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Conservatives for Patients' Rights logo. [Source: Conservatives for Patients? Rights]An organization called Conservatives for Patients' Rights (CPR) publicly takes credit for orchestrating the disruptive and sometimes-violent protests against the White House's health care reform proposals (see June 30, 2009, July 6, 2009, July 25, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 31, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 2, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 4, 2009, and August 4, 2009). Washington Post reporter Greg Sargent says the admission "rais[es] questions about [the protests'] spontaneity." CPR is headed by Rick Scott, a former health industry CEO who once ran Columbia/HCA before being ousted for malfeasance in 1997. (Columbia/HCA subsequently paid the US government $1.7 billion dollars in fines due to fraud that occured during Scott's tenure.) Scott, who was once a part owner of the Texas Rangers with George W. Bush, now owns an investment firm that primarily traffics in health care, and owns a chain of Florida urgent care clinics called Solantic. [Washington Post, 5/10/2009; Plum Line, 8/4/2009] (Solantic also boasts former Bush administration official Thomas Scully as a member of its board. In 2004, Scully deliberately withheld information from Congress that the Bush administration's Medicare reforms would cost $200 billion more than acknowledged.) [MSNBC, 8/7/2009] Contracting with 'Swift Boat' PR Firm - Scott is spending millions on CPR's public relations effort, and has contracted with CRC Public Relations, the group that masterminded the "swift boat" attacks against 2004 Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry. He is also coordinating his efforts with Grover Norquist, the conservative advocate and influential Washington insider. CPR spokesman Brian Burgess confirms that CPR is e-mailing "town hall alert" flyers and schedules of town hall meetings to its mailing list. CPR is also actively recruiting members for the "tea party," a loosely organized group of conservative protesters (see April 8, 2009). Scott says, "We have invested a lot of time, energy, and resources into educating Americans over the past several months about the dangers of government-run health care and I think we're seeing some of the fruits of that campaign." Doug Thornell, a House Democratic staff member, says: "The more you dig the more you learn that this is a carefully orchestrated effort by special interest lobbyists and the Republican Party, who are using fringe elements on the right to protect insurance company profits and defeat health care reform. The anger at these events looks very similar to what we saw at McCain/Palin rallies in the fall." [Washington Post, 5/10/2009; Plum Line, 8/4/2009] Group Interested in Protecting Industry Profits, Critics Say - Richard Kirsch of Health Care for America Now, a pro-reform group, says of Scott: "Those attacking reform are really looking to protect their own profits, and he's a perfect messenger for that. His history of making a fortune by destroying quality in the health care system and ripping off the government is a great example of what's really going on." CPR plans on spending over $1 million a month in anti-reform television and radio ads. [Washington Post, 5/10/2009] White House press secretary Robert Gibbs, learning of CPR's admission, says the organization is led by a "CEO that used to run a health care company that was fined by the federal government $1.7 billion for fraud. I think that's a lot of what you need to know about the motives of that group." Scott retorts, "It is a shame that Mr. Gibbs chooses to dismiss these Americans and their very real concerns, instead opting to level personal attacks." [San Francisco Chronicle, 8/4/2009]
Entity Tags: Greg Sargent, Doug Thornell, Columbia/HCA, CRC Public Relations, Brian Burgess, Conservatives for Patients' Rights, Solantic, Thomas A. Scully, Rick Scott, Richard Kirsch, Obama administration, Robert Gibbs, Grover Norquist, Republican Party, Medicare
Timeline Tags: US Health Care, Civil Liberties, Domestic Propaganda
Two House Representatives, James McGovern (D-MA) and Richard Neal (D-MA), are booed and heckled during a contentious town hall meeting at the University of Massachusetts to discuss health care reform. Like so many other such forums and meetings, the discussion is disrupted by anti-health care reform protesters, who shout, scream, boo, catcall, and chant throughout the meeting (see June 30, 2009, July 6, 2009, July 25, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 31, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 2, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, and August 4, 2009). Both McGovern and Neal support the Obama administration's health care reform proposals. University officials threaten several times to shut down the meeting because of the behavior. One protester shouts that McGovern is like Josef Mengele, the Nazi doctor who performed horrific experiments on concentration camp prisoners during World War II. According to local media reports, protesters outnumber supporters at the meeting. They argue that health care would be strictly rationed and elderly citizens would be denied care altogether, points vehemently disputed by the two congressmen. After the meeting, McGovern says it is plain that health care reform opponents had planned to dominate the meeting with their tactics, but adds: "This is still the United States of America and people have the right to be heard. The meeting wasn't perfect and it wasn't always polite but I got the opportunity to express my view on the subject." [Worcester Telegram & Gazette, 8/4/2009]
Entity Tags: University of Massachusetts, Jim McGovern, Richard Neal
Timeline Tags: US Health Care, Domestic Propaganda
Local 'tea party' protesters at the Arcuri/Hoyer town hall. [Source: WKTV]Democratic Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), taking part in a town hall meeting in upstate New York hosted by House member Michael Arcuri (D-NY), is browbeaten and verbally assaulted by conservative protesters who are against health care reform. The meeting is to discuss a proposal for a high-speed rail system for the area. "You're lying to me!" one protester, local conservative activist Don Jeror, screams during the assemblage. "Just because I don't have sophisticated language, I can recognize a liar when I see one!" Jeror adds, "Why would you guys try to stuff a health care bill down our throats in three to four weeks, when the president took six months to pick a dog for his kids?!" Jeror and many of the activists, who continue to scream and shout over Hoyer during his entire presentation, belong to a group called the "Fort Stanwix Tea Party 'Patriots.'" House Member Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), who was recently accosted by conservative protesters during a town hall meeting in his district (see August 1, 2009), says the protests are anything but spontaneous and citizen-driven. "This notion of a grass-roots campaign is totally and completely phony," he says. "The Republican Party has coordinated this apparent outrage and stirred it up." While he and fellow Democrats welcome dialogue, he says, "there's no way you can change the legislation to satisfy any of these Republicans and their insurance allies." Doggett is referring to allegations that corporate lobbying groups such as Americans for Prosperity and FreedomWorks (see April 14, 2009, April 15, 2009, May 29, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 5, 2009, and Before August 6, 2009) are behind the protests. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs agrees, saying, "I think what you've seen is they have bragged about manufacturing, to some degree, that anger." Bob MacGuffie, a Connecticut conservative activists who recently wrote a strategy memo directing fellow conservatives in methods to disrupt and dominate town hall meetings (see Late July, 2009), says that while there is organization, the anger and resistance to reform is "most assuredly real.… We're organizing those voices, but it's a real emotion, coast to coast." ABC News reports that polls show the "protesters are not representative of the public at large, which overwhelmingly supports provisions such as 'requiring insurance companies to sell health coverage to people, even if they have pre-existing medical conditions' and 'requiring that all Americans have health insurance, with the government providing financial help for those who can't afford it.'" [ABC News, 8/4/2009; TPMDC, 8/4/2009; WKTV, 8/4/2009]
Entity Tags: Lloyd Doggett, Americans for Prosperity, ABC News, Bob MacGuffie, FreedomWorks, Robert Gibbs, Don Jeror, Michael Arcuri, Steny Hoyer, Republican Party
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) tells a San Francisco reporter that she does not believe the recent spate of conservative anti-health care reform protests at local "town hall" meetings between Congress members and constituents (see June 30, 2009, July 6, 2009, July 25, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 31, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 2, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 4, 2009, and August 4, 2009) are spontaneous. They are, she says, organized by "Astroturf" groups purporting to be founded and run by ordinary citizens, but in fact are organized by corporate lobbying firms to serve industry interests (see April 14, 2009, April 15, 2009, May 29, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 5, 2009, and Before August 6, 2009). "I think they're Astroturf," she says. "You be the judge. There is no question that people want to know what's in the legislation, want to know how it is paid for, and know what it means to them. And that is why we have town meetings, either electronically or personally. Just because someone opposes their understanding of what this health care is, that's not a bad thing. But some of what is orchestrated to prevent the opportunity of presenting the plan, that's a different story." [San Francisco Chronicle, 8/4/2009] In the same interview, Pelosi says that she has seen some protesters "carrying swastikas and symbols like that" to the meetings. Pelosi has distributed a memo to her fellow House Democrats that provides them talking points to rebut some of the harsher anti-reform claims, short, finely crafted answers informing citizens what health care reform will provide for them, and accusing health insurance companies of leading a "carpet bombing, slash-and-burn, shock and awe" effort to defeat the "public option" plan. [NewsMax, 8/6/2009]
Entity Tags: Nancy Pelosi
Progressive reporter and columnnist Steve Benen writes that the Republicans and conservatives orchestrating (see April 14, 2009, April 15, 2009, May 29, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 5, 2009, and Before August 6, 2009) the raucous anti-health care reform protests (see June 30, 2009, July 6, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 31, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 2, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 4, 2009, and August 4, 2009) must be careful to avoid a backlash among moderate and independent Americans. Noting that the media has reported multiple instances of protesters' comparisons of President Obama and his administration to Nazis, and their stated opposition to Social Security, Medicare, and other popular government programs, Benen writes: "It's probably the one angle the corporate interests and their lobbyists haven't considered: the unintended consequences of rallying confused right-wing activists to shout down policymakers who'll improve their health care coverage. Once you wind up the fanatics and point them in the direction of a town hall meeting, you never really know what they're going to say, do, wear, or hold.… This is not to say all opponents of reform are radical extremists. The point, though, is that conservatives run a risk of convincing the American mainstream that the only people worked up in opposition to health care reform are nutjobs.… Obviously, those concerned about the reform proposals go beyond fringe, unhinged activists. But if and when the anti-reform campaign becomes synonymous with right-wing lunatics, organized by insurance companies, it becomes far easier for the political mainstream to dismiss their legitimacy, while regular Americans think, 'Well, I don't want to be on their side.'" [Washington Monthly, 8/4/2009]
Entity Tags: Steve Benen
House Representative Todd Akin (R-MO), holding a forum on health care reform at Maryville University, tells audience members that he opposes the Obama administration's health care reform proposals. "Why do we want to turn over all of our health care to the government?" he asks. Akin, who bills his meeting as a "Freedom Conference," also lambasts the Obama administration's environmental and economic moves. Contrary to many health care discussions with Democratic lawmakers (see June 30, 2009, July 6, 2009, July 25, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 31, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 2, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 4, 2009, and August 4, 2009), the crowd at Akin's forum is largely friendly and supportive. The forum also features speakers from conservative organizations and industry lobbying firms such as the Competitive Enterprise Institute and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA)'s Center for Health Transformation. [St. Louis Beacon, 8/4/2009] During the meeting, Akin jokes about his Democratic colleagues being lynched, a crack that receives cheers and applause. Akin remarks, "Different people from Washington, DC, have come back to their districts and had town hall meetings, and they almost got lynched." After an outburst of cheers and laughter, Akin, grinning, says, "I assume you're not approving lynchings, because we don't want to do that." As he says this, he mockingly imitates being strangled, presumably by a noose. [Think Progress, 8/6/2009; TPMDC, 8/6/2009]
Entity Tags: Competitive Enterprise Institute, Todd Akin, Center for Health Transformation, Newt Gingrich, Obama administration, Maryville University
Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), the head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), says the outcry and dissension over health care reform as demonstrated by protesters in town hall meetings across the US (see June 30, 2009, July 6, 2009, July 25, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 31, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 2, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 4, 2009, and August 5, 2009) will help the Republican Party elect more people to Congress. Democrats say Cornyn, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH), and other Republican lawmakers are actively encouraging the sometimes-explosive town hall confrontations. Inciting fear and anger among conservative voters is a perfectly defensible strategy for a party that has been soundly defeated in two straight elections, Cornyn says. "Fear, I would say, precedes anger, and I think there are a lot of people who tell me they are scared of what they see coming out of Washington in terms of spending and the debt and muscular federal intervention on everything from financial institutions to healthcare," he says. "It's almost like a part of the grieving process.… I see real opportunities for us." [The Hill, 8/5/2009] In July, Cornyn's colleague James Inhofe (R-OK) said that for the GOP to succeed in 2010, it must "stall" health care reform (see July 22, 2009).
Entity Tags: John Boehner, John Cornyn, National Republican Senatorial Committee, James M. Inhofe
Democratic Representative Brad Miller (D-NC) says that his office has received a very credible and disturbing death threat over his support for the Obama administration's health care reform proposals. Miller, unlike many of his colleagues, has not scheduled any "town hall" events to discuss health care reform with his constituents (see June 30, 2009, July 6, 2009, July 25, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 31, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 2, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 4, 2009, and August 5, 2009). "We have received a threatening phone call in the DC office, there have been calls to the Raleigh office," says Miller's communications director, LuAnn Canipe. "The call to the DC office was, 'Miller could lose his life over this,'" she says. "Our staffer took it so seriously, he confirmed what the guy was saying. He said, 'Sir is that a threat?' and at that time our staffer was getting the phone number off caller ID and turning it over to the Capitol Police." Canipe says the police have not yet reported back to them what, if anything, they have found. She says Miller was not planning on holding any town hall meetings anyway, and would not schedule any now: "Our point is, we're not gonna be bullied into having a town hall so it can then be interrupted by the fake grassroots folks.… We don't want to people to think we're shutting out our constituents. We're meeting with them one on one to discuss health care reform." [TPMDC, 8/5/2009; MSNBC, 8/13/2009] Afterwards, Miller expounds on his reasoning for not desiring to hold town hall meetings during the remainder of the summer recess: there is, he says, "a lynch-mob mentality out there. There is an ugliness to it." [MSNBC, 8/7/2009]
Entity Tags: LuAnn Canipe, Brad Miller
Timeline Tags: US Health Care, Domestic Propaganda, US Domestic Terrorism
Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) hosts a "town hall" meeting to discuss the Democrats' health care reform proposal in Douglas, Arizona. As with so many other town halls of this nature, Giffords's is repeatedly disrupted by shouting, screaming, and chanting audience members protesting the reform package (see June 30, 2009, July 6, 2009, July 25, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 31, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 2, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, and August 3, 2009). Unlike the others, this event takes on a more sinister overtone when a pistol is found on the floor of the grocery store after the event. Giffords's aides report the dropped pistol to local police. Giffords says she will not be intimidated by either guns or rhetoric. "Yelling and screaming is counterproductive," she says. Trent Humphries, the leader of the local anti-reform movement in nearby Tucson, accuses Giffords of lying about the gun, and says none of his fellow protesters would hurt her. "Nobody is threatening Gabby," he says. "But she does need to get in front of her constituents and answer to her constituents." Giffords is a member of the so-called "Blue Dog" caucus of conservative Democrats who are balking at supporting the health care reform package in its current form. [Arizona Daily Star, 8/10/2009] Police investigating the incident will decide not to press charges. Officer Marcus Gonzalez will tell the press: "Apparently, there was no police report taken, the reason being that it was an accidental drop of a gun. Apparently, a male gentleman that went to the meeting had a gun holstered on his side. And when he sat down, it fell out of his holster." The "male gentleman" owns the gun and was legally carrying it pursuant to Arizona's "open-carry" law. "We're not really conducting an investigation on this, because there's not really an investigation to conduct," Gonzalez says. [TPMDC, 8/11/2009] A conservative blogger will post a video from the event, and call it "tightly scripted." [Gila Courier, 8/6/2009]
Entity Tags: Marcus Gonzalez, Trent Humphries, Gabrielle Giffords
Reporter and media critic Howard Kurtz writes of the difficulties in discerning perceptions from reality in the debate over health care reform, and the increasingly contentious town hall meetings across America (see June 30, 2009, July 6, 2009, July 25, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 31, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 2, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 4, 2009, and August 5, 2009). "Is there a rising tide of anger in America against Barack Obama's health plan and big-government programs?" he asks. "Or are the media just making it seem that way?" It has long been common practice to use footage of "one person… screaming, or us[ing] incendiary rhetoric" to add interest to an otherwise "dull and routine story," he notes. In the modern age of YouTube, "instant" viral videos of protests and near-riots at town halls are subsequently played and replayed on cable news shows "in an endless loop." Kurtz notes the controversial "strategy memo" for disrupting and dominating discussion at town halls, originally released by a small conservative Connecticut organization and picked up and redistributed by larger Washington lobbying firms (see Late July, 2009). He writes, "I have no idea how widely this memo has been distributed, but the language is revealing." He also notes that some lobbying firms have taken credit for "helping gin up the sometimes-rowdy outbursts targeting House Dems at town hall meetings around the country, raising questions about their spontaneity" (see August 4, 2009). [Washington Post, 8/5/2009]
Entity Tags: Howard Kurtz
Representative Gerry Connolly (D-VA) says that a House member has been physically assaulted during a town hall meeting by anti-health care protesters (see June 30, 2009, July 6, 2009, July 25, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 31, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 2, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 4, 2009, and August 4, 2009). He refuses to identify the representative in question. Instead, he warns that the increasingly riotous confrontations at town hall meetings by conservative protesters are rising to "a dangerous level." He blames misinformation disseminated by conservative lobbying organizations who are helping orchestrate the town hall disruptions (see April 14, 2009, April 15, 2009, May 29, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 5, 2009, and Before August 6, 2009) and on Fox News (see August 3, 2009 and August 3, 2009). "When you look at the fervor of some of these people who are all being whipped up by the right-wing talking heads on Fox, to me, you're crossing a line," he says. "They're inciting people to riot with just total distortions of facts. They think we're going to euthanize Grandma and the government is going to take over." Another Democratic staffer says flatly, "These people are crazy." Connolly notes that many of the more elderly protesters receive Medicare, but are seemingly unaware that Medicare is a government program. Steve Driehaus (D-OH), who recently held a contentious health care discussion (see August 3, 2009), says: "We're not going to say we're no longer going to listen to constituents because of a few angry protesters. We have no intentions of changing our plan based on any extracurricular nonsense." Grover Norquist, president of the conservative advocacy group Americans for Tax Reform, says the protests are nothing more than spontaneous outbursts of real public anger. He also says his organization encourages its members to attend town halls, and gives them talking points, suggested questions to ask, and slogans to chant (see August 5, 2009). "People are pissed," he says. "They've been lied to." [Roll Call, 8/5/2009]
Entity Tags: Fox News, Americans for Tax Reform, Steve Driehaus, Gerry Connolly, Grover Norquist
Grover Norquist, the highly influential leader of the conservative activist group Americans for Tax Reform, acknowledges that his group, along with Americans for Prosperity and the National Conservative Union among others, has encouraged its members to attend town hall meetings to protest health care reform proposals (see June 30, 2009, July 6, 2009, July 25, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 31, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 2, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 4, 2009, and August 5, 2009). Norquist also admits that his organization provides talking points, suggested questions to ask, and slogans to chant at the meetings. However, he says his group does not endorse the raucous, sometimes riotous discussions that are taking place. "The more civilly you ask the question, the more powerful it is," he says. "Nobody says go and scream. That's the least effective thing you can do." But a former Republican aide notes, "If you are going to town-hall, you understand the potential pitfalls." [Roll Call, 8/5/2009]
Entity Tags: National Conservative Union, Americans for Tax Reform, Grover Norquist, Americans for Prosperity
Screenshot of the bottom of Recess Rally's home page, taken August 22, 2009. [Source: Recess Rally (.com)]MSNBC host Rachel Maddow examines an organization called "Recess Rally," which is promoting anti-health care protests over the Internet, providing information about upcoming "town hall" forums hosted by Democratic lawmakers, and proclaiming, "We the people say no to socialized health care." Maddow gives some information on who is organizing Recess Rally. At the bottom of Recess Rally's home page, a number of sponsors are listed, including conservative blogger and Fox News commentator Michelle Malkin, and conservative blogs such as RedState and Smart Girl Politics. Funded by Corporate Lobbying Firms, Corporate Interests - Other sponsoring organizations are less easily identifiable as citizen organizations. American Majority is a lobbying organization headed by Ned Ryun, a former speechwriter for President George W. Bush; many of the organization's senior officials are veterans of the Bush-Cheney 2004 presidential campaign, former Republican lawmakers, and conservative lobbyists. American Majority is itself an offshoot of another organization, the Sam Adams Alliance. That organization is headed by a former executive director of the Illinois State Republican Party, and by a former Dow Chemicals engineer who also heads a large conservative think tank. Another sponsor of Recess Rally is a group called Let Freedom Ring, whose founder provided the funding for the 2008 Republican campaign ads that used footage of the 9/11 attacks to promote the Iraq war. Another sponsor was responsible for the 2004 "Swift Boat" campaign advertisements that besmirched then-presidential candidate Senator John Kerry (D-MA). Two other groups sponsor Recess Rally: Americans for Prosperity (AFP—see May 29, 2009, July 27, 2009, and August 1, 2009) and its subsidiary, Patients First (see July 23, 2009, July 27, 2009, and August 6, 2009). AFP runs Patients First, which is busing people around the country to demonstrate against health care reform, and another "grassroots" organization, Patients United Now (PUN). Maddow says that groups like these are "experts at fake grassroots campaigns that promote corporate interests." (AFP president Tim Phillips will call the buses "really good props"—see August 6, 2009.) Sincere Americans Protesting at Direction of Corporate Interests, PR Firms - Noting that AFP is headed by, among others, oil billionaire David Koch and longtime Republican fund-raiser Art Pope, Maddow says: "This oil industry and Republican operative millionaires' club is, according to the Republican Party… just average, middle-class Americans—just regular American folks sitting around the kitchen table, thinking about whether they can get away with saying that the government continuing its long standing policy of encouraging living wills is really a secret plot to kill old people (see November 23, 2008, January 27, 2009, February 9, 2009, February 11, 2009, February 18, 2009, May 13, 2009, June 24, 2009, June 25, 2009, July 10, 2009, July 16, 2009, July 17, 2009, July 21, 2009, July 23, 2009, July 23, 2009, July 23, 2009, July 23-24, 2009, July 24, 2009, July 28, 2009, July 28, 2009, July 28, 2009, and July 31, 2009 - August 12, 2009). Americans are showing up at these events to shout down the discussion and to chase their congressmen and they are enraged. And they're enraged at least in part because they're being riled up by over-the-top, fabricated conspiracy theories about health care. And they're being directed and orchestrated by the corporate interests that do this for a living and do it very well. RecessRally.com is not some organic outgrowth of American anger. This is how corporate America creates the illusion of a grassroots movement to support their own interests. This is what they do. They are professionals. This is an industry. To talk about these town hall events as some organic outpouring of average American folks who have concerns about health care is to be willfully blind as to what is really going on—which is professional PR operatives generating exploitive, manufactured, strategically deployed outrage in order to line their own pockets. These PR spinmeisters get paid a lot of money for doing it. The corporations they work for get to kill legislation that would hurt their profits. And the real people who they launch into these town hall settings after they're told that health care reform is a secret commie plot to kill old people and to mandate sex changes—those real people get more and more and more angry, and more and more and more alienated. And ultimately, they get left, like the rest of us, with a health care system that is broken and doesn't work in the interests of the American people, but does work in the interests of the corporations that profit from the way the system is now. This is professional, corporate-funded, Republican staffed PR, and it should be reported as such." [Recess Rally, 8/2009; MSNBC, 8/6/2009]
Entity Tags: Sam Adams Alliance, RedState (.com), Tim Phillips, Smart Girl Politics, Recess Rally, Patients First, Patients United Now, David Koch, Art Pope, Americans for Prosperity, Let Freedom Ring, Michelle Malkin, Rachel Maddow, American Majority, Ned Ryun, George W. Bush
Some Democratic politicians accuse Republicans of organizing "angry mobs" to disrupt town hall meetings around the country (see June 30, 2009, July 6, 2009, July 25, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 31, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 4, 2009, and August 5, 2009). Conservatives retort that the protests are spontaneous outbursts of anger and concern from ordinary citizens who oppose the White House's health care reform proposals. According to a Democratic National Committee (DNC) ad, Republicans "have no plan for moving our country forward, so they've called out the mob.… [D]esperate Republicans and their well-funded allies" are trying to "destroy President Obama." Senator Arlen Specter, who took part in a contentious town hall three days ago (see August 2, 2009), says: "I think that a fair amount of the activity was orchestrated. I think a fair amount of it was involved individuals who came without being orchestrated. But it was a battleground." And White House press secretary Robert Gibbs says some of the anger from the crowds is manufactured: "In fact, I think you've had groups today, Conservatives for Patients Rights [CPR], that have bragged about organizing and manufacturing that anger" (see August 4, 2009). In return, CPR spokesman Brian Burgess says, "The White House is desperate for a scapegoat to blame for their failure to convince Americans to let the government take over health care." A Democratic organization with connections to the Obama administration, Organizing for America, is planning strategy for upcoming events, including a Michigan appearance by Vice President Joe Biden. An e-mail from the organization encourages Michigan Democrats to "stand with the vice president and against the angry mobs being directed by Republican operatives in Washington to disrupt events throughout the month of August." DNC spokesman Brad Woodhouse says that mobs of right-wing activists are being transported from one rally to another by "well-funded, highly organized groups run by Republican operatives and funded by the special interests who are desperately trying to stop the agenda for change the president was elected to bring to Washington.… This type of anger and discord did not serve Republicans well in 2008—and it is bound to backfire again." Republican National Committee (RNC) spokeswoman Gail Gitcho responds: "In a remarkable example of callousness, the White House and Democrats have reduced the concerns and opinions of millions of Americans to 'manufactured' and have labeled them as 'angry extremists,' for voicing their opposition to President Obama's government-run health care experiment.… Are Democrats so out of touch that they are shocked to learn that Americans are concerned about their $1.6 trillion government-run health care experiment?" CNN political analyst Bill Schneider observes: "On issues like this, intensity of opinion matters as much as numbers. Opponents of the president's health care reform seem to feel more intensely about it than Obama's supporters." [CNN, 8/5/2009] Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, says he believes the use of intimidation and extreme tactics—including displays of overtly Nazi symbols and hanging representatives in effigy—will "backfire in a big way" because their aim is to keep people from talking about health care. "When you've got people shouting and hanging members of Congress in effigy," he says, "most people are going to react badly to that. I think most people want to have a civil discussion." Van Hollen says that House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) and other Republican leaders "are actively involved in sort of fueling the fire of these disruptions. They've got to be careful what they ask for here.… If Republicans want to continue to ally themselves with these fringe groups, it will continue to discredit them." National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Ken Spain counters: "Democrats have gone from blaming Republican obstruction, to the insurance industry, to Matt Drudge, and now they are even blaming the voters who are registering their opposition at town halls across the country. At what point are they going to get the message that people simply don't want a government takeover of health care?" [Roll Call, 8/5/2009]
Entity Tags: Chris Van Hollen, Robert Gibbs, Bill Schneider, Barack Obama, Arlen Specter, Brian Burgess, Obama administration, Republican National Committee, Ken Spain, Democratic National Committee, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Conservatives for Patients Rights, Gail Gitcho, National Republican Congressional Committee, Joseph Biden, John Boehner, Brad Woodhouse
America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), the health care industry's trade association, distributes "talking points" for use by opponents of health care reform that specifically target the so-called "public option" for alternative government-provided health care. AHIP has been heavily involved in orchestrating and facilitating the recent spate of raucous anti-reform protests (see July 10, 2009 and August 2, 2009). The talking points, entitled "August Recess Talking Points," include the following: "Health plans strongly believe that now is the time for comprehensive, bipartisan health care reform that enhances affordability, improves quality, covers all Americans, and puts the health care system on a sustainable path. However, we also share the concerns that employers, providers, and patients have raised about the significant unintended consequences of a new government-run plan. A government-run plan would dismantle employer-based coverage, thereby violating the shared commitment to ensure that those who like their current coverage can keep it. The government-run plan would also add significant liabilities to the federal budget." Reporter Greg Sargent notes that like any other lobbying group or citizens' organization, AHIP has the right to "encourage… participation and distribut[e] talking points." However, he notes that the industry AHIP represents "has a tremendous financial stake in whether a public plan becomes a reality. And the industry is not only telling people to go to town meetings, but also telling them how to voice their opposition to a public option. Bottom line: It's indisputable that the industry is orchestrating public opposition to one of health care reform's most important components." [Plum Line, 8/6/2009]
Entity Tags: Greg Sargent, America's Health Insurance Plans
Representative Brian Baird (D-WA) tells MSNBC host Rachel Maddow that there is a real danger of violence being fomented by anti-health care protesters (see June 30, 2009, July 6, 2009, July 25, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 31, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 2, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 5, 2009, August 5, 2009, August 6, 2009, August 6, 2009, and August 6-8, 2009). "[T]he first violence that's happening is violence in the democratic process," he says. "If people set out to disrupt town hall meetings, to intimidate people who sincerely want to discuss important issue, the first victim is the democracy itself. But beyond that, some of the rhetoric that we're hearing is vaguely—not vaguely, but eerily reminiscent of the thing that drove Tim McVeigh to bomb the federal building in Oklahoma (see 8:35 a.m. - 9:02 a.m. April 19, 1995).… [W]hen a concerted effort is made to intimidate, to suppress discussion, to threaten people, that crosses the line and it actually blocks the democratic process and informed debate." Says Constituents Intimidated, Unwilling to Participate - Baird acknowledges that he has not held any in-person town hall meetings, though he has scheduled so-called "telephone town halls" conducted via telephone and Internet connections. "What I'm opting not do is create a venue where people can purposefully intimidate other members of the community who want to be heard and want to express their views," he says. "You know, when you read these Web sites, Rachel, it's all about attack early, intimidate, shout them down, don't get them have a word in edgewise. I've had town halls where that kind of thing has happened and average citizens have said: 'This is frightening to me. This is not what my country is about. I'm not coming to these anymore.' So, if you get a point where the only purpose to have a town hall is to have it disrupted and reasonable people who want to have a debate can't be there, what's the point of having the town hall?" GOP Must Call for Restraint - Baird says that the Republican Party has a direct responsibility to "call for civility, because this is a question of our democratic process itself. Remember, they will have town halls as well. And we don't really want a situation where our side decides, well, we've got to show up and scream and shout them down—because then you basically resort to mob rule. And that's not what a constitutional democratic republic is about. It's not enough for them to say, 'We're not coordinating it, we're not condoning it.' They must do as John McCain did (see August 5, 2009), and vigorously—vigorously oppose this." [MSNBC, 8/7/2009] 'Death to All Marxists' - The next day, Baird receives a fax at his office. The fax depicts President Obama with a Communist hammer and sickle drawn on his forehead, and the message "Death to all Marxists, foreign and domestic" written underneath. [MSNBC, 8/13/2009]
Entity Tags: Republican Party, Brian Baird
An anti-health care reform protester carries a poster depicting President Obama as Adolf Hitler. [Source: The New Republic]An anti-health care reform organization, Patients First—a subsidiary of industry lobbyist group Americans for Prosperity (see May 29, 2009 and August 6, 2009)—holds an anti-reform rally in Pueblo, Colorado. Obama's 'Final Solution' - The keynote speaker tells the assembled crowd that Democratic health care reform will mandate physician-assisted suicide: "If this new Obama-care program comes to fruition, when you reach 65 and every five years thereafter, you're going to have a counseling session with some federal airhead. Part of this process is called end-of-life counseling and part of the end-of-life counseling can be an end-of-life order. Adolf Hitler issued six million end of life orders. He called his program the final solution. I kind of wonder what we're going to call ours." The speaker compares the Obama administration to the regimes of despots Adolf Hitler, Josef Stalin, and Pol Pot, and then tells the audience to "go to offices of members of Congress and put the fear of God in them." [TPMDC, 8/7/2009; ColoradoPols (.com), 8/7/2009; MSNBC, 8/10/2009] Commentator Blasts Nazi Comparisons - MSNBC's Rachel Maddow later says: "Put the fear of God in them—because what Obama is doing with killing all these people like Sarah Palin said, that's like what Hitler did and you know what Hitler deserved. This is the rhetoric that corporate-funded, GOP-allied groups like Americans for Prosperity are funneling through which they set up to look like grassroots organizations to get people to go 'put the fear of God' into elected officials.… What has started as rowdy and rude and mean-spirited disruptions has turned, in some cases, into actual violence, with several hospitalizations for minor injuries and some arrests being reported at health care town halls last night (see June 30, 2009, July 6, 2009, July 25, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 31, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 2, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 5, 2009, August 5, 2009, August 6, 2009, August 6, 2009, and August 6-8, 2009). What's also evident is that the anti-reform rhetoric increasingly is invoking specific references to Nazis and specific comparison of President Obama to Adolf Hitler.… You know, there are people alive today who barely survived the Holocaust. And there are many people alive today whose whole families were killed in the Holocaust. Nazism is not a metaphor for a political policy you disagree with. Used deliberately as a strategy to characterize a political opponent, it has a very specific resonance with people looking to justify violence. The implication of conjuring up the Third Reich is that, in the case of someone who's identified as a Nazi, as a modern day Hitler, violence against that person, even murder, would not only be seen as justified, it might be celebrated. This rhetorical strategy sets the stage for political violence that the perpetrator could hope would be praised. As such the idea of assassination, other kinds of political violence are always in the subtext. And you know, sometimes assassination isn't even in the subtext. Sometimes it just bubbles right up to the surface." [MSNBC, 8/10/2009]
Entity Tags: Americans for Prosperity, Barack Obama, Republican Party, Rachel Maddow, Patients First
Protesters bang on the windows of the Children's Board, demanding to be heard. [Source: WTSP]The raucous and near-riotous behavior of recent town hall and forum meetings about health care reform (see June 30, 2009, July 6, 2009, July 25, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 31, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 2, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 5, 2009, August 6, 2009, and August 6, 2009) reaches new heights in Ybor City, Florida, just outside Tampa, as a large and disorderly group of anti-reform protesters disrupt a town hall meeting held by Betty Reed (D-FL) and featuring Kathy Castor (D-FL). [Think Progress, 8/6/2009; MyFoxTampaBay, 8/6/2009] The forum, apparently intended to be something of a pep rally for the Obama administration's health care proposals, was organized by Reed, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and a pro-reform group, Organizing for America. But hundreds of protesters also appear, many affirming that they came at the urging of the Tampa 9/12 conservative activist group, an organization promoted by Fox News host Glenn Beck. Others say they received e-mails from the Hillsborough County Republican Party urging them to speak out against the plan and offering talking points. [St. Petersburg Times, 8/7/2009; Tampa Tribune, 8/7/2009] Huge Turnout Exacerbates Tensions - Well over 1,000 people appear for the meeting, held at the Children's Board, a venue that holds a maximum of 250. Local news reporters note that "[t]ensions were high among people who couldn't get in." Protesters accuse the forum organizers of barring people who oppose health care reform, but many of the people left outside are reform supporters. The meeting is marred by screams and shouts both outside the venue and in, as well as people banging on windows to be let in. [Think Progress, 8/6/2009; MyFoxTampaBay, 8/6/2009; Fox News, 8/7/2009] Both Reed and Castor are shouted down almost from the moment they begin speaking, and battle spates of shouting, chanting, and a variety of accusations throughout the evening. Castor leaves relatively early, apparently frustrated at being shouted down when she tries to speak; when Castor leaves, she requires an escort to avoid being accosted. [WTSP, 8/7/2009] One of the popular chants is an apparently orchestrated repetition of "Tyranny! Tyranny! Tyranny!" Other chants include: "Tell the truth! Tell the truth!" "Read the bill!" and "Forty million illegals! Forty million illegals!" One reporter will write, "The spectacle… sounded more like a wrestling cage match than a panel discussion on national policy." [St. Petersburg Times, 8/7/2009] Verbal, Physical Violence - Outside the hall, a fistfight occurs, with Orlando cameraman Mark Bishop being roughed up. "That's the most violent anyone has been towards me," he says. A protester, Randy Arthur, attempts to force his way into the hall, and is instead slammed into a wall by, he claims, union members acting as door guards. (Susan Smith, a member of the Hillsborough County Democratic Party, later says that members of the Young Democrats, not union members, were on the doors.) A photo of him displaying his torn shirt and scratches later makes the rounds of anti-reform Web sites. Arthur says he intends to file charges, though the Tampa police have no such plans, and says he intends to become more involved in Republican and conservative politics as a result of the forum. Inside the hall, Kathy Miracle, who supports reform, is "inadvertently" spat upon by a shouting anti-reform protester, Barry Osteen, sitting beside her, she will later say. She shoves Osteen's face away, and is photographed doing so, in what some people construe as a slap. Osteen will say: "She didn't slap me. I almost didn't even know she was there." Miracle later says she doesn't "appreciate being spread all over the Internet." Supporters and opponents of reform engage in a number of verbal altercations in the parking lot. No arrests are made, even though many ignore police orders, issued through bullhorns, to disperse. Later, a Tampa police spokesman says, "We walk a fine line between freedom of speech and public safety." [WTSP, 8/7/2009; Tampa Tribune, 8/7/2009; Susan Smith, 8/7/2009; Tampa Tribune, 8/13/2009] Cameraman Jostled - A protester with a camera, J. Mark Campbell, has his camera knocked out of his hand and his glasses broken during an attempt by protesters to force their way into the hall, and later tells his story to Fox News commentator Sean Hannity. Campbell claims that the event was "set up" by SEIU and Democratic organizers to bring supporters into the front rows and force protesters into the back rows. He also claims that four "thugs" from the "Pipe Fitters Union" not only "bum rush[ed]" the protesters, but then gave him their business cards. Campbell claims that a "28-year-old Democrat… with cancer" was assaulted by union members, but also identifies an adult woman as "his daughter." "[T]his is the worst thing that's ever happened to me," he says. "And I've been into jihadist areas. I've been dealing with, you know, Muslim extremists. And, you know, this is the most afraid I've ever been." Campbell's video shows little more than jostling and shoving at the door of the hall; he tells Hannity, "it's what you don't see in this video is what's really telling." [Fox News, 8/11/2009] Tommy Ates, a diarist on the liberal blog Daily Kos, later identifies Campbell as a member of a group he calls "the far right, libertarian, and 'islamophobic' Florida Security Council." (Campbell directs viewers to the organization's Web site during the Hannity interview.) Ates also asks some questions about Campbell's claims: "How did Campbell get the information that the Tampa town hall had been stacked with Pipefitter union members? If the men guarding the door were union men committing assault, why would they give their cards to the man they were assaulting? Why didn't Campbell file a police report? And (if J. Mark Campbell dealt with terrorists), why didn't he identify what international media organization he served under? And if he didn't go overseas, is Mark trying to say he dealt with Middle East domestic terrorists?" [Daily Kos, 8/12/2009] 'Somewhere in All the Screaming, No One Got Heard' - One participant, Largo resident George Guthrie, says of the crowd, "They think they're exercising their right to free speech, but they're only exercising their right to disrupt civil discourse." Andrew Reder, a reform opponent, defends the shouting from himself and his fellows by saying: "There were clearly people who were very, very upset. People are concerned about the direction of the county right now." But Reder, who is allowed inside during the proceedings, admits that virtually nothing is accomplished in the meeting. "Somewhere in all the screaming, no one got heard," he says. One protester, who identifies herself as a member of Beck's 9/12 organization, says of Castor and Reed: "They're hiding from their constituents. She works for us and needs to listen." After the meeting, Florida Democratic Party chair Karen Thurman says in a statement: "Throughout the summer, we have been reaching out to Floridians to engage in an important debate on the future our health care system. We have heard story after story from people who are struggling to get the care they need. Recently, their thoughtful discussions are being interrupted by angry mobs—well funded and organized by Washington special interests—attempting to drown out the voices of the hard-working Floridians who are desperate for health insurance reform. These groups are not concerned about Americans' access to quality heath care, but are extreme ideologues, only interested in 'breaking' the president (see July 17-22, 2009) and thwarting the change Americans voted for last November." [WTSP, 8/7/2009; Tampa Tribune, 8/7/2009] Castor later echoes Thurman's sentiments, saying: "The insurance industry and… Republican activists are manufacturing a lot of these phony protests.… I do expect some rabble-rousing." Reed later says she was shocked at the behavior of some of the crowd. "When you get to the point of possible violence, you've gone over the edge," she says. Castor says the protesters who appeared at this and other venues "would have been protesting Medicare.… They would never have accepted Social Security." But protester Brad Grabill counters, "It's the backlash to the arrogance of our government that you're seeing here." [St. Petersburg Times, 8/7/2009; Tampa Tribune, 8/7/2009] After the meeting, the Tampa 9/12 group posts the following on its Web site: "Be courteous while anyone is speaking, including Castor. We don't want to sound like an 'angry mob.'" [Tampa Tribune, 8/7/2009] Smith, the local Democratic Party official, later posts an e-mail she receives concerning the event. The message reads: "WAR IS COMING. YOUR THUG PR_CK B_STARD [apparently President Obama] SHOULD HAVE KEPT HIS F_CKING COMMUNIST MOUTH SHUT." [Susan Smith, 8/7/2009]
Entity Tags: Andrew Reder, Fox News, Tommy Ates, Service Employees International Union, Barry Osteen, Brad Grabill, Betty Reed, Florida Security Council, Daily Kos, Sean Hannity, Susan Smith, Organizing for America, Randy Arthur, Hillsborough County Democratic Party, George Guthrie, J. Mark Campbell, Karen Thurman, Hillsborough County Republican Party, Kathy Miracle, Obama administration, Kathy Castor, Mark Bishop
An anti-reform protester displays a large sign depicting President Obama as Adolf Hitler. [Source: Daily Kos]House Representative John Dingell (D-MI), an 83-year-old advocate of health care reform, hosts a "town hall" meeting in Romulus, Michigan, to discuss the Obama administration's plans to reform health care. The forum has so many people attempting to participate that its organizer, the local chapter of the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), says it will sponsor a second forum at a later date. Like many other forums where health care is a primary topic of discussion, anti-health care protesters attempt to disrupt and dominate the discussion by shouting down and chanting over Dingell and other audience members (see June 30, 2009, July 6, 2009, July 25, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 31, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 2, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 5, 2009, August 5, 2009, August 6, 2009, and August 6-8, 2009). Louder and Angrier Participants Garner More Media Coverage - One audience participant, health care reform supporter Chris Savage, writes about the forum on the liberal blog Daily Kos. Savage also takes a photograph of an anti-health care reform protester carrying a large sign depicting President Obama as Adolf Hitler. He says that anti-reform protesters outnumber supporters approximately five to one. In the Huffington Post, Savage later writes: "Typically, the more hysterical the person's message was or the more angrily they shouted, the more likely they were to get attention from the press. The young black man with the Obama-as-Hitler poster was the busiest one of them all." Shouting Down Participants from Outset - Even before the event begins, protesters are shouting and catcalling, with one woman yelling to an elderly reform supporter: "You may be dead in five years! They may euthanize you!" AARP official Erick Schneidewind is shouted down with calls of "Traitor!" and "Liar!" before he can even introduce himself. One disabled woman, Marcia Boehm, attempts to tell her story—how she lost her health care in December 2008 and her pre-existing conditions make it difficult for her to get new coverage—but is shouted down by protesters who scream, "I shouldn't have to pay for your healthcare!" and "Get government healthcare!" After Dingell takes the podium, another protester, Mike Sola, approaches him, pushing his son before him in a wheelchair. The man accuses Dingell of participating in a government plan to kill his son, who has cerebral palsy, by denying him health care. When Dingell denies the charge, the man begins shouting "Liar!" over and over, and trying to push forward into Dingell's personal space with his wheelchair-bound son. He is prevented from getting within touching distance by Dingell staffers; he is soon escorted out by police officers. The Daily Kos blogger writes that no matter what Dingell attempts to say, he is countered and sometimes drowned out by screams and chants of "Liar!" "Traitor!" "Bullsh_t!" "Did you even read the bill?" (Dingell helped write the House version of the bill.) "The goverment is going to kill us when we are older!" "The goverment is providing abortion money!" and other shouts, boos, catcalls, and chants. One protester in the second session, Matt McCormack, is particularly noticeable; after the first few minutes of the meeting, where he repeatedly shouts phrases like "Look at me! Look at me! You are being used!" he begins a loud conversation on his cell phone, looking up periodically to scream "Liar!" at inappropriate moments, like when questions are being asked. McCormack later stands up, launches a spate of invective towards Dingell, and storms towards the podium, but is intercepted by police and escorted outside. On his blog, McCormack later claims to have been arrested. Attempts at Confrontation Outside Hall - Savage reports that outside the hall, anti-reform protesters attempt to provoke a physical confrontation with him, apparently in an attempt to create a disturbance for the media. One protester tells the blogger's son, "Your dad is a coward!" for refusing to argue with him. [Daily Kos, 8/6/2009; Detroit Free Press, 8/6/2009; Huffington Post, 8/10/2009] Many from Outside District - Almost half of the attendees who sign in to the event put down addresses outside of Dingell's district. The Huffington Post will note, "In short, the sign-in sheets lend credence to the accusation that the protests are the product of Washington-based 'Astroturf' organizations, rather than evidence of a groundswell of popular resistance to health care reform." [Huffington Post, 8/11/2009] Refusing Offer to Meet One-on-One, Claims Intimidation - Dingell later offers Sola the chance to meet with him one-on-one to discuss his concerns over his son's health care coverage, but Sola refuses. Dingell writes: "The offer still stands.… I have served in Congress and I have seen enough in my lifetime to know that the cause before us is too vital, too necessary, and too timely to allow it to fail. I remember many times in my career and in my life when powerful forces tried to stop progress. We cannot let this happen and we cannot allow this opportunity to go by without providing that each and every American has health care. As long as I have a vote, I will not let shouting, intimidation, or misinformation deter me from fighting for this cause." [US House of Representatives, 8/7/2009] Sola will later tell a Fox News interviewer that one or more "liberal thugs" visit his house later in the evening to attempt to intimidate him. These "thugs" are supporters of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Sola claims, and says that if he experiences a second such visit, he will use "lethal force" to protect his family. [Hispanic Business (.com), 8/10/2009]
Entity Tags: Erick Schneidewind, Chris Savage, Daily Kos, Huffington Post, John Dingell, American Association of Retired Persons, Mike Sola, Obama administration, Marcia Boehm, Matt McCormack
Club for Growth logo. [Source: St. Peterburg Times]The St. Petersburg Times's "PolitiFact" debunks a recent claim that the Democrats' health care reform proposal would let citizens die if keeping them alive would cost more than $22,000. The conservative Club for Growth has budgeted $1.2 million for advertisements opposing health care reform. One ad claims, "The health care reform plan would set limits similar to the 'socialized' system in Britain, where people are allowed to die if their treatment would cost more than $22,000." It depicts a man weeping over another person lying in a hospital bed, while a voiceover says: "$22,750. In England, government health officials decided that's how much six months of life is worth. Under their socialized system if a medical treatment costs more, you're out of luck. That's wrong for America." While the ad does not directly state that the Obama administration would put such a price tag on the lives of the elderly and dying, as PolitiFact writes: "[T]he implication is clear: The reform plan will lead to callous decisions that would allow people to die if they face a costly treatment." The ad is based on "comparative effectiveness research," which aims to find the most effective treatments for the lowest cost. Other conservative groups such as Conservatives for Patients Rights (CPR) have portrayed the Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research (FCCCER), a new board created by the stimulus bill to find the best health treatments, as being modeled after the British system. Unfortunately for the CPR claim, the proposed American system would be nothing like its British counterpart, which is run by government entities. In Britain, a government board, the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), decides whether particular treatments are covered or not. The Democrats' proposal says that the FCCCER will not "mandate coverage, reimbursement, or other policies for any public or private payer." Nor will its reports or recommendations "be construed as mandates or clinical guidelines for payment, coverage, or treatment." PolitiFact notes that several prominent Republicans, such as Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA), have made unsubstantiated claims that elderly people would be denied care in favor of younger patients if they were in Britain. Michael Cannon of the libertarian Cato Institute says that while the Club for Growth's claim about a price limit of $22,750 for extending the life of the patient is not completely inaccurate (it is based on a single unusual case), the Democrats' legislation does not "say it's going to do what Britain is doing." Dr. Sean Tunis, a former top Medicare and Medicaid official in the Bush adminstration, calls the ad "misleading" and "fallacious." PolitiFact concludes: "[T]he ad's main point about cost limits is incorrect. There is no such practice in the comparative effectiveness program, nor is it part of the current health reform proposals pending in Congress. The House and Senate bills under consideration would not require the government to decide how much a person's life is worth." It terms the ad "False." [St. Petersburg Times, 8/6/2009]
Entity Tags: Michael Cannon, Charles Grassley, Club for Growth, Conservatives for Patients Rights, Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research, St. Petersburg Times, Sean Tunis, Obama administration, National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence
Max Pappas, a senior official with the conservative lobbying firm FreedomWorks (see April 14, 2009), openly takes credit for his firm ratcheting up disruptive behavior at "town halls" across the nation devoted to discussion of health care reform (see June 30, 2009, July 6, 2009, July 25, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 31, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 2, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 5, 2009, August 5, 2009, August 6, 2009, August 6, 2009, and August 6-8, 2009). Pappas is interviewed by MSNBC's Chris Matthews, who says that FreedomWorks is "blowing them [town hall meetings] apart." Pappas agrees, saying, "Yes, just like we blew up—" before Matthews talks over his response. Pappas says that FreedomWorks only has about 18 paid employees, and does most of its work over the Internet, working with 400,000 online members (referring to the number of people on its e-mail lists). "We… send them information about when the town halls are, give them briefings on the health care reform plans." The Washington Post's Greg Sargent writes: "[T]here's nothing wrong with FreedomWorks or any other group doing this. But if industry-funded groups are pumping up turnout at town hall meetings, it makes it perfectly fair game for reform proponents to argue that the industry is trying to manipulate perceptions of public opinion for the sake of its bottom line." [Plum Line, 8/7/2009] The next day, Pappas appears on C-SPAN, and a caller claiming to be a Republican veteran asks him "to tell these people to wrap it down." The caller says: "We Republicans already have the image of being owned by corporate America. Now we're getting the image of being owned by wild red neck America." Pappas responds: "We don't have the power to control how many people turn out or how they behave there. All we really do is facilitate their participation by letting people know when these town halls are and giving them information about the issues that are going to be discussed. The passions are so deep about this issue that we can't send out an email that says 'calm down.'" Another caller claims to be from the Council of Conservative Citizens (CCC), a white power and outspokenly racist organization (see June 2, 2009), and praises Pappas and FreedomWorks, calling him "a true patriot." Pappas asks the caller to join the organization. [Think Progress, 8/7/2009]
Entity Tags: Max Pappas, Chris Matthews, Council of Conservative Citizens, FreedomWorks, Greg Sargent
The Service Employees International Union (SEIU), heavily involved in supporting health care reform, receives a call from an unnamed caller who threatens it with shooting. After the caller accuses SEIU of engaging in "thuggish violent tactics," he says: "I suggest you tell your people to calm down, act like American citizens, and stop trying to repress people's First Amendment rights.… That, or you all are gonna come up against the Second Amendment." After issuing the veiled threat to shoot someone with the union, the caller concludes by saying, "[S]top the violence." [Think Progress, 8/7/2009; Huffington Post, 8/10/2009]
Entity Tags: Service Employees International Union
Sarah Palin holds her youngest child, Trig, for the cameras. [Source: Hollywood Gossip]Former Governor Sarah Palin (R-AK), the Republican vice presidential candidate in 2008, writes on her Facebook page that the Democrats' health care reform package would result in a government "death panel" that would kill her baby, Trig. Her child was born with Down Syndrome. Palin writes: "Americans delve into the disturbing details of the nationalized health care plan that the current administration is rushing through Congress, our collective jaw is dropping, and we're saying not just no, but hell no!… And who will suffer the most when they ration care? The sick, the elderly, and the disabled, of course. The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama's 'death panel' so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their 'level of productivity in society,' whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil." Palin also commends Representative Michele Bachmann (R-MN) for warning the nation about President Obama's "Orwellian" health care adviser: "Rep. Michele Bachmann highlighted the Orwellian thinking of the president's health care advisor, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, the brother of the White House chief of staff [Rahm Emanuel], in a floor speech to the House of Representatives. I commend her for being a voice for the most precious members of our society, our children and our seniors." [TPMDC, 8/7/2009; Time, 8/8/2009] Inspired by Debunked Claims from Industry Lobbyist - Palin's warning about government "death panels" is inspired by debunked warnings from industry lobbyist Betsy McCaughey and a variety of Republican lawmakers and conservative talk show hosts about the reform proposals' implicit agenda to kill older Americans faster (see November 23, 2008, January 27, 2009, February 9, 2009, February 11, 2009, February 18, 2009, May 13, 2009, June 24, 2009, June 25, 2009, July 10, 2009, July 16, 2009, July 17, 2009, July 21, 2009, July 23, 2009, July 23, 2009, July 23, 2009, July 23-24, 2009, July 24, 2009, July 28, 2009, July 28, 2009, July 28, 2009, and July 31, 2009 - August 12, 2009). Politico's Ben Smith writes: "As nonpartisan sources note, the [proposal] deals with medical practitioners helping individuals prepare living wills, powers of attorney, and the like. It's a long ways from there to a 'death panel' where bureaucrats decide who lives or dies." [Politico, 8/7/2009] Countering Palin's Assertions - Progressive MSNBC host Rachel Maddow says of Palin's assertions: "There is no Obama death panel. There's no plan to kill old people. There's no plan to kill off any people who aren't productive enough. There's no plan to kill off any of Sarah Palin's children. And if we were actually talking about health care instead of waddling through this free-floating morass of factless partisan rage and corporate opportunism, it would occur to someone to notice that the provision being considered by Congress that has Sarah Palin ranting about Obama death panels and the death of her own children was introduced by Republican Senator Johnny Isakson of Georgia (see August 10, 2009). And it's not about killing old people. It's about making it easier for old people to create living wills. A similar provision was introduced by another Republican senator, Susan Collins of Maine. This is a Republican idea." [MSNBC, 8/10/2009] Days later, Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) tells an audience: "It does us no good to incite fear in people by saying that there's these end-of-life provisions, these death panels. Quite honestly, I'm so offended at that terminology because it absolutely isn't [in the bill]. There is no reason to gin up fear in the American public by saying things that are not included in the bill.… There are things that are in this bill that are bad enough that we don't need to be making things up." [Anchorage Daily News, 8/11/2009]
Entity Tags: Ben Smith, Sarah Palin, Obama administration, Lisa Murkowski, Rachel Maddow
Timeline Tags: US Health Care, Domestic Propaganda, 2012 Elections
Conservative Fox News and radio talk show host Sean Hannity urges fellow conservatives to turn out in force at town halls in their area to protest health care reform. On his Web site, Hannity urges protesters to "Become a part of the mob! Attend an Obama Care Townhall near you!" Hannity's site lists a number of town halls; at the bottom of the page, he credits the "Astroturf" lobbying group Conservatives for Patients Rights (see August 4, 2009) as the source of the list. [Sean Hannity, 8/2009; New York Times, 8/7/2009]
Entity Tags: Fox News, Sean Hannity, Conservatives for Patients Rights
MSNBC's Rachel Maddow (l) interviews Frank Schaeffer (r). [Source: Crooks and Liars (.com)]Frank Schaeffer, who with his late father Francis Schaeffer helped shape the social and religious conservatism that currently dominates much of American politics, writes what he calls an "inside scoop" on "why conservatives are rampaging town halls" to disrupt discussions of health care reform (see June 30, 2009, July 6, 2009, July 25, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 31, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 2, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 5, 2009, August 5, 2009, August 6, 2009, August 6, 2009, and August 6-8, 2009), and, ultimately, to deliberately foment political violence. Schaeffer was once a leader of the conservative evangelical movement who has now repudiated his former positions, and has written a book on the subject. [AlterNet (.org), 8/7/2009; MSNBC, 8/10/2009] Schaeffer's father wrote a book, A Christian Manifesto, which compared pro-abortion policies to those of Adolf Hitler, and said that the use of force to roll back abortion law would be justified. Schaeffer himself has written a very different book, entitled Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elects, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All or Almost All of It Back. [MSNBC, 6/1/2009] Comparing Pro-Abortion Activists to Nazis - He tells MSNBC's Rachel Maddow that his father used to compare pro-abortion activists to Nazis, and told his followers "that using violence or force to overthrow Nazi Germany would have been appropriate for Christians, including the assassination of [Adolf] Hitler." It is a straight, short line, Schaeffer says, to go from the concept of justifiably assassinating Hitler to using violence against those who are compared to Nazis. "It's really like playing Russian roulette," he says. "You put a cartridge in the chamber, you spin, and once in a while it goes off. And we saw that happen with Dr. Tiller (see May 31, 2009). We've seen it happen numerous times in this country with the violence against political leaders, whether it's Martin Luther King or whoever it might be. We have a history of being a well-armed, violent country.… There is a coded message here. And that is that you have a group of people who, like Rush Limbaugh (see July 21, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 28, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 6, 2009, and August 6, 2009) would rather see the president and the country fail, and their coded message to their own lunatic fringe is very simple—and that is go for broke. When you start comparing a democratically elected president, who is not only our first black president but a moderate progressive, to Adolf Hitler (see August 7, 2009), you have arrived at a point where you are literally leading—leaving a loaded gun on the table, saying the first person who wants to come along and use this, go ahead. Be our guest." [MSNBC, 8/10/2009] Conservative World View Shattered by Obama Election - In a separate op-ed, Schaeffer writes: "The Republican Old Guard are in the fix an atheist would be in if Jesus showed up and raised his mother from the dead: Their world view has just been shattered. Obama's election has driven them over the edge." Schaeffer says that when he worked with Dick Armey (R-TX), the former House Majority Leader and now lobbyist was "a decent guy, whatever his political views. How could he stoop so low as to be organizing what amounts to America's Brown Shirts today?" He answers his own question: Armey, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA), and others "can't compute that their white man-led conservative revolution is dead. They can't reconcile their idea of themselves with the fact that white men like them don't run the country any more—and never will again. To them the black president is leading a column of the 'other' into their promised land. Gays, immigrants, blacks, progressives, even a female Hispanic appointed to the Supreme Court (see May 26, 2009)… for them this is the Apocalypse.… [N]ow all the the Republican gurus have left is what the defeated Germans of World War Two had: a scorched earth policy. If they can't win then everyone must go down. Obama must fail! The country must fail!" Using 70s-Era Anti-Abortion Protest Tactics - Schaeffer says conservative and industry lobbying firms orchestrating the anti-reform movement (see April 14, 2009, April 15, 2009, May 29, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 5, 2009, Before August 6, 2009, May 29, 2009, and August 6-7, 2009) are using the same tactics he and his father helped create for anti-abortion clinic protesters in the 1970s. He notes one lobbying organization, Armey's FreedomWorks. "FreedomWorks represents a top-down, corporate-friendly approach that's been the norm for conservative organizations for years," Schaeffer writes. "How do I know this is the norm? Because I used to have strategy meetings with the late Jack Kemp (R-NY) and Dick Armey and the rest of the Republican gang about using their business ties to help finance the pro-life movement to defeat Democrats. I know this script. I helped write it. Democratic members of Congress are being harassed by angry, sign-carrying mobs and disruptive behavior at local town halls. It's the tactic we used to follow abortion providers around their neighborhoods. 'Protesters' surrounded Rep. Tim Bishop (see June 22, 2009) and forced police officers to have to escort him to his car for safety. We used to do the same to Dr. Tiller… until someone killed him." [AlterNet (.org), 8/7/2009] Aware of Potential for Violence - In a previous interview with Maddow, Schaeffer expounded on this same topic. "[W]hat we did is we talked one game to the large public and we talked another game amongst ourselves," he told Maddow. "And amongst ourselves, we were very radical.… I know that this is the case because of the fact that I was part of the movement, but also understood very well what we were doing back then was to attack the political issue when we talked to people like Ronald Reagan and the Bush family and Jack Kemp—the late Jack Kemp that we were very close to in all this. But on a private side, we also were egging people on to first pick at abortion clinics, then chain themselves to fences, then go to jail. We knew full well that in a country that had seen the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, two Kennedy brothers, and others, that what we were also doing was opening a gate here. And I think there's no way to duck this. We live in a country in which guns are all over the place. We have plenty of people with a screw loose, plenty of people on the edge. It only takes one." [MSNBC, 6/1/2009] Using Lies to Obscure Facts, Disrupt Debate - The health care reform opponents are using what Schaeffer calls "[a] barrage of outright lies, wherein the Democrats are being accused of wanting to launch a massive euthanasia program against the elderly, free abortions for everyone, and 'a government takeover' of health care" to disrupt informed debate. Some protesters have escalated to physical violence and intimidation. Schaeffer says that just as in the 1970s, the protesters engaging in the physical violence are often "plants sent to disrupt public forums on the health care issue.… [M]uch of these protests are coordinated by public relations firms and lobbyists who have a stake in opposing President Obama's reforms. There is no daylight between the Republican Party, the health care insurance industry, far-right leaders like Dick Armey, the legion of insurance lobbyists, and now, a small army of thugs.… No, I don't believe that these people are about to take over the country. No, the sky is not falling. But the Republican Party is. It is now profoundly anti-American. The health insurance industry is run by very smart and very greedy people who have sunk to a new low. So has the Republican Party's leadership that will not stand up and denounce the likes of Dick Armey for helping organize roving bands of thugs trying to strip the rest of us of the ability to be heard when it comes to the popular will on reforming health care." American Fascism - Schaeffer accuses the right of undermining American democracy and attempting to establish an almost-fascist control of society. "Here's the emerging American version of the fascist's formula," he writes: "combine millions of dollars of lobbyists' money with embittered troublemakers who have a small army of not terribly bright white angry people (collected over decades through pro-life mass mailing networks) at their beck and call, ever ready to believe any myth or lie circulated by the semi-literate and completely and routinely misinformed right wing—evangelical religious underground. Then put his little mob together with the insurance companies' big bucks. That's how it works—American Brown Shirts at the ready." He notes that the murder of Tiller closed down his clinic, one of the few in the country that performed late-term abortions. So the murder of Tiller achieved the goal of the anti-abortion movement. "In this case a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to save our economy from going bankrupt because of spiraling health care costs may be lost, not because of a better argument, but because of lies backed up by anti-democratic embittered thuggery. The motive? Revenge on America by the Old White Guys of the far right, and greed by the insurance industry." Schaeffer concludes, "It's time to give this garbage a name: insurance industry funded fascism." [AlterNet (.org), 8/7/2009]
Entity Tags: Frank Schaeffer, Francis Schaeffer, Newt Gingrich, Dick Armey, FreedomWorks, Tim Bishop, Rachel Maddow, Barack Obama
David Vitter. [Source: The Earmark (.com)]Senator David Vitter (R-LA) holds a "town hall" meeting in Pineville, Louisiana, to discuss health care reform and other issues. In Louisiana University's Guinn Auditorium, Vitter tells a relatively calm and cooperative crowd of some 1,500 people that he is "totally and unalterably opposed" to the proposals being put forth in Congress. One attendee asks Vitter about the disruptions and confrontations taking place at Democratic town halls around the country (see June 30, 2009, July 6, 2009, July 25, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 31, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 2, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 5, 2009, August 5, 2009, August 6, 2009, August 6, 2009, and August 6-8, 2009). Liberal news and advocacy site Think Progress writes that "Vitter seemed to mock his colleagues," saying that although he had been advised to have "security" at his meeting, he "told them the best security is to do what the people want you to do." He adds, "[T]he angry mob is always welcome at my events." Perhaps the reason why the meeting is so controlled is that Vitter, unlike most of his Democratic colleagues, is using pre-screened questions chosen ahead of time. No one is allowed to ask impromptu questions. [Think Progress, 8/9/2009; Alexandria Town Talk, 8/9/2009]
Entity Tags: Think Progress (.org), David Vitter
In his weekly radio and Internet address, President Obama accuses health care reform opponents of using "outlandish rumors" and "misleading information" to combat his reform efforts. "As we draw close to finalizing—and passing—real health insurance reform, the defenders of the status quo and political point-scorers in Washington are growing fiercer in their opposition," Obama says. "Some have been using misleading information to defeat what they know is the best chance of reform we have ever had," he adds, and notes that it is critical for Americans to have all the facts as they meet their lawmakers in home districts. "Let me explain what reform will mean for you," Obama says. "And let me start by dispelling the outlandish rumors that reform will promote euthanasia, cut Medicaid, or bring about a government takeover of health care. That's simply not true.… There are those who… are trying to exploit differences or concerns for political gain." Representative Tom Price (R-GA), offering the Republicans' counter-address, says, "Rather than listening to the concerns of those who will face the consequences of the legislation, the White House has laughed off the thought that Americans might have sincere concerns about a plan that relies so heavily on government involvement in health care." [Reuters, 8/8/2009]
Entity Tags: Tom Price, Barack Obama, Medicaid
Discussing the anti-health care reform protests, Fox News host Sean Hannity asks his guest, conservative radio host Mark Levin, "You think the president [Obama] bears any responsibility for this conflict now that is emerging in these town halls" (see June 30, 2009, July 6, 2009, July 25, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 31, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 2, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 5, 2009, August 5, 2009, August 6, 2009, August 6, 2009, and August 6-8, 2009)? Levin responds, "[L]et me suggest that if there's anything that happens at these town hall meetings, if anybody's hurt or if anything really stupid happens, this White House has some responsibility for it." Levin justifies his claim: "This White House is calling out its dogs. The president sent out an e-mail to millions of, uh, his supporters. [White House chief of staff] Rahm Emanuel, behind the scenes, is pushing too, so is [White House political coordinator David] Axelrod. If something terrible happens at one of these town hall meetings, I think the president in part can be held accountable." [Media Matters, 8/8/2009]
Entity Tags: Sean Hannity, Fox News, Mark Levin
Niki Tsongas. [Source: Boston Herald]Representative Niki Tsongas (D-MA) holds a town hall to discuss health care reform in Chelmsford, Massachusetts. The crowd is relatively evenly divided between supporters and opponents. One audience member later writes about the event on the liberal blog Daily Kos. According to the blogger, some of the reform opponents sport the now-ubiquitous "Obama as Hitler" sign (see August 6, 2009); someone tells the blogger that the sign is being provided by an organization affiliated with the extreme right-winger Lyndon LaRouche. The school gymnasium hosting the event rapidly reaches its maximum capacity of 220, with people standing along the sides and in the back as well as occupying all of the available seats. The event is marked by frequent outbursts of shouting, booing, and name-calling, but Tsongas and the audience are somewhat able to ask and answer questions. The Lowell Sun later reports, "Supporters tried to counter with applause and cheer, but could not compete with the decibel level of the plan's opponents." One opponent screams, "We're turning into a Communist country!" Others complain that illegal aliens will be covered, using monies that should be allocated for citizens' care, and that health care will be strictly rationed, both claims that have been sharply disputed by President Obama and other Democrats (see August 8, 2009). Tsongas is frequently shouted down by protesters who, according to the Sun, "rush… the microphone" to ask questions and make statements. Exchanges among audience members are equally heated. One man receives cheers when he identifies himself as a retired Marine, but is booed when he declares his support for reform. A woman is booed when she identifies herself as a cancer survivor, but is cheered when she says she opposes reform. Listening to her tearful statement, one supporter calls out, "She's an actress!" Another woman discusses her son, who has graduated from college but cannot find a job and suffers from debilitating kidney disease. When she asks Tsongas what her son can do, a reform opponent shouts, "He can go to work for McDonald's!" A Sun reporter asks two elderly bill opponents about their views; the seniors refuse to give their names. "I won't give my name because of the Gestapo politics," one says. "The Obama administration will be investigating us if we give our names." After the event, Tsongas says: "We managed to have a serious discussion. Different opinions were expressed and there were moments when people were very animated, but they respected the need to go forward.… Some people seemed genuinely concerned. I wasn't suprised by it. We knew people would come and there would be strong opinions." [Daily Kos, 8/8/2009; Boston Herald, 8/9/2009; Lowell Sun, 8/9/2009; MetroWest Daily News, 8/12/2009]
Entity Tags: Niki Tsongas, Barack Obama
Anti-Obama protester at the discussion sponsored by Joe Donnelly. [Source: Daily Kos]Representative Joe Donnelly (D-IN) holds a meeting at a supermarket in South Bend, Indiana. He expects a few constituents to show up and discuss issues with him, including health care. Instead, several hundred people appear. One person attending the event later writes about it on the liberal blog Daily Kos. According to the blogger, about 70 percent of the attendees are vocally against health care reform. Many of them wear red T-shirts emblazoned with slogans claiming that reform is tantamount to government tyranny. "In all my life," the blogger writes, "I have never heard such uninformed, paranoid, and downright ignorant discussion of an important issue as the conversation that went on before Donnelly arrived." Numerous comparisons to Nazi Germany are made both before and during the event, with one woman directly comparing President Obama to Adolf Hitler. The same woman claims that Obama wants to use reform as an excuse to begin euthanizing senior citizens (see November 23, 2008, January 27, 2009, February 9, 2009, February 11, 2009, February 18, 2009, May 13, 2009, June 24, 2009, June 25, 2009, July 10, 2009, July 16, 2009, July 17, 2009, July 21, 2009, July 23, 2009, July 23, 2009, July 23, 2009, July 23-24, 2009, July 24, 2009, July 28, 2009, July 28, 2009, July 28, 2009, July 31, 2009 - August 12, 2009, and August 7, 2009) and enslaving American citizens. Other arguments being advanced include health care taking money from Americans to cover illegal aliens, mandatory abortions, health care rationing, and more. Several opponents claim that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called Republicans Nazis, a falsehood spread by conservative talk radio (see August 4, 2009, August 6, 2009, August 6, 2009, and August 7, 2009). After the meeting, Donnelly says: "I don't think it was heated. People are passionate about these issues. They expressed their ideas and gave me a chance to tell them what I think." [Daily Kos, 8/8/2009; WSBT-TV, 8/8/2009]
Entity Tags: Joe Donnelly
60+ logo. [Source: 60 Plus Association]An anti-health care reform television ad designed to frighten seniors into believing that so-called "death panels" will have government officials choosing to terminate them (see August 7, 2009, August 10, 2009, and August 10, 2009) is produced by a supposedly "non-partisan seniors advocacy group." However, in fact the group is led, organized, and funded by senior Republican operatives. The ad says in part that health care reform will, for seniors, "mean long waits for care, cuts to MRIs, CAT Scans, and other vital tests. Seniors may lose their own doctors. The government, not doctors, will decide if older patients are worth the cost." The organization that produced and released the ad is called the "60 Plus Association," or "60+," a registered non-profit organization that claims to be non-partisan. The president of 60+ is Jim Martin, a former official for the National Conservative Action Committee and another group, Americans Against Union Control of Government. The honorary chairman of 60+ is Roger Zion, a former Illinois Republican congressman whom the group's site calls "one of Washington's leading spokesman for the conservative cause." When 60+ began running ads against prescription drug reform a few years ago, the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) discovered that, in the organization's words, "virtually all of their largest contributions in recent years have come from the same source—the nation's pharmaceutical industry." John Rother of AARP will confirm that 60+ is "funded primarily by corporate interests, especially pharmaceuticals." Speaking to MSNBC's Rachel Maddow, he says that 60+ and other anti-reform groups are specifically targeting seniors. "I don't think you can look at those commercials and not conclude that seniors are the target of a very intentional scare campaign," he says. "And many seniors, of course, are worried about change because they depend on Medicare. They are perhaps not in the greatest of health, and they definitely want to know that Medicare will be there, their doctor will be there when they need it. So, change can be a little scary.… It certainly makes me angry because, you know, there are real issues and people should be engaged in this debate. But to scare people, to raise these bogus issues, to intentionally mislead a big part of the population is—you know, it's a subversion of democracy." Rother adds: "[W]e've looked at this bill and we read every page, we've concluded that the bills proposed in the Congress would be good for seniors, would actually help them afford their medications better, make sure that doctors are there when they need them. So, we feel there's nothing to be scared about in the actual legislation." In 2003, the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer paid 60+ to organize opposition against prescription drug reform in Minnesota and New Mexico. 60+ in turn hired a PR firm, Bonner & Associates, which according to the AARP "specializes in 'Astroturf lobbying'" (see April 14, 2009, April 15, 2009, May 29, 2009, July 27, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 5, 2009, Before August 6, 2009, August 6, 2009, and August 6-7, 2009). Bonner paid employees to call residents of those states and, identifying themselves as volunteers for 60+, urge them to oppose the legislation. 60+ also has ties to former Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who directed Native American tribes to donate to 60+ in return for Republican support in Congress. 60+ has also lobbied in favor of approving the storage of nuclear waste at the infamous Yucca Mountain, Nevada, storage site. Maddow says: "[T]he campaign against health care reform in this country is being brought to you by professional, corporate-funded, Republican-staffed political PR operations. In this case, an organization that promotes itself as non-partisan but appears to be anything but. These are professional PR operatives that are scaring real Americans with increasingly paranoid and kooky lies about health care. And they're getting rich in the process, thanks to the largess of extremely interested parties who are more than willing to pay for their services." [MSNBC, 8/11/2009; MSNBC, 8/12/2009]
Entity Tags: John Rother, 60 Plus Association, American Association of Retired Persons, Jim Martin, Roger Zion, Rachel Maddow
Bob Inglis. [Source: The Political Elite]Representative Bob Inglis (R-SC) is booed and jeered by a crowd of rowdy anti-health care protesters when he chides them for listening to Fox News host Glenn Beck and being part of what he calls Beck's "fear-mongering." Inglis speaks to a crowd of some 350 people at the Upstate Family Resource Center in Boiling Springs, South Carolina. Reporter Jason Spencer writes: "The loudest part of the crowd seemed to have its mind made up before Inglis even began talking, scolding him and applauding anyone who referenced the Constitution or denounced socialism." One speaker gains a standing ovation by standing up, identifying himself as a "mainstream conservative," and saying: "I look at the government, and they're so far outside the Constitution and there's not a week that goes by that I don't hear talk about revolution in our country. The only one I know in Congress who abides by our Constitution is Ron Paul." Though Inglis wins applause for advocating medical liability reform and stating his opposition to the Obama health care plan, the crowd is audibly opposed to his reminders that poor people should have access to health care regardless of their ability to pay. But the crowd launches into high-volume vilification when Inglis, responding to shouts and imprecations from the audience, tells the audience to "turn off Glenn Beck" and stop the "fear-mongering." Spencer is unable to quote Inglis directly for the screams and shouts that his remarks engender, but speaking with Inglis after the meeting, Inglis confirms what he told the crowd. Asked if he used the term "fear-mongering," Inglis says: "Probably. That's what he does. That's what Glenn Beck is all about. And Lou Dobbs. I've had the misfortune of listening to those shows a couple of times.… I don't listen often to Glenn Beck, but when I have, I've come away just so disappointed with the negativity… the 'We've just gone to pot as a country,' and 'All is lost' and 'There is no hope.' It's not consistent with the America that I know.… The America that Glenn Beck seems to see is a place where we all should be fearful, thinking that our best days are behind us. It sure does sell soap, but it sure does a disservice to America.… If Walter Cronkite said something like Glenn Beck said recently on the air, about the president being a racist (see July 28-29, 2009), Cronkite would've been fired on the spot. But I guess the executives of these cable news shows are more enamored with the profits that come from selling this negative message than they are with undermining the faith of people in this wonderful constitutional republic.… There is every reason to oppose President Obama's health care package. It's the wrong prescription. It needs to be stopped. But that doesn't mean we need to abandon hope in America, and say the end is near, and people are going to force us to have immunizations. There's no reason to go to that extreme." Inglis goes on to say that most of the fear and violent opposition he encounters is centered in people who identify themselves with the Libertarian and Constitutional parties: "The conservative Republicans there realize that the Constitution is stronger than any president. We have every reason to have faith in the institutions that hold the country together. But when fear takes over and people start thinking the Constitution is not strong enough to meet the challenge of a president they don't like, you end up with some fairly hysterical reactions.… This is a constitutional republic that can withstand any president I disagree with. It withstood Bill Clinton. And if you were a George Bush-hater, it withstood George Bush. And it will withstand Barack Obama. And that's just because there's such confidence in the Constitution and the framers, who set up such an incredible system of checks and balances.… It's inspiring to me to think about that. What you saw tonight was people who had been convinced of this negativism, and are detaching from the communities and institutions that hold us together. And I believe in the importance of strong institutions. I'm not an anarchist. And I'm not a Libertarian. I believe in a strong, smart federal government that is able to meet challenges like 9/11, and figure out how to correct its mistakes from Katrina.… I hope to convince people that there's every reason to be optimistic and there is a way forward. And I hope to help position the Republican Party as the party that presents a message that America can fall in love with, rather than a message that would drive fear in order to win votes." [Spartanburg Herald-Journal, 8/7/2009; Spartanburg Herald-Journal, 8/7/2009; Think Progress, 8/7/2009] In 2010, Inglis will lose a contentious primary battle to a "tea party" candidate who will denounce Inglis's criticisms of Beck. [Think Progress, 9/24/2010]
Entity Tags: Lou Dobbs, Bob Inglis, Jason Spencer, Walter Cronkite, Ron Paul, Glenn Beck
Timeline Tags: Domestic Propaganda
The progressive news Web site AlterNet publishes an analysis of how health insurance and medical industry firms use so-called "Astroturf" organizations (see April 14, 2009, April 15, 2009, May 29, 2009, July 27, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 5, 2009, Before August 6, 2009, August 6, 2009, and August 6-7, 2009) to work against health care reform. One firm investigated is the Medicines Company, a small pharmaceutical firm, which has hired the Washington lobbying firm DLA Piper to promote its interests, including fighting health care reform. Former House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-TX) is a senior policy adviser for DLA Piper, and heads the "grassroots" organization FreedomWorks, which apparently conducts protests and advocacy for the interests of DLA Piper's clients (see April 14, 2009). The AlterNet analysis, by Adele M. Stan, accuses Armey of having a conflict of interest in his dual roles as lobbyist and "grassroots" organizer. The Medicines Company's contract with DLA Piper comprises 15 percent of that firm's business. (The Medicines Company will later claim that it does not contract with any lobbying firms to influence anyone's position on health care legislation.) Other "Astroturf" organizations such as Grassfire.org and its subsidiary, ResistNet, are also involved in combating reform. ResistNet bills itself as "[t]he online community for patriotic citizens who are opposing the Obama-led socialist agenda." The home page of ResistNet's Web site features a video entitled "Obama Equals Hitler." ResistNet is run by Grassfire, which says it funds ResistNet as part of "our overall patriotic resistance efforts." Stan expands her analysis to include media mogul Rupert Murdoch, whose NewsCorp owns Fox News. NewsCorp invests heavily in health industry firms, and, according to Stan, would profit by keeping reform from becoming law. Stan notes that one of Murdoch's key hires was radio and former CNN host Glenn Beck. Beck was hired, Stan claims, to host a Fox News show and to organize a group called the 9/12 Project. Beck's 9/12 Project, which, like Grassfire and ResistNet, serves as a "social networking" tool to bring together reform opponents, has been involved in a number of raucous anti-reform protests (see June 30, 2009 and August 6, 2009). Stan says the combination of these elements, along with what she calls "an oppressed-white-people narrative that has its roots in the origins of what used to be called the New Right," has created the "perfect storm" of converging trends to create a chaotic and confrontational season for anti-reform protests and lobbyists. [AlterNet (.org), 8/10/2009; MSNBC, 8/14/2009]
Entity Tags: ResistNet, News Corporation, Rupert Murdoch, Medicines Company, FreedomWorks, Glenn Beck, AlterNet (.org), Adele M. Stan, 9/12 Project, DLA Piper, Grassfire (.org), Dick Armey, Fox News
Fox News political contributor Dick Morris, a former adviser to President Clinton as well as several Republican lawmakers, urges anti-health care reform protesters to "terrorize" conservative Democratic members of Congress who might not strongly support the Obama health care reform initiative. Interviewed by Fox's Sean Hannity, Morris accuses Democrats and reform supporters of comparing the anti-reform protesters to Nazis (see November 23, 2008, January 27, 2009, February 11, 2009, May 13, 2009, July 17, 2009, July 24, 2009, July 25, 2009, July 28, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 6, 2009, August 6, 2009, August 6, 2009, August 7, 2009, and August 7, 2009). The reform supporters have "compared us to Nazis, they've called us brownshirts, crazed mobsters," Morris complains. Hannity agrees: "All in an effort to shut down dissent.… The president, himself, wants everyone to shut up." Morris then advises: "I would urge people to go to these town meetings.… Go to the meetings and don't listen to the people, some of whom spoke earlier on this station, that you should be very nice and polite and stick your hand up and ask mild-mannered questions. Nonsense! These people are trying to take away your health care in six weeks!" After Hannity accuses Democrats and reform advocates of fomenting violence at the town hall meetings (see June 30, 2009, July 6, 2009, July 25, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 31, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 2, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 5, 2009, August 5, 2009, August 6, 2009, August 6, 2009, August 6-8, 2009, August 8, 2009, August 10, 2009, and August 10, 2009), and Obama of urging Democrats to "infiltrate" town hall meetings "to create a confrontation," Morris says of conservative Democrats who might turn from supporting reform: "If they are not terrorized during August, by the public outpouring, and they don't have thousands and thousands of handwritten letters on their doorstep waiting for them when they return from the August recess, they'll fold. But if they absolutely get an outpouring of public opinion, I think we can win this thing." [NewsHounds, 8/11/2009]
Entity Tags: Sean Hannity, Dick Morris, Fox News, Barack Obama
One of the clearest indications that lobbying groups are directing the "grassroots" protests against health care reform comes during a forum held by Representative Tom Perriello (D-VA) in Ruckersville, Virginia. Many of the protesters hold up signs provided by Americans for Prosperity (AFP—see May 29, 2009), a corporate-funded lobbying group. One protester tells Perriello, "I'm angry that you ignore the law of the Constitution that requires Obama to prove that he is a natural born citizen." After the event, the protester confirms that he believes President Obama is not an American citizen, but that he was contacted by AFP's Ben Marchi to distribute talking points and signs before the event. Marchi is the Virginia state director of Americans for Prosperity and a former staffer for former Republican House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. In a related item, a local right-wing blogger calling himself "Send a Rope" attends this meeting. He follows Perriello around from forum to forum, videotaping him and accusing him of being a "traitor" for voting for energy reform. The blogger encourages people to send lengths of rope to the White House and Congress—implying that lawmakers will be lynched if they do not comply with the wishes of the senders—and declares on his Web site: "I don't think that there are enough trees or rope in Washington, DC, to handle all the traitors you would find there.… I hope it doesn't come to us having to do what we all think is coming with these guns, but you better be ready if it is." The blogger does not claim a connection to AFP, but avows his inspiration is drawn in part from Fox News host Glenn Beck. [Think Progress, 8/11/2009]
Entity Tags: Thomas Perriello, Americans for Prosperity, Ben Marchi
Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin (R-AK) does not withdraw her accusations that Congressional Democrats are planning to institute "death panels" for elderly Americans as part of their health care reform proposal (see August 7, 2009), but she does call for civility at town hall debates over the reform proposals (see June 30, 2009, July 6, 2009, July 25, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 31, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 2, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 5, 2009, August 5, 2009, August 6, 2009, August 6, 2009, August 6-8, 2009, and August 8, 2009). On her Facebook page, Palin writes: "There are many disturbing details in the current bill that Washington is trying to rush through Congress, but we must stick to a discussion of the issues and not get sidetracked by tactics that can be accused of leading to intimidation or harassment. Such tactics diminish our nation's civil discourse which we need now more than ever because the fine print in this outrageous health care proposal must be understood clearly and not get lost in conscientious voters' passion to want to make elected officials hear what we are saying. Let's not give the proponents of nationalized health care any reason to criticize us." Talking Points Memo correspondent Eric Kleefeld notes: "It would be incorrect to say that Palin is backing off. Rather, she is calling for civility in the manner of the debate, so as to focus effectively on how evil and disturbing her opponents are." [Politico, 8/10/2009; TPMDC, 8/10/2009] MSNBC's Rachel Maddow says of Palin's apparent backtrack: "[I]n politics the price of cultivating the extremist fringe—the price of that is losing your support from absolutely everyone else who is not on the fringe. And that's why politicians get caught saying, 'Who me?' They try to both cultivate the fringe and to deny that they are doing so. So you get Sarah Palin allying herself with the off-the-kook end fringe by denouncing mythical death panels in health care reform. And once those remarks draw wide attention, you get her trying to appear to be responsible by calling for civility." [MSNBC, 8/11/2009]
Entity Tags: Rachel Maddow, Eric Kleefeld, Sarah Palin
In an op-ed, the Miami Herald decries the attempt by protesters to disrupt and block discussion at health care forums around the country (see June 30, 2009, July 6, 2009, July 25, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 27, 2009, July 31, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 2, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 3, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 5, 2009, August 5, 2009, August 6, 2009, August 6, 2009, August 6-8, 2009, and August 8, 2009). "[D]on't confuse the rowdy protests in the health care reform forums with the fine American tradition of talking back to those who wield political power," the Herald writes. "In forum after forum around the country, including Florida, members of Congress have been shouted down, cursed out, and forced to cancel town hall meetings on health care reform because of bully tactics by opponents of health care proposals. This doesn't promote debate and the exchange of ideas. Rather, it promotes fear and intimidation—similar to the Cuban government's goon squads, the so-called repudiation brigades." The Herald cites a recent forum held by Kathy Castor (D-FL—see August 6, 2009) as an example of an attempted discussion derailed by orchestrated attempts to shout down speakers and audience members alike. The protests often "tak[e] on the character of anti-administration rallies and much of the venom [is] directed at President Obama himself." The editorial also criticizes the display of posters depicting Obama as Hitler (see August 6, 2009), and notes, "Such outrageous tactics were used against President Bush in protests about the war on terror." The anger and concern among citizens is real, the Herald acknowledges, "[b]ut staging raucous protests and drowning out real discussion is no way to win the argument. It only leads to more argument." The Herald goes on to note: "Some of the disruptions, without doubt, are politically motivated and orchestrated by organized opponents of reform. Conservatives for Patients' Rights and Americans for Prosperity have been linked to some of the public outcries. Genuine grassroots opposition is discredited when the forums turn into shouting matches designed to embarrass public officials and tarnish the reform effort. The anger of protesters at some of these forums is fueled not by the content of health care reform proposals but by disinformation, the hallmark of an orchestrated campaign." The editorial concludes: "Urge your elected representative to support reform—or not—but give others a chance to speak and be heard. That's the American way." [Miami Herald, 8/10/2009]
Entity Tags: Miami Herald, Americans for Prosperity, Conservatives for Patients' Rights
A protester displays a handmade sign advocating "Death to Obama" and to his family. [Source: WHAG-TV]At a "town hall" meeting to discuss health care reform, Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) is plagued with "almost non-stop" hecklers who "hoot and holler" at his every statement, according to the Baltimore Sun. Outside the town hall, an opponent of health care reform holds a small, handwritten sign that says: "Death to Obama. Death to Obama—Michelle and 2 stupid kids." (The man is detained by Secret Service agents.) The event, held at Towson University, is packed with anti-reform protesters, who regularly outshout those who have come to support Cardin and health care reform. Cardin is a proponent of the Democrats' health care reform efforts. "I know some of you don't want me to mention the facts, but listen to the facts," he says towards the beginning of the event, drawing screams and catcalls from the protesters. Cardin's every statement is greeted with jeers and shouts, and protesters break "into raucous cheers" when their fellows yell dismissive or abusive remarks towards him. According to the Sun reporters in attendance, Cardin keeps calm throughout the event. His statements that illegal immigrants would not be given coverage under the plan receives some of the heaviest levels of profane jeering and booing; in contrast, one of the longest and loudest ovations comes when an audience member asks why tort reform is not part of the reform plan. When one audience member asks if Cardin will put himself under a public plan, he retorts: "I'm in a public plan. It's called Medicare." Cardin is protected throughout the event by a large number of uniformed university security officers. About 500 people make their way inside; hundreds more are turned away and conduct their own protests, arguments, disputes, and screaming matches outside the venue. One supporter tells a reporter: "I guess we're going to rally and scream at each other. It's ridiculous, but you can't just have one side control the whole discussion." One protester, carrying a sign reading "Obama Lies, Seniors Die" (see November 23, 2008, January 27, 2009, February 9, 2009, February 11, 2009, February 18, 2009, May 13, 2009, June 24, 2009, June 25, 2009, July 10, 2009, July 16, 2009, July 17, 2009, July 21, 2009, July 23, 2009, July 23, 2009, July 23, 2009, July 23-24, 2009, July 24, 2009, July 28, 2009, July 28, 2009, July 28, 2009, July 31, 2009 - August 12, 2009, August 6, 2009, August 7, 2009, August 10, 2009, August 10, 2009, Shortly Before August 10, 2009, and August 11, 2009), tells reporters, "I'm not a mob." Cardin addresses the "euthanasia" issue in the venue, assuring the audience, "There would be nothing in a health overhaul plan about terminating people's care at the end of life." He then adds, "And by the way, President Obama is also a citizen of the United States." [Baltimore Sun, 8/11/2009; MSNBC, 8/13/2009; Associated Press, 8/13/2009]
Entity Tags: US Secret Service, Baltimore Sun, Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Ben Cardin, Medicare
A montage of photos aired by Glenn Beck in April 2009, featuring Hitler, Stalin, and Lenin. Beck's voiceover asked, 'Is this where we're heading?' [Source: Media Matters]Fox News host Glenn Beck shows a four-minute video montage filled with images of Nazis, and speaks on what he says is "the beginnings of and the history of eugenics." During his presentation, Beck warns that "the people who are writing their blogs in the basement" are going to claim that "Glenn is saying eugenics is coming." Beck denies he is making any such claim: "No, I am not. I am not saying anything like that at all. Eugenics are not coming." Beck has made claims in the recent past that the Democrats' health care reform proposal would lead to eugenics (see May 13, 2009). [Think Progress, 8/12/2009]
Entity Tags: Glenn Beck, Fox News
Eric Boehlert. [Source: Simon & Schuster]Eric Boehlert, an author and editor of the progressive news watchdog organization Media Matters, writes that, in his eyes, the media is ignoring the biggest "political story of the year": "the unhinged radical-right response to [President] Obama's inauguration and the naked attempt to dehumanize and delegitimize him through a nonstop smear campaign," which he says is sponsored by the Republican Party and its conservative supporters. "The misguided movement breaks all kinds of taboos in American politics," Boehlert writes, "as well as in the press, and is redefining our political culture—for the worse. Yet the press continues to play dumb." Playing the Nazi Card - Boehlert takes as his springboard the relative disinterest the mainstream media shows to the repeated accusations that Obama and/or Congressional Democrats are Nazis, or Nazi sympathizers, or have Nazi-like goals and ideals (see July 24, 2009, July 28, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 6, 2009, August 6, 2009, August 6, 2009, August 7, 2009, and August 10-11, 2009), as well as the virtually unreported use of Nazi symbols and rhetoric at anti-health care protests (see July 25, 2009, August 1, 2009, August 4, 2009, and August 8, 2009). Boehlert notes that in January 2004, the liberal advocacy organization MoveOn received weeks of negative publicity and media attention when it briefly posted two amateur video clips on its Web site submitted as part of a contest for 30-second Internet advertisements against the policies of the Bush administration. The organization removed the clips within hours and apologized for posting them, but was berated for weeks over the ads. Now, Boehlert notes, Rush Limbaugh and other prominent conservative spokespersons routinely use accusations of Nazism in their rhetorical attacks on Obama and Democrats, with virtually no acknowledgement from the press. Boehlert writes: "Despite the fact that Limbaugh has not apologized for his comments—unlike MoveOn in 2004—and is continuing to compare the Obama White House and the Democratic Party with Nazis, many in the media don't consider it newsworthy and haven't condemned it. And more important, journalists don't show any signs of believing that the episode tells us anything about the radically unhinged nature of the right-wing media in this country today." Apparently, he writes, most media analysts just consider Limbaugh's extreme rhetoric a case of "Rush being Rush." But, he asks, if Limbaugh is going to be considered the de facto leader of conservative thought in America, why isn't he being challenged on his use of what Boehlert calls "his radical and outrageous rhetoric.… He went to a place that previously was considered unconscionable and unpardonable by the press.… Why isn't Limbaugh uniformly condemned for his words?" Accusations of Racism, Racist Pronouncements - And Limbaugh is merely one of many. Fox News commentator Glenn Beck recently accused Obama of being a "racist" and having a "deep-seated hatred of white people" (see July 28-29, 2009), and outside of the small number of progressive/liberal hosts on MSNBC and a few scattered notations in the press, the accusation was virtually ignored. "At the [Washington] Post, which obsesses over the intersection of the media and politics," Boehlert writes, "the jaw-dropping attack by Fox News's superstar host wasn't considered newsworthy. That's correct: Two of the most popular and powerful conservative voices in America have recently called out Obama as a Nazi and a racist." Legitimizing Extremism - Boehlert assigns part of the blame to journalists being "spooked by decades' worth of 'liberal media bias' attacks" that drive them to "refuse to connect the glaringly obvious dots on display." The extreme rhetorical attacks dovetail with what he calls "the town hall mini-mobs that are wreaking havoc across the country" and "the bizarre birther conspiracy theory" that insists Obama is not a US citizen, but some sort of "plant" from Kenya brought to America to bring down American democracy. "The three right-wing phenomena are all related," he writes, "and they all revolve around a runaway hatred of Obama (as well as the federal government), and they're all being fueled by the [conservative media operation], especially Fox News and Limbaugh, both of which no longer recognize common decency, let alone journalistic standards. Yet instead of putting Limbaugh on the receiving end of well-deserved scrutiny and scorn, rather than turning his comments into a political firestorm, the press plays dumb and actually goes out of its way to legitimize the worst offenders of the GOP's hate brigade." Boehlert condemns ABC News for inviting conservative blogger and columnist Michelle Malkin to take part in a discussion of health care reform "with Pulitzer Prize-winning writers." Malkin, he writes, is a prime member of the "hate brigade," helping push the increasingly angry and violent mob confrontations as well as exhorting readers to believe that the Democrats want to exterminate the elderly (see November 23, 2008, January 27, 2009, February 9, 2009, February 11, 2009, February 18, 2009, May 13, 2009, June 24, 2009, June 25, 2009, July 10, 2009, July 16, 2009, July 17, 2009, July 21, 2009, July 23, 2009, July 23, 2009, July 23, 2009, July 23-24, 2009, July 24, 2009, July 28, 2009, July 28, 2009, July 28, 2009, July 31, 2009 - August 12, 2009, August 7, 2009, and August 10, 2009). The New Yorker recently praised Michael Savage, who routinely attacks women, gays, liberals, and minorities with the worst rhetorical excess (see January 10, 2008, February 1, 2008, February 21, 2008, March 13, 2008, April 3, 2008, June 6, 2008, June 6, 2008, August 25, 2008, October 8-10, 2008, October 21, 2008, October 22, 2008, November 10, 2008, and November 18, 2008), calling him "fun" and "addictive." Comparing the Statistics - Boehlert notes that in January 2004, the Indianapolis Star published five letters to the editor about the MoveOn controversy. To date, it has not published a single letter about Limbaugh's Nazi accusations towards Obama or Democrats. In January 2004, 28 of the nation's largest newspapers published a total of 54 stories, articles, or letters about the MoveOn controversy. To date, that group has published a combined total of six stories about Limbaugh's Nazi allegations. No paper has printed more than one story on the topic. In January 2004, the MoveOn-Nazi story garnered 300 percent more airtime on CNN than the Limbaugh-Nazi story has received. [Media Matters, 8/11/2009]
Entity Tags: Indianapolis Star, Glenn Beck, Eric Boehlert, Barack Obama, ABC News, Washington Post, Rush Limbaugh, MoveOn (.org), Obama administration, Michael Savage, Media Matters, MSNBC, Fox News, New Yorker, Republican Party, Michelle Malkin
Timeline Tags: Domestic Propaganda, 2008 Elections
Protester William Kostric, bearing his sign and wearing a gun strapped to his leg. [Source: London Daily Mail]President Obama holds a "town hall" meeting in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to discuss health care. Although the audience is allowed to attend on a first-come first-served basis, it is comprised mostly of health care reform supporters. During the event, Obama repeatedly solicits questions from skeptics of his health care plan, telling the audience, "I don't want people thinking I have a bunch of plants in here." In his remarks, Obama addresses what he calls some of the "wild misrepresentations that bear no resemblance to what's in the [reform] bill." He says for years, patients have been "held hostage" by insurance companies, and adds that "for all the scare tactics out there, what is truly scary" and risky would be the status quo, such as projections that Medicare will be in the red within five years. [ABC News, 8/11/2009; Think Progress, 8/11/2009] Seventy percent of the participants in the town hall were chosen in a random, online lottery, without consideration of political affiliation. The questions Obama answers are not prescreened. [MSNBC, 8/12/2009] Debunking 'Death Panels' - Obama opens by saying: "I do hope that we will talk with each other and not over each other. Where we do disagree, let's disagree over things that are real, not these wild misrepresentations that bear no resemblance to anything that's actually been proposed.… Because the way politics works sometimes is that people who want to keep things the way they are will try to scare the heck out of folks. And they'll create boogeymen out there that just aren't real." [MSNBC, 8/12/2009] Obama notes the claim of so-called "death panels that will pull the plug on Grandma," directly referring to former Governor Sarah Palin (R-AK)'s recent claim that the Democrats intend to create "death panels" that would decide who lives and dies (see August 7, 2009). Obama responds: "[I]t turns out that this, I guess, rose out of a provision in one of the House bills that allowed Medicare to reimburse people for consultations about end-of-life care," as well as living wills, hospice care, and the like. The "intention" is to help patients prepare for "end of life on their own terms." Ironically, Obama adds, one of the chief sponsors of this idea is a Republican, Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA), who "sensibly thought this would expand people's options." (Isakson takes issue with being identified as a sponsor of "end-of-life" counseling—see August 11, 2009). Obama says that beneath the false claims of "death panels" exists a real concern: "if we are reforming the health system to make it more efficient that somehow that will mean rationing of care." He gives an example of such a concern: "some bureaucrat" saying "You can't have this test, you can't have this procedure" because "some bean counter" says so. This will not be the case, Obama says. The reform package would ensure that doctors and patients, not bureaucrats, make such decisions. He notes that insurance company bureaucrats "right now are rationing care.… So why is it that people would prefer having insurance companies making those decisions rather than medical experts and doctors figuring out what are good deals for care?" Obama tells his listeners: "I want to be very clear" about the "underlying fear that people won't get the care they need. You will have the care you need, but also care that is being denied to you right now—that is what we are fighting for." [ABC News, 8/11/2009; Think Progress, 8/11/2009] Countering Claims of 'Enemies List' - Obama also counters recent claims that the White House is attempting to compile a list of "enemies" in asking that emails containing "fishy" health care information be forwarded to it. "Can I just say this is another example of how the media just ends up completely distorting what's taking place?" he says. "What we've said is that if somebody has—if you get an email from somebody that says, for example, 'ObamaCare is creating a death panel,' forward us the email and we will answer the question that is being raised in the email. Suddenly, on some of these news outlets, this is being portrayed as Obama collecting an enemies list. Now, come on guys, here I am trying to be responsive to questions that are being raised out there—and I just want to be clear that all we're trying to do is answer questions." In recent days, Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) claimed that the White House "want[s] information on opponents of its health care plan." [Think Progress, 8/11/2009] Advocating Violence outside the Venue - Outside the venue, a man, William Kostric, stands in the crowd with a gun strapped to his leg. Under New Hampshire law, he is within his rights to openly carry a handgun. He carries a sign that reads, "It is time to water the tree of liberty." MSNBC host Rachel Maddow notes: "It's a reference, of course, to Thomas Jefferson's famous words, 'The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.' For perspective on the implication of Jefferson's words in this context being quoted by the guy with the gun at the event as which the president was speaking, when Timothy McVeigh was arrested 90 minutes after the Oklahoma City bombing, he was wearing a t-shirt with that slogan and a picture of Abraham Lincoln on the front and a tree dripping with blood in the back" (see 9:03 a.m. -- 10:17 a.m. April 19, 1995). Maddow later notes that McVeigh's shirt bore the words "Sic Semper Tyrannis"—"thus always to tyrants"—the words shouted by Lincoln's assassin after firing the fatal shot. Another anti-reform protester, Richard Terry Young, is arrested by security officials after sneaking inside the building hours before Obama arrives. He is carrying a knife on his person and a .38 caliber semi-automatic pistol in his truck with a round in the chamber. A number of anti-reform protesters from the New Hampshire Republican Volunteer Coalition also stage a protest outside the event. One advocates murdering all undocumented immigrants: "Why are we bankrupting this country for 21 million illegals who should be sent on the first bus one way back from wherever they come from? We don't need illegals. Send them home once. Send them home with a bullet in their head the second time. Read what Jefferson said about the Tree of Liberty—it's coming, baby." [Think Progress, 8/11/2009; MSNBC, 8/12/2009; MSNBC, 8/13/2009]
Entity Tags: William Kostric, Rachel Maddow, Medicare, New Hampshire Republican Volunteer Coalition, Barack Obama, John Cornyn, Johnny Isakson, Obama administration, Richard Terry Young
Fox News talk show host Glenn Beck compares the media's portrayal of "tea party" participants to the Nazis' portrayal of anti-Nazi "complainers." Beck shows his viewers a poster from Nazi Germany depicting "complainers" about Nazi policies, saying, "This is a poster of what you see every day now in the news media making the complainers, the tea partygoers, look somehow rotten." [Media Matters, 8/11/2009]
Betty Anne McCaskill watches as her daughter Claire McCaskill addresses the audience. [Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch]Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) brings an effective ally to a potentially contentious health care reform discussion at Jefferson College in Missouri: her aging and ill, but outspoken, mother. Betsy Anne McCaskill, an octogenarian who suffers from diabetes and heart problems, calls herself "Exhibit No. 1" in the debate over reform. She interrupts the forum early on to give her daughter advice: "As Harry Truman said, give 'em hell." Winning Over the Crowd - The McCaskills are interrupted at the outset by shouts and boos, but as the event continues, they win over the bulk of the crowd—some 2,000 strong, held in the campus field house—with what the St. Louis Post-Dispatch later calls their "mix of frank talk and tough love." Senator McCaskill says after the event: "I just hope that the word goes out that every member of Congress can and should have these kind of meetings. I don't think we should shy away from public discourse just because it gets a little rocky." Confusion over Contents of Bill - She fields a number of tough questions, and assures that the reform plans will neither fund abortions nor require citizens to change their health care plans or insurance providers. After the forum, many tell reporters that they aren't sure McCaskill was entirely honest with them. One expresses a concern that many seem to share: confusion over exactly what is and what is not in the bill. "It doesn't seem to be as transparent as [President] Obama promised. It seems to be a hurry-up-and-get-it-done attitude." A Tea Party protester says he appreciated McCaskill's openness and candor. "She's got a lot of guts to be here," he says. "I have to give her a lot of credit." [St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 8/12/2009] One Arrest over Racial Confrontation - One man is arrested when he tears a sign from the grip of veteran Democratic activist Maxine Johnson. The sign is not about health care, but is a poster of famed civil rights activist Rosa Parks, depicted on the poster as the "First Lady of Civil Rights." As posters and signs are not allowed in the hall, Johnson and several friends, who brought similar posters, had rolled them up once entering the venue and being "booed and berated" by the crowd, according to one reporter. A journalist asks Johnson to show her the poster; when she does, anti-reform protester James Winfrey rips it from her hands and begins crumpling it up. An angry Johnson is escorted from the building, but Winfrey is later charged with third-degree assault. One witness later says that Winfrey just "came over and grabbed" the poster from Johnson's hand. Watching the brief conflict, McCaskill says from the podium, "I'll bet you a dollar that's all they show on the news tonight." During the conflict, a security officer asks McCaskill if she wants to exit the forum for her own safety. She responds, "Not on your life." [Talking Points Memo, 8/11/2009; St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 8/12/2009; Huffington Post, 8/12/2009] According to liberal blogger Pam Spaulding, the apparent racism evidenced by Winfrey is not an isolated incident at the venue. One African-American woman is accosted by a white woman who tells her how tired she is of "n_ggers" and "baby killers," and President Obama is depicted in signs, pamphlets, and posters outside the hall as, Spaulding writes, "some sort of Nazi, socialist, foreign born, communist, Muslim, euthanasia enthusiast, fascist who wants to tyrannically impose new environmental standards to perpetuate the dangerous myth of global warming all the while teaching the wee little babies about birth control in pre-school and plotting to knock off Grandma." [Pam Spaulding, 8/12/2009]
Entity Tags: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, James Winfrey, Maxine Johnson, Claire McCaskill, Betty Anne McCaskill, Pam Spaulding
Senator Arlen Specter (D-PA), fresh from a contentious "town hall" meeting on health care reform, holds another such forum in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. Though the Lebanon auditorium seats only 250, over 1,000 show up for the forum. Those who arrive first get in first, and therefore many anti-reform protesters enter the auditorium to grill Specter, while many union members and pro-reformers are left to mill about in the parking lot outside. Many of the protesters come in response to e-mail alerts sent from local and national anti-tax, anti-reform, and "tea party" organizations, along with Specter's own mailings. The New York Times reports that many protesters repeat slogans and questions recently aired on conservative talk radio shows, though when asked about their propensity to parrot material from such sources, the reporters receive indignant protestations of the protesters' independence. Many shout that they are not mob members or puppets, though the chants seem orchestrated, and some of the protesters were bused in by the lobbying organization Americans for Prosperity (AFP—see May 29, 2009). Many of the protesters, according to the Times, are there to protest about issues other than health care. One protester says health care reform is just one aspect of the Obama administration's plans for "the dismantling of this country," a line which draws loud applause. "We don't want this country to turn into Russia." One local "tea party" organizer, John Stahl, says the issues debated at the forum go well beyond health care. "We believe there are several issues out there that leave the existence of the Republic at risk," he says, "not the least of which is this Obamacare." Many want to talk about enforced euthanasia of elderly citizens (see November 23, 2008, January 27, 2009, February 9, 2009, February 11, 2009, February 18, 2009, May 13, 2009, June 24, 2009, June 25, 2009, July 10, 2009, July 16, 2009, July 17, 2009, July 21, 2009, July 23, 2009, July 23, 2009, July 23, 2009, July 23-24, 2009, July 24, 2009, July 28, 2009, July 28, 2009, July 28, 2009, July 31, 2009 - August 12, 2009, August 6, 2009, August 7, 2009, August 10, 2009, August 10, 2009, Shortly Before August 10, 2009, August 11, 2009, and August 11, 2009), immigration policy, and other concerns. In an attempt to impose some order on the forum, Specter imposes a rigid format, allowing only the first 30 people who wish to speak to submit cards with their questions. He also stands face-to-face with questioners, and allows them to speak fully before giving answers. The auditorium is patrolled by three uniformed Capitol Police officers from Washington as well as local law enforcement. One protester, Craig Miller, becomes involved with the police when he stands close to Specter and bellows, "You are trampling our Constitution!" The officers move in to restrain him but Specter asks them to give Miller his space and allow him to leave the venue under his own power. Miller refuses to leave, and instead shouts, "One day, God is going to stand before you, and he's going to judge you!" Specter then informs the rowdy, cheering protesters that anyone who disrupts the proceedings will be removed. [New York Times, 8/11/2009]
Entity Tags: Arlen Specter, Americans for Prosperity, New York Times, Obama administration, John Stahl, Craig Miller
Representative Paul Broun (R-GA) holds a "town hall" forum to discuss the Democrats' health care reform efforts in the North Georgia Technical College auditorium. The audience is primarily white, elderly, and supportive of Broun's opposition to reform. He begins by displaying three white binders to the audience and declaring: "Folks, this is Obamacare. Let me start this by telling you what I think of this bill and Obamacare." He then raises the binders over his head and slams them to the ground. "This is a stinking, rotten fish, and they don't want you to smell it, and they want to shove it down your throat and make you eat it before you smell how rotten and stinky it is," he says, and promises to vote against the reform bill no matter how it is changed. Broun has made headlines by claiming the health care reform proposal "is gonna kill people" (see July 10, 2009) and comparing President Obama to Adolf Hitler. During the forum, he calls Latin American socialist leaders Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez Obama's "good buddy" (sic). Reform an Excuse for Martial Law - Going even farther, Broun claims that a "socialist elite" made up of Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) intends to use a pandemic disease or natural disaster as an excuse to declare martial law. "They're trying to develop an environment where they can take over," he says. "We've seen that historically." Killing Old People - Broun feeds into his elderly audience's concerns over the debunked claims that the reform proposal would lead to the euthanization or untimely death of American seniors (see July 23, 2009 and July 23, 2009). Obama "is going to let the old folks die, and I don't like that at all," one audience member says. Broun agrees, telling the audience that younger citizens would get preferential treatment over elderly patients. "Eventually, mama will be lying in bed until she gets pneumonia and dies," he says. Citing a study by the Lewin Group, which has not only been debunked but shown to have been propagated by health insurance company UnitedHealth (see July 27, 2009), Broun tells his audience that under the reform bill, 114 million Americans will be forced off their employers' insurance plans and onto a competing government-run plan because small businesses will not be able to pay for the mandated insurance. The reform proposal will lead to a government-only "single payer" system, he asserts. "They want to take away your insurance and dictate what kind of health care you're going to get," he warns. Furthermore, the government will end Medicare and other federal health care programs. Broun's Alternative: 'Letting the Market Work' - Broun says his Republicans have an alternative: allowing groups of citizens to form private insurer groups and thusly enjoy group rates and other cost reductions. His other ideas include expanding Medicare's stable of private providers, strictly capping malpractice lawsuits, making health care expenses tax-deductible, and relaxing some state insurers' restrictions on pre-existing conditions. "We can lower the cost of health care markedly by giving people more options and letting the market work," he says. Supportive Crowd - The crowd is almost uniformly made up of Broun supporters, but one woman attempts to ask a question about covering the uninsured while Broun is speaking. Uniformed deputies remove her from the auditorium for a time before allowing her to return. When she asks another question during the question-and-answer period, audience menbers demand that the facilitators "cut her mic." Broun conducts two sessions, the first containing some 400 participants and the second 150. The auditorium seats 250. [Think Progress, 8/12/2009; Atlanta Banner-Herald, 8/12/2009]
Entity Tags: UnitedHealth Group, Obama administration, Lewin Group, Nancy Pelosi, Barack Obama, Harry Reid, Paul Broun
An image of Dede Scozzafava, altered by a conservative activist to make her appear as Revolutionary War traitor Benedict Arnold. [Source: Saberpoint (.com)]Democratic candidate Bill Owens wins an unexpected, narrow victory in a special election for the US House seat representing New York State's 23rd District, a win widely seen as a setback to the national tea party movement. Owens ran against Conservative Party candidate Douglas L. Hoffman in a race that saw the original Republican Party candidate, Dede Scozzafava, drop out under heavy pressure from local, state, and national tea party organizations to give way to Hoffman, their preferred candidate. Scozzafava was the unanimous choice of the 11 county chairs of the district's Republican Party organization. The 23rd District is traditionally Republican. Conservative figures identified with the tea party, such as former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and Governor Tim Pawlenty (R-MN), who has presidential aspirations, came out strongly in favor of Hoffman and against Scozzafava, as did talk show hosts Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, and Fred Thompson, and the editorial pages of the Weekly Standard and the Wall Street Journal. Scozzafava is a moderate Republican who supports gay and abortion rights, and the federal economic stimulus package promoted by the Bush and Obama administrations. The Republican National Committee (RNC), which had backed Scozzafava, applauded her decision to withdraw and endorsed Hoffman. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA), who like the RNC had supported Scozzzafava but in the days before the election endorsed Hoffman, says he worries that having third-party candidates routinely enter races would split conservative votes and give Democrats control of federal and state governments. "This makes life more complicated from the standpoint of this," he says."If we get into a cycle where every time one side loses, they run a third-party candidate, we'll make [Nancy] Pelosi [D-CA] speaker for life and guarantee [President] Obama's re-election.… I think we are going to get into a very difficult environment around the country if suddenly conservative leaders decide they are going to anoint people without regard to local primaries and local choices." After Hoffman's loss, some tea party figures blame the Republican Party for the defeat, saying that if the party had gotten behind Hoffman from the outset, he would have defeated Owens. Fox News commentator Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas, agrees, saying: "I think Doug Hoffman likely would have won if he had been the Republican candidate from the get-go. It wasn't a spike in the end zone for the Democrats. They got that seat not because Democrats were brilliant, but because Republicans were stupid." Some conservatives attempt to frame the loss as a victory because they forced the more moderate Scozzafava out of the race. Brian Brown of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) says, "Our number one goal was to make clear that the Republican Party cannot take someone as liberal as Dede Scozzafava and thrust her out on the voters and expect the voters just to accept it." The seat became vacant after Representative John M. McHugh (R-NY) was appointed by President Obama to become secretary of the Army. After facing a barrage of heavy criticism from Limbaugh, Palin, and the like, Scozzafava abruptly withdrew from the race and threw her support to Owens. Some critics questioned Hoffman's eligibility to run for the seat, noting that his home in Lake Placid, New York, is not in the district. The conservative Club for Growth spent $1 million promoting Hoffman's candidacy, and other conservative organizations such as the anti-abortion Susan B. Anthony List and NOM also supported Hoffman. The groups funneled cash into Hoffman's campaigns, printed up literature, and sent volunteers from other areas in the country to work for Hoffman. Dick Armey, the former House majority leader who now heads the conservative lobbying group FreedomWorks (see February 16-17, 2009, February 19, 2009 and After, February 27, 2009, March 2, 2009, March 13, 2009 and After, April 14, 2009, and April 15, 2009), says the race proves Republicans need to stop fielding moderate candidates. "My own view right now is the myth that you have to be a moderate—a Democrat lite—to win in the Northeast probably has less standing now than in any time since I've been in politics," Armey says. "The small-government candidate in the Republican Party—or running as an independent—is going to be the one to draw the energy of these voters." Marilyn Musgrave, a former representative from Colorado who works for the Anthony List, says after the election that the conservative backing of Hoffman proves to Washington lawmakers that they should not take conservative votes for granted. "Don't just assume we're yours," she says. [Christian Science Monitor, 10/29/2009; New York Times, 10/31/2009; New York Times, 11/3/2009]
Entity Tags: Dick Armey, Dede Scozzafava, Tim Pawlenty, Wall Street Journal, Weekly Standard, Brian Brown, Sarah Palin, Barack Obama, Bill Owens, Rush Limbaugh, Susan B. Anthony List, Newt Gingrich, Glenn Beck, Fred Thompson, Douglas L. Hoffman, John M. McHugh, Republican National Committee, Nancy Pelosi, Mike Huckabee, National Organization for Marriage, Marilyn Musgrave, Club for Growth
Some of the armed militia members gathering in support of Republican Senate candidate Rand Paul. The two depicted are wearing pro-Paul stickers. [Source: Think Progress (.org)]US Senate candidate Rand Paul (R-KY) is a featured speaker at an "open carry" rally held in Frankfort. "Open carry" advocates claim the right to openly carry firearms in public places. The rally includes groups like the Ohio Valley Freedom Fighters, an organization that has openly worked with and defended the Michigan-based Hutaree militia (see March 27-30, 2010). During his address to the rally, Paul calls the armed attendees, many of whom are wearing "I'm A Rand Fan" stickers, his "private security detail." [Joe Sonka, 3/29/2010; Think Progress, 5/17/2010] (Note: progressive news Web site Think Progress misidentifies the militia organization at the Paul rally as the "Ohio Valley Freedom Fights.") [Think Progress, 5/17/2010]
Entity Tags: Ohio Valley Freedom Fighters, Rand Paul, Think Progress (.org), Hutaree
Timeline Tags: US Domestic Terrorism
This year's Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) is co-sponsored by the far-right, openly racist John Birch Society (JBS—see March 10, 1961 and December 2011). CPAC spokesman Ian Walters says this is the first time the JBS has sponsored the conference. In the 1960s, influential conservative pundit William F. Buckley denounced the society and its founder Robert Welch as "idiotic" and "paranoid." Buckley's condemnation effectively exiled the group from mainstream conservatism for half a century. Welch had accused then-President Dwight Eisenhower of being a "conscious, dedicated agent of the communist conspiracy" and said the government was "under operational control of the Communist Party." Buckley argued that such paranoid rantings had no place in the conservative movement or the Republican Party. Lisa Depasquale, CPAC's director for the American Conservative Union, which runs the conference, explains why the JBS is now a sponsor, saying: "They're a conservative organization. Beyond that I have no comment." [ABC News, 4/19/2010]
Entity Tags: Lisa Depasquale, William F. Buckley, Conservative Political Action Conference, Dwight Eisenhower, John Birch Society, Robert Welch
Sharron Angle. [Source: Politico]Senate candidate Sharron Angle (R-NV) tells conservative talk show host Bill Manders that she does not support a woman's right to abortions even in the case of rape or incest, because "God has a plan" for that woman and her child. Manders asks, "Is there any reason at all for an abortion?" to which Angle replies, "Not in my book." Manders asks, "So, in other words, rape and incest would not be something?" and Angle replies, "You know, I'm a Christian and I believe that God has a plan and a purpose for each one of our lives, and that he can intercede in all kinds of situations, and we need to have a little faith in many things." [Nevada State Democratic Party, 5/2010] In a subsequent interview, Angle will advise women who become pregnant due to being raped by a family member to turn "a lemon situation into lemonade." [Huffington Post, 7/8/2010]
Entity Tags: Bill Manders, Sharron Angle
Democrats are aghast at the amount of corporate spending they expect to be used against them in the 2010 elections, according to media reports. The US Chamber of Commerce (see September 20, 2010, September 30, 2010, and October 2010) projects that it will spend $75 million this year, over double its spending of $35 million in 2008, to oppose Democrats running for federal and state office. USCoC officials say that spending could go even higher. Other organizations, such as American Crossroads, a right-wing political group headed by former Bush political advisor Karl Rove (see September 20, 2010 and February 21, 2012), are on track to raise and spend tens of millions, again to fund political activities designed to prevent Democrats from being elected. A report circulating among Democratic Congressional leaders says that some $300 million has been raised for the 2010 campaign, all coming from 15 conservative tax-exempt organizations. Sheila Krumholz of the Center for Responsive Politics says: "A commitment of $300 million from just 15 organizations is a huge amount, putting them in record territory for groups on the right or left. With control of Congress hanging in the balance, this kind of spending could have a major impact." Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), says the amount of corporate funding for Republican political activities is "raising the alarm bell." The DCCC spent $177 million in all of 2008's Congressional races. Labor unions and other groups allied with Democrats plan heavy spending of their own, but nothing to compare to conservative corporate funding. The Service Employees International Union (SEIU), for example, plans to spend $44 million on election-related spending this year. Political scientist Anthony J. Corrado Jr. says: "What we are seeing is that major businesses and industries are taking advantage of the recent court ruling and favorable political environment. They are already committing substantially more money than they have in any previous election cycles." Corrado is referring to the controversial Citizens United Supreme Court decision (see January 21, 2010) that has overturned almost a century's worth of campaign spending limitations. USCoC officials also point to a 2007 Supreme Court ruling that overturned the ban on political issue advertising by corporations and labor unions close to an election (see June 25, 2007). The Los Angeles Times reports that the heavy corporate fundraising for Republican political interests is driven largely by corporate opposition to the Democrats' focus on health care reform, and a bill passed in July that established stricter government monitoring and regulation of the financial system. Roger Nicholson of the International Coal Group, a mining company, recently wrote to fellow executives urging them to contribute money to defeat the "fiercely anti-coal Democrats" in Washington, specifically targeting a number of Democrats in Kentucky and West Virginia. Five of the largest health insurers, including Aetna, Cigna, and United HealthCare, are banding together to create and fund a new nonprofit group to help influence elections. The group has not yet been formed, but reports say that it will spend some $20 million to defeat Democrats. [Los Angeles Times, 8/2/2010]
Entity Tags: Karl C. Rove, Anthony J. Corrado Jr., American Crossroads, Aetna, Chris Van Hollen, International Coal Group, Service Employees International Union, US Supreme Court, Los Angeles Times, Roger Nicholson, UnitedHealth Group, Cigna, US Chamber of Commerce, Sheila Krumholz
Timeline Tags: Civil Liberties
Research from the media analysis firm Borrell Associates and other sources shows that spending for the 2010 midterm elections will outstrip the record-breaking spending of the 2008 elections, which centered around a presidential contest. The controversial Citizens United Supreme Court decision (see January 21, 2010) has "opened the floodgates" for corporate money to be used in electioneering and advertising, much of that money going anonymously to political parties and operations. It is unprecedented for midterm elections to involve more spending than presidential-year elections. Kip Cassino, vice president of research at Borrell Associates, says the Citizens United decision is directly responsible for the massive upswing in spending. "Unlike a lot of industries in the United States right now, which are seeing some downturns, political spending is absolutely a growth industry," Cassino says. Corporate money is behind the surge, accounting for what he says is at least a 10 percent jump in advertising. Evan Tracey, president of the Campaign Media Analysis Group, says: "The unwritten charter of these [anonymously funded political] groups is to really be disruptive and try to go in there and turn a race on its head—or put a candidate on the defense. And by that nature, most of those ads that they're gonna run this fall are gonna be negative ads." Labor unions account for some of the surge in spending, but most of it comes from corporate donors, from conservative organizations such as the US Chamber of Commerce (see September 20, 2010, September 30, 2010, and October 2010), Americans for Prosperity (AFP—see Late 2004, May 29, 2009, November 2009, and July 3-4, 2010), and American Crossroads, a nonprofit political group headed by former Bush political advisor Karl Rove (see September 20, 2010, February 21, 2012, Late March 2012, and Late May 2012). Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) says, "While each of our campaigns has the resources they need to be competitive, we now face shadow groups putting their thumbs on the scale with undisclosed, unlimited, and unregulated donations." However, national groups are not all of the important players in the spending surge. Tracey says: "We have a lot of little individual state-type groups that are starting to show up in some of the bigger races. And I think they're going to play a much larger role in the fall." One group cited in the research is a Nevada-based group called Americans for New Leadership, which has targeted Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) for defeat in a barrage of advertisements aired recently throughout the state. The group says it has spent $300,000 in ads attacking Reid and is prepared to spend more, but has not disclosed from whom that money comes. Senate and House races are seeing more involvement by heavily-funded groups placing ads in local markets for Republican candidates, or attacking Democrats, particularly from AFP, which has already spent some $1.5 million on House races. Craig Holman of the watchdog group Public Citizen says: "In 2004 and 2006, literally 100 percent of the groups were fully complying with the disclosure laws. Today, most groups do not disclose where they're getting their money from." The New York Times reports, "The situation raises the possibility that a relatively small cadre of deep-pocketed donors, unknown to the general public, is shaping the battle for Congress in the early going." Sheila Krumholz of the Center for Responsive Politics observes: "Corporate interests are buying the elections? Oh no, it's much worse than that. We don't know who's buying the election." [New York Times, 9/13/2010; National Public Radio, 9/16/2010; Think Progress, 9/17/2010]
Entity Tags: Evan Tracey, Americans for New Leadership, American Crossroads, Americans for Prosperity, Craig Holman, Robert Menendez, Borrell Associates, US Chamber of Commerce, Kip Cassino, Karl C. Rove, Sheila Krumholz, Harry Reid
American Crossroads logo. [Source: American Crossroads]American Crossroads, a political advocacy group backed by former Bush administration political adviser Karl Rove, is spending millions on attack advertisements targeting Democrats for the 2010 midterm elections. Ninety-one percent of the funding for American Crossroads comes from three right-wing billionaires. In August, American Crossroads raised $2,639,052. $2.4 million of that, or 91 percent of that total, comes from Trevor Rees-Jones, Robert Rowling, and Carl Linder. Rees-Jones is president of Chief Oil and Gas, a Dallas-based firm; he contributed $1 million in August to go with the $1 million he contributed earlier in the year. Rowling is CEO of TRT Holdings; like Rees-Jones, he gave $1 million in August to go with a previous $1 million contribution. Linder owns American Financial Group (AFG), a Cincinnati-based firm. Linder used to own Chiquita, the fruit corporation, and owns a partial stake in the Cincinnati Reds. AFG donated $400,000 in August. In July, billionaire Jerry Perenchio, who in 2008 chaired presidential candidate Senator John McCain (R-AZ)'s national finance committee, gave $1 million to American Crossroads. American Crossroads has a partner group, American Crossroads GPS (for Grassroots Political Strategies), that is organized under a section of the tax code that does not require disclosure of donors. The group is raising millions of dollars, but refuses to identify the donors. The two groups were organized earlier in the year by Rove and former Republican National Committee chairman Ed Gillespie. Another political advocacy group, American Action Network, shares a downtown Washington office with the Crossroads group; both are working alongside other right-wing advocacy groups such as Americans for Prosperity and the US Chamber of Commerce. [Salon, 9/20/2010; Politico, 9/20/2010]
Entity Tags: Ed Gillespie, American Crossroads, American Action Network, American Crossroads GPS, Carl Linder, Robert Rowling, US Chamber of Commerce, A. Jerrold Perenchio, Karl C. Rove, Americans for Prosperity, Trevor Rees-Jones
Los Angeles Times columnist James Rainey discusses Fox News's relentless promotion of its own employees for presidential office (see October 26, 2009 and September 27, 2010). Rainey notes that Fox contributors Sarah Palin (R-AK), Newt Gingrich (R-GA), Rick Santorum (R-PA), and Mike Huckabee (R-TN) are all using their appearances on Fox to groom themselves for the 2012 presidential race, with the apparent blessing and collusion of Fox News. Rainey writes, with some apparent sarcasm, "It's easy to get news coverage, it turns out, when you work for a news company!" Other Republicans attempting to build momentum for their own 2012 bid, such as Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, are being "shut out" of Fox's promotional campaign. And other news networks—even C-SPAN—rarely get to interview Palin, Gingrich, Santorum, and Huckabee, as they are all under exclusive contract with Fox and do not appear on competing news providers. Some Republicans are discomfited by this situation, but, Rainey writes, they are "ma[king] their complaints quietly, lest they anger the powers at Fox." Rainey goes on to note that the story is getting little attention outside political circles, "[b]ecause the information juggernaut built by Rupert Murdoch and Roger Ailes, once a GOP attack dog and now head of Fox News, has been tilting the playing field for so long, so persistently, and denying its bias so shamelessly that it's created an alternate reality." Rainey notes that Fox parent News Corp's unprecedented multi-million dollar donations to Republican causes (see June 24, 2010 and After and September 30, 2010) have drawn relatively little criticism, even as Fox's supposedly unbiased and nonpartisan news anchors and personalities (not its prime-time opinion makers) "routinely pound away at conservative talking points." The other news networks spend their time on regular stories, Rainey writes, but Fox News spends so much "straight news" time covering non-existent "scandals" and promoting conservative causes that, in essence, it has created a conservative-friendly "alternate reality" for itself and its ideological colleagues. "One doesn't even blink with surprise anymore when a Fox opinion program rolls out black-and-white newsreel footage of fascists," he writes, "and with uniformly straight faces suggest that the Obama administration has America on the brink of a similar calamity." Rainey rebuts claims that Fox News is merely countering the "shamelessly liberal" viewpoints of CNN and MSNBC. CNN, he writes, "has hewed relentlessly to the he-said-she said reporting imperative of old. The 24-hour news pioneer puts on alternative viewpoints, and not merely as whipping objects for ideological hosts. It's aired multiple segments dissecting President Obama, his economic policies, and his plans for Afghanistan." As for MSNBC, while its opinion shows are hosted by liberals, and Rainey believes that in some sense MSNBC may be trying to be a liberal version of Fox, its news broadcasts are relatively non-partisan. [Los Angeles Times, 9/29/2010]
Entity Tags: Obama administration, James Rainey, Fox News, Mike Huckabee, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, Roger Ailes, Tim Pawlenty, Rupert Murdoch, Sarah Palin, News Corporation
Timeline Tags: Domestic Propaganda, 2012 Elections
Martha Dean. [Source: Connecticut Political Reporter]Connecticut attorney general candidate Martha Dean, a Republican lawyer, says state governments should be able to ignore federal laws if their lawmakers so choose, even if the US Supreme Court rules the laws constitutional. In some instances, "the Supreme Court is just wrong, so what option does the state have?" Dean says. "They have the option of nullification." "Nullification" is the idea that the Tenth Amendment gives the states the power to "nullify," or override, federal law. [The Day, 10/14/2010] The concept gained national notoriety in 1830, when Vice President John C. Calhoun set off the so-called "Nullification Crisis" that almost led to an armed conflict between South Carolina and the rest of the nation, and helped set the stage for the Civil War 30 years later. It came to the fore again in 1956, when segregationists attempted to use the concept to persuade state leaders to ignore the Supreme Court decision, Brown v. Board of Education, that mandated the desegregation of public schools (see March 12, 1956 and After); Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus attempted to invoke "nullification" when he resisted orders to integrate Little Rock public schools, an effort that was shut down by unanimous rulings of the Court. Article 6 of the Constitution states that acts of Congress "shall be the supreme law of the land… anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding." Founding father James Madison argued that nullification would "speedily put an end to the Union itself" by allowing federal laws to be freely ignored by states. [Constitution (.org), 8/28/1830; Think Progress, 9/27/2010; The Day, 10/14/2010] Dean says the doctrine of "nullification" is valid and viable, saying: "This is a tool that has existed. It is a tool that isn't often used. It isn't often needed." She says that when state officials such as herself, or elected governors or lawmakers, feel the federal government's laws surpass Tenth Amendment limitations, then Connecticut and other states should nullify those laws. Dean says her position is controversial only to "the left." However, the idea has been used for centuries by anti-government activists, most memorably during the run-up to the Civil War and the battle over civil rights for African-Americans in the 1950s and 1960s. Law professor Richard Kay says the idea is entirely invalid. "This was a very plausible argument up until 1865," Kay says. "But after the Civil War, what was a genuine argument about the nature of the American constitutional system was pretty decisively decided. Since 1865 it's pretty much a settled matter, with some rare fringe arguments to the contrary. The question of who has the ultimate authority to interpret the Constitution was settled" in favor of the US Supreme Court. The idea that the Constitution is not an ultimately binding authoritative document, but merely an agreement between autonomous states—the core of "nullification"—has always been "very controversial," Kay notes, and has been rejected by the Supreme Court since 1819. Dean states that the Court's decisions have been twisted by "liberal law professors," and rejects the idea that the US Supreme Court is the ultimate arbiter of constitutionality. Her opponent, Democrat George Jepsen, says her idea would lead to chaos. If states can simply refuse to abide by the rulings of the Supreme Court, federal statutes themselves would become unenforceable, he says, and there would be nothing to stop states from seceding altogether. "The point is that we have one Constitution and there needs to be one place that defines what that Constitution means," Jepsen says. "Under nullification, any state legislature, any state governor could declare that a law is unconstitutional. That would send us onto a course where there would be 50 different unique interpretations of a federal statute. We would cease to be a united nation." Jepsen calls Dean's views "extreme." Dean contends that the idea would not necessarily threaten the Union, and says, "It's been worked out in the past." She goes on to say that "I don't think desegregation was really controversial aside from a few states in the South." Kay says Dean's views were quite mainstream in 1842, but not since then. [The Day, 10/14/2010] After being challenged by a constitutional scholar, Dean cites the work of a neo-Confederate segregationist as further support of her position (see October 14, 2010). Jepsen will defeat Dean in the general election, beating back an election-eve attempt by her to challenge his credentials to serve as attorney general. [Hartford Courant, 11/3/2010]
Entity Tags: John C. Calhoun, Martha Dean, Orval Faubus, George Jepsen, Richard Kay, US Supreme Court
Timeline Tags: Civil Liberties, Domestic Propaganda
Brooke Obie of the Constitutional Accountability Center attacks a recent statement of position by Connecticut attorney general candidate Martha Dean, who advocates the concept of "nullification"—the idea that states can ignore or override federal laws if they so choose (see October 14, 2010). Obie says Dean's position is a "dangerous" claim that ignores the fundamental precepts of the US Constitution and every relevant court decision since before the Civil War. Articles III and VI of the Constitution explicitly place federal law over states' laws, and place the Supreme Court firmly in the position of being the final arbiter of whether a federal law is unconstitutional. "It is disturbing that Dean, seeking office as a state's chief lawyer, said in the interview that she does not 'accept' that the Supreme Court has this authority," Obie writes, and refers Dean to the first Chief Justice, John Marshall, who wrote that "[i]t is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is." Nullification is "completely unconstitutional," Obie writes, and has been used to bring about "some of the most divisive moments in our history: from the attempted destruction of our great nation by secessionists in the 19th century, to the dividing of people by segregationists in the 1950s and 1960s. Encouraging such backsliding of America into its darkest days is an extremely dangerous position for anyone to take, let alone someone seeking to become a state attorney general." [Constitutional Accountability Center, 10/14/2010] In the comments section of Obie's article, Dean reprints a post from Thomas Woods that Woods posted on his blog in response to Obie. Woods is a pro-Confederate segregationist. Woods calls Obie's work a "fifth-grade research paper masquerading as a critique of Martha Dean," and goes on to say that "[a]lmost every single sentence in this post is wrong. Your view of the Supremacy Clause is wrong, your view of Article III is grotesquely wrong, your summary of the history of nullification is absurd, and your comment about secessionists makes no sense. South Carolina was complaining that the NORTH was nullifying too much. Talk about getting the history exactly backwards!" He compares Obie's views to "progressives," neoconservatives, and Adolf Hitler. Think Progress's legal expert Ian Millhiser later notes that Woods is a co-founder of the neo-Confederate League of the South, and has called the Civil War a battle between "atheists, socialists, communists, red republicans, jacobins on the one side and the friends of order and regulated freedom on the other," contending that the defeat of the Confederacy in 1865 was "[t]he real watershed from which we can trace many of the destructive trends that continue to ravage our civilization today." Dean has cited Woods before, in one debate reading aloud from his book in support of nullification. Woods is a prolific contributor to the far-right Tenth Amendment Center, a pro-nullification group which pushes political candidates to sign a pledge promising to nullify federal laws such as Social Security and Medicare which do not comply with their "tenther" view of the Constitution. [Constitutional Accountability Center, 10/14/2010; Think Progress, 10/19/2010]
Entity Tags: Martha Dean, Constitutional Accountability Center, Brooke Obie, Ian Millhiser, John Marshall, League of the South, Thomas Woods, Tenth Amendment Center
Several of Joe Miller's private security guards stand over a handcuffed Tony Hopfinger, whom they detained during a political event. [Source: Anchorage Daily News]Tony Hopfinger, an editor of the Alaska Dispatch, is "arrested," detained, and handcuffed by private security guards employed by US Senate candidate Joe Miller (R-AK) after he attempts to interview Miller. Miller appeared at a public event at Anchorage, Alaska's Central Middle School, sponsored by his campaign. The guards handcuff Hopfinger, place him in a chair in a hallway, and stand over him, presumably to prevent his "escape" from custody. They release him when Anchorage police arrive on the scene and order him arrested. The security guards come from a private security firm known as The Drop Zone; owner William Fulton, one of the guards who detains Hopfinger, accuses Hopfinger of trespassing at the public event, and says he assaulted someone by shoving him. Anchorage police say they have not yet filed charges against anyone. [Alaska Dispatch, 10/17/2010; Anchorage Daily News, 10/18/2010; Salon, 10/18/2010] Miller, Fulton, and The Drop Zone are later shown to have ties to Alaska's far-right paramilitary and militia groups, to employ active-duty soldiers, and to lack a business license to legally operate (see October 18, 2010). Small Gathering Marked by Candidate Dodging Tough Questions - The 3 p.m. event is billed by the Miller campaign as a chance for voters to "hear Joe Miller speak for himself," and is clearly a public event: in a Facebook campaign entry, the campaign urges supporters to bring their "friends, colleagues, family, acquaintances, neighbors." The entry also tells voters, "Don't let the media skew your views." Miller spends some 45 minutes addressing the crowd of several hundred voters and, according to the Anchorage Daily News, "answering—or deflecting—questions." While there are many Miller supporters in the crowd, some hostile questioners also make themselves heard. One questioner, referring to Miller's admitted reliance on medical care subsidies and other federal benefits in contradiction to his campaign theme of such benefits being unconstitutional, calls Miller a "welfare queen—you had a lot of children that you couldn't afford, and we had to pay for it." Miller responds that he is not necessarily opposed to such benefits, only that they should come from the states and not the federal government. Another criticizes Miller's announcement last week that he would no longer answer questions about his character or his personal history. The questioner says that while his opponents have previous records in elective office, he does not: "In this instance, you have no record, so it's meaningful and it's reasonable that we would want to examine your professional background and your military…" Miller cuts her off and calls her a known supporter of his opponent, write-in candidate Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), who lost a narrow primary vote to him. Miller says he has a public record as a state and federal judge, but adds that he wants to discuss his position on federal spending and not federal subsidies he may have received. During the questioning period, he says he will stay to talk to individuals, but when the period concludes, he quickly leaves the room. [Anchorage Daily News, 10/18/2010] Miller does speak to a few participants in the school hallway after leaving the room. [Alaska Dispatch, 10/18/2010] Detained after Asking Questions - Hopfinger, carrying a small video camera, approaches Miller after the event, and asks questions of the candidate concerning disciplinary actions taken against him while he was a lawyer for the Fairbanks North Star Borough. The topic is one Miller has cited as driving his refusal to answer further questions about his character and personal history; he was disciplined for using government computers for partisan political activity during his time as a part-time borough attorney. Three press outlets, including the Alaska Dispatch and the Anchorage Daily News, are suing the borough to get Miller's personnel file. Miller walks away from Hopfinger without answering. Some of the people in the vicinity tell Hopfinger to "quit pestering" Miller. As they walk down the hallway, Miller suddenly changes direction, leaving Hopfinger quickly surrounded and pressed in by Miller supporters and a large contingent of private security guards, all of them wearing radio earphones. (Miller later claims that Hopfinger is actively blocking his exit from the hallway, a claim not backed up by evidence, and tells a Fox News reporter that Hopfinger "was hounding me… blocking the way.") Hopfinger later says he feels threatened and pressured, so he shoves one of the guards aside. "These guys were bumping into me," Hopfinger later says, "bumping me into Miller's supporters." He later identifies Fulton as the individual making most of the physical contact with him. The man Hopfinger shoves is not hurt, Fulton later says, though Hopfinger later says Fulton is the man he pushed away. No one else comes forward to say they were the person "assaulted," Hopfinger later says. At this point, Miller's private security guards seize Hopfinger, push him against a wall, cuff his hands behind his back with steel handcuffs, sit him in a chair in a hallway, and "confiscate" his video camera. Hopfinger later says he chooses not to resist, saying "these guys would have had me on the ground; it ramped up that fast." He later says that when the guards tell him he is trespassing, he is given no time to leave, and is immediately seized and handcuffed. Everything happens in seconds, he will say. Hopfinger later says that when he receives his video camera back, the segment of video showing his questions to Miller, and the ensuing scuffle, have been deleted. Hopfinger refuses an offer from police to have the video camera taken into custody and analyzed by the crime lab. The guard who takes the camera later denies erasing anything, and says Hopfinger dropped it during the altercation. [Anchorage Daily News, 10/18/2010; Anchorage Daily News, 10/18/2010; Salon, 10/18/2010; Fox News, 10/18/2010; Alaska Dispatch, 10/19/2010] A Miller supporter who witnesses the incident later says Miller knocks her aside and "bowl[s] over" her eight-year-old son in his attempt to get away from Hopfinger (see October 17-18, 2010). Other Reporters Threatened - Hopfinger later says Fulton then says he is calling the police, and Hopfinger responds that calling the police is a good idea. Hopfinger is then handcuffed. Fulton later says he does not know how long Hopfinger was detained for; Hopfinger later says it seemed like a long time to him. While Hopfinger is in handcuffs and surrounded by Miller's guards, the guards attempt to prevent other reporters from talking to him, and threaten the reporters with similar "arrests" and handcuffing for trespassing. An Anchorage Daily News reporter succeeds in speaking with Hopfinger, and is not detained. Several small altercations between the guards and reporters ensue, consisting of chest bumps and shoving matches as the guards attempt to prevent reporters from filming the scene. Video footage shot by Anchorage Daily News reporter Rich Mauer shows three guards blocking Mauer and Dispatch reporter Jill Burke from approaching Hopfinger, and shows Burke repeatedly asking a guard to take his hands off her. When police officers arrive, they order Fulton to release Hopfinger from the handcuffs. According to Hopfinger, during the entire time he is detained, he is in the "custody" of people who identified themselves only as "Miller volunteers," though most of them are wearing the radio earphones. [Alaska Dispatch, 10/17/2010; Anchorage Daily News, 10/18/2010; Alaska Dispatch, 10/18/2010; Anchorage Daily News, 10/18/2010] An Anchorage police officer removes the cuffs and refuses to accept Fulton's "private person's arrest" (Alaska's equivalent of a "citizen's arrest") after interviewing people at the scene. [Alaska Dispatch, 10/18/2010; Anchorage Daily News, 10/18/2010] Miller Campaign Accuses Hopfinger of Assault, 'Irrational' Behavior - After the incident, the Miller campaign quickly releases a statement accusing Hopfinger of assault and attempting to "create a publicity stunt" (see October 17-18, 2010). [Anchorage Daily News, 10/18/2010] Hopfinger later says he would have preferred a less confrontational method of questioning Miller. "I was not assaulting or touching Joe, I was asking him questions," Hopfinger will say. "I would certainly prefer to sit down with Mr. Miller and ask him the questions, but he drew a line in the sand a week ago and said he wasn't going to do that. That doesn't mean we don't go to functions or public appearances and try to ask our questions." [Alaska Dispatch, 10/19/2010] Further Investigation - The school's security camera may have captured footage of the incident, police say. Hopfinger is considering whether to file assault charges against Fulton, "The Drop Zone," and/or the Miller campaign. [Alaska Dispatch, 10/17/2010] However, Heidi Embley, a spokeswoman for the Anchorage School District, later says security cameras were partially installed at the school but were not equipped with recording devices, so no video of the scene is available from that source. She later says that Miller's group paid $400 to use the school for three hours, a standard fee for any non-school group. She also says that any such gatherings are technically private events because the group is renting the facility for its meeting. [Alaska Dispatch, 10/18/2010] The campaign rented the cafeteria, stage, and parking lot, the school district later notes, and the hallway outside the event venue was not covered in the rental agreement. [Anchorage Daily News, 10/18/2010] Sergeant Mark Rein of the Anchorage Police Department says Hopfinger is not in custody or under arrest. [Crooks and Liars, 10/18/2010] Al Patterson, chief Anchorage municipal prosecutor, later decides to file no charges against anyone involved. [Alaska Dispatch, 10/19/2010] False Claim of Security Requirement - Miller later tells national news reporters that he had been told by the school district to hire private security guards as part of his agreement to use the facility. He later tells a Fox News reporter, "I might also note that the middle school itself required us by a contract for a campaign, required us to have a security team." And he tells a CNN reporter: "There was a—a private security team that was required. We had to hire them because the school required that as a term in their lease." Embley will state that Miller's claims are false, and there is no such requirement for private security guards in the rental agreement. The agreement does require some sort of security plan, Embley will say, no matter what the function. She will give the agreement to reporters, who learn that the plan basically involves monitors to watch over parking and ensure participants do not bring food or drink into the facility. Miller's campaign will later claim, again falsely, that the security plan called for Miller's "security team" to enforce a "no disruptive behavior" clause, and in its assessment, Hopfinger was being disruptive. [Alaska Dispatch, 10/18/2010; Anchorage Daily News, 10/18/2010]
Entity Tags: Anchorage Daily News, Alaska Dispatch, Anchorage Police Department, Fox News, Fairbanks North Star Borough, Joseph Wayne ("Joe") Miller, Central Middle School (Anchorage, Alaska), Tony Hopfinger, Lisa Murkowski, William Fulton, Mark Rein, Heidi Embley, Richard Mauer, The Drop Zone
Timeline Tags: Civil Liberties, Domestic Propaganda, US Domestic Terrorism
Campaign spending by outside "independent" organizations on Congressional races currently stands at $147.5 million, a 73 percent rise from two years ago, according to information from the nonpartisan Campaign Finance Institute (CFI). In mid-October 2008, Congressional election spending by outside groups was at $85.3 million. In 2006, that number was $32 million. The spending dramatically favors Republicans, with groups supporting GOP candidates spending $105.5 million and groups supporting Democrats spending $42 million. According to the press, the huge spike in spending is traceable to the Citizens United decision that allows corporations and labor unions to spend unlimited funds in campaign activities (see January 21, 2010). The CFI notes that the record-breaking spending "is before the traditionally heavy-spending final weeks of the campaign." [McClatchy News, 10/18/2010]
Entity Tags: Campaign Finance Institute
Paul LePage. [Source: Portland Press-Herald]Maine Governor Paul LePage (R-ME) says that the NAACP can "kiss my butt" after explaining why he is refusing to attend any events honoring the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on King's national holiday. LePage tells a local reporter that he considers the NAACP a "special interest" group, and adds: "End of story. And I'm not going to be held hostage by special interests. And if they want, they can look at my family picture. My son happens to be black, so they can do whatever they'd like about it." Asked if his absence is an indication of a pattern rather than an isolated incident, LePage responds: "Tell 'em to kiss my butt. If they want to play the race card, come to dinner and my son will talk to them." LePage, a tea party-backed candidate who was sworn into office last week, has an adopted son of Jamaican heritage. Maine NAACP director Rachel Talbot Ross responds: "I don't care who he's got in his family. And he's saying we're playing the race card? The makeup of his family isn't the issue and it never was the issue. For him to say we're playing the race card shows a real lack of awareness of the very important issues we're working to address. Our kids deserve better. Maine deserves better. His son deserves better." Ross goes on to call LePage's comments "ignorant," and adds, "We don't want to misinterpret his intention, but the message we're getting is that we're not welcome and we're not part of the Maine he's preparing to lead for the next four years." Ralph Carmona, spokesman for the League of United Latin American Citizens, says LePage's comments today put him in mind of his fall campaign promise to tell President Obama to "go to hell." Carmona says: "The governor's comments are creating, have the potential to create, a real racial dilemma for all Mainers. It is astonishing and troubling he would use this kind of rhetoric." LePage later adds that he has prior personal and professional commitments that prevent him from attending events in honor of King. NAACP leaders say LePage has previously turned down a number of invitations from the group in recent months. LePage spokesman Dan Demeritt later sends out a statement denying the issue has anything to do with race, and notes that while mayor of Waterville, LePage attended several Martin Luther King Day breakfasts. Demerrit says: "This is not about race. Paul has a black son. This is about a special interest group taking issue with the governor for not making time for them and the governor dismissing their complaints in the direct manner people have come to expect from Paul LePage." Demerrit calls LePage "very free spoken." [Portland Press-Herald, 1/14/2011; Think Progress, 1/14/2011; Kennebec Journal, 1/14/2011] Maine's Congressional delegation, whose members are all either attending the MLK Day events in person or sending representatives, declines to comment on LePage's remarks. NAACP president Benjamin Jealous calls LePage's comments "inflammatory," and issues a statement reading in part: "Gov. LePage's decision to inflame racial tension on the eve of the King holiday denigrates his office. His words are a reminder of the worst aspects of Maine's history and out of touch with our nation's deep yearning for increased civility and racial healing." [Waterville Morning Sentinel, 1/15/2011] Washington Post columnist Jonathan Capehart, an African-American, says of LePage's comments: "Wow. Uncivil. Uncouth. Appalling. Reducing the NAACP and its venerable history of fighting for civil rights to 'special interests' is pure ideological laziness in the extreme." He continues: "Just because LePage has a black son (by adoption) doesn't mean no one can or should question his racial sensitivities.… Despite LePage's offensive posterior invitation, I urge the Portland, Maine, branch of the NAACP to keep inviting the rude governor to events. Blacks are only 1.2 percent of the state's population. But sooner or later, LePage will have to learn that he can't talk to citizens of his state like that." [Washington Post, 1/14/2011] In previous years, Maine's governor has alternated between breakfasts honoring King in Portland and Bangor. This year's breakfast is being held in Portland. LePage has been issuing rejections to attend the King breakfast since December 2010. He intends to release a pre-recorded radio address honoring King's legacy. Bob Talbot, a 70-year-old executive board member of the Greater Bangor Area NAACP, says he cannot remember when a Maine governor did not attend one of the breakfasts, with the sole exception of former Governor John Baldacci (D-ME), who attended President Obama's inauguration in 2009 instead of attending one of the breakfasts. "Governor LePage keeps saying he represents all Mainers," Talbot says. "Well, I'm an eighth-generation Mainer. I think he needs to reconsider what it means to be a Mainer. He needs to understand that we're all Mainers, not just a certain few or a certain political party." [Kennebec Journal, 1/14/2011]
Entity Tags: Barack Obama, Benjamin Jealous, Bob Talbot, Jonathan Capehart, Dan Demeritt, Ralph Carmona, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Paul LePage, Rachel Talbot Ross, John Baldacci
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