* A guy on leave from a National Guard posting in Iraq wondered what the left is doing to propagandize among his colleagues, whom he described as being seriously pissed off. Their lives have been completely disrupted, they're at constant risk of being blown to bits, and their after-tax pay is $560 a month. And the Bush admin has just cut the Veterans Aministration's funding.
* Attendance was surprisingly heavy, and there were quite a few curious folks who had nothing to do with DSA or even the left before.
* One of the newcomers, originally from Texas, dismissed all talk of anarchism or Greens, saying that has no resonance in Texas (where he's from) or any other of the "red states." He said the only place for remotely progressive politics in the U.S. heartland is the Dem party. I don't know if that's true, but that's what he said.
* Out of about 25-30 people, about 2/3 or 3/4 said they'd vote for whatever Dem is nominated for president (again, this was DSA-sponsored, but not DSA-dominated). Most of the rest said they wouldn't vote. There was *no* support for Ralph.
Doug