A Missed Opportunity -or- Who will lead the charge?

This weekend we saw the largest demonstrations in Los Angeles history. Probably between 500,000 and 1,000,000 people to the streets of downtown Los Angeles in protest over a bill in Washington which would make felons out of the 11 million undocumented immigrants in this country, as well as the millions of people who work with these immigants to ameliorate the conditions imposed by poverty.

The first shot in this campaign might have been fired by Cardinal Roger Mahony of the Los Angeles Archdiocese, the largest diocese of Roman Catholics in the country (more than 3 million) and likely the home to large undocumented Catholic population as well. Cardinal Mahony opposes the legislation because it restricts people from providing services to undocumented immigrants. He assert that a strict reading of the legislation could make him a felon, simply because he provides the sacraments to thousands of undocumented immigrants every week. Not to mention the millions of dollars the church spends locally on services for the poor, the sick, and the homeless. And then there's the Catholic schools.

What is interesting is that we could be at the start of a critical movement. If 1,000,000 Angelenos can rise up against this legislation, what can happen if we organize and mobilize this force. They'd be unstoppable.

The movement is missing a leader. Saturday's protest was disorganized in the traditional sense. For example, the original permit filed with the city estimated that there would be 7,000 protestors -- only to be amended and increased to 30,000 a few days before the event. When 500,000 + showed up, no one was expecting it.

I was chatting with Damian about this. Who could lead this movement? The next Martin Luther King? The next Che and Fidel? (Okay, a bad example.) The next Lech Walasea? (Damian came up with that one.) Movements fail without leaders. Look at the Civil Rights Movement post MLK. Who do we turn to today? Jesse Jackson? Al Sharpton?

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa would be a natural choice, but his own personal political ambitions would surely get in the way. He'd rather be Governor of California, running a failed system of ineffective legislators and unbalancable budget then a permanent movement that would reshape and relaign the country and progressive politics.

In this battle, at this time, another obvious choice would be Cardinal Mahony. Unfortunately -- on so many levels -- the credibility of the Catholic Church is spread unbearably thin because of the sex abuse scandal. Perhaps one of the greatest victims of the tainted image of the Princes of the Church in 2006 is that they have been rendered useless because of their own failings. At a time when Cardinal Mahony could speak up and represent millions of immigrants and call for moral and just reforms, he is gagged by his own missteps and the heinous nature of the Church's crimes.

And so the search continues. Hopefully someone will come forward besides International ANSWER and their band of communists.