Congressman Darrell Issa is resorting to increasingly desperate measures to counter nationally publicized weekly protests outside his Vista offices, according to emails obtained by the San Diego Free Press.
This week Issa called in ‘the troops,’ summoned from a veterans association armed with some red-baiting slogans. News crews from the local Fox affiliate and reliably rightwing KUSI were called to the scene in hopes of gaining coverage of a counterprotest coordinated with the North County Congressman.
The opposition rally, organized by emails sent out by a local affiliate of the California Military Officers Association (CALMOAA), drew all of 18 people who stood across the street from the over 400 anti-Issa/Trump protesters.
Issa dashed across the street from his office to grant a TV interview, making sure to mention actress Jane Fonda’s contribution to a Political Action Committee –organized separately from the weekly protests– opposing his candidacy.
On the way back to his offices, constituent Valerie McCourtney attempted to ask the Congressman about his position on reviving Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program only to be threatened by Issa with arrest for trespassing.
Issa’s office apparently coordinated the attempted counterprotest with Ret. LtCol. Dave Yorck, President of the California Military Officers Association thru Kathy Prescott-Loeffler, a former chief of staff for the Congressmen.
The MOAA emailed flyers calling on vets to counter-protest during on Tuesday, asking “Why is Jane Fonda sending Hollywood $$$ to North County San Diego?”
Ongoing protests aimed at ending Republican Darrel Issa’s tenure in the 49th Congressional District have served as an inspiration for grassroots organizing around the country.
They recently celebrated the first anniversary of the weekly gatherings:
Issa’s Vista office is the location of largest, most sustained weekly congressional protests in the nation. A core volunteer group of thirty oversees an average weekly attendance of close to 400 people. They show up at 10am and disperse one hour later.
This core group meets regularly, selecting a weekly theme and providing relevant props and follow up information, like policy postcards to be mailed to the congressman. Every attendee is signed in, providing a reliable method for head counts and a means for continuing communication.
Polling in Issa’s district now shows him trailing any generic Democratic candidate by 10 points, and the Congressman has resorted to increasingly desperate measures to counter the constant drum of criticism embodied in the hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside his Vista offices every Tuesday morning.
Earlier in 2017, Issa office lobbied local officials to impose restrictions on protest permits, including moving the group to a location away from his offices and holding the principal organizer personally responsible for any associated police costs. Intervention by the American Civil Liberties Union quashed that ploy.
In October, the appearance of an inflatable chicken with Trumpian coif, reportedly led to a phone call from an irate Issa to San Diego Sheriff Bill Gore. A rash of traffic enforcement tickets followed shortly thereafter, aimed at vehicles being driven or parked by protestors.
Now the North County Republican is playing the Jane-Fonda-Commie-Traitor-Card, hoping to conflate the weekly protests with the on-the-ground campaign organized by a PAC.
Flip the 49th PAC, which has been on the receiving end of publicity recently because of financial support by various celebrities, is a separate organization formed in May focused on separate voter canvassing and GOTV efforts. And yes, as Issa’s spokespeople are quick to point out, there is overlap between the groups in terms of participants. My guess is the Congressman was shocked to discover protesters could walk and chew gum at the same time.
This post is excerpted from my daily Starting Line column at the San Diego Free Press.