Veal in the pen. (photo: chmop via Flickr)

GetEqual waited outside the Common Purpose meeting last night and asked representatives from liberal groups not to cross the picket line and enter.

It was a genius action that took it right to the heart of the beast. Common Purpose is the weekly meeting where liberal validators meet to get their marching orders from the White House, the place they sell out their causes in exchange for access and money.

Of course, nobody complied. But they recorded video of the event, and those who crossed the picket line included:

  • Jim Messina, Deputy Chief of Staff to President Obama
  • Rea Carey, Executive Director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
  • David Smith, Vice President of Policy and Strategy for the Human Rights Campaign
  • Winnie Stachelberg, Senior Vice President for External Affairs at the Center for American Progress

Timothy Beauchamp, who was dismissed from the Navy before DADT, wrote a poem over at AmericaBlog inspired by the event entitled The Veal Pen.

We usually write about the veal pen from a tactical perspective, but Timothy’s poem conveys the deep feelings of betrayal and exclusion that come from watching your community leaders walking past you and leaving you in the cold.

The Veal Pen

The advocate is fierce
Some say that he has game
But for everything that changes
The more it stays the same
The most progressive goals
Fall to triangulation
Before the fight begins
It’s all capitulation
Nothing can be done
To fight the greed and lust
So forget about the promises
And join the upper crust
It might be dark and cramped in here
But we’re allowed to schmooze
The powerful and cool kids
Always get the booze.
We have to compromise
And scrape and bow again
That’s the price you pay
For entrance to the veal pen
The sour milk is fed to us
To make us fat and rosy
One day we’ll face the cold
But tonight we’re warm and cozy
When justice bends towards freedom
It’s the angle of attack
A warning that what comes around
Has ways of coming back
It might be dark and cramped in here
But we’re allowed to schmooze
The powerful and cool kids
Always get the booze.
We have to compromise
And scrape and bow again
That’s the price you pay
For entrance to the veal pen
The herd stands just outside
They know that we are here
They moo for us to join them
It’s jealousy we fear
We’re content to grovel
We are surely hallowed
The farmer he’s a good man
and would never man the gallows
It might be dark and cramped in here
But we’re allowed to schmooze
The powerful and cool kids
Always get the booze.
We have to compromise
And scrape and bow again
That’s the price you pay
For entrance to the veal pen.

-Timothy Beauchamp