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‘Hey, Jon Kyl, where are the jobs?’ Kyl’s staff huddles in office while protesters call out their boss (video)

by on Sep. 03, 2011, under Arizona, Congress, corporatists, democracy, economy, fiscal responsibility, jobs, Jon Kyl, national debt, Progressive Democrats of America, taxes, Tucson
CREDIT: Pamela Powers
CAPTION: Tax Wall Street and Heal America Demonstration, Tucson

Approximately 25 stalwarts representing National Nurses United, Progressive Democrats of America (PDA), and MoveOn.org braved 108 degree temperatures to protest outside of US Senator Jon Kyl’s suburban Tucson office on September 1, 2011.

The lcoal demonstration was part of a national movement to encourage Congress to think about Main Street– rather than Wall Street– when making spending (and cutting) decisions in the near future. Kyl’s office was chosen as the site for the local demonstration because he has been appointed to the Super Congress, which will make tough spending and cutting decisions this fall.

Kyl’s staff locked themselves in a conference room as peaceful protesters knocked on the office door and chanted outside.

Since Kyl’s staff refused to open the doors and listen to local constituents, activists left dozens of Post-It Note messages on his door encouraging him to save social safety net programs (Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps, and unemployment), tax the rich and corporations to raise revenue, and put Americans back to work.

To watch other videos from around the country, click here.

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 3rd, 2011 at 4:11 pm and is filed under Arizona, Congress, corporatists, democracy, economy, fiscal responsibility, jobs, Jon Kyl, national debt, Progressive Democrats of America, taxes, Tucson. Tags for this post: , , , , , , , , , . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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  • RH

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/02/phil-gringey-town-hall_n_946958.html This GOP town hall meeting seems to be Deja Vu for the GOP nationally, guess they never read the old saying “one can fool some of the people some of the time, but one cannot fool all the people all the time”, the angry formerly fooled are awake and not happy!

  • Al

    ‘Kyl’s staff locked themselves in a conference room as peaceful protesters knocked on the office door and chanted outside.’
    From the article they appear they were more like a mob than “peaceful protesters.” The everything comes from the government slugs merely got themselves over heated and perhaps sunburn.
     

  • Pamela Powers

    Al– Not quite an “angry mob”– especially the 2 people in wheelchairs and the woman in a leg cast. 

    RH– yes, I think there are millions of Americans (from all political persuasions) who are fed up with the lies. You’re spot on. We’re awake and not happy.

  • Don

    The protesters wanted Jon Kyl to give them jobs?  They wanted government to pay their bills?  Oh, I forgot, these were liberal protesters.
    Perhaps Kyl’s staff “locked the doors” because of the thuggish behavior we’ve seen from liberal protesters nationwide (cough cough Wisconsin cough cough).

    • Pamela Powers

      So, Don, do you believe that 9% unemployment is acceptable?

      • usmctrucker

        I thought that was what the “Shovel Ready” Stimulus Bill was for.  One dollar in three thousand created jobs with that.  I told you this would happen.  Obama sought to empower the government at the expense of the private “money-hungry” sector, and he succeeded.  I hope you holier than thou Stalinists down in Tucson are happy.  Your local economy usually sucks anyway.

  • Don

    So Pam, you weren’t satisfied with spending billions of our children’s money to pay off Democrat Party constituencies in the 2009 stimulus bill?  You want more of our children’s money?

    • leftfield

      I’ reminded of a recent and brilliant satirical article from The Onion: ” Tea Party Congressman Calls For Tax Breaks To Put Out Raging Wildfire In His District”. 

      When faced with difficulty, just keep coming back to the same message.  You can’t have jobs because of “the children”.  Who could be against children?  Especially the children of the future; those sad-eyed, hungry children who will grow up knowing that our sacrifice today will guarantee them an abundance of great jobs involving hair nets and name tags. 

  • Javelina

    The protest was at 6pm.  The Kyl office closes at 5pm.  I can see why you don’t have jobs.  And wow, all of 16 people gathered from 3 different organizations.  A real powerful message.  I’d have to say you made yourselves and your organizations look pathetic and ineffectual.  Call the office when they are open, go talk to them about real ideas that you have to make things better rather than using cheap stunts to whine and complain.   I thought this was supposed to be about the Financial Transaction Tax which I feel is an interesting idea, but not one mention of it.  You would rather talk about how it’s hot.  Another wow, it’s August in Tucson and it’s hot outside.  Stop the presses on that one.   It’s sad the Citizen gives air to such fluff.  If you don’t have any solid ideas to share and you just want to make accusations against Jon Kyl, at least provide some facts.  How has he harmed the elderly?  What has he done to demostrate he is just a shill for big business?  Or is just being a member of the Repulican party enough for you to feel those claims are justified?  

    • Don

      Pam, are you writing about a protest that occurred ONE HOUR AFTER the Kyl office closed?  Are you trying to mislead TC.com readers?  Or, do MoveOn.org members not know how to tell time?  (Perhaps the protesters came in from out-of-state, and thought that Arizona was in synch with Mountain time?)
      (If Javelina is incorrect in his/her assertion that your side staged their protest one hour after the Kyl office closed,  no matter.  Just strike the first three sentences  of his/her post—what’s left is still pretty good stuff).

      • leftfield

        People can get so unruly when they’re hungry, jobless and without hope.  Let them eat cake, Don?

        • Don

          If they can’t tell time, Left (see Javelina’s post below), it’s hard to feel sorry for them.

          • Don

            Correction—above

  • Don

    A few comments from your video:
    - I couldn’t help but notice the sign that spelled “Poverty” in letters that appeared to be dripping blood.  Right after that was a sign that insulted the GOP. Even if you didn’t stage your protest one hour after the Kyl office closed, that’s grounds right there for not letting you in.  If you have no manners, don’t expect people to welcome you inside.
    - I loved the “Jobs not Mobs” sign.  But, I think that protester was in the wrong state.  Shouldn’t she be in Wisconsin, with the other liberal protesters who are speaking truth to power by Super-Glue-ing doors shut on parochial schools?

    • leftfield

      “If you have no manners, don’t expect people to welcome you inside.”

      Unlike the Tea Party gatherings associated with the Affordable Care Act, wherein the mob was model of decorum. 

  • leftfield

    Really, Don is right.  If the hoi polloi can’t do their suffering quietly and out of sight, we can’t be expected to have to listen to them.  After all, we have paying customers to serve.  

    • Don

      Attaboy, Left.  We’ll make a kulak of you yet.

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The Tucson Progressive

Pamela Powers Hannley writes the Tucson Progressive blog on the TucsonCitizen.com and contributes articles to the Huffington Post and Salon.com. She has had more than 30 years of experience in written, visual, and electronic communication—including freelance writing, photography, graphic design, and consulting. In addition to blogging for the Citizen, she is the Managing Editor of an international medical research journal.

Hannley has authored medical research articles, print magazine and newspaper stories, and numerous cancer prevention and self-help publications.

She has been a blogger since 2006, joined the ranks of Tucson Citizen bloggers in October 2010, and started contributing to the Huffington Post in 2011 and to Salon.com in 2012.

Hannley holds a masters’ degree in public health from The University of Arizona and a bachelors’ degree in journalism from The Ohio State University. She is a native of Amherst, Ohio but has lived in Tucson since 1981.