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Indivisible rally packs the house in Grants Pass Monday Feb 20, 2017 at 4:34 PM Feb 20, 2017 at 4:34 PM By Chris Bristol Grants Pass Daily Courier Organizers of a group calling itself Rogue Indivisible were pleasantly surprised Sunday when the group's first rally drew more than 300 people united in their opposition to President Donald Trump. The turnout at the Boys & Girls Club in Grants Pass was larger than expected, especially for Democrats and independents used to being relegated to bystander status in local politics. "It's kind of a coming-out party for progressives in Josephine County," organizer David Smith said afterward. "It was our debutante ball." Taking a cue from the playbook of the tea party movement, Indivisible chapters dedicated to opposing Trump have been springing up around the country and in Oregon, including Bend and Medford. Anti-Trump protesters in Jackson County planned to stage protests Tuesday on bridges over Interstate 5 from Central Point to Ashland. Grants Pass may have been the largest city in the state not to have a women's march after the Trump inauguration, and organizers said they were determined to correct that omission. Coinciding with nearly four weeks of controversy at the national level over Trump's first month in office, the turnout at the Boys & Girls Club at times rivaled a church revival. "We are a work in progress!" organizer Suzanne Lavine shouted during a rally in the gym. Signaling their intent to stage future demonstrations, supporters carried signs with slogans like "Where do I start?" and "I thought voting was enough (I was wrong)" around the room. Burt Eikleberry, a retired Grants Pass High School teacher, laughed as he recounted a conversation he had with his wife before heading to the meeting. He heard about the meeting from friends in Santa Barbara, California. "I told her that I thought I should go because I doubted there would be many people here," he said. "Then I got here and there was a line outside." The energy, he said, was palpable. "I felt so isolated being surrounded by Trump supporters where I live," he explained. "I came here today and holy cow!" Organizers estimated the turnout at between 300 and 350 people. "I'm very happy to find out I'm not alone in Josephine County," said another retired teacher, Nancy Swearingen, who lives in the New Hope area south of Grants Pass. Smith said local organizers of Rogue Indivisible plan to target U.S. Rep. Greg Walden, whose sprawling 2nd Congressional District includes the Grants Pass area of Josephine County. Smith accused Walden of lying low since the Trump inauguration to avoid some of the protests against Republicans that have emerged during congressional town halls in Utah and other places. He also accused Walden of trying to cherry pick parts of the Affordable Care Act while threatening to undermine its fragile existence. Walden, chairman of the House committee responsible for health care legislation, recently introduced legislation that would require insurers to maintain medical coverage for Americans with pre-existing conditions in the event that the Affordable Care Act is repealed. "The act is already dead, and Republicans have no plan to replace it," said Smith, who described himself as a former management consultant who specialized in health care issues. On the immediate horizon, Rogue Indivisible plans to participate in a lunch-hour Trump protest rally Tuesday at the Jackson County Courthouse in Medford. The earliest Josephine County rally for now is an anticipated demonstration on Tax Day, April 15, demanding Trump release his tax returns. "A lot of people in Josephine County are not on board with what's happening on the national level," Smith said. "It's time we started making ourselves visible." For more information, see Rogueindivisible.org.