> Date: Thu, 6 Aug 2009 11:07:55 -0500 (CDT)
> From: "Michael B. Keegan, People For the American Way" <alerts@...>
> To: caelimg@...
> Subject: Health Care or Lie-Driven Mobs?
>
> A Message from People For the American Way
>
> =====================================
>
>
> "The 'shout 'em down, shut 'em down' thuggery being staged right now
> at town hall meetings about health care is again a source of
> conservative pride as corporate lobbying groups brag about their
> ability to turn out the mobs, to shut down the democratic process." --
> Rachel Maddow
>
>
> Dear Caeli,
>
> On Tuesday, I emailed you about the right-wing mobs that are
> showing up at congressional town hall meetings in order to disrupt the
> meetings, intimidate members of Congress and shout down any viewpoint
> that is not their own. Since then, even more has come out about the
> nature of this supposedly "grassroots" movement.
>
> In truth, these mobs are anything but organic and do not represent any
> sort of real grassroots groundswell -- they are fueled by
> corporate lobbyists, aligned with insurance companies and right-wing
> interests.
>
> A strategy memo which recently came to light, offering a guide on how
> to disrupt town halls, was from a web site sponsored by a group called
> Americans for Prosperity, headed by a former associate of Jack
> Abramoff, and FreedomWorks, a lobbying firm led by former Republican
> Majority Leader Dick Armey.1 And a group called Conservatives for
> Patients' Rights is publicly claiming credit for helping to organize
> town hall outbursts.2
>
> A paid-for fraud
>
> The operatives mentioned above, along with the right-wing media echo
> chamber, are spreading lies to ignite the anger of the right-wing
> base -- fear-mongering about "socialism," and outright lies about
> the health care reform bill itself, like:
>
> * Employees of the "Government Healthcare Bureaucracy" will have
> access to ALL American financial and personal records;
> * The government will set doctors' wages;
> * The choice to purchase private health insurance will be
> eliminated;
> * And one of the most extreme, that the government will control
> end-of-life decisions and encourage euthanasia and assisted
> suicide for the elderly.3
>
> The "real anger" towards the administration's health care reform
> efforts that FOX News and other right-wing outlets have been reporting
> ad nauseam is nothing more than a manufactured and paid-for fraud. The
> anger is fueled by the Right's lies and only visible because of its
> organizing efforts paid for by corporate special interests opposed to
> real reform.
>
> We've seen this sort of thing before. GOP operatives, many of them
> Capitol Hill staffers, flooded the state of Florida during the
> presidential election recount in 2000, forming phony "local" mobs to
> harass the people conducting the recount. This time, it's members of
> the Right's radical base who are the foot soldiers, but the public
> outrage is just as manufactured.
>
> "Health Care, Not Mobs"
>
> The town hall meetings that the mobs are hijacking are supposed to
> provide a platform for honest debate and constructive interaction
> between members of Congress and their constituents. If the
> representative or senator hosting a meeting cannot even speak in order
> to answer questions or is forced into an angry shouting match with
> unruly disrupters, democracy suffers and all the other attendees are
> denied access to their representative.
>
> Progressives can't let themselves be out-organized on the health care
> issue and need to counter these lie-driven mobs. It's time for
> progressives to make their presence known and their voices heard. Tell
> your members of Congress not to be intimidated and to reject mob
> tactics.
>
> Here's what you can do:
>
> 1. Email your congressional representatives if you have not already.
>
> http://site.pfaw.org/site/R?i=UtThViZ3LvNqp6hAcJw78g..
>
> 2. Follow up your email with a phone call (find contact information
> here).
>
> http://site.pfaw.org/site/R?i=g9YbdRhdYi5sTdiMeKyhlg..
>
> 3. Find a town hall event near you this recess and attend.
>
> Attend a town hall meeting
>
> The best way to silence the mob, so to speak, is to outnumber them.
> Show up. Bring people. And if members of the crowd begin disruptive
> outbursts and attempt to shout down the official hosting the meeting,
> help restore order with the chant, "Let him/her speak!"
>
> The phrases, "Let Him/Her Speak" and "Health Care, Not Mobs" both make
> great chants and signs -- so get out those magic markers.
>
> You can find lists of some town hall meetings on the web sites of
> Heath Care for America Now and the right-wing Tea Party Patriots
> (scroll down to the section "Groups and Events By State").
> http://site.pfaw.org/site/R?i=9q2xBURqA6L3NwDBu9wQzg..
> http://site.pfaw.org/site/R?i=KEQnfv3ObmB0iub5nbiESg..
>
> Thank you for helping to expose and counter the Right's attempts to
> derail and kill health care reform.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Michael B. Keegan, President
>
> P.S. Rep. Brad Miller of North Carolina, after receiving a death
> threat over the health care reform bill, has opted not to hold town
> hall meetings this recess.4 We can't let this kind of intimidation go
> unchallenged. We must speak out, show up and defend the civil
> discourse which is so vital to a functional democracy.
>
> Sources:
>
> 1. "Swiftboating Town Halls," The Progress Report, August 5, 2009.
> http://site.pfaw.org/site/R?i=prkbM5-KyVmjHgtwf0pVvA..
>
> 2. "Anti-Reform Group Takes Credit For Helping Gin Up Town Hall
> Rallies," The Plum Line, August 4, 2009.
>
> http://site.pfaw.org/site/R?i=9CC5r-w7uhylU7idnavyaQ..
>
> 3. An email circulating around the internet, forwarded to us by a PFAW
> member (the lies in this email about ending Medicare, rationing
> health care and promoting euthanasia have been repeated by many in the
> right-wing media and even some elected officials).
> http://site.pfaw.org/site/R?i=QxWgt8cNQGe860CNMJBFvA..
>
> 4. "Dem Congressman's Office: His Life Has Been Threatened Over Health
> Care Bill," Talking Points Memo, August 5, 2009.
>
> http://site.pfaw.org/site/R?i=fC7Kws9Y9THayjrjCXlkCw..
>
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>
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>
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