The FreedomWorks March on Washington
From: Brendan Steinhauser
Date: Thu, Jun 18, 2009 at 12:58 PM
Subject: RE: March logo
To: da…@grassfire.org, Jenny Beth Martin
You guys are free to use whatever logo you want to promote the event. But I talked to everyone here and there was consensus that we will keep the logo for the website. There are a few reasons for this. One is that the left (Keith Olbermann and Josh Marshall) thinks we don’t understand the connotations of the symbol, which we do. It was a purposeful decisions to create a defiant image, raised fists against the statist policies of Congress and the president. I think it’s an edgy symbol that communicates the anger and the defiance of the protests happening around the country since early February. I think that we have to make sure this is a protest against what’s going on in DC, and we have to convey that image to the country and the world. I fear that if we start to lose that edge, the politicians won’t take us as seriously, and will write us off. I’ve been studying and applying the tactics of the left for the last few years, and although I despise their bad ideas, they have us beat when it comes to symbolism, activism and dominating the public
> debate. I think we can learn from them and co-opt their symbols,
> some of their messages and even their tactics.
> I think we have to remember that this is a March on Washington,
> which should conjure up images of the street protests in other
> countries, like Ukraine, Poland in the 80’s, Estonia, etc.. If we
> want the politicians to pay attention, I believe it is imperative
> that we keep our edge, tailor our message narrowly and maintain the
> populist imagery. Anyway, just my two cents. Feel free to change the
> logo on your website if you’d like.
> I’ll get back to you guys on the availability for another meeting
> soon.
> Just got back from Seattle, and I’m way behind in emails and calls!
> haha
> Brendan Steinhauser
> Director, Federal and State Campaigns
> FreedomWorks
> 601 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
> North Building, Suite 700
> Washington, D.C. 20004-2601