deduction when filling out my taxes next year. Another major difference between "3s" and "4s" is that 501 c 4s are created specifically to act politically: "A 501 c 4 is a tax exempt, non-profit organization that can engage in lobbying or political campaigning." The next logical step could be the formation of a PAC depending on which way the Coffee Party decides to go.

When I finally dragged my soaked self into the Bleecker Street bar at the corner of Lafayette and well, Bleecker, there were only 5 or so people sitting at a table. One of whom was the AOL reporter with a camera already in someone's mug. I flashed the "am I in the right place" smile and a woman said, "yes, this is it!"

5 people? I had a flash back to the Tea Party convention and the coverage of the event claiming there were more reporters than attendees. But, in typical "sorry I'm late" New York fashion, people finally started to trickle in (about 25 or so) including local organizer, Amanda Martinez. She was a bouncy, middle-aged gal enthusiastically running around handing out packets about what the kick-off event, and the Coffee Party, was all about.

Martinez quieted the crowd, asked the bartender to turn the music down and read a few ground rules. We must be civil. There would be no name calling or any raised voices. There was a civility pledge to sign, she said, though I never actually saw one (there is one on the Web site). Our goal for the day? Photographs. We would break up into small groups, decide on an issue, write it on a giant piece of paper (Coffee + Healthcare! Coffee + Filibuster Reform!) then, take a photo with it to send to mission control.

I crowded into a booth with Lamar, a researcher, Tyler, an anthropologist who studies and attends Tea Party rallies, Jean a law student and activist (see attached video), David a computer guy and Chuck, a doctor. We exchanged pleasantries, gave the who what and where of ourselves, and then enjoyed the silence. We all smiled a bit, communicating to each other telepathically "what are we supposed to do now?"

We finally just started talking. At first about making our sign -- what should it say? What would our issue be? Each of us talked about what was currently important to us: healthcare, the war, the log-jammed congress. At first, all that was said could have easily been sound bites and talking points seen during a clip of Rachel Maddow or even FOX News.

But how would these things come about? That is where the conversation stalled for a bit and became a gripe session. And, rightfully so; we have a lot to gripe about these days when it comes to the action and inaction of our government. And in this gripe session, I found the beauty of the Coffee Party. We were people, similar in our political beliefs -- though not a single person in my group mentioned party affiliation -- talking through what pissed us off about the government. We asked each other questions, we spoke our individual truths, we shared our experience (if any) with political activism. I saw clarity -- or at least affirmation -- come across faces of many in attendance. This, to me was the real success of the Bleecker Bar kickoff.

As the meeting was wrapping up, Tyler scratched out COFFEE + FILIBUSTER REFORM in pink highlighter pen and David wore out a couple sheets of paper trying to fit COFFEE + HEALTHCARE on one page. They were already talking about setting up a Brooklyn Coffee Party, though, they, like me, were leery of the Coffee Party title. They preferred "Beer Summit". Catchy, familiar, and I say, whatever works.

They asked if I would be attending another Coffee Party. The answer I gave them was I don't know.

As individuals, we are all free to pick up the phone and call our local, state or federal elected employees. I can invite friends and neighbors over for spirited political discussions to help hash out our differences and find common ground. I can and do share information on how to contact representatives, how to write letters, draw up petitions and take small actions here and there. For me, that is where I find I do my best work, one to one, person to person. I would happily join a march on D.C. or support any legislation or action the Coffee Party proposes if it is in line with my values. But when the rubber hits the road, I can't wait for consensus.

Sources:

www.coffeepartyusa.com
www.teapartypatriots.org
www.cnn.com
www.nydailynews.com