How a Book Burning Party Saved the Library
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What good is knowledge, if no one has access to it? That was the underlying question in Troy, Michigan where Tea Party activists sought to thwart a small tax increase to keep the award winning library open. This was the third effort, and the anti-tax crowd was well organized.
But the people who wanted to save the library had an idea.
Chris Meadows at Teleread, writes:
So the library approached ad agency Leo Burnett/Arc Worldwide Detroit and asked what they could do with a $3,500 budget. The company produced a guerilla and social marketing campaign (PDF) in which they pretended to be a clandestine group urging people to vote to close the library so they could hold a book-burning party afterward.They put up yard signs all over town, placed a classified ad asking for clowns and caterers for the party, and posted a Facebook page for their campaign where they made cute little inflammatory announcements like "Our agenda's pretty simple. We want the library to close so we can have a book burning party. What's not to get?" This had the effect of focusing the public's attention away from the question of a tax increase and onto the question of losing a library's worth of books. (They did reveal it was a hoax before the actual election.)
The campaign apparently worked; voter turnout in the election was 38%, double the anticipated 19%, and the vote won by a significant margin. And the campaign ended up winning an Effie Award, the marketing industry's equivalent of an Oscar or Grammy.
The campaign ultimately revealed that the book burning party campaign was a hoax and that their intention was to send a message: "A vote against the library, is like a vote to burn books."
There is much to learn from this amusing and heartening victory. And there are certainly implications for other issues, and perhaps even for broad agendas. But one comes immediately to mind for me.
For many years the principal strategy of the antiabortion movement in all of its factions -- including the Religious Right -- has been to find ways to reduce the number of abortions performed by restricting access. This has been the unambiguous intention in the Obama era as well. The extraordinary escalation of the number of abortion restricting bills introduced in state legislatures is a logical outcome. It is completely consistent with movement thinking for a generation, and since they have the power to act in many legislatures thanks in part to gains in 2010, they are acting on their beliefs.
"We have opportunities before us which if properly exploited," declared militant strategist Mark Crutcher, of Life Dynamics in 1992, "could result in an America where abortion may be perfectly legal, but no one can get one."
The right to abortion, like any other right also means having access to that right. You may have the right to read, but not have access to books if there are no libraries. You may have the right to vote, but may not be able to do so if you are a victim of what we euphemistically call voter suppression tactics.
The takeaway lesson for me is that we need to do better, much better, at building a culture of democracy, that includes not taking vital institutions like public education and libraries, or basic civil and human rights for granted.
The library issue in Troy, MI should have been a no brainer -- that it wasn't, and voter turn-out was expected to be only 19%, underscores how chronic, long term lack of participation in the basics of democracy are threatening vital institutions and basic human rights. That an imaginative and provocative guerrilla campaign intervention saved the library is a heartening tale. But that the situation required one is sobering.
Link to original article from Talk To Action
States - Michigan
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MI Legislators with ALEC Ties
House of Representatives
- Former Rep. Frank Accavitti, Jr. (D-42), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2005 and 2008[102]
- Majority Caucus Chair Dave Agema (R-74), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2008[102]
- Former Rep. Fran Amos (R-43), registered for ALEC annual meeting in 2005 and paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2006 and 2007[102]
- Former Rep. Richard A. Bandstra (R-Grand Rapids, 1985-1994, Michigan 3rd Court of Appeals through January 2003), Former "Public Sector Chairman," Civil Justice Task Force[103]
- Former Rep. Bill Caul (R-99), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2005 and 2007[102]
- Former House Speaker Craig DeRoche (R-38), paid ALEC membership dues in 2006 and sent three staffers to ALEC annual meeting in 2006 (for $1,200) with taxpayer funds[102]
- Former Rep. Leon Drolet (R-33), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2005[102]
- Former Rep. David Farhat (R-91), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2005[102]
- Former Rep. Edward Gaffney (R-1), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2005 and 2007[102]
- Rep. Judson Gilbert (R-81), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2005 while a state senator[104]
- Rep. Gail Haines (R-43); Commerce, Insurance and Economic Development Task Force
- Rep. Ken Horn (R-94), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2011[102], Civil Justice Task Force member
- Former Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-90, now Michigan Congressman R-2), ALEC Alumni in Congress,[105] paid ALEC membership with taxpayer funds in 2005 and 2007 while a state representative[102]
- Former Rep. Jerry Kooiman (R-75), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2005[102]
- Rep. Eileen Kowall (R-44), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2011[102]
- Rep. Kenneth Kurtz (R-58), ALEC Health and Human Services Task Force[106]
- Rep. Matthew Lori, (R-59), ALEC Health and Human Services Task Force[106]
- Rep. Peter J. Lund (R-36); Commerce, Insurance and Economic Development Task Force
- Rep. Tom McMillin (R-45), sponsored 2011 HB 4050. Compare to ALEC's "Freedom of Choice in Health Care Act"[107]
- Former Rep. Kimberley Meltzer (R-33), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2009[102]
- Former Rep. Tim Moore (R-97), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2007[102]
- Rep. Aric Nesbitt (R-80); Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force
- Former Rep. Tom Pearce (R-73), registered for 2006 ALEC annual meeting and paid 2009 ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds[102]
- Rep. Amanda Price (R-89); Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force
- Former Rep. Rick Shaffer (R-59), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2005 and 2007[102]
- Former Rep. Fulton Sheen (R-88), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2005, 2006 and 2007[102]
- Rep. Mike Shirkey (R-65), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2011[102]
- Former Rep. John Stahl (R-82), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2008[102]
- Former Rep. John Stakoe (R-44), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2005 and 2007[102]
- Former Rep. Glenn Steil, Jr. (R-72), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2005 and 2007[102]
- Former Rep. William Van Regenmorter (R-74), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2005[102]
Senate
- Sen. Jason Allen (R-37), former ALEC State Chairman[108], paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2006[104]
- Former Sen. Patricia Birkholz (R-24), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2005[104]
- Sen. Darwin Booher (R-35), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2005, 2007 and 2009 while a state representative[102]
- Former Sen. Cameran Brown (R-16), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2005[104]
- Sen. Bruce Caswell (R-16), Health and Human Services Task Force[106]
- Former Sen. Valde Garcia (R-22), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2005[104]
- Sen. Mike Green (R-31), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2011[104]
- Sen. Goeff Hansen (R-34), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2005, 2007 and 2009 (twice) while a state representative,[102] Commerce, Insurance and Economic Development Task Force member
- Sen. Dave Hildenbrand (R-29), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2005, 2007 and 2009 while a state representative,[102] and in 2011 while a state senator<ref="MichiganSenate"/>
- Sen. Rick Jones (R-24), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2005 while a state representative[102]
- Sen. Mike Kowall (R-15), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2009 while a state representative, and in 2011[102]
- Former Sen. Wayne Kuipers (R-30), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2005[104]
- Sen. Arlan B. Meekhoff (R-30), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2009 while a state representative[102]
- Sen. John Moolenar (R-36), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2005 and 2007 while a state representative[102]
- Sen. Mike Nofs (R-19), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2008 while a state representative[102]
- Former Sen. Bruce Patterson (R-7), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2009[104]
- Sen. David B. Robertson (R-26), paid ALEC membership dues with taxpayer funds in 2005[102]
- Sen. Tonya Schuitmaker (R-20), State Chairman[109]; Civil Justice Task Force
Information from SourceWatch