TPM Reader MS emails about the protests in North Carolina:
I was one of the individuals arrested last night in the Raleigh legislature. (The headcount from the NAACP was 151 last time I checked.) Glad we finally got a mention on the Editors Blog! We were all charged with failure to disperse, posting signs or placards (of this one I am innocent), and second degree trespass.
I wrote to you guys a few months ago suggesting you take a closer look at what’s happening to state politics in NC. Crowd size estimates you are seeing in some local press are also wrong, in my opinion. I think we had easily more than 2,000 people at the peak of the protest.
After yesterday, the protests have finally reached a minimum knowledge threshold in the major cities in NC. We were front page in Greensboro, Charlotte, Raleigh, etc. When I say “Moral Mondays,” people will now (finally) know what I’m talking about. In a state that is as apathetically liberal as ours I can’t overstate how important that fact alone is.
Big remaining question is whether this is the last plateau or if we can successfully ramp up. A couple dozen independent organizations are making plans for the rest of the summer, leading into 2014 state elections plus the Tillis-Hagan battle in the senate. The hope is that these protests are coming at just the right time to shine a light on the insanity in the state house.
