Jane Hamsher notes:
If you got your information from the CBS News last night, you would believe that "angry protesters" are cropping up "everywhere Democrats are trying to defend health care reform." "Conservative websites" like Freedomworks are recruiting them, based on "real fear over the increased taxes" and "government control" of the health care system.Max Pappas from Freedomworks shows up to speak on their behalf.
Freedomworks isn't some "organic grassroots" outfit. It's run by former Republican House Majority Leader Dick Armey -- corporate lobbyist, global warming denier and ladie's [sic] man. The President and CEO of Freedomworks is Matt Kibbee, who was trained by Lee Atwater. Kibbe was behind the attempt to get Ralph Nader put on the ballot in Oregon in 2004, prompting a complaint to the FEC of illegal collusion with the GOP.
Steve Forbes is on the FreedomWorks board. As Paul Krugman noted, their money comes from the Koch, Scaife, Bradley, Olin nexus, as well as other reliable funders of right wing infrastructure including Exxon Mobil.
Freedomworks has a long history of skunk works. In 2004, a woman who identified herself as a "single mother" in Iowa, Sandra Jacques, appeared at a George Bush town hall and gushed about his plan to privatize Social Security. She left out the part about being an employee of Freedomworks, who were lobbying on the issue at the time.
David Koch is also Chairman of the other major outfit heavily involved in these "organic" uprisings, Americans for Prosperity, whose members lynched Democrat Frank Kratovil in effigy. Koch is the 19th richest man in the world. They recently renamed the New York State Theater in Lincoln Center the David H. Koch Theater.
I watched that CBS Evening News segment and wanted to throw something at Katie Couric and her correspondent Wyatt Andrews. They didn't bother to mention (maybe they didn't bother to check) the background of the outfits sponsoring these people.
It's not enough to fight the industry and its designated idiots (dupes? minions?); Democrats and President Obama have to fight the media's propensity for "balance" at all costs.
Speaking of that need for balance, here's a recent anecdote from Paul Krugman:
I was tentatively scheduled to be on a broadcast dealing with — well, I won’t embarrass them. But first they had to find someone to take the opposite view. And it turned out that they couldn’t — which led to canceling the whole segment.
Amazing, innit?
Posted by Linkmeister at August 4, 2009 11:55 AM | TrackBack