Coffee Party meetups this weekend

This weekend, the recently formed "Coffee Party USA" is holding nationwide meetups around the country to bring Americans who believe in a functioning democratic government (what a concept!) together, face to face.

(For readers unfamiliar with the Coffee Party, it's basically a tongue-in-cheek response to the "tea party" protests that the conservative establishment has been cheerleading and quietly helping to orchestrate for more than a year.)

Hopefully, at these meetings, participants will take some time to actually map out what values and principles they believe in. (And maybe even policy directions... although just identifying core values would be a good start.)

Remarkably, the Coffee Party's Facebook page has already attained one hundred thousand fans, including yours truly, despite the group's inability to define what it stands for, beyond the vague idea that its members want government to work.

I'm not kidding... this is as specific as it gets on the About page:

We want a society in which democracy is treated as sacrosanct and ordinary citizens participate out of a sense of civic duty, civic pride, and a desire to contribute to society. The Coffee Party is a call to action. Our Founding Fathers and Mothers gave us an enduring gift — Democracy — and we must use it to meet the challenges that we face as a nation.

A call to action to achieve what? A legislative response to the "Corporations United" ruling? The passage of President Obama's healthcare reform package? A more democratic Democratic Party?

Any of those objectives could be goals of the Coffee Party, but as of now, they're not. All the Coffee Party seems to be at present is a large mass of people wanting to push back against the tactics of the "tea party" protests.

It's a nice show of strength against negativism and cynicism, but if it's going to be anything more than that, it'll need an identity.

If you'd like to help the Coffee Party figure out what values it should stand for, you might consider going to one of the meetups that are being organized this Saturday. There are already several scheduled with at least a dozen attendees around Puget Sound. To find an event, just enter your zip code into the form on this page to find gatherings within a fifty mile radius of where you are.

Here's a sampling of some of the meetups:

Seattle Coffee Party Meetup
This Saturday from 1 PM till 3 PM
Cafe Allegro
4214 University Way Northeast
Seattle, WA 98105

Redmond Coffee Party Meetup
This Saturday from 2 PM till 4 PM
SoulFood Books
15748 Redmond Way
Redmond, WA 98052

Burien Coffee Party Meetup
This Saturday from noon till 2 PM
Elliott Bay Brewhouse & Pub
255 SW 152nd St.
Burien, WA 98166

Lake Forest Park Coffee Party Meetup
This Saturday from noon till 2 PM
Third Place Books (Commons Area)
17171 Bothell Way NE
Lake Forest Park, WA 98155