FreedomWorks advocates people being ‘aggressive’ at town hall meetings.
FreedomWorks advocates people being ‘aggressive’ at town hall meetings.
This morning on MSNBC, The Wonk Room’s Igor Volsky and FreedomWorks President Matt Kibbe discussed the astroturf campaign many right-wing groups (including FreedomWorks) are engaged in to disrupt health care town hall meetings across the country with members of Congress. Igor noted that these groups are “very good at tapping into that paranoid place in American politics that we saw at the end of the 2008 election when people were coming to McCain’s town halls and calling President Obama a terrorist, a socialist.” When pressed by host Alex Witt if his organization is encouraging people to be disruptive, Kibbe at first dodged the question, but said that “shouting is not the way to get this done.” He then, however, admitted that FreedomWorks urges people to be “agressive”:
HOST: So you are not encouraging, do you want to tell me definitively, you have not encouraged your members in FreedomWorks to show up at these town hall meetings and be disruptive? [...]
KIBBE: Shouting is not the way to get this done. The right thing to do is to be aggressive, get to the microphone, express your opinion, but let the congressman talk as well. That’s always been our position.
Watch it:
Last week, FreedomWorks Vice President Max Pappas boasted about “blowing” the town halls “apart” and declined to try to get the group’s members to “calm down.”
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Wonder how long before someone opens fire to “get as many liberals as possible?” Can these bastards be held responsible for the upcoming violence?
August 9th, 2009 at 3:02 pmThere’s a great scene towards the end of “Oh Brother, Where art thou” where the rabble rouser is hoisted onto a rail and “run” out of the hall, presumably out of town as well.
If only we could do that to Kibbe and his ilk.
August 9th, 2009 at 3:04 pmLying piece of S**T!
August 9th, 2009 at 3:07 pmKrazny, if recent history is any measure of what they’d do if/when someone resorts to violence b/c of them, they’ll do the same thing they did when Dr. Tiller was assassinated at his church. They’ll deny they ever played any role in what happened. It’s the first rule in their playbook.
August 9th, 2009 at 3:07 pmRich, I like the ‘Airplane!’ one, “run him out of town like a common pygmy.”
August 9th, 2009 at 3:08 pmAnother lying liar from the Dick Armey lying about lying.
August 9th, 2009 at 3:16 pmthe correct link–
August 9th, 2009 at 3:22 pmlink
August 9th, 2009 at 3:22 pmI must apologize. My femputer is being uncooperative.
August 9th, 2009 at 3:23 pmHttp://www.thestate.com
The FascistRebublic party in full bloom…..
To quote Sam L Jackson fron Jurassic Park
“Hold on to your butts”
August 9th, 2009 at 3:24 pmKIBBE says: Shouting is not the way to get this done. The right thing to do is to be aggressive, get to the microphone, express your opinion, but let the congressman talk as well. That’s always been our position.
Translation: This thing is starting to Backfire.
August 9th, 2009 at 3:27 pmThere is a difference between voicing your opinion at a town hall meeting in a civil, mutually respectful manner and disrupting a discussion to scream, rant, and rave with no interest in hearing a meaningful response.
August 9th, 2009 at 3:33 pmThe majority of those in attendance at these local civic events came to listen and ask questions, and the rude, juvenile conduct of the interlopers is only serving to convince most Americans that the GOP is only interested in sabotaging the reform process.
Do the astroturf organizers really think their all at once uncivilized behavior done uniformly though out the US is going to fool others thinking it is genuine grass roots?
If there is any grass roots to be found it is from the prejudice, bigoted, greedy using this for their own agenda.
August 9th, 2009 at 3:36 pmWhen the violence begins, Matt Kibbe needs to be prosecuted to the letter of the law, convicted, and to spend the maximum sentence possible in prison, without chance at parole.
Time to start locking up the fascists.
August 9th, 2009 at 3:45 pm“We, the Radical Right Republicans of Americ, hate everything and everyone. We therefore call upon Angry Jesus to ride in on his Righteous Dinosaur of Death and smite all of the liberals, moderates, economists, scientists, educated elites, Mexicans, Muslims, and homosexuals. Amen.”
August 9th, 2009 at 3:51 pmforgot, for those that don’t know me. \snark
August 9th, 2009 at 3:58 pmBe honest and put the blame where it belongs:
The Founding Fathers warned against big, powerful corporations. Americans were too greedy and have let the corporations take over every aspect of our lives, from health care to newspapers to who can get credit and who can not. American’s have let these evil powers rule over us, just like King George.
Huge corporations are behind the astroturfing and are trying to sabotage democracy. The corporation’s tools, the far-right GOP, stole the 2000 election using the same tactics of bullying, threats of volence and intimidation against the corwardly democrats who don’t know how to fight back. They are trying to pick off the democrats one by one, divide off the kiss-ass Blue Dog Democrats are putty in their hands, easily manipulated and giving the big corporations cover for their crimes against democracy.
The huge insurance and pharma companies, Koch, Scaife, Bradley, Olin, Exxon Mobil fund and are therefore responsible for this wave of facism washing over America and the crazy brown-shirts who do their bidding.
All of these companies should be investigated by the FBI and Congress for their undermining of democracy and promotion of thugs, threats and violence.
This insurance and pharmaceutical company’s are not just funding fascists. The big pharma and insurance companies ARE fascists. They don’t care if millions of people die without health care or are denied so their CEOs can take the millions of dollars that would pay for health care. All of these companies — Exxon Mobil, WellPoint, UnitedHealth Group, Merick, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, GlaxoSmithKline, et all, should all be put to legal death and taken apart, their assets sold and everyone fired as both killers and threats to democracy.
Along with the collapse of the fourth estate of free, independent newspapers, corporate control over our lives is the most significant threat to our Republic since World War II.
August 9th, 2009 at 4:07 pmTom The Patriot
Or as I like to call it, the lobby system as seen after raygun allowed it’s expansion from a handful who could not even buy a reps lunch to what we have today.
August 9th, 2009 at 4:12 pmNotice all the very quick vote downs on my post and Freds? That is most likely due to my naming names of the big corporations. They also fund trolls, who seem to like the easy, anonymous vote downs. Less work for them in their attempt at manipulation of democratic processes.
August 9th, 2009 at 4:31 pmGood job, Igor. We need more people like Igor speaking up to these liars. I’m particularly happy to hear Igor call out Matt on who wrote the memo. Nothing better than hearing truth spoke to lies.
August 9th, 2009 at 4:43 pmIf someone gets seriously hurt because of Freedom Works advice, could Matt Tibbe be prosecuted using the “conservatives favorite law”, the Patriot Act?
August 9th, 2009 at 4:46 pm# 17 Tom The Patriot – concerning you topic of corporations…
It is a corporate take over… a transnational take over.
I have written to the FAA concerning the link below and their response is to take it up locally. Right… I live in Oregon and the following story is in the south.
In my opinion, this IS the story the public wants to hear, but tell that to the transnational corporations that apparently rule.
channel 8 investigation video of China owned aircraft repair corp making it’s home in San Antonio, TX and Mobile, AL bringing unlicensed foreigners by the bus loads,involving hundreds, to do the work of licensed aircraft mechanics.
The story goes on interviewing now unemployed aircraft mechanics finished up after training the foreigners.
This is huge violation of the rules of the FAA.
August 9th, 2009 at 4:48 pmRule 8: Keep the pressure on. Use different tactics and actions and use all events of the period for your purpose. “The major premise for tactics is the development of operations that will maintain a constant pressure upon the opposition. It is this that will cause the opposition to react to your advantage.”
According to Alinsky, the main job of the organizer is to bait an opponent into reacting. “The enemy properly goaded and guided in his reaction will be your major strength.”
August 9th, 2009 at 5:01 pmocotillo
Except no one is reacting. They continue to flail and look like fools. they have no major strength because they really don’t know what they are doing.
They will succeed at this about as well as they did in finding wmd’s.
Rule 8 is useless to those who don’t even understand the goal. These people are trying to use tried and tested methods to do something the rule was not designed to do.
August 9th, 2009 at 5:14 pmFred,
The Obama administration has called on its supporters to “punch back twice as hard” against the protests.
The Obama administration wants its allies to report in any criticism of health care reform they hear. A White House blog called on supporters to send any “fishy” information to flag@whitehouse.gov.
Who isn’t reacting?
August 9th, 2009 at 5:20 pmocotillo
And I had that email address weeks before the right wing extremists started their mob tactics.
As you posted yourself, it doesn’t ask one thing about the activities of the teabaggers and thier mob activities at democratic town hall meetings.
If you have a point, maybe you could make it. Now would be a good time.
August 9th, 2009 at 5:23 pmMaybe you could post a link to verify this too. I’m pretty sure you are twisting the words. Should be easy to debunk, especially if you can’t provide a link.
August 9th, 2009 at 5:25 pmWhite House to Democrats: ‘Punch back twice as hard’
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0809/25891.html
August 9th, 2009 at 5:30 pmAs usual, it says for them to punch back twice as hard with the facts as they have been doing. Only right wing sites are interpreting this as anything else.
No where in the link or any of them you can come up with will show Obama or dems calling for people to face down the protesters and this is the fact that you cannot avoid, no matter how hard you try.
August 9th, 2009 at 5:37 pmLast week, FreedomWorks Vice President Max Pappas boasted about “blowing” the town halls “apart” and declined to try to get the group’s members to “calm down”.
Now there’s the real truth. Lying, hateful, violence-inciting sheep, that’s the FreedomWorks way. Totally anti-American & anti-Constitution. They want to destroy freedom.
August 9th, 2009 at 6:58 pmWhen white, rich businessmen are faced with challenges to their historically preferential way of life in which minorities, women and anyone not fitting their social view of the world were disenfranchised, they will do anything to destroy anyone who poses a threat. Shame on them and the mindless few who believe they have the right to destroy the core values of the American right to free speech and peaceful assembly.
August 9th, 2009 at 7:32 pmocotillo says:
You are a liar and a fool. They didnt say they want any criticism of the plan reported MORON. They said if you get an e-mail that sounds fish to send it to them. So they can counter the misinformation. Adjust your medication fool
August 9th, 2009 at 7:57 pmWhat?! These smartest-men-in-the-room, these ubercapitalists, these ENTREPENEURS, can’t adapt? Tough.
August 9th, 2009 at 8:29 pmocotillo says:
______________
Quick question for you, octagon…
Does Alinsky advocate bringing guns to the rumble?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/08/unions-receive-increasing_n_254704.html
Unions Receive Increasingly Scary Threats Of Violence For Town Hall Participation
“I will be going to a local town hall this weekend, all you union members BEWARE!” an emailer wrote at 9:40 Saturday morning. “We will be waiting for you. Better make sure you have arrangements with your local ER. today is the day when the goon meets the gun. See you there.”
Or do only right wing wackaloons do that?
August 9th, 2009 at 9:41 pmMercy. The goons are meeting their guns.
August 9th, 2009 at 9:59 pmImmagine what happens when bullets start flying. I hope the police will be ready.
August 9th, 2009 at 10:14 pmIt is truly amazing how almost all of the political violence comes from the intolerant right-wing, whether it be in Saudi Arabia (15 Nationals attacked the US on nine-eleven), the Bush gangster regime, murdering Iraqis, Pakistanis and Afghanis with their imperial wars of aggression plus torturing to death of detainees, and now the right-wing Iranian religious fanatic government has been revealed to have tortured to death several Iranian protesters in recent weeks (see Yahoo news and Google news for details). And here, back in the good old USofA, right-wing fanatics on Faux Noise and on the radio are egging on white supremacists to commit acts of violence at Democratic town hall meetings discussing health care reform…
August 9th, 2009 at 10:17 pmI presume the Pappas/UnitedHealth Care people will show up in force at the Obama Town Hall in New Hampshire. http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102×4007757 Will these groups join forces and become aggressive, possibly a rampage of window busting. And how will that play with the local New Hampshire people that take pride in their independence.
August 9th, 2009 at 10:44 pm# 17 Tom The Patriot
Am still stunned by your post and hope I see that view posted over and over… hits the nail directly on the head.
My son is dating a foreign young sweet Venezuelan girl hand picked by Johnson and Johnson and is getting a US education for an engineering MA to add to her BA degree. There is no other info and that in itself sounds shaky.
Am I to guess the transnational corporations not only rule but carefully pick their employees, foreign employees for the cheaper cost? If so, as they gain more power what will that do to the job outlook for Americans?
In my post #22 I linked to an article where China has control over two major aircraft mechanic sites in the US and BREAKING FAA RULES BY BRINGING IN UNLICENSED FOREIGN WORKERS.
We are so screwed.
Yes, I am worried about health care, but there is also some other big fish to fry.
August 10th, 2009 at 2:36 amIf these clowns keep pushing this kind of behavior, someone is going to end up being hurt or worse and then they are going to be saying ‘it is not our fault’ or ‘we did not tell them to do this’, this kind of behavior does NOT belong in America.
August 10th, 2009 at 10:40 am