Mike Hall and the rest of the AFL-CIO NOW blog staff have fallen right in line – as have other far-left internet ‘news’ sites like Daily Kos, Think Progress, and the America Blog have done – with the latest marching orders sent down from on high at the White House to report any ‘disinformation’ being spread by libertarian/Republican ‘extremists’ – Freedomworks, American Liberty Alliance, and Right Principles – in regards to the president’s health care reform legislation.
Hall’s August 4th article blasting conservative non-profit organizations such as the ALA and Freedomworks bares little resemblance to the truth of actual events. The author can’t even start his article off on the right foot. In his opening paragraph, he trots out the tired ol’ liberal cliché “Bush was selected, not elected,” comparing the ‘mob tactics’ of the anti-health care reform activists to what went on in Florida in 2000.
“Mob rule tactics stopped the Florida vote count during the contested 2000 presidential elections, ultimately turning the presidency over to George W. Bush—a strategy now emulated by the anti-health care reform lobby”
Umm … no, Michael, that would have been the Supreme Court of the United States. Without getting into too much detail (Larry Schweikart’s 48 Liberal Lies About American History covers the issue very nicely) and thus diverting attention away from the matter at hand, the SCOTUS decided in a 7-2 decision that ‘selective recounting’ – the precise manner in which Al Gore and the Florida Supreme Court wanted the votes recounted in the heavily Democratic counties of Palm Beach, Miami-Dade, Broward, and Volusia – was unconstitutional. This in turn allowed Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris to certify Bush as the winner of the state of Florida and thus the victor of the 2000 presidential election.
It seems as though Hall and the Daily Kos, in referring to tea party protestors as ‘extremists’ and ‘crazies’, have chosen to take the same route Rep. Lloyd Doggett did a few days ago, resorting to childish name calling and playing the victim-card rather than engage in intellectual and constructive political dialogue.
Hall claims that the grassroots organization,Right Principles, is ‘anti-government’ and yet if he actually took the time to visit the website and read the organization’s core beliefs (located right on the main home page) then he would know that the accusation is categorically false. The second …
“We believe to the fullest extent possible that governmental power should be devolved to the state and local level and that a free society prospers from and depends on the unbridled self-initiative of its people.”
… and the tenth …
“We seek the election of candidates for state and federal office who best reflect these stated core values. We believe that the fight for freedom and liberty is advanced by exposing ineffective or corrupt politicians and leading the charge to remove them from office through the electoral process.”
… of these beliefs make it distinctly clear the organization believes in a form of republican-style government. Just because they believe most of the power should be invested in the state and local governmental agencies rather the centralized federal bureaucracy does not make them ‘anti-government’.
The writer then asserts that these ‘coalition of ‘extremist’ groups’ have a written game plan - of course, he’d be hammering them for being a disorganized rabble if they didn’t - and that the operators of Right Principles have indoctrinated their followers in how to take over a town hall meeting …
“Be disruptive early and often. You need to rock the boat early in the rep’s presentation. Watch for an opportunity to yell out. The goal is to rattle him…stand up and shout out. Look for these opportunities before he even takes questions”
And yet Hall fails to cite a specific source in order to back up this assertion. All he does is simply state in his article that the organizers of the grassroots group, Right Principles, is behind this statement. In quotes, no less. But with no citation pointing to an exact article or document making this declaration and nothing on their website related to this subject, it can just as easily be assumed that Hall is making this up.
Hall then posts a comment by Joe Sudbay of the America Blog describing the tactics of protestors as “thuggery that undermines democratic principles.” First off, Joe, we do not live in a democracy, but rather a constitutional republic. There is a substantial difference between the two. But that is beside the point. If you really want to know about ‘thuggery’ then why don’t you ask Mike Hall? The union hit men he buddies around with ought to know all about that.
And, finally, let’s wrap things up with an examination of how Mike Hall (and his fellow far-left mouth-pieces) observed specific town hall events/tea party protests …
Hall claims that protestors that attended the town hall meeting with Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius and political opportunist Senator Arlen Specter held at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania this past Sunday ” shouted and booed loudly enough to drown out remarks from both officials and questions from the audience.” Andrew Monaghan at Panzramic posted YouTube videos of the whole event and they paint an entirely different picture. Andrew has even posted a follow-up video clarifying that these protestors are not being sent out by insurance companies. Amazingly, Hall fails to mention the ACORN and SEIU drones that were in force at the event. Specifically he glosses over how ACORN exploited the amputees, the handicapped, and the disabled to push their agenda.
He cites a Think Progress article which states that “this growing phenomenon is often marked by violence and absurdity,” referring specifically to a rally in Salisbury, Maryland, where an unidentified man was seen hanging Rep. Frank Kratovil in effigy. As Glenn Thrush at Politico and Joe Albero at Salisbury News reported, the event was not officially sanctioned by Americans for Prosperity. A spokeswoman for the organization stated that they “held an event the previous night, where this man passed out flyers asking people to join him the next day at the office for a protest. That is how some AFP members ended up coming, but they were disgusted by his behavior.” Albero confirmed that many who saw the display “immediately walked away and wanted nothing to do with it.”
