PrintApril 20, 2010
Who let the dogs out?
Enough of the hypocritical attempts of the mainstream media and Democrats to muzzle the Tea Partiers and Republicans who openly reject this administration's policies.
Had a look at Obama's "million-mouthed dog" lately? That was the description given to David Plouffe's (Obama's campaign manager) "Organizing for America" creation in an Esquire feature last year:
It was Plouffe who gathered the president's unprecedented thirteen-million-name contact list, which has grown into a fulsome pulsing beast...Now the president has instructed him to make that list a new lever of government... the idea is a national operation, likely named Organizing for America, that will resemble Obama's grassroots operation in reach and love... If Obama has a policy initiative he wants to push, or a message he needs to disseminate, or a gaffe he wants to bat down, he will call David Plouffe and Plouffe will unleash the many-million-mouthed dog...
In January of 2009, Obama announced the formation of Organizing for America (OFA), stating that "the group will build on the movement you started during the campaign" and added: "That's why I am asking people like you who fought for change during the campaign to continue fighting for change in your communities." OFA uses Obama's campaign logo. On its website it describes itself as a "project of the Democratic National Committee" and "the successor organization to Obama for America."
Last November, OFA unleashed millions of emails requesting donors to pledge $500,000 "to help push back against Sarah Palin and her allies." A message regarding the special election in Massachusetts asked supporters to make calls to fight against the "special interests" who have "poured in hundreds of thousands of dollars to mislead voters."
Plouffe was brought back on board by the Obama administration a couple of months ago to add value "in terms of strategy and tactics," according to senior advisor David Axelrod. Plouffe described his "strategy" as: "Let's fight like hell." In March, Plouffe launched the week-long "Final March for [Healthcare] Reform" on OFA, which included on-line tools, instructions, and sign-ups for phone banks, emails, rallies, events, live chats, fact sheets, and posters.
More recent headlines on OFA include "Camp OFA: Gearing Up for the Fight Ahead":
Ever wondered about the most effective ways of talking to voters, how you can organize events to make the biggest difference in your community, or how you can take on a bigger role in fighting for change?...Then Camp OFA is for you. Across the country, Organizing for America is holding Camp OFAs: trainings that first give folks the skills they need to be an effective organizer, and then begin to put those skills into action on issues from Wall Street reform to fighting for the President's allies in this year's mid-term elections.
Another OFA post declares Wall Street reform "The Next Big Fight." This reform was the topic of Obama's latest videotaped "Weekly Address" to his loyal OFA supporters. In the speech, called "Holding Wall Street Accountable," he stressed that measures to prevent another "crisis" are what he's "fighting for." In a related email sent out to millions through the OFA, Obama wrote: "It's a fight worth having, and it is a fight we can win -- if we stand up and speak out together."
Another OFA post declares Wall Street reform "The Next Big Fight." This reform was the topic of Obama's latest videotaped "Weekly Address" to his loyal OFA supporters. In the speech, called "Holding Wall Street Accountable," he stressed that measures to prevent another "crisis" are what he's "fighting for." In a related email sent out to millions through the OFA, Obama wrote: "It's a fight worth having, and it is a fight we can win -- if we stand up and speak out together."
One can imagine the backlash in the media if Bush would have regularly emailed millions of supporters or produced special weekly videos of speeches encouraging his base to "fight" for his latest agenda.
When open and clearly stated opposition is attacked by the media and Dems as inciting violence, Tea Partiers and conservatives need to remember that hypocritical ridicule and mockery is all bark with no bite.
