Delegation has dustup at Gallegly's office
By Kelly Feser Eells

It all started with an electronic petition, urging Congress to "censure and move on." Today, MoveOn.org is the nation's leading online political action group; it is also the first to use "cyber-activism" effectively, and is considered the model of online, grassroots politicking.
"The Internet's a very effective way to express your feelings," said Pat Hoffman, who is part of a local delegation of citizens participating in MoveOn's nationwide "Let the Inspections Work" campaign, and who was one of some 25 citizens who rallied at Congressman Elton Gallegly's office last Tuesday.
"We had over 1,000 signatures collected from people in this (the 24th congressional) district, and were just trying to deliver our petition" - asking President Bush to "let the U.N. inspectors have as much time as they need in Iraq" - which had been faxed, along with "a list of the people coming" to (Gallegly aide) Rose Adams, in Washington, D.C. "But when we got there," Hoffman noted, "the staff person who opened the door seemed really surprised to see us. She kept shouting, 'Who are you people?'"
Hoffman's daughter, Ojai resident Ruth Cooper, "very calmly made her way to the front of the group, said, 'No need to be alarmed,' and explained that we were all constituents, just there to deliver our petition."
Another woman, who, Hoffman concedes, may or may not have been part of Gallegly's staff, "came out from another office and said, 'you people have to get out of here, you're trespassing.'"
Chuckling, she adds, "Apparently, the visit to (Congresswoman) Lois Capps office went a lot better."
Ojai resident David Howard, an Oak Grove School teacher, was accompanied by four students, two of whom are from China. "We're learning about democracy," said Howard. "So it was sort of embarrassing for me to have had them see this," a gross misrepresentation of "one of our political institutions."
In addition, said Howard, "he (Gallegly) made very disparaging, condescending remarks" about the delegation, reported in a Jan. 22, Ventura County Star article. "To act like he didn't know about this in advance, well, it's appalling. He was notified and calls were made back and forth, and there were infinite ways to set up a meeting, so for him to be playing dumb now..."
Hoffman concurs, noting that, "We'd offered to meet in a church, anywhere, after being told that, because the office was in the process of moving," the congressman would be unavailable on Jan. 22. Though the offer was declined, "Rose (Adams) was always very nice, very frank. She knew we planned on delivering our petition; she knew we weren't expecting a powwow."
Apparently due to the move, the Ojai Valley News was unable to make contact with Rep. Gallegly's office for comment.
Howard contrasted Tuesday's event with another MoveOn-led campaign, "Say No to War," conducted last fall. "We're people with very serious concerns about our own lives," he said. "A group of us met with Lois Capps, who was very cordial, standing outside her office talking with people. And she ended up voting against the resolution" authorizing the use of force in Iraq. "We're proud to have been able to meet with this woman."
MoveOn.org generated more than $1 million in online contributions during that campaign, all of which was distributed between the (mostly Democrat) members of Congress who voted against the resolution.

© 2003 The Ojai Valley News

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