The Real Astroturfing Is On the Progressive Left

by T.L. James | 10:10 pm, August 8, 2009

Just in case you didn’t bother to scroll down and look at all the pictures from the Perlmutter health care/Obamacare town hall meeting Saturday, here’s one you really need to see: This guy is plainly acting as an organizer for the Democrats attending the event, handing out pre-printed fliers for them to wave. Fliers which [...]

Congressman Perlmutter Holds Health Care Town Hall Meeting in Brighton

by T.L. James | 9:41 pm, August 8, 2009

Update: CompleteColorado was there, and has additional pictures of union members and a few stealthy shots of Congressman Perlmutter cowering in the alcove. 200-300 people attended Congressman Ed Perlmutter’s health care/Obamacare/socialized medicine-themed town hall meeting this afternoon at the King Sooper’s in Brighton. Much more coverage below the fold…

Malkin Mentions Longmont Rally

by Ari Armstrong | 9:37 pm, August 8, 2009

A video of the “Hands Off My Health Care” rally from August 6 in Longmont, Colorado, has received over a thousand YouTube views — and counting.

Watch all four videos.

The most-watched video, and my personal favorite, is “Longmont CO Health Ralliers Reply to Democratic ‘Mob’ Charge:”

The video also got a brief mention by Michelle Malkin in an August 7 blog.

Programming Note

by elpresidente | 8:18 pm, August 8, 2009

**Update–Fear not, vanguard of the people! Despite counterrevolutionary propaganda to the contrary, El Presidente will continue to provide bloggage and commentary on Colorado politics. For the time being, however, he’ll be hanging out more at People’…

Complete Colorado: 200-300 Show Up to Ed Perlmutter Townhall Meeting

by Ben DeGrow | 4:27 pm, August 8, 2009

Update, 10:30 PM: People’s Press Collective has released its first coverage (with plenty of telling photos) of the meeting in Brighton: Perlmutter “immediately went into a roped-off area of the portico, announced he’d be there for two hours, and then retreated to the even more isolated alcove with a half-dozen (apparent) constituents and bodyguards. [...]

Perlmutter dodging constituents?

by Rossputin | 9:42 am, August 8, 2009

I almost never post e-mails I receive, but this one seems important…and I’m busy packing for a weekend away with the family, so here goes:

Something very disturbing is happing in America when free speech is assaulted from the White House. Not just emailing your neighbor’s name to a permanent data base in the White House if he or she has anti – Obama thoughts, or having the President ask those with different views than his to “Shut Up.”

Now, political organization itself–the lifeblood of democracy and the core of first amendment-protected speech–is de-legitimized if it happens to occur on the right. American grandmothers and veterans become “angry mobs” if they dare to question a government takeover of another 16% of the American economy.

The tactics of misrepresentation are are trickling back to Colorado from Washington.

Yesterday I called Rep Perlmutter’s Office to try and find out about any public events scheduled for the Congressman, particularly with respect to the healthcare bill. His office would not tell me about ANY scheduled public events.

Today, the Website carries the following announcement:
Aug 08, 2009
Time: 1:00PM
Title : Government in the Grocery (1:00-3:00pm)
King Soopers 500 Bromley Lane Brighton, CO 80601

However, the rest of the schedule is blank with the exception of one event on August 22nd.

It appears from the email below that Dan Kopelman somehow got a hold of and sent out that Rep Perlmutter emailed the townhall information out yesteday. But that information went out ONLY to supporters. The Congressman’s office didn’t even tell people who called his office directly to find out the schedule of public events (that, of course, is not “astro-turfing,” or “organized” or any of the other pejorative descriptions they’ve had of the real grass roots; I suppose that’s just “smart politics” because it’s done by Democrats. )

In any case, please pass on the email below to whoever in your address book you think might be interested and able to attend the “spur of the momment” Saturday town meeting on healthcare.

Dan’s Email

The Obamanistas’ “Organizing for America” have planned a last minute rally to support his “vision” of National Socialized health care in Adams County and probably did not invite you.

This is what was sent out late in the afternoon today:

———— Email from “Organizing For America” ————
I wanted to send you an urgent invitation to an important public meeting with Rep. Ed Perlmutter tomorrow (Saturday, August 8th). He’ll be talking to constituents and gathering feedback – this is an ideal opportunity to make sure your support for health insurance reform is seen and heard at exactly the right time.

Our congressional representatives are back home this month, and they’re facing more and more pressure from special interests on health insurance reform. It’s critical that we get out there and show them where we stand.

I hope you can join us.

What: Health Care Public Event with
Rep. Ed Perlmutter

Where: King Soopers
500 E. Bromley Lane
Brighton, CO 80601

When: Saturday, August 8th
1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Our representatives are under attack by Washington insiders, insurance companies, and well-financed special interests who don’t go a day without spreading lies and stirring up fear. We need to show that we’re sick and tired of it, and that we’re ready for real change, this year.

Please come to the public meeting, and make sure that the most powerful voices in this debate are those calling for real reform, not angrily clamoring for the status quo.

RSVP here:

http://co.barackobama.com/BrightonTH

Thanks,

Gabe

Gabe Lifton-Zoline
Colorado State Director
Organizing for America

P.S. – Before the event, please print off a flyer to display and make sure that your support is visible.

One of Obama’s wishes comes true

by Rossputin | 9:15 am, August 8, 2009

Barack Obama said from the early days of his campaign and presidency that he wanted to appoint judges who didn’t primarily follow the rule of law but rather judges whose “empathy” was their primary defining characteristic.

Well, just this morning, Obama got his wish with the swearing-in of Sonia Sotomayor as the newest Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.

Sotomayor was, in my view, not qualified to be on the Court because of her obvious disdain for the rule of law (despite her pretty words during confirmation hearings) and because of the shoddy quality of her work. I can only hope that the grilling she took and her explicit repudiation of “empathy” as a legitimate factor in ruling on a case will remain in her mind as she puts the nation through what could be decades of reminders of just why Barack Obama was such a big mistake.

David Sirota gets it.

by David K. Williams, Jr. | 8:55 am, August 8, 2009

I think it is possible that David Sirota likes me! And like Sally Field at the 1985 Acadamy Awards, I could not be happier.

Who could get a word in anyway?

by Rossputin | 8:27 am, August 8, 2009

Obama wants his political opponents to sit down and shut up. He doesn’t want to “hear a lot of talking”. But really, who can get a word in edgewise when that gasbag is in the room? Obama’s arrogance is out of control. And it will be his downfall.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jifjRVLVjzA

Quotes of the Month (C.S. Lewis & J.R.R. Tolkien)

by Rossputin | 1:27 am, August 8, 2009

[Note: If you previously saw this post before the third quote was added, I encourage you to scroll down and read it…it’s tremendous.]

(H/T Christopher for the first quote.)

This fabulous quote from C.S. Lewis (1989-1963) strikes at the heart of today’s political debate. The first sentence would probably be enough…

Of all tyrannies a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies, The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.

A decent runner-up, also by C.S. Lewis and also applicable to the disastrous path that Obama and the Democrats are on:

We all want progress, but if you’re on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; in that case, the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive.

And maybe best of all is this, which came as a comment to this posting but which I’ve added to the main part of the posting because it’s so damn good. (The next two sentences of intro prior to the quote are from my friend “The Freak”.)

This one is from fiction. It’s from The Two Towers (which you should read, by the way). It is from the chapter about the speech of Saruman.

In spite of the fact that this is fiction, I find it eerily applicable to what happens to many when The One speaks.

Those who listened unwarily to that voice could seldom report the words that they heard; and if they did, they wondered, for little power remained in them. Mostly they remembered only that it was a delight to hear the voice speaking, all that it said seemed wise and reasonable, and desire awoke in them by swift agreement to seem wise themselves. When others spoke they seemed harsh and uncouth by contrast; and if they gainsaid the voice, anger was kindled in the hearts of those under the spell. For some the spell lasted only while the voice spoke to them, and when it spake to another they smiled, as men do who see through a juggler’s trick while others gape at it. For many the sound of the voice alone was enough to hold them enthralled; but for those whom it conquered the spell endured when they were far away, and ever they heard that soft voice whispering and urging them. But none were unmoved; none rejected its pleas and its commands without an effort of mind and will, so long as its master had control of it.

Time to give up?

by John West | 8:19 pm, August 7, 2009

How much longer do you think this house of cards can last? We have a government that no longer bears any resemblance to the Constitution. We have fiat money that no longer bears any resemblance to real money. We have politicians that no longer bear any resemblance to the citizens they are supposed to represent. [...]

Sign of Obama Care Desperation: SEIU Thugs Dispatched to Townhall Events

by Ben DeGrow | 1:43 pm, August 7, 2009

Update: It’s not the SEIU, but I just received an email from the AFL-CIO with the heading “Right-Wing Mobs in Brighton”, saying “All across the country, a small group of radical right-wingers are intent on disrupting congressional town hall meetings in an all-out effort to stop real health care reform. We need your help now [...]

Noonan Hits nail on the head about Obamacare protesters and stunned looking congressman

by Mr. Bob | 11:21 am, August 7, 2009

#tcot #gop #teaparty

Speaking about congressman stunned by the passion at the town hall meetings Noonan said;

They hired a man to represent them in Washington. They give him a big office, a huge staff and the power to tell people what to do. They give him a car and a driver, sometimes a security detail, and a special pin showing he’s a congressman. And all they ask in return is that he see to their interests and not terrify them too much. Really, that’s all people ask. Expectations are very low. What the protesters are saying is, “You are terrifying us.”

What has been most unsettling is not the congressmen’s surprise but a hard new tone that emerged this week. The leftosphere and the liberal commentariat charged that the town hall meetings weren’t authentic, the crowds were ginned up by insurance companies, lobbyists and the Republican National Committee. But you can’t get people to leave their homes and go to a meeting with a congressman (of all people) unless they are engaged to the point of passion. And what tends to agitate people most is the idea of loss—loss of money hard earned, loss of autonomy, loss of the few things that work in a great sweeping away of those that don’t.

People are not automatons. They show up only if they care. READ the rest

Let’s put these people in charge of health care, too.

by David K. Williams, Jr. | 10:00 am, August 7, 2009

According to the Denver Post story “Personal data sent in error,” the Colorado Department of Corrections accidentally released “the personal financial records of more than 1,000 staff to more than 100 co-workers.”

The next Countrywide shoe drops

by Rossputin | 9:22 am, August 7, 2009

Let me put on my big surprise face.

It’s not just Chris Dodd and Kent Conrad anymore.

The Democratic Congressman who is the Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government reform, Edolphus Towns, refused to subpoena records about Countrywide Financial’s “VIP” program, also known as “Friends of Angelo” even though Bank of America said they have the records and would provide them if subpoenaed.

Now we learn that Rep. Towns got two loans from Countrywide…

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124960476129713019.html

Every day, we need to remind Democrats (and particularly Nancy Pelosi) where the “culture of corruption” really is (or at least really is now.)

Influential Blogger Not Seeking Office In 2010

by elpresidente | 8:00 am, August 7, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Embargoed until 2089)August 6, 2009Underemployed Smartass Blogger Opts Out of GOP Senate RaceIndependent, Maverick Hope’n’Changer Has Better Things To Do(His Parents’ Basement)—Pajama-clad chickenshit People’s Press Colle…

Rationing DeathCare

by admin | 7:47 am, August 7, 2009

Much has been said about how healthcare will have to be rationed under the Universal Health Care proposals being put forth by President Obama and the Democrat-led Congress. If they are successful in getting their plan enacted, it will only be a matter of time before the government has complete control over not only [...]

Friday Funny

by Mr. Bob | 7:47 am, August 7, 2009

Found on Facebook, Hat tip Rick at HolyCoast.com

Appleseed Project Coming to Gunnison

by wesley | 6:49 am, August 7, 2009

The Colorado Appleseed family is growing as Gunnison holds their first shoot at the end of the month. Take a look: So what do you say? You have a rifle? Know how to shoot it? Yeah? Can you hit a 20″ target at 500 yards on the first shot? No? How would you like to [...]

Denver anti-ObamaCare protest

by Rossputin | 2:08 am, August 7, 2009

I dropped by the downtown Denver location where Nancy Pelosi was visiting with two of Colorado’s Democratic members of Congress to do a bit of protesting and see what was going on.

Here are my observations:

The anti-ObamaCare crowd and pro-ObamaCare crowd were about the same size. Anti was maybe slightly larger, but not substantially. However, the Anti-Obama crowd (and they were anti-Obama, not just against his takeover of health care) seemed louder and more enthusiastic than the pro-crowd.

The anti crowd (or should I say the pro-liberty crowd) had people of all ages and people who appeared to represent a range of income classses. The pro-Obama side was a slightly odder group, with quite a few young people (some certainly too young to vote) and some old hippie/leftist looking people. Very few people who looked like the normal workday population of downtown Denver.

More interesting, given the claims by the left that the pro-liberty crowds are organized by particular groups was the signs people were holding. The anti-Obama signs were all obviously home-made. I didn’t see any two with the same message, the same handwriting, etc. However, the pro-socialism side were mostly holding copies of the same pre-printed sign…clearly organized by some group.

During the 20 minutes I was there, I didn’t see anything close to violence or intimidation. Just a lot of protesting, with the anti-Obama side (including me) yelling “Just say NO!” and “Read the bill!” and the socialist side yelling “Yes we can!” and “Hey Hey Ho Ho, the status quo has got to go!” [It should be noted that those of us who understand the issue fairly well and who oppose ObamaCare are not arguing for the status quo.] For much of the time, the two groups kept apart, but once Pelosi arrived, they got mixed up, though with heavier concentrations of the anti-Obama crowd on one side and heavier concentrations of socialists on the other side. Even where the people of different views were standing among each other, people would chant in each others’ faces and smile, but I never saw anything that I would have considered intimidation by either side.

(In the below video, note the number of pre-printed pro-ObamaCare signs. Who’s astroturfing here?)

The anti-socialists had signs talking about liberty, about ObamaCare leading to the death of old people, about freedom to choose our own doctors, with lines like “I can’t afford to pay for everyone else’s health care” and “I’m self-employed. I paid myself to be here.” The socialists had signs like “I’m uninsured. Health care reform now!” or “Health care is a human right” or “Medicare for everyone.”

I realize I’m not objective here, but with the exception of the guy who incorrectly argues that health care is a human right, the left was not arguing from any fundamental philosophical principle. Instead, they just want a free lunch and they hate any company that makes a profit, especially if it’s making a profit providing something people really want and need (i.e. insurance and oil.)

The police seemed to be enjoying themselves since nobody was being aggressive and they motioned for the protesters to move closer to the building!

All in all, I’d say the anti-Obama, anti-Pelosi crowd seemed the more passionate, the more intellectual, and the more truly grassroots, unlike the obvious astroturf of the other side.

LA Times “press release” journalism on health care

by Rossputin | 1:50 am, August 7, 2009

My latest contribution to the National Review Institute is a piece explaining why journalists shouldn’t just parrot claims that a bill “is designed to do” a particular thing when the facts point to the bill’s outcome being very different.

Please see “LAT Misses Facts on Health Costs, Coverage, and Quality”, Ross Kaminsky, National Review Institute, 8/5/09
http://nrinstitute.org/mediamalpractice/?p=357

Meet the ‘Mob:’ Longmont Protests Obamacare

by Ari Armstrong | 12:04 am, August 7, 2009

Longmont CO Health Ralliers Reply to Democratic ‘Mob’ Charge

August 10 Update: In the above video, Spark Erickson says, “Hell, we came in on a bus with 45 agitators… of course we are [part of a mob]. You know that… And if I’m not, they’ll tell you I am, so… go whatever way you want to with that.” Apparently Erickson’s sarcasm was lost on some viewers. Jeff Crank, the event’s organizer, reports, “In total, there were six people who rode the bus from place to place on the bus tour. That includes the driver and tour coordinator.”

Longmont CO Health Raly August 6 2009 Part 1

Longmont CO Health Raly August 6 2009 Part 2

Longmont CO Health Rally Speakers August 6, 2009

According to certain Democratic leaders, those who protest Obamacare are mobs. Ben DeGrow offers a good summary of articles related to this.

Congressman Ed Perlmutter told the Denver Post about tense Town Hall meetings, “They gin up this conflict and in some ways thuggery to try and stop stuff.”

In other words, at a Town Hall meeting, where politicians invite people to come and speak, politicians expect people to shut up and take it.

According to Congressman Perlmutter, forcibly confiscating people’s money is not “thuggery.” Forcing some people to subsidize others through a maze of insurance controls and mandates is not “thuggery.” Dictating to doctors how they shall provide health care, to patients how they shall receive it, and to insurers how they shall insure it, is not “thuggery.” But complaining about it, that is “thuggery.” Speaking up is “thuggery.” Saying “no” to Big Brother is “thuggery.” Daring to exercise the First Amendment is “thuggery.” According to Congressman Perlmutter.

I was amazed that 150 to 200 people showed up for a “Hands Off My Health” rally in Longmont, in the middle of a work day, when seven such rallies were scheduled across the state with little advance notice.

I talked to a number of participants. I asked people why they came to the rally. I asked them why they oppose Obamacare. Finally, I asked them what they think of Democratic smears that they’re part of some “mob.” In short, I did what Democrats are deathly afraid to do: listen to people’s opinions.

August 8 Update: I’ve added a fourth video, featuring some of the comments of the speakers. My favorite videos feature the participants. Please note that I don’t necessarily agree with everything said at the rally.

Moreover, I didn’t include everything I recorded in the published videos. I omitted a couple of comments, one calling Obama a “bastard” and another calling him a “racist.” These were not indicative of the mood or sentiment of the event, nor do I regard such remarks as remotely useful. I recorded at least one comment about abortion that I left out; however, I think only one or two people I talked with mentioned the issue.

One guy said he thinks the solution is local taxes to care for the poor, which, while arguably better than federal programs, is neither consistent with liberty nor remotely adequate for those who regard health care as some sort of right.

Jeff Crank, the event’s organizer, made the same comment he made at a previous rally, which is that the government should force insurers to ignore pre-existing conditions. I’ve criticized that view previously (in a co-authored column with my dad).

I approached people more or less randomly for interviews. Obviously only a minority agreed to be interviewed.

Interestingly, while some of the handful of union-associated counter-protesters talked with the Longmont Daily Times-Call, they all refused to grant me an interview. They said they were too busy and had to hit the road to attend the next rally. I think they were simply unable to make their case for Obamacare and knew as much.

However, I gave Nate, one of the counter-protestors, my card. I told him he could write a 500 word reply to this post, and I would publish it, unedited, perhaps with my reply. If you actually have arguments for your position, Nate, please take advantage of my offer. Otherwise, people might think you’re all show and no substance.

Memo to My Fellow Mob: Stay Strong and Respectful Against Obama Care

by Ben DeGrow | 10:48 pm, August 6, 2009

Updated and brought to the top of the fold: Iowahawk makes the point much more effectively and much more humorously than I have. Please read … and per usual, be sure to keep the liquids clear of the keyboard.
[Update at bottom]
A growing segment of the American public is angry and awakened about the Obama administration’s [...]

Friday Funny – Crowder Interviews Schwarzenegger

by Mr. Bob | 3:58 pm, August 6, 2009

#tcot #california #funny #scrowder
Classic Steven Crowder, one of his best.

Cornyn’s Letter to President Obama

by Mr. Bob | 1:25 pm, August 6, 2009

#gop #tcot #healthcare #obama
click here to see the Letter sent to the President and published in the WSJ.

Senator Cornyn was justifiably outraged, as we all should be that he Office of the POTUS is asking us to REPORT to his staff any “fishy” behavior out there on the part of our friends and neighbors who openly critisize his health care plan.

Can you imagine if President Bush had done this? We are just supposed to trust them?

White House Lost in Alternate Reality about Public Views on Obama Care

by Ben DeGrow | 12:57 pm, August 6, 2009

The Left’s desperation on the health care debate clearly extends all the way to the White House. Not just asking for informants, but creating an alternate reality. A source forwarded me an email she received from “info@barackobama.com” that sets the stage as follows:

Members of Congress have been home for just a few days, and they’re [...]

Proud to be on the White House “Dissident List”

by David K. Williams, Jr. | 12:32 pm, August 6, 2009

DeGette, Polis, and Pelosi All In Denver Today On Health Care Tour

by Live Free | 11:10 am, August 6, 2009

We posted on our Live Free Colorado Facebook page yesterday that Diana DeGett, Jared Polis, and Nancy Pelosi are all in town today to applaud the the deficit busting stimulus package and promote health care reform.
According to the Denver Post, this event at 2 pm is taking place at the Stout Street clinic run by [...]

Report Yourself to Obama’s Thought Police

by Ari Armstrong | 10:42 am, August 6, 2009

Diana Hsieh points out that opponents of Obamacare need to report themselves to the Obama administration for their “fishy” views.

From the White House: “Since we can’t keep track of all of them here at the White House, we’re asking for your help. If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov.”

Here is Diana’s self-report:

Dear Minister of Propaganda,

I’d like to report myself. I think that the Obama administration is attempting a government takeover of health care. Mandates are bad enough in themselves, and they’re just one step on the road to total government control of medicine. That’s appalling. I support individual rights and free markets in health care — not more government welfare and controls.

I’ve told that to tons of people. Please tell me when and where I should report to my re-education camp.

I like hers so much I wrote a similar one:

Dear Minister of Propaganda,

As per your request, I’d like to report an American citizen to you for daring to exercise his First Amendment rights and speak out against Barack Obama’s attempted political takeover of medicine.

I am reporting myself.

Not only do I believe that political interference in medicine is wrong and impractical, but I’ve told many other people about my views, and I intend to repeat this grave offense again today.

I fear I am an incorrigible practitioner of the First Amendment and an intransigent defender of individual rights. Please notify me when you have established your re-education camps, so that I may report in person.

Sincerely,

Ari Armstrong
Westminster, CO

White House Building the Snitch Army

by Derec | 10:35 am, August 6, 2009

With dropping poll numbers and vocal opposition to the Democratic health care reform plan to nationalize the health care industry, the White House is going on the offensive.
Linda Douglas, in her official capacity as the communications director for the Health Care Reform Office, has released a video on the White House blog called Facts Are [...]

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