Apr 9th, 2009

Yesterday, Think Progress reported on Republican lawmakers planning to speak at anti-Obama “tea party” protests taking place nationwide on April 15. Last night, Eric Odom of the DontGo website — one of the organizers of the protests — wrote a blog post stressing that these protests are displays of “regular American[s] in protest of government spending and extreme taxation,” rather than something affiliated with a political party or special interest agenda.

Today on Fox News — which has actively been promoting the protests — Glenn Beck pushed the tea party talking points, similarly claiming that the protests aren’t “coordinated” and are fully organized by “regular” people. Watch it:



Despite these attempts to make the “movement” appear organic, the principle organizers of the local events are actually the lobbyist-run think tanks Americans for Prosperity and Freedom Works. The two groups are heavily staffed and well funded, and are providing all the logistical and public relations work necessary for planning coast-to-coast protests:

– Freedom Works staffers coordinate conference calls among protesters, contacting conservative activists to give them “sign ideas, sample press releases, and a map of events around the country.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHDFWViHL7o

– Freedom Works staffers apparently moved to “take over” the planning of local events in Florida.

http://www.freedomworks.org/blog/bstein80/how-to-organize-your-own-%E2%80%9Ctea-party%E2%80%9D-protest

http://americansforprosperity.org/032509-kansas-city-tax-day-tea-party

– Freedom Works provides how-to guides for delivering a “clear message” to the public and media.

http://www.freedomworks.org/blog/bstein80/how-to-organize-your-own-%E2%80%9Ctea-party%E2%80%9D-protest

– Freedom Works has several domain addresses — some of them made to look like they were set up by amateurs — to promote the protests.

(you'll have to follow the link to see these. They are too numerous to list)
Chances are, if you're a Tea Party supporter, you've already visited one of these sites.


– Americans for Prosperity is writing press releases and planning the events in New Jersey, Arizona, New Hampshire, Missouri, Kansas, and several other states.

(you'll have to follow the link to see these. They are too numerous to list)
Chances are, if you're a Tea Party supporter, you've already visited one of these sites.





This type of corporate ‘astroturfing‘ is nothing new to either organization. While working to promote Social Security privatization, Freedom Works was caught planting one of its operatives as a “single mom” to ask questions to President Bush in a town hall on the subject. Last year, the Wall Street Journal exposed Freedom Works for similarly building “amateur-looking” websites to promote the lobbying interests of Dick Armey, the former Republican Majority Leader who now leads Freedom Works and is a lobbyist for the firm DLA Piper.

Americans for Prosperity is run by Tim Phillips, who was Ralph Reed’s former partner in the lobbying firm Century Strategies. The group is funded by Koch family foundations — a family whose wealth is derived from the oil industry. Indeed Americans for Prosperity has coordinated pro-drilling ‘grassroots‘ events around the country.

http://thinkprogress.org/2009/04/09/lobbyists-planning-teaparties/

Observation of the truth is powerful.

Don't help corporations take control of your government from you.

Too late for that one! Until we get money/lobbyists out of DC nothing is going to change. Unfortunately the only people who can do that are the politicians and they love the money waaay too much.

yep...

and don't be fooled by the other other corporation... The upper level Union folks that masquerade as 'champions' of the masses.

While living in the same 'bracket' as corporate exec's, pushing agenda's that do not promote 'worker' rights, and using 'worker' cash to accomplish it.

*****************************

The truth of the 'collective bargain' 'right'...

1st Ammendment of the Constitution under the Bill of Rights.

People in Wisconsin are exercising that method of Collective Bargaining right now... And they need no 'law' or 'legislation' or 'union rep' to be able to do it.

Why then would they want to pay dues?

I think that Conservatives are still living back in the days of Jimmy Hoffa. Here is a summary of average salaries for Union officials.
http://www.simplyhired.com/a/salary/search/q-union+official

I don't know why one would expect the most important people on the Labor bargaining team to be less compensated than the most important people on the Management bargaining team.

Anyone that believes that the 'tea parties' are the organizations that you see in the news is destined to be surprised by the avalanch of 2012...

the vast majority of Americans do not gather and protest... The vast majority of Americans usually do not dig into politics and shout out their 'opinions' and parade in front of the media...

However they do vote.

and the last elections were simply a small 'flexing' of their muscle...

and most of them appear to be 'vexed' with the constant bickering of the children on the left and right...

Our 'politicians', 'media personalities', 'activists', and 'fundraisers' will find in 2012 that We the People still exist...

and that 'money' does not win elections... People do.

BBBBBBBBRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!

Too late.

Corporations have owned DC for years.

Oblowme is Soro's puppet.

The men in fancy business suits that hob nob with obama are not on the 'bargaining' team...

They are on the 'executive board'...

of the Union 'corporation'... Members are nothing more than stockholders of that corporation. Stock holders with no 'preferred' vote.

I may be confused here, but I thought the salaries for the Labor team cam directly from dues ie the personal finances of the workers.

While the salaries of the Management team came from the sale of products/services of the company.

Increasing Management team salaries means the company has to make a compromise spanning a variety of areas - marketing, new product development, hiring, accumulating assets...

Increasing Labor team salaries on the other hand directly takes more money from the workers.

Why would we want the Labor team salary to match the Management team salary? Parity for parities sake? That seems like an unreasonable burden on the workers.

It Doesn't! This is obviously a reflection of the disparity of resources available to either side. However, the principals are the same.

A Company Board of Directors will devote whatever they feel is the salary needed to employ the best possible CEO to represent their interests. A labor Union will do the same thing. The only difference is that, instead of a Board of Directors, Union Officials are elected democratically by the mebership.

I don't really think that Union members need anti-union Conservatives to be looking out for their interests in these matters. The union campaigning and electioneering process is generally quite robust. At least, it was with the Union I belonged to.

I think, the labor bosses need a raise and fat yearly bonuses.

That really isn't your call. It's up to the membership.

U would think so.. But the rich have different rules...

The Treasury Department determined that the government did not have the legal authority to block the current payments by the company that has already received more than $170 billion in U.S. support.

AIG declared earlier this month that it had suffered a loss of $61.7 billion for the fourth quarter of last year, the largest corporate loss in history.

A white paper prepared by the company says that AIG is contractually obligated to pay a total of about $165 million of previously awarded "retention pay" to employees in this unit by Sunday, March 15. The document says that another $55 million in retention pay has already been distributed to about 400 AIG Finance Products employees.


Wheres my RETENTION PAY. I will be ok if i get it. Darn Repuplicans


Wait a minute.. "AIG is contractually obligated" Thier UNION!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I haven't called jack-chit.
It was my OPINION that the mob bosses, uh, I mean, labor bosses, get the above prescribed benis.

How many on here do you think actually read your link?


Most just believe what they are told and ignore any facts that go against what they want to believe.

The mid-term elections showed a peak for the Tea Party and complacency for the Democrats.

Now that some Tea Party candidates are actually in office, the consequences and ineffectiveness of their policies, and the Koch brothers backing is becoming evident. People will leave them by droves before 2012.
Their mere presence in office will be their end. Of course they will still be Republican, as is their true color.

Don't be fooled by sites that do not check facts...

Site in question applied a 'google' style search based on any job that contained 'union official' in the title... (as explained by the site itself if you botherd to 'check' their methods).

and the results are as one would expect...

I give you one example.

Biological Service Technician... Now why would a UNION need such a specialist.

another...

Factory Manager... Again NOT a Union job... (I have been one).

can we at least have the spin attached to something real?

It's contracts of employment.
I don't think they're Union.

Keep right on believing that.

Mid term was the 'rolling out' of the Tea Parties... 2012 will be a peak you wont forget.

and neither will the carreer politicians.

Many, many more people vote 'tea' than rush around in crowds...

and after the Democrats show some more of the spend, spend, spend that 'astroturf' will grow, grow, grow...

Most Union employees work for either the Fed or state government.
Do you even know what a Biological Service Technician is?

Factory Managers can and often are Union memebers.
Ours was! I belonged to the Teamsters and live in a right to work state where Unions have very little power.

Dude!
You really need to diversify your associates.
I know many who were fooled by the Republican diversion that is the Tea Party at first, but have since seen the truth. They swear they will not be fooled again.