Fox News Stirring The Pot Towards Civil Unrest

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Reports that some of the protests have been coordinated by FreedomWorks, the Washington lobbying group of Dick Armey, are not easily dismissed and perticularly with the trail of evidence that is being left behind. I have no doubt that some of these people are legitimately protesting to their elected officials within thier district, it's the bussing in of people and "protesters" on tour to create a public outcry that's I take issue with.



If shutting down public debate was the goal, then the organizers of these staged protest have been widely sucessful. However, if they are under the impression that no town hall mettings equals no public option when it comes to healfcare reform, then they are widely mistaken. In the end, it will have to come down to the emails, phone calls, and letters from verified constituents that lawmakers will have to rely on that will make or brake health the care reform issue.

Whenever I write to my representatives, I always adress the letter or email with my informal first name and no middle initial. When I get a response, it's always addressed with my formal name as listed in the voter registration rolls, so I know someone is checking to verify that I live in the district and what party I belong to. The question is is this: will those same people who stood in line to vote for Obama, take 10 minutes to contact thier representative in congress? - If they don't, then heath care reform is dead.

Giving the appearance of this circus being a "grassroots" will eventually be exposed as a fraud the same way that the Tea Party movement came apart at the seems. Many of the protestors catch phrases can easily be tracked back the the Fox News commentator that spewed it. It might be catchy and effective the first time it's said, but once it's played back against it's original source, it really exposes that protestor as a political parrot delivering a message, rather then speaking their mind.

The one about "If they can't run Cash for Clunkers" or "How can you reform healthcare in 4 weeks when it took Obama 6 months to pick out a dog" I thought these where cleaver comments myself the first time that I heard the "protestors" say them, but a quick reviewed my Fox News Tivo proved otherwise. It was life following a trail of bread crumbs from these protestors mouths, right back to the Fox News Room and directly to the mouths of Steve Doocey, Glenn Beck, and Sean Hannity.

Also, a Connecticut fellow named Bob MacGuffie and four friends who formed a political action committee last year have been distributing a memo instructing people how to infiltrate town hall gatherings and harass Democratic members of Congress. Just another trail of evidence to follow by unsophistocated wannabe activists.



– Artificially Inflate Your Numbers: “Spread out in the hall and try to be in the front half. The objective is to put the Rep on the defensive with your questions and follow-up. The Rep should be made to feel that a majority, and if not, a significant portion of at least the audience, opposes the socialist agenda of Washington.”
– Be Disruptive Early And Often: “You need to rock-the-boat early in the Rep’s presentation, Watch for an opportunity to yell out and challenge the Rep’s statements early.”

– Try To “Rattle Him,” Not Have An Intelligent Debate: “The goal is to rattle him, get him off his prepared script and agenda. If he says something outrageous, stand up and shout out and sit right back down. Look for these opportunities before he even takes questions.”

The goal — recently outlined by an influential lobbyist as "delay" then "kill" — is apparent: Having successfully delayed a vote until after the August recess, lobbyists are seizing on town halls to ambush lawmakers in an attempt to fool them and the greater public into thinking there is wide opposition to health care reform.


However, I think the 2008 election has changed the rules forever and if you want to force change, you're going to have to do it the way that Barack Obama did. With a real grass-movements, and real outraged people in real numbers to effect the ellectorate. The days of make beleive narratives and wagging the dog for theatrical effect are alive and well at Fox News, but Fox News has lost it's ability to master the number of puppets needed to achieve it's purpose.

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