Many have seen the video of a Republican state legislative candidate in Virginia advocating a real civil war against Obama at a recent Tea Party, here and elsewhere.
So that Republicans are using the Tea Party "movement" to defend Murder by Spreadsheet will come as no surprise.
Jane Hamsher at Firedoglake had a post today about Robert Wexler, FL-19, whose strong advocacy of a public option for health insurance attracted a few teabaggers to a protest today.
This protest, and allegedly hundreds of others today, was organized and coordinated by what Jane calls "Dick Armey's astroturf teabagging organization, Freedomworks."
So I clicked over there, and found a true-red Republican wingnut welfare outfit that claimed to be leading yesterday's "national day of protest."
Details of more teabagging FAIL, below.
The Freedomworks home page today leads with a short report about a teabagger protest outside another Democrat's office, Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia, and claims it "was just one of hundreds protests (sic) that happened around the country, from coast to coast."
There's no video of the Arlington, VA, protest there, and only a couple hundred words, but the few photos are telling.
Half the "crowd" of 30 tops were obviously 20somethings who are interns and junior staff at Freedomworks and other wingnut welfare operations in DC.
The guy who wrote the post there, a 20something Texas wingnut named Brendan Steinhauser, is evidently the leader of teabagging, Freedomworks-style.
Steinhauser does a poor Alinsky imitation in his "How the grassroots can stop ObamaCare" post, oddly dated tomorrow.
Here's part of this pro-insurance-profits community organizer's action plan:
Phone Calls. We should be hitting each target with 100 calls a day. Some of these should go to the district offices as well. Make sure that we at least get our total every day (even if people from out of state are calling) so that we keep the phones ringing constantly. When you call, ask to speak to the chief of staff or the legislative director, and leave them voice mails. Get your friends to do the same thing until their voice mailbox is filled up. This will send a message loud and clear.
Protest. Schedule one or two protests per week outside the district office of the target. Hold up signs that say something like "Does Blanche Lincoln Support $1 Trillion in New Taxes?" Focus on the specific person, and deliver a message that makes the target defend themselves on the issues. Don’t talk about Obama or about Congress, but specifically about your targeted politician. Make it personal, and get as much media attention as you can.
The only targets named are four Democratic senators (Lincoln, both Nelsons, and Bayh), though Steinhauser mentions that "Liberal Republicans" should also be targeted.
Down in Florida, Wexler is not afraid of a few Republican operatives demonstrating outside his district office.
He told the Sun-Sentinel:
Let me be clear, I will not back away from my unequivocal commitment to delivering comprehensive health care reform.
(Congress) must deliver universal health care -- with a robust public option -- that strengthens Medicare, allows Americans to keep their current insurance if they wish and ultimately drives down costs for all Americans.
Interestingly, the spokeswoman/organizer of today's little protest against Wexler is also "the campaign manager for Edward Lynch, a Republican running against Wexler."
I wonder how many young Republican interns/staffers "protested" there to protect their jobs.
In his speech to the July 4 Tea Party in DC (viewable on his Conservative Revolution blog), Steinhauser promised that there would be anti-ObamaCare protests today outside the district offices of every Member of Congress and the Senate.
Somehow, I don't think that happened. It seems only Democrats got the astroturf teabag treatment today, and not that many of them, at that.
There's one thing nyceve and the young Texas wingnut would agree on -- call your Member of Congress and both Senators today.
And you here know what to do in that call -- insist on a commitment to a real public option.
Now.