right...no such thing as the American people not WANTING Soetoro's socialization of America.
On Aug 4, 8:53 pm, VT Sean Lewis <[email protected]> wrote: > Just in case anyone missed this. > > The Fringe GOP movement is taught how to be the problem > rather than the solution by the We Want President Obama > and America to fail Republicans... > > Right-Wing Harassment Strategy Against Dems Detailed In Memo: ‘Yell,’ > ‘Stand Up And Shout Out,’ ‘Rattle Him’ > > This morning, Politico reported that Democratic members of Congress > are increasingly being harassed by “angry, sign-carrying mobs and > disruptive behavior” at local town halls. For example, in one > incident, right-wing protesters surrounded Rep. Tim Bishop (D-NY) and > forced police officers to have to escort him to his car for safety. > > This growing phenomenon is often marked by violence and absurdity. > Recently, right-wing demonstrators hung Rep. Frank Kratovil (D-MD) in > effigy outside of his office. Missing from the reporting of these > stories is the fact that much of these protests are coordinated by > public relations firms and lobbyists who have a stake in opposing > President Obama’s reforms. > > The lobbyist-run groups Americans for Prosperity and FreedomWorks, > which orchestrated the anti-Obama tea parties earlier this year, are > now pursuing an aggressive strategy to create an image of mass public > opposition to health care and clean energy reform. A leaked memo from > Bob MacGuffie, a volunteer with the FreedomWorks website Tea Party > Patriots, details how members should be infiltrating town halls and > harassing Democratic members of Congress: > > – Artificially Inflate Your Numbers: “Spread out in the hall and try > to be in the front half. The objective is to put the Rep on the > defensive with your questions and follow-up. The Rep should be made to > feel that a majority, and if not, a significant portion of at least > the audience, opposes the socialist agenda of Washington.” > > – Be Disruptive Early And Often: “You need to rock-the-boat early in > the Rep’s presentation, Watch for an opportunity to yell out and > challenge the Rep’s statements early.” > > – Try To “Rattle Him,” Not Have An Intelligent Debate: “The goal is to > rattle him, get him off his prepared script and agenda. If he says > something outrageous, stand up and shout out and sit right back down. > Look for these opportunities before he even takes questions.” > > The memo above also resembles the talking points being distributed by > FreedomWorks for pushing an anti-health reform assault all summer. > Patients United, a front group maintained by Americans for Prosperity, > is currently busing people all over the country for more protests > against Democratic members. Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX), chairman of the > NRCC, has endorsed the strategy, telling the Politico the days of > civil town halls are now “over.” > > Meanwhile, AHIP, the trade group and lobbying juggernaut representing > the health insurance industry is sending staffers to monitor town > halls and other right-wing front groups are stepping up their ad > campaign to smear reform efforts. The strategy for defeating reform — > recently outlined by an influential lobbyist to the Hill newspaper as > “delay” then “kill” — is becoming apparent. By delaying a vote until > after the August recess, lobbyists are now seizing upon recess town > halls as opportunities to ambush lawmakers and fool them into > believing there is wide opposition to reform. > > UPDATE Amy Menefee, communications director of Americans for > Prosperity and its anti-health reform group Patients United, wrote to > ThinkProgress regarding this post: > > "Several blogs have picked up your > post:http://thinkprogress.org/2009/07/31/recess-harassment-memo/ > which mentions Americans for Prosperity's efforts next to your mention > of Bob MacGuffie's memo about town hall meetings. Mr. MacGuffie's memo > was his own work. I would appreciate your help in correcting the > erroneous rumor people have passed around that this memo came from > AFP. We have encouraged our members to attend town halls, ask > questions and register their opinions about issues including health > care -- as all citizens should do. We always promote civil dialogue > and do not condone disruptive behavior." > > As noted in the post, MacGuffie is a volunteer who actively posts and > volunteers with the website Tea Party Patriots. A review of the > sponsoring organizations reveals that both FreedomWorks and Americans > for Prosperity are sponsors of the website as "Freedom Coalition" > partners. A few months before joining Americans for Prosperity, > Menefee herself worked for the medical device/pharmaceutical industry- > funded "think-tank" called the Galen Institute. > > http://thinkprogress.org/2009/07/31/recess-harassment-memo/ --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. 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