http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/astroturf/ en-us Thu, 24 Dec 2009 07:29:37 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2414327/posts It’s “not dead yet…” http://www.redstate.com/moe_lane/2009/12/18/correcting-the-record-on-organizing-for-america/ to quote Monty Python. Organizing for America is a hollow shell. It’s been a hollow shell from pretty much the moment that it stopped being a ’sexy*’ campaign tool that didn’t actually require its members to do anything except hand over money and votes. Not an empty shell, either. OFA. Organizing for America. An arm of the DNC that operates under the auspices of our so-called “Thief in Chief.” I have been frustrated with all the crapola going down in DC, and couldn’t figure out why Conservatives are losing all the time. But I have... RedState.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2414327/posts#comment Thu, 24 Dec 2009 07:29:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2398060/posts The political force our new, and frequently loud, “silent majority” has unleashed in 2009 will determine America's future in 2010 and 2012. It should not be underestimated. In November 1969 President Nixon addressed the American people from the Oval Office about his plans to end the Vietnam War. Most of the speech was dedicated to that topic but towards the end he uttered this one line that has defined the speech ever since. “And so tonight to you, the great silent majority of my fellow Americans, I ask for your support.” The reaction to the speech was extremely positive as... Fox News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2398060/posts#comment Wed, 2 Dec 2009 01:26:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2397078/posts "Members of the Health Access protest group stage a crime scene-like 'body pile-up' as part of their campaign against what they say is the poor state of US Healthcare in Los Angeles" Daylife Photos http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2397078/posts#comment Mon, 30 Nov 2009 20:08:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2396569/posts A group calling itself Alaska Wild Salmon Protection, Inc. recently ran full-page advertisements (see above) in Politico against development of the Pebble Mine in Southwest Alaska. The Pebble deposit is one of the largest finds in America, believed to contain 72 billion pounds of copper and 94 million ounces of gold, among other minerals. Alaska Wild Salmon Protection's advertisement was filled with distortions, but more on that later. I wanted to learn more about the group, so I went to check out its website. It didn't have one.* Odd, I thought, for an environmental group leading local opposition to the... National Center Blog http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2396569/posts#comment Mon, 30 Nov 2009 01:52:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2387681/posts It was a town hall, but this time Barack Obama was not in Iowa or New Hampshire. There were no hay bales, no bunting and no activists with questions about universal health care, clean coal or legalizing marijuana. This forum, after all, was being held in a nation controlled by the Communist Party. Instead of being greeted by voters mulling their options, Obama on Monday met with several hundred well-dressed, attentive and relentlessly on-message students, handpicked by Chinese authorities for the occasion. They listened attentively, nodding in agreement at some of his answers and laughing at his jokes. Most of... Time.com on Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2387681/posts#comment Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:42:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2376719/posts Over the last several months homosexual activist campaign workers from across the country have been traveling to Maine to campaign against the upcoming vote for traditional marriage. It's been largely paid for by national homosexual groups. But all along the Massachusetts homosexual lobby has been a major organizing and fundraising arm of the pro-gay marriage push in Maine. massresistance.org http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2376719/posts#comment Mon, 2 Nov 2009 18:49:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2373986/posts As right-wing protesters dominated the news this summer, it would have seemed the perfect opportunity for Obama's much-touted organizers to drown out the conservatives with some coordinated agitation of their own. But they barely made a ripple. Where were they? And how could such a formidable grassroots operation-having just put Obama in office-fall quiet so quickly? Youpolls http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2373986/posts#comment Thu, 29 Oct 2009 20:14:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2373855/posts House Democrats blocked the public from attending the unveiling ceremony of their health-care bill Thursday morning, allowing only pre-approved visitors whose names appeared on lists to enter the event at the West side of the Capitol. The audience at the crowded press conference included Hill staffers, union workers, health care providers and students, according to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who thanked them for attending. The Washington Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2373855/posts#comment Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:28:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2367670/posts AT&T's top lobbyist, Jim Cicconi, sent a letter to all of the telecom giant's 300,000 employees on Sunday, urging them to express their concerns over a net neutrality proposal under consideration by the Federal Communications Commission. Check out his letter and comments on the Actuarian Outpost Web site. The letter was the latest move in a lobbying frenzy days before the FCC votes on a proposal to create new net neutrality regulations. High-tech giants wrote to the agency to support the rules, while dozens of lawmakers from both parties have protested the rules as potentially dangerout to economic growth. "We... Washingon Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2367670/posts#comment Wed, 21 Oct 2009 17:42:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2371306/posts Hundreds of union members and organizers descended on the streets of downtown Chicago Monday morning to picket the offices of Goldman Sachs Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co. The group, which included supporters from community group National People's Action and the Service Employees International Union, has organized the protests to coincide with the annual meeting of the American Bankers Association. The group is demanding that "banks end their over-reliance on greed and profits and commit to using their taxpayer bailouts and backstops to help America's economy recover," said a news release from the Service Employees International Union. The Wall Street Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2371306/posts#comment Mon, 26 Oct 2009 19:22:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2366992/posts Advocates of imposing "network neutrality" say it's necessary to ensure a "free" and "open" Internet and rescue the public from nefarious corporations that "control" technology. Few proposals in Washington have been sold employing such deceptive language -- and that's saying something. But few public policy ideas can boast the unashamedly socialist pedigree of net neutrality. The modern Internet is a creation of the free market, which has brought about a revolution in communication, free speech, education, and commerce. New Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski apparently doesn't like that. He stated last month the way Internet service providers manage their... Washington Examiner http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2366992/posts#comment Tue, 20 Oct 2009 23:09:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2366910/posts An AT&T executive has asked employees to post opposition to net neutrality rules being considered by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission on an FCC Web site using their personal e-mail addresses, prompting accusations of unfair advocacy by an opposing group. The AT&T letter, sent this week by Jim Cicconi, senior executive vice president of external and legislative affairs, asks employees to go to OpenInternet.gov and use a personal e-mail address to join the discussion forum there. The letter then gives five talking points that AT&T employees can use to argue against net neutrality in the days leading up to Thursday’s... Macworld http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2366910/posts#comment Tue, 20 Oct 2009 21:16:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2359959/posts Mass-produced signs carried by pro-public option folks begged the question, “Who’s Astroturfing Now?” Bob McCarty Writes http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2359959/posts#comment Sun, 11 Oct 2009 13:45:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2356542/posts LIGHTS, camera, agitprop! The curtains opened on yet another artfully staged performance of ObamaCare Theater this week. On the plush lawn outside the West Wing, 150 doctors took their places. The president approved the scenery: "I am thrilled to have all of you here today, and you look very spiffy in your coats." White House wardrobe assistants guaranteed the "spiffy." As The Post's Charles Hurt reported yesterday, the physicians "were told to bring their white lab coats to make sure that TV cameras captured the image." Obama's aides hastily handed out costumes to those who came in suits or dresses... NY Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2356542/posts#comment Wed, 7 Oct 2009 09:05:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2356337/posts Politics: The administration stages a photo-op with handpicked doctors who support its health care reform. Fortunately, most doctors still believe that the first rule of medicine is to do no harm. It would seem some doctors still make house calls. Some 150 of them made one at the White House Monday in an attempt to give a booster shot to the administration's chaotic and stalled health care reform drive. Rather than a grass-roots uprising of physicians, this was a classic case of AstroTurfing. Attendance was by invitation only, and 40 of the 150 were said to be members of Doctors... IBD Editorials http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2356337/posts#comment Wed, 7 Oct 2009 00:08:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2347071/posts Katrina vanden Heuvel, the editor and publisher of The Nation, has just sent out a fundraising letter making fantastical claims about the 9/12 protest in Washington. Promoting the magazine's "Student Outreach Program," in which she and her colleagues offer teaching guides to help educators counter the influence of Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck, vanden Heuvel described the march this way: Just days ago, Glenn Beck led the astro-turf 9-12-09 "Taxpayer March on DC." Compared to the millions who have marched for civil rights, equal rights, and gay rights, and against the war, Beck's 70,000 would be small stuff -- except... The Washington Examiner http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2347071/posts#comment Thu, 24 Sep 2009 09:32:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2345690/posts ... then why is Bim Ayandele, of Winner & Associates -- a subdivision of Publicis Groupe, one of the world's largest PR firms -- twittering this stuff during normal business hours? Dan Riehl passes on word that Ayandele likes to use the social networking tool twitter. A tool often used to help stories go viral. This tweet from Bim Ayandele is from around 8:35 this AM. The Jawa Report http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2345690/posts#comment Tue, 22 Sep 2009 17:56:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2344459/posts This is political artwork. Until McCain Feingold II comes around to hammer some more on the First Amendment, it still is protected speech as such. The liberals have tried to portray the groundswell of the American people opposed to Obamacare as being organized by the insurance companies, racist, whatever they can throw out there and hope the MSM will run with. The only ones who have organized anything are the liberal politicians themselves, sending targeted emails to their union buddies and teachers' groups and donors, begging them to show up at their town halls so they can have some support... self http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2344459/posts#comment Mon, 21 Sep 2009 01:26:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2343466/posts The plan for a series of grass-roots demonstrations Tuesday to promote President Obama's health care agenda calls for tightly scripted events and an "escalation" of efforts against "enemies" of reform. Organizers insist there is no comparison to rowdy summer town hall meetings and recent "tea party" protests that have challenged White House policies. But Health Care for America Now (HCAN), which is backed by a coalition of labor unions and liberal groups including ACORN and MoveOn.org, organized the protests to target insurance companies and drafted the plan, which describes the demonstrations as part of its "insurance enemies project." The document,... The Washington Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2343466/posts#comment Sat, 19 Sep 2009 07:17:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2342503/posts President Obama's rally at the University of Maryland on Thursday was a highly choreographed campaign event that drew in college students and union members by the thousands. Instead of campaigning for an election, the President was campaigning for health care reform. Obama didn't quite fill the 18,000 seats in UMD's Comcast Center and appeared three hours later than the scheduled 9am start time. It didn't seem to bother the crowd, which performed "waves" around the stadium with their hands to the music of UMD's school band, which played hits like "Sweet Caroline," "Thriller," and "Let's Get Ready To Rumble." It... Townhall.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2342503/posts#comment Fri, 18 Sep 2009 01:45:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2338416/posts Currently, leftists have reportedly generated $1 million in donations for Rep. Joe Wilson's opponent last time, Rob Miller. Wilson, for his part has reaped about $750k. But there is a big difference beneath the surface: : Kos and DCCC immediately organized fundraising against Wilson. Wilson's $ is based on his own appeal and spontaneous contributors. From Paul Kane of the WaPo: The American Thinker Blog http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2338416/posts#comment Sun, 13 Sep 2009 04:07:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2338099/posts MINNEAPOLIS — Spectators are packing the Target Center in anticipation of this afternoon's health care address by President Obama, with lines snaking for several blocks through Minneapolis' Warehouse District. Some camped overnight for the 12:30 p.m. speech, which follows an address to Congress earlier this week in which Obama tried to regain control of the health care debate. Critics spent the summer buffeting his plan, which Obama has made his top priority during his first year in office. "We believe in what Obama's trying to do, and believe health care change is really necessary," said Andy Gunn, 57, who had... TwinCities.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2338099/posts#comment Sat, 12 Sep 2009 17:31:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2336234/posts XXXXX, I just finished laying out my plan for health reform at a joint session of Congress. Now, I'm writing directly to you because what happens next is critical -- and I need your help. Change this big will not happen because I ask for it. It can only come when the nation demands it. Congress knows where I stand. Now they need to hear from you. Add your voice: Ask your representatives to support my plan for real health reform in 2009. The heart of my plan is simple: bring stability and security to Americans who already have health... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2336234/posts#comment Thu, 10 Sep 2009 12:04:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2334252/posts More than 1,000 people rallied today on Boston Common, shouting slogans and holding aloft banners demanding "reform now" in a show of force supporting President Obama's push to overhaul health care. In a refrain that echoed across the grassy lawn, the crowd chanted: "What do we want? Health Care Reform! When do you want it? Now!" Placards read "Public Option = Government for the People" and "Cape Cod will not let Ted's dream die." Members of the crowd said they wanted to push back against vocal opposition to reform as Obama gears up for a major health care address to... Boston.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2334252/posts#comment Mon, 7 Sep 2009 23:50:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2333135/posts WEST CHESTER TWP. — Thousands of people made their way to the Voice of America Park this afternoon, Sept. 5, for a Tea Party event. It was festival-like atmosphere of patriotism, with food vendors, face-painting for kids and live music for crowd that Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones estimated topped out at 18,000. People of all ages were wearing patriotic clothing in hues of red, white and blue, many carrying American flags and hand-made signs with myriad slogans. The event drew people from all over the region, including a family from Springfield. Laura and Andy Rosenberger of Springfield were... Middle Town Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2333135/posts#comment Sun, 6 Sep 2009 01:54:05 GMT