I marched with the ladies of Steamboat last year; an impromptu protest, it seemed to me, decrying the placement of a womanizer at the seat of government. Eight blocks later, some hastily prepared words were spoken by organizers, songs were sung and we went home. Now what?

I have learned that, at this point in the modern election cycle, some 650 women are usually preparing to run for office. This year the number exceeds 22,000. That’s now what. Women are saying, “Time’s up. We’ve been patient. This is more than we can tolerate. We’re coming for you.”

If the President paid any attention to us today, I expect it resulted in the application of his own self-serving spin. I don’t expect him to abdicate, and if by some miracle he does vacate, I expect the Vice President to carry out the same agenda more successfully by virtue of his knowledge of process and favor with those in Congress.

I suspect that I’m like most in asserting that time is too precious to waste. So if I’m going to spend a couple of hours braving freezing temperatures, icy sidewalks and falling snow on a powder day, I want my effort to mean something. I want my presence – amidst the hundreds of other marchers – to be a message to any who would listen: Things are not OK with me. Integrity, ethics, policies, all of it. We’re coming for you.

I marched today because I want to scare the heebie-jeebies out of Republicans. Your once-honorable party was co-opted by the Tea Party and now by the extreme right. You control the three branches of government. Yet you can’t get things done because you don’t know who you are or what you stand for. You are chaos. We’re coming for you.

I marched to inject energy into Democrats who have lazed themselves into powerlessness. By all measures, we represent the majority. You haven’t. We’re coming for you.

I marched to empower Progressives. If the president has done us any favors, it is to cause renewed focus on issues we believe are fundamentally important to the nation. That – coupled with campaign money and a resulting rise to public office – will ultimately take us from being a country driven by fear to one of a people working toward solutions to complex problems. Differences plus collaboration plus unity of purpose equals good things for Americans and for those who hope to become Americans. We’re coming for you.

After military service, decades of paying taxes and participation in the political process, I want my words to be heard. That’s why I marched with the women of Steamboat today.

Fred Marx

Steamboat Springs