HCHR’s own Matt Margolis reported yesterday that the White House, or Emanuel Bros. & Co., has been forced to spend a great deal of time reconciling President Obama’s current stance on health care reform, perspectives he’s offered in the past and what he actually intends for the future of health care in America.
In attempts to streamline their efforts, the White House has used new media sites, such as Twitter, to use taxpayer-funded communications resources to promote the Obama Administration’s legislation that would create a government overhaul of health care in America. They’re also using these media to play defense, asking supporters to alert the White House of any “disinformation” disseminated from opposing camps.
In a White House blog, entitled “Facts are Stubborn Things” published today, Emanuel Bros. & Co. explained that those who oppose Obamacare are spreading “scary chain emails and videos,” proving yet again how absolutely patronizing and condescending this administration can be. They portray the American people as simpleton victims who cannot possibly discern what is right and wrong for themselves, but instead, fall prey to those on the Right.
They take this attitude a step further by offering lowly Americans with an “important” task:
There is a lot of disinformation about health insurance reform out there, spanning from control of personal finances to end of life care. These rumors often travel just below the surface via chain emails or through casual conversation. 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.
This request serves two purposes. First, it makes the American people feel as though they are a part of the fight for expanded health care coverage, but really, they are giving them some tiny task, like a mother allowing a child to help stir batter to make a cake, in hopes of their supporters feeling like they’ve done something. Secondly, it allows for the White House to really take advantage of their new role: America’s hall monitor.
To assert that anyone who opposes them is spouting off bad information is intellectually dishonest. Just as Emanuel Bros. & Co. founder Rahm Emanuel has been accused of undercutting those who stand in his way, they want to take it one step further and keep tabs on those who simply disagree with President Obama’s legislative proposals. Groups they would monitor especially closely? Try Tea Party Patriots, American Liberty Alliance, American Majority, Americans for Prosperity, Conservatives for Patients’ Rights, Americans for Tax Reform… and so on and so forth.
And why would they do this? Given the fact that the majority of Americans oppose Obamacare, it would sure take a lot of time to defend against every accusation catapulted in their direction. Furthermore, even if their claims are false (which they are not), any sort of legal action against them would prove futile, since First Amendment protections of speech are very rarely forfeited and even harder to refute for public figures.
Since any opinion contradictory to that released by Emanuel Bros. & Co. is now considered “disinformation,” those on the Center-Right should keep the White House occupied by continuing to send out more of it during August recess. It’s fun to keep government employees busy.
