This Coffee Party already has 30 chapters around the country and is picking up steam (sorry, can’t resist the pun) on places such as Facebook and Twitter. Also, Park has plans for making the Coffee Party larger:

We will organize public gatherings. One of the events that we are planning is a national coffee house day on March 13th, in which we will encourage our existing and soon-to-form chapters to facilitate informative and civil dialogue about issues that affect all of us, collectively. We will ask them to report back to us on what consensus they reach, and take action from there.

You can find out more about The Coffee Party here:

www.coffeepartyUSA.org

here:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/...

and here:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/...

An interesting aspect of this Coffee Party is an ambition to get progressives and liberals re-engaged in the grass-roots again. I am hoping the President’s performance since the State of the Union, particularly his Q&A with GOP representatives at their Baltimore retreat last month, and yesterday’s HCR summit will re-energize the left’s flagging morale.

A few days ago, I wrote a length diary about steps we can all take (and many of us already took in 2006 and 2008) about how to seize back control of the narrative and help President Obama and congressional democrats forward their agenda. Because the main gist of that diary dovetails nicely with the Coffee Party’s aims, and I uploaded the diary at 2:00am EST so I am not sure how many people read it, I am going to repost it below (I’ve chopped it a bit).

Steps to Re-engaging and Winning Back the Narrative

Like many of you reading this, I proudly voted for President Obama in 2008. Like many of you I spent a lot of time and energy helping to get him elected (many of us pitched in with canvassing, making phone calls, talking to or sending emails to family, friends, classmates, co-workers, etc, participating in blogs, or basically engaging many people that you came across in your daily lives in making them aware of the issues from the last election and Obama's positions on them). Like many of you I have watched his first year in office with a mixture of hope and frustration. And, like many of you, the combination of this frustration and the inevitable letdown after campaigning for so long in 2008 (and 2007 and 2006) left me somewhat disengaged over the past 12 months. I get the sense that too many of us have done this, and accordingly we have ceded too much of the narrative and too much of the messaging to Republicans and tea-partiers.

However, I've come to realize that Obama was almost certainly right about one thing. We ARE the ones we've been waiting for and if his agenda is going to be rescued and moved forward, its going to take people like us to change the narrative. He needs our help and I hope after reading this, you agree. Unlike the conventional wisdom, I think Obama has actually had a good month or so (since the State of the Union) and I believe he has learned many lessons from his first year in office and is beginning to seize back the momentum. But, he needs us to really push for him. I realize many of you don't agree with some (or even much) of what Obama has done so far. However, there has been a jarring dearth of practical ideas coming from the other side. We have real problems that require real solutions, and until and unless the other side comes up with better alternatives, I hope you agree that fighting the misinformation campaign of obstructionism by Republicans is a worthy goal.

I am writing this as a "call to arms," or a "rallying cry" for those who support Obama's agenda or are at least open to supporting parts of his agenda. We are the only side proposing any realistic solutions to our problems, but we are losing the messaging war. It is up to us, not the Obama administration alone, to change this. I propose the following:

Be Informed on the Issues Focus on Family/Friends/Colleagues Who are "Reachable" on the Issues Be Engaged at the Water Cooler (both actual and digital) and change the Narrative "In the Trenches" Don't Let Up - Let's Close The Intensity Gap Between Now and November Be Positive (and Optimistic) - This can be Done

Be Informed on the Issues

Some points to consider at the outset. While we are confident that we are right on most of the positions, let's face it, these issues largely involve politics, sociology, economics, and public policy. As such, few, if any, immutable laws exist in this arena. It's not like certain aspects of physics or chemistry where opinions are irrelevant. With the political arena, support can be found for pretty much any position if you look hard enough. However, I am actually being quite charitable to the other side on most issues. The reality is on most issues, we have the consensus and data on our side. Each of us should be prepared to use it, or at least be able to know how to quickly access it. We should match their rhetoric with reality, their emotional rants with calm logic, and their misinformation with facts. Many of you reading this are already extremely well informed and have no need of my pep talk. However, many reading this may not be aware of helpful resources outside of the typical mainstream media.

Websites like Daily Kos (www.dailykos.com), 538 (www.fivethirtyeight.com), HuffingtonPost www.huffpost.com), Media Matters (www.mediamatters.org), Talking Points Memo (www.tpmcafe.com) and Slate.com can be extremely valuable repositories of information. Yes, you have to be a bit savvy and selective when viewing these sites - some are full of a lot of unsubstantiated opinions and rhetoric. But, they are also stuffed with thoughtful posts informed by reliable data - often on issues either not covered by the mainstream media or not covered in sufficient depth.

We have had some pretty powerful talking points develop very recently that should allow you to engage everyone but the most intransigent tea-partier. Some suggestions:

--The Stimulus is Actually Working As Designed!

Despite the mainstream media's dour coverage, recent studies and data show the stimulus package is actually working as designed and has saved as many as 2 million jobs.

http://www.nytimes.com/...

And the non-partisan CBO just issued this glowing report:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/...

And, some pretty dramatic graphs which tell the same story:

http://www.nytimes.com/...

For another dramatic chart (showing stimulus effects on unemployment):

http://my.barackobama.com/...

--Obama has actually CUT taxes for most Americans, Not Raised Them

Yet another false talking point espoused by the right, and another opportunity for us to set the record straight. Despite the stimulus package cutting taxes for 95% of Americans, in a recent poll only 12% of Americans thought Obama cut their tax, and twice as many - 24% thought he raised them.

http://www.cbsnews.com/...

This misperception feeds the narrative that Obama is a "socialist" and provides fuel to the Tea-partiers. Let's get out front of this issue and make sure people in our network know the facts.

--Obama Actually Knows What he is Doing with National Security and Foreign Policy

The Obama Administration is making real inroads against the Taliban, catching several top leaders and capturing Taliban headquarters, all within the last week or so.

http://news.yahoo.com/...

Powell and Petreaus say America is not less safe under Obama.

http://www.dailykos.com/...

Petreaus rebukes Cheney on Torture.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...

--Developing Clean Energy Technology is Crucial to our Economic Prosperity and National Security

Without having to debate whether climate change is real, a tactic to use with skeptics is to acknowledge that either their view is wrong or ours is. But, what are the consequences of each side being wrong? If we're wrong, and there is no human-caused climate change, then our quest for renewable clean energy will simply result in the US being clean technology leaders thus laying a strong foundation for our continued economic prosperity, it will wean us off Middle East oil and thus increase our security, and make our planet cleaner. If they're wrong, in addition to possibly compromising the habitability of the planet for millions of humans, we would have ceded the clean energy industry to other countries threatening our long-term economic prospects, and we would could continue to tether ourselves to oil and the middle east. To tether our economic outlook and national security to a rapidly depleting resource is nuts. Ask them to explain why opposing massively investing in renewable energy, regardless of the climate change debate, makes any sense.

http://www.nytimes.com/...

--The Rabid Anti-Government and Anti-Tax Rhetoric of the Fringe Right Has Spawned Violence, As Predicted.

While we all have had frustrating experiences with the government, and no one enjoys paying taxes, a lot of rhetoric these days scapegoats the federal government for all of our problems. I'm not going to defend the government on every issue, but it is irresponsible to suggest that the government is evil and corrupt and cannot be part of the solution to any of our problems, as some commentators on the right have built their careers out of doing. The recent plane crash at the IRS building in Texas was the type of rightwing anti-government violence a Department of Homeland Security report (commissioned by the Bush Admin, but completed early in Obama's term) warned us about.

http://www.fas.org/...

Focus on Family/Friends/Colleagues Who are "Reachable" on the Issues

I don't expect people who are unreachable on these issues to be reading this. I have spent many hours talking/emailing conservative or tea-bagging friends and colleagues, but to little avail. At some point, we have to realize that a certain percentage of the population is just not going to agree with anything the President supports. This is a call to make on your own, but from my perspective my time (as is everyone's) is limited and I will no longer waste time engaging these individuals (at least with respect to these issues) while I could be spending that time conversing with people who actually want to be part of the solution rather than merely root for Obama to fail.

Be Engaged at the Water Cooler (both actual and digital) and change the Narrative "In the Trenches"

These days, we have 2 "water coolers." One is what I refer to as the "actual water cooler" - a real water cooler or gathering place at work where you can engage with your colleagues about this, or for that matter, any time you have face to face or phone communication with other people about these issues. The "digital water cooler" is engaging others through email, texting, twitter, social networks like facebook, or going to blogs. Not to mention the hybrid of these 2 - talk radio, cable news and newspaper editorial pages. We need to make sure we call into these programs and blanket the editorial staffs with letters to the editors.

We need to match the intensity of the other side in both water coolers. When a colleague starts spouting off Rushisms or Beckisms, or the latest falsehoold about health care reform, like death panels, we should be ready and willing to knock such nonsense down. Not merely to rebut the person talking, but for anyone who may be listening to the conversation. Through this, we send a clear signal that we will not be cowed with attempts to intimidate us with misinformation and we can re-energize those who are looking for this type of engagement to kick-start their support.

I offer the talking points noted above as suggestions or starting points, but feel free to use your own and share with others those that you have found useful. This is what I mean about changing the narrative in the trenches. Too often in the last 12 months, we have been caught with our britches down (so to speak) when these opportunities have arisen and we have largely allowed others to set the narrative for us. We can do this - we did in 2008 and we can do it again.

--Put the burden on them to make their case

Another technique that I find very effective is when you hear someone start spouting off ridiculous and unsupported assertions, ask that they be explained. The fact is most of these assertions by the right are only "sound-bite deep." For example, next time someone at work states that Health Care Reform is a "big government takeover" don't instantly jump into your defense of HCR. Rather, ask the person to explain to you exactly how the proposed HCR is government takeover. They usually can't explain it very well, and their "support" is usually very easy to pick apart. Put the burden on them to make the case rather than launching into your case reflexively.

Don't Let Up - Let's Close The Intensity Gap Between Now and November

The numbers are still on our side, however, Republicans and Republican leaning independents are much more involved at this point in the election cycle than Democrats, and thus are more likely to vote in November. To close this enthusiasm gap and get more Dems and center/center-left voters the polls in November, we have to be as dedicated as those on the right. Confront misinformation and distortion head on and encourage and re-energize those that are supporting politicians actually trying to solve our problems.

Be Positive (and Optimistic) - This can be Done

This may be the most important item. Just remember, Obama actually has done quite a lot of good things since being in office.

http://mediamatters.org/...

http://www.slate.com/...

And, he is beginning to seize the initiative again. While there have been some rough moments, just remember - it was his first year on the job. Just like any of us, he is improving with more time on the job. Things are beginning to turn around. We have a choice, we can either stand by and watch him struggle, or we can do our part, and pick up a mop and help him clean up the mess he inherited. So, I say let's pick up the mop (or "cowboy up," or "man up," or "raise the level," or "bring it," or whatever motivational phrase you use to get you going) and let's get it done!