The majority of those in attendance were individuals who have passionately followed politics for years, but there were some participants who didn’t quite fit the profile of a typical political conference attendee. For the last six months the country has witnessed the awakening of the “sleeping giant”—that group of citizens who are content to go about their lives and only bother with politics a few weeks before the election. But realizing that the country and way of life they love is now threatened by the overreaching of the Obama administration and Democrat-controlled Congress, the “silent majority” is taking action.
One of the best examples of this phenomenon is Donna Scala. A resident of Pittsburgh, Scala came to the conference to learn more about how she can take Glenn Beck’s advice and “do one thing” to make a difference in saving America’s freedom. Over lunch on Saturday, Scala shared that she is life-long registered Democrat and Hillary Clinton supporter who started to question the nation’s direction just recently.
Tired of “yelling at the TV,” the Subway sandwich shop employee and wife of a steel union member decided to start writing letters to the editor. A self-confessed “computer neophyte,” she joined Facebook to keep up with her grandchildren. Once she began receiving friends’ emails about Americans for Prosperity, she attended Tea Party rallies.
She soon realized she shared more common values with the conservatives at these events than with the members of her own political party. Incensed by the manner in which town hall attendees are treated by their elected officials, and appalled at how leaders don’t even read their own legislation, she determined to use her computer to make a difference. Right Online provided her the opportunity to learn how to reach out to her fellow service employees via the internet, and explain how the current administration’s policies will drastically alter their lives.
Sitting in a hotel ballroom, a box lunch in front of her, surrounded by hundreds of conservative activists, tears welled up in her eyes as she explained, “Even someone like me can have a voice. I'll take the ridicule—it’s that important.”
This is not Astroturf; it’s the real, grassroots activism rising across the nation.
At its most fundamental element, politics is all about winning votes. But in order to win votes—at least, outside the Beltway—hearts and minds must be persuaded. Voters like Donna Scala need to be reached—before they lose all hope of saving America. Right Online’s efforts prove that conservatives have a chance to counter the lies, disinformation and vitriol permeating the Internet.
Voltaire also observed that “To hold a pen is to be at war.” Today, the keyboard is the pen’s equivalent. Conservatives must take hold of the 21st century’s mightiest weapon, their family computer, and begin inundating the world’s information source with messages of personal responsibility, authentic hope, and freedom.