In Lisa Farr’s “Counterpoint” column in the April 2nd issue of the Port Townsend Leader, as part of her criticism of Indivisible Port Townsend’s “Hands Off” rally on April 5th opposing the Elon Musk and Donald Trump’s DOGE initiative to reduce the size and scope of the federal government, Ms. Farr claims the protest is not “a local grassroots effort” saying that the rally “may claim to speak for us, but its funding suggests otherwise.”

To make her case, she points out that Indivisible Port Townsend is the local chapter of the national Indivisible political organization — which has given stipends to local chapters in the past — and that George Soros’s Open Society Foundation gave $7.6 million to Indivisible between 2017 and 2023.

I’m not a member of Indivisible Port Townsend — I first learned of it and the national organization in her column — but I know a specious argument when I see one.

“Grassroots” is a powerful label. Grassroots political organizations are characterized by their local, decentralized nature, traits which are often seen as giving them authenticity and credibility.

Of course, no modern political movement is completely grassroots, just as no organization is totally decentralized, it all lies on a spectrum. Barry Goldwater’s successful campaign in the 1964 Republican primary was considered grassroots for the strong support he attracted from rank-and-file Republicans and party activists, but of course he still had a formidable national organization.

Yet, Ms. Farr seems to think that because Indivisible Port Townsend is is a chapter of a national organization, and there’s a small chance that a tiny amount of money from George Soros ended up in Indivisible Port Townsend’s coffers, its protest against the Trump administration in a city where voters preferred Harris to Trump 4,675 to 553 is a dubious representation of community opinion.

Curiously, in the same column she characterizes the Jefferson County Republicans attempts to “rally voters” and “support conservatives” as “grassroots,” despite that it is also a local chapter of a national organization that receives billionaire funding. 

Trent Diamanti 

Port Townsend