ROLLING RALLY - PART REVIVAL, PART TOWN HALL

Rolling Rally: Part Revival, Part Town Hall

Education, Prison Alternatives Are Among Concerns

At a get-out-the-vote rally that was part tent revival and part town
hall meeting, several thousand people vowed Saturday to vote against
candidates in the Nov. 2 election who fail to support alternatives to
prison, better funding for public education and greater civil rights
for immigrants. Rolling Thunder Rally

The Rev. Joseph Jackson, president of MICAH, calls on rally attendees
to vote.

"Here's the message we want everyone who holds public office or wants
to hold public office to hear: We, the people of faith, vote . . . and
we care about more than gay marriage and where they put the Ten
Commandments," said Lois Glover, president of WISDOM, a coalition of
congregations in southeastern Wisconsin that sponsored the Rolling
Thunder rally at U.S. Cellular Arena.

"We care about taking care of our communities. We care about taking
care of the addicted. We care about all of our children. We care about
our brothers and sisters who are poor," Glover said.

About 3,700 people - less than the 6,000 hoped for - attended the
event, with church groups from the Beloit, Fox Valley, Green Bay,
Racine, Kenosha, Waukesha and Milwaukee areas sending
representatives.

Rolling Thunder was billed as non-partisan, but the stickers and
buttons worn by those in the crowd indicated a Democratic leaning. A
top state Republican official who was criticized during the rally,
Assembly Speaker John Gard, later said by telephone that Rolling
Thunder has been anything but non-partisan.

Rally organizers called for pushes for:Alternatives to incarceration.
They want non-violent drug offenders to receive treatment in their
communities instead of being sent to prison, an alternative they said
would be less costly and keep families intact.

Rally organizers said Gard, a Peshtigo Republican, blocked the
Assembly from voting earlier this year on a measure that would have
allowed such treatment.

Gard said he believed the measure was being rushed through "in the
middle of the night" and wanted more public scrutiny of it. "You
cannot reduce criminal penalties at the wink of an eye," he said.

During the rally, officials announced that a $23 million federal grant
had been awarded to Milwaukee County for alcohol and drug addiction
treatment.

Adequate and equitable funding for public education. They urged
lawmakers to increase funding for programs that help poor children,
special-needs children and children who need to learn English.

Reforms to protect the civil rights of immigrants and undocumented
aliens. They called for passage of laws that would let undocumented
aliens pay in-state tuition at public colleges and
universities.

Rolling Thunder is a national project of the Gamaliel Foundation. The
Chicago-based non-profit seeks to engage politicians and voters before
the November vote. WISDOM is a Gamaliel affiliate.

At Saturday's rally, about a dozen state and federal office holders
and candidates addressed the crowd for about 2 minutes each, promising
support of Rolling Thunder issues. Among them were Democratic state
Sen. Gwen Moore and Republican attorney Gerald H. Boyle, who are vying
for the 4th Congressional District seat.

U.S. Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold drew heavy applause as he
approached the microphone. "This is one of the greatest grass-roots
organizations I've seen," he said.

Feingold's Republican opponent in November, Oconomowoc construction
executive Tim Michels, did not attend.

Former Milwaukee Mayor Marvin Pratt attended but did not
speak.

Gov. Jim Doyle was invited but did not attend. Milwaukee County
Executive Scott Walker arrived late and did not speak. Milwaukee Roman
Catholic Archbishop Timothy Dolan was scheduled to speak but missed
the rally because of an emergency in St. Louis.