Marianne Williamson Needs Your Vote "To Keep The Conversation Alive"

Scenes from last night's gathering in support of a Democratic woman with a plan

Mar 04, 2024

Long Time Friends Frances Fisher & Marianne Williamson

Last Thursday, I drove up to L.A. to attend a dinner for Marianne Williamson after she officially unsuspended her campaign. When I drove past and saw the designated event space empty with all the lights out, I realized I had the wrong day. Frustrated, I drove to the Leica store, where I sat lusting over camera bodies encased like art behind glass display sheets. I held a used one up to one eye. The bald man standing next to me leaning on the counter, said, out of nowhere, "You deserve that." When a stranger utters this type of thing without any prompt, you tend to believe them. I bought the camera. And a lens. And a case. Then I wandered across the street to peek inside the Italian restaurant with the amber light bleeding through a canvas curtain, exposing some sliver of comfort too inviting to ignore. Plus, I craved wine and pasta.

Inside, I found a circular situation with red and white striped booths, cream table cloths layered by butcher paper, flickering candles, and the owner in an apron arranging a mess of freshly cut flowers on a table in the middle of the room. She greeted me with a traditional New England accent and told me I could work on my laptop (discreetly) because the place was still empty.

Eventually, a party of four settled into the booth beside me. Once we got to talking, they asked what I was doing in town. I told them I was there to see Marianne speak. "I actually voted for her," one of the men said. “I like what she’s doing.”

"You're covering the campaign. ALL of the campaigns?" the owner asked, walking over intrigued.

"What do you think about Bobby Kennedy?" she asked, scooting closer with new whisper.

"What do YOU think about him?"

"I love him." She replied, abruptly abandoning lower volume caution.

"Me too."

With that, she flashed a big smile and returned to her flowers, falling into a rant about how Bobby’s “a good Catholic man with a good moral compass” and she would know because she is from Cape Cod and Catholic, too.

The party of four listening was not impressed. After she finished, they praised me for taking time to meet Marianne.

When I got up to request the bill, I was shooed away. "If you're covering Bobby, you don't pay for meatballs," she said. I hadn't ordered the meatballs. She choose the meatballs. Everything on my table she selected for me.

I pleaded again, but she refused.

"What about the wine?"

"NOPE!"

Note: At the cute Italian place behind the Leica store in LA, support for RFK will get you free meatballs, red wine, and WIFI.

Hand drawn menu at Sal’s

Sunday I Made it to Marianne.

First impression: Mrs. Williamson looks fabulous for 71. And for politically misplaced Democrats (there are lots post-COVID), she's an alluring beacon of liberal hope. Her bio includes: American author, speaker, and politician with a fairly diverse background. Williamson initially served as the Church of Today spiritual leader in Warren, Michigan. She gained recognition as the author of several influential self-help books, including the New York Times Best Seller "A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles" in 1992. Her prominence soared thanks to several appearances on Oprah Winfrey's talk show, where she was often referred to as Winfrey's "spiritual advisor." In politics, she ran unsuccessfully as an independent candidate for California's 33rd congressional district in 2014 and later sought the Democratic nomination for president in 2020 (eventually endorsing Bernie Sanders.) Now, in the chaotic toss of the 2024 Democratic Party presidential primaries, she is challenging Joe Biden, advocating for more progressive policies such as ending the war on drugs, increasing the federal minimum wage, implementing reparations for racial injustice, addressing climate change, and establishing a U.S. Department of Peace.

I can see why left leaning women are drawn to her. She is maternally centered. She makes women feel seen and empowered and has been deeply involved in charitable work, founding organizations such as the Center for Living in 1987, Project Angel Food in 1989, and the Peace Alliance in 1998. To this day, she remains dedicated to philanthropic efforts, serving on the board of RESULTS, a nonprofit focused on combating poverty with long-term solutions. Despite recent setbacks, (temporarily suspending her campaign following the Nevada Democratic primary), Williamson's perseverance and commitment to her ideals define a new liberal path forward. They know they can’t cling to Biden. While she admits her chances in this election are extremely slim, that’s not the point. She is hoping to gain enough attention to inspire a revolution at the ballot box.

Over the evening, I learned that she lives in D.C.— what she describes as a walled-in city. "Once you get inside those walls, it's very toxic. Something happens to people when they get there." She champions a '"new birth of democracy," and is fed up with all the trauma talk (me too!) "We've really got to toughen up," she urged the grip of LA ladies (and a couple guys) gathered around her. "Pray in the morning and kick ass in the afternoon."

As far as I can tell, her stump speech mirrors her self-help mantras plucked from best selling books. She reminded us "we have allowed ourselves to be played by politics like we never would in our personal lives,” and spoke in depth about subsidized childcare, raising kids across town (another notion I support), guaranteed sick pay, and replacing tired war games with "sophisticated” peace games. "We are moving in the wrong direction here, and we all know it. Nothing would make this change like the American woman standing up and saying enough with this shit."

A few times, she politely trashed Biden by urging fellow Democrats to break out of the cycle of settling for "better than the fascist." Trump is the fascist, obviously. All those gathered last night desperately want to stop him.

Compliements from Trump Heirs

“For all of you die-hard Democrats: what's so interesting and refreshing about Marianne is that she is not trying to beat Biden. She is trying to change the conversation, bring truth to the political underbelly, and empower women who have a higher consciousness around all the corrupt systems; she's simply asking to vote her in the primary to get her percentages up where people will start to start to take this conversation seriously and see that this the country is not for the people or by the people, so it is important to vote for her now in the primary to get her viability increased and get her in more rooms and conversations, but then later, when it comes down to two candidates, of course, will vote for Biden (or RFK) because we want to keep Trump out of office. It's actually a really smart strategy, and every woman (and human) should pay attention to what she is saying because we know it in our cells; she's speaking the truth about the walled-in city of Washington, DC.” — Paige Appel

Sound bath station

Regarding media games, Williamson shares much in common with RFK Jr. Both have been unfairly degraded and dismissed by mainstream. She was blacklisted on CNN. They gave Vivek a town hall but refused her. "Whatever you do, don't let that woman have a vital moment," she imagined them plotting.

Later, she dragged Joy Beyhar for comparing her to Majorie Taylor Green. "They have Majorie. We have Marianne," Joy reportedly said. The comparison infuriated her.

When asked about her thoughts on RFK and Cornel West, she said they all get along but reiterated that people needed to vote for her on the ballot now even if they want Bobby or Cornel later.

The point is keeping conversation ripe.

On DNC injustices

“Keep the conversation alive”

Genuinely, she believes Trump channels cult leader energy and anyone who hopes to topple his popularity must match that energy. What matters is “piercing the illusion.” In this feat, she views herself as the only woman who can ultimately defeat his MAGA reign.

“Unfortunately brilliant” — MW on Trump’s Cult Leader Appeal

New voter from the UK wants a woman (her) in the White House

Conclusion: Overall, I enjoyed getting to know more about Marianne and her visions and liked that after all that MAGA glam and upkeep in recent weeks, I could sit comfortably in a room with air dried hair. And while I’m not convinced disgruntled liberals are set to topple Trump, she offers a refreshing mix of practical and passionate sensibility. However, I wholeheartedly disagreed when she said we can't stage a political revolution over white wine and brie.

In my head I shouted, "Objection!" We can conquer anything over wine and cheese.