Beyond being pretty bottom-of-the-barrel as a critique, someone in the GOP has to realize that attacking community organizers is just plain stupid, right? Yes, it’s true that community organizers achieve a lot that’s counter to the GOP platform. They get child care, health care, and retirement benefits for workers. They protect the rights of tenants against slumlords. They block efforts to drill or mine or pave natural areas. They keep books from being banned and librarians from being fired. They escort women into and out of clinics and educate young people about contraception. They exchange needles and advocate for more HIV/AIDS research and education. They work to ensure the health and safety of the people who harvest our crops and slaughter our farm animals. I can see how the GOP would be happy if these folks all dropped off the face of the planet.

It does, however, seem more than a bit callous for Republicans to insult the life work of so many other organizers in communities that support them. I mean, all that stuff that goes on in church basements? Community organizing. Feeding people who are hungry, sheltering people who are homeless, getting flu shots for those who need them, and teaching folks of all ages to read? That’s all community organizing. Now, it may be that the GOP is getting hung up on linguistics, seeing the provision of all of these things as community service. But the people who make it all happen — who call the volunteers, book the halls, buy the food and the clothes and the shampoo and the books, and most importantly of all identify the needs? Those folks are the community organizers, and it’s not at all clear what the Republicans have against them.

It’s especially unclear with regard to the base that McCain and Palin are looking to mobilize, because those folks are some of the best organizers around. Demonstrating outside funerals? Community organizing. Screaming at people on the sidewalks outside of clinics while waving plastic fetuses? Community organizing. Blocking initiatives to provide equal rights to same-sex partners? Community organizing. Getting religion into public school textbooks and curricula? Community organizing. Most importantly of all for John McCain, registering voters and driving people to the polls on election day? Community organizing.

But, you heard them: community organizing is a joke. So, I have this to say to loyal and hard-working Republicans in towns across the country: come November, why don’t you stay home, put your feet up, and let the mayor do the driving.