Michigan Rally for Health Reform: "We had upwards of 300 people there, [opponents] had only 40 or 50"
Last Thursday, hundreds of Michiganders gathered at Congressman Mark Schauer’s office to show that they support health reform and stand behind their representative’s efforts. Volunteers from Organizing for America and other groups supporting health reform overwhelmingly outnumbered the anti-reform protesters, as they did at rallies across the country that day.
![4434992169 cbc8bffaf9 Michigan Rally for Health Reform: "We had upwards of 300 people there, [opponents] had only 40 or 50"](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2756/4434992169_cbc8bffaf9.jpg "Michigan Rally for Health Reform: \"We had upwards of 300 people there, [opponents] had only 40 or 50\"")
His voice still recovering from leading chants on the megaphone, Michigan State Director Garrett Arwa told us the story of Thursday’s rally at Congressman Schauer’s office — which showed how OFA’s efforts have made a real impact:
"We got word that there was going to be an anti-health reform protest at Congressman Mark Schauer’s office in Jackson, Michigan — the birthplace of the Republican Party — so we decided to organize a pro-health reform rally.
We started emailing our lists, getting other organizations on board, from labor to progressive groups. In three days, we were able to out-organize the anti-reform protesters. We had upwards of 300 people there, they had only 40 or 50.
One woman who had RSVP’d as a ‘maybe’ ended up going to the rally, and she called and thanked us afterward for what we did. Someone came up to our field director and showed her medical bills, saying “This is why I’m here.”
It was a great event, and we’re optimistic and working as hard as ever to make sure we succeed. We were there to support health reform – but also to be there for Congressman Schauer, who has been vocal about his support.
We met with his staff the day after the event, and they were thankful that we’d been there. They know they’re heading into a tough election season, and we’ve worked really well together.
They also told us that the rally reinforced the Congressman’s vote in support of reform. They said it definitely helped the Congressman to know that not only is it the right thing to do, but that his constituents support reform, and that’s very important to him."
So far, OFA volunteers have pledged over nine million hours nationwide to fight for candidates who fight for health insurance reform.
