Tag Archives: HCAN

People on the left are constantly asking Andrew Breitbart who funds his “operation.”  It’s grown to become rather amusing, actually.  For those of us who are bloggers on The Bigs, we know the truth, we see how things operate. We know there’s no giant conservative-leaning lump of cash greasing this machine.  If that were the case, I for one think Andrew would probably be home with his family even more, rather than traveling around, worrying about advertising or other ways of self-funding this little “hobby” of his, as the left often like to refer to it.

But let’s just look for one moment at where some of that line of thinking comes from on the other side.  I’ve written previously about the birth of Media Matters as a spawn of Rob Stein’s Conservative Message Machine Money Matrix road show, from which the Democracy Alliance was born.  It’s through this organization from which much of the organization’s funding had come; in recent years, more has been spread out across other progressive organizations, but the funders often remain the same names in most cases.  For instance, The Tides Foundation gave Media Matters and their Action Network over $175,000 just last year.  In earlier years, groups like Montclair, New Jersey-based (hometown of Media Matters’ Eric Boehlert) Schumann Center for Media & Democracy gave the organization $500,000.

The donors’ list is vast and diverse, and we plan to cover that in detail in the future.  So I’ll focus in on one set of donors to Media Matters, which is the Labor Unions.  More specifically, in light of some recent posts regarding the Kenneth Gladney incident, I thought it appropriate to revisit donations made to Media Matters specifically by the Service Employees International Union.

When you look at the timeline of events and the media calendar in general leading up to the Gladney incident last August, it’s difficult not to conclude that there was collaboration amongst White House staff, components of Big Labor, and certain liberal media outlets.  However, we know that all will continue to deny it.

Further, just as the flurry of media activity finally starts to wind down a bit around October last year, this is when SEIU makes three separate donations to Media Matters totaling $50,000, under the classification of “Communications”, according to the SEIU LM-2 report. (In reviewing other LM-2s for several previous years, this appears at least to be the first time that SEIU has donated to Media Matters, and there does not seem to have been another donation recorded since these.)

This is the type of funding that I would question in return to Media Matters.  With their membership being so low and their unfunded pension expenses so high, can the SEIU really afford to be randomly donating funds to an organization like Media Matters?  Perhaps SEIU purchased advertising on Media Matters’ website, but then I’d think it would be categorized as such, as others ad expenses in the LM-2 were.  If not advertising, if not random donations,  then what’s the reason for SEIU having donated these funds?  One could logically conclude that Media Matters performed a service in return.  Only they can answer that.

That said, I can simply present the basic information here and suggest that readers do their own research and draw their own conclusions, in the absence of any explanation from Media Matters.

The timeline follows below.  While it is not all inclusive, it presents a collection of the most pertinent sources at that time.

8/4/2009

• 6:55 AM ET:  White House launchesFlag@whitehouse.gov, its “fishy” snitch program
• 4:45 PM ET:  SEIU Posts the White House snitch program & video in a post titled “Pushing Back on Right-Wing Lies on Reform“
• Margarida Jorge, National Field Director for Health Care for America Now, releases a four page memo instructing members of HCAN to fight “militant right-wing activists” and “teabaggers”.  Even the URL uses the word “fight”:
  http://healthcareforamericanow.org/site/fight

• Back in St. Louis, Congressman Russ Carnahan’s campaign announces Sara Howard as the new director of communications.  Howard was formerly Senior Strategist at Obama for America, National Media Relations Specialist for Anna Burger / SEIU, Communications Director for Senator Mark Dayton, and spokesperson for George Soros funded American Coming Together (ACT).  She also worked with Buffy Wicks while with SEIU on door-to-door campaigns in Missouri.
• 11:09 pm ET:  Media Matters tries to discredit Tea Party protesters by broadly painting the entire movement as “birthers”

8/5/2009

• The DNC releases “Enough of the Mob” ad calling the protesters an “angry mob” and focuses the ad repeatedly on “right-wing birthers” disrupting town hall events.

8/5/2009

12:13 am ET, Media Matters:  Special Report says “public venting” at health care town halls, ignores conservative efforts to pack events

8/6/2009

• 9:53 AM ET, Huffington Post/Sam Stein:  Unions To Take On Conservative Groups Health Care Town Halls; “In a memo sent out on Thursday, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney outlined the blueprint for how the union conglomerate would step up recess activities on health care reform… also uses the specter of the infamous 2000 recount “Brooks Brothers” protest to rally its members to the administration’s side.”
• Richard Trumka, then AFL-CIO Secretary Treasurer (now President) issues a statement, slams the town halls, calls the events corporate funded and part of the conservative strategy.
• 12:47 pm ET, Media Matters:  AP reported on town hall disruptions, ignored conservative strategy
• Afternoon:  White House aides give Senate Democrats a recess battle plan; David Axelrod and Jim Messina tell senators, “If you get hit, we will punch back twice as hard.” See Politico:  White House to Democrats: ‘Punch back twice as hard’
• Organizing for America sends out mass email for the Bernard Middle School event in St. Louis, MO:

That very evening, the Kenneth Gladney incident happens in St. Louis at the Bernard Middle School event.  A black conservative is beaten by members of SEIU.  I’ll let the guys at 24^th State cover the details of that evening’s outcome.

8/7/2009

7:14 PM ET by Kate Thomas:  Violent tactics at last night’s St. Louis town hall meeting

8/8/2009

10:11 am ET by Media Matters, Eric Boehlert:  Inventing tales of a union ”beating”

And after this date, there are so many more, from SEIU and from Media Matters.  Simply type in this Google search to retrieve a relatively thorough list.

As you’ll see from Google’s timeline, October is when the activity calmed down.

Seems to me that -hypothetically speaking, of course – if there were any sort of service arrangement in place, October would have been the most appropriate time for SEIU to make its payment installments and thank Media Matters for a job well done.  (That’s of course before anyone knew things would be heating up again once the police report would become available in November)

Hm.  I wonder if these types of payment installments are regulated under the financial reform bill?

There is something very important to consider about the recent Bertha Lewis rant posted earlier on Big Government, in which she referred to the Tea Party movement as a “Bowel movement”. Something that has thus far been largely overlooked.

While it is important to consider the implications of Bertha using this kind of language to describe average Americans, the actual story is not just what she said, it’s who she said it to.

Bertha was addressing the Young Democratic Socialists. This is not just some fringe, esoteric, Socialist youth group.

The Young Democratic Socialists is the on-campus section of the Democratic Socialists of America.

The Democratic Socialists of America founded the incredibly powerful Congressional Progressive Caucus with self described Socialist-Democrat, Bernie Sanders.

The Democratic Socialists of America, along with ACORN/SEIU and Citizen Action (now USAction) co-founded the New Party, and the Working Families Party, both of which Barack Obama pledged his loyalty to. Citizen Action was the organization Bob Creamer (Jan Schakowsky’s husband) was found guilty of embezzling from. Together, they all launched HCAN, the movement that spearheaded Obamacare.

The Democratic Socialists of America and Citizen Action were both founded by former members of the SDS/Weather Underground.

The Young Democratic Socialists represents the modern youth arm of America’s Congressional Progressive Caucus.

Frantic and breathless about a non-existent ‘neo-McCarthism era,’ Bertha was warning them specifically because they are the next generation of the current Socialist-Progressive government.

Educate yourselves regarding the Democratic Socialists of America, and Citizen Action (USAction), and the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and their respective youth sections.

These are the people who launched Barack Obama. These are the people who have changed America. Understanding them and their published missions will help you understand the Socialist vision they have for charted for America.

Barack Obama is not who the Conservative movement needs to defeat in an ideological battle for hearts and minds. These people are.

Newsmax first reported that Organizing for America, the community organizing outfit under the auspices of the Democratic National Committee, has launched a plan to inundate talk radio shows with callers.  The action will occur when a particular radio show is discussing ObamaCare.

This is an extension of OFA’s and Health Care for America Now’s campaign to flood last summer’s town hall meetings with union members and left-wing activists supporting Obama’s government takeover of health care.

The intent then, just as it is now, was to drown out average taxpayers showing up  to voice their concerns or vent their frustrations.  The intent is also to run out the clock on real debate and take a vote on health reform with as little resistance as possible.

HCAN and ACORN were busing non-constituents, some from as far as 200 miles away, to fill the seats and skew the crowd.  It was to give the false impression that constituents really wanted ObamaCare.

But the result was even worse.  HCAN and union members, particularly SEIU, were filling the seats which would have otherwise been occupied by the average person just getting out of work.

So, the campaign now is geared toward achieving the same result: flood different talk radio shows with left-wing activists and ObamaCare apologists.  The OFA’s website has a talk radio du jour with a call-in number and “discussion points” – talking points for the latest version of the Democrats’ plan.

Be aware and be prepared, Talk Radio: The president’s got your number and his foot soldiers are coming for you.

Courtesy of Victor Skinner, writing on NEAexposed.com:

A recent study of contributions made by the nation’s two largest teachers unions reveals that both shelled out millions in 2008-09, with a good chunk going to radical and scandal-ridden organizations.

The study, posted online by the Education Intelligence Agency, is further proof that the National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers are out of step with their members, which union officials claim are evenly split between Democrat, Republican and Independent parties.

This is what the EIA found:

The AFT gave $46,894 to the scandal-plagued Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN). That organization’s members gave tax evasion advice to pimps and prostitutes, encouraged struggling homeowners to walk away from their mortgages, and championed radical causes like softer immigration regulations and a government takeover of health care.

The AFT’s interest in government-run healthcare is also apparent in its $407,208 donation to the Economic Policy Institute, a union-funded progressive think tank that advocates for the expansion of unionized government jobs, and generally promotes organized labor’s interests.

The AFT also sent $125,000 to Health Care for America Now! HCAN, which is led by SEIU and ACORN, promotes a government takeover of health care.

The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network received $10,000 of AFT dues money to fight for gay rights. GLSEN’s leaders have a long-documented history of promoting sex-related issues to elementary-aged kids.

The AFT made smaller donations to groups that generally promote causes like the redistribution of American wealth. Those included $15,000 to the Apollo Alliance, and $25,000 to Jessie Jackson’s Rainbow PUSH Coalition.

In total, the AFT spent $5.3 million in dues income promoting radical left-wing advocacy groups and charities. Most of the money went to seemingly innocuous organizations with radical policies.

The NEA, which doled out $26 million in dues dollars, also sent the bulk of its money to the far left.

The anti-American, human rights fanatics at Amnesty International banked $7,500 from the NEA. The Economic Policy Institute got a quarter-million in NEA membership money. GLSEN received $157,500, and HCAN got $450,000 from the NEA.

MediaMatters, which attacks and distorts reports from conservative organizations, earned a $100,000 NEA check.

The NEA also gave a $10,000 donation to Al Sharpton’s National Action Network and $165,000 to People for the American Way, two organizations with extreme left-wing agendas.

The population control advocates at the Sierra Club pocketed $150,000 in NEA dues dollars. The Zimbabwe Teachers Association is even partially bankrolled ($10,000) by the NEA. Seriously?

That union, the ZIMTA, is aligned with despotic dictator Robert Mugabe’s political party, media reports show.

Some will argue that these teachers unions can contribute their income to whatever organization they like. We agree, and strongly defend that freedom.

But we also feel that union membership, and the taxpayers that pay their wages, deserve to know where the money is going and why. We also believe that teachers should be able to keep their dues dollars from financing union PACs, if they wish.

Former NEA president Reg Weaver has repeatedly claimed that the NEA’s membership is evenly divided into Democrats, Republicans and Independents. We suspect AFT members are similarly split.

Then why does their union not distribute their dues dollars evenly to reflect that split? That’s a good question, and one we would encourage union teachers to demand an answer to.

Here’s a concept I never thought we’d be exporting: governments taking over markets to act as the “competition.” 

News is Venezuelan brute Hugo Chavez has created a “new chain of government-run, cut-rate retail stores that will sell everything from food to cars to clothing from places such as China, Argentina and Bolivia,” according to Breitbart.com:

Chavez said the Comerso chain of stores will include “a network of subsidiaries” that will sell new vehicles directly imported from China and Argentina, “without capitalist intermediaries.”

“We’re going to defeat speculation. Private individuals in sales can still sell, but they’ll have to compete with us and with a people who is now fully aware,” Chavez said.

Gee, where have I heard that before?  Oh yeah!  That kind of sounds like the talking points from the Democrats government-option proposal.

Consider what White House spokesman Robert Gibbs has said:

As he [the president] said to Congress and the nation in September, he supports the public option because it has the potential to play an essential role in holding insurance companies accountable through choice and competition.

 And Senate Finance Committee chairman Max Baucus:

I included a public option in the health reform blueprint I released nearly one year ago, and continue to support any provision, including a public option, that will ensure choice and competition and get the 60 votes needed to pass the Senate.

New York Sen. Chuck Schumer?

The public option has new life because as Americans have learned more about it, they have come to see it is the best way to reduce costs and increase competition in the health insurance industry.

A statement released by the Service Employees International Union said:

We must hold insurance companies accountable:
If the insurance companies win, we lose. Insurance companies must be held accountable with strong regulations and consumer protections, and we must be given the choice of a national public health insurance option available on day one.

Last but not least, Richard Kirsch, campaign manager for the ACORN/SEIU-led Healthcare for America Now:

We applaud Majority Leader Reid’s leadership in making sure the Senate bill includes a public health insurance option to lower costs and inject much-needed competition into the health insurance marketplace.

Chavez seems to be taking a page out of the Obama’s “How to Fundamentally Transform America” playbook.  If the government doesn’t like a particular aspect of the private sector, take it over, pledge “competition” and grind the free market into the dirt.  Congratulations President Obama, you’ve just discovered the new American export.

ACORNcracked.com recently obtained an audio recording a speech by Robert Creamer, given at the Take Back America 2008 conference in Washington, DC, that was hosted by Campaign for America’s Future, an ultra-liberal organization.

In a March 19 session entitled, “Health Care: The Politics of Winning,” ex-convict Creamer and husband of Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), laid out his vision for health care reform.  Of Creamer’s 10-point plan, number 5 is:

To have a movement that both deals with that fact [that health care reform should be personal] and creates a movement we have to have two elements.  In a lot of campaigns we run are either about a populist kind of message and feel because it’s about people’s pocketbooks and needs directly.  Or it has a moral dimension that is inspirational and empowering – the civil rights movement, for instance.

This movement needs to have both.  To have a movement, to mobilize people, to inspire people, you have to appeal to their sense of meaning and purpose and something important.  So we have to create a sense that this is a historic battle. This is about you’re being part of something that will make you meaningful. (emphasis added)

If there is a legitimate crisis, does the “sense” really need to be “created?”  Or are Creamer, Healthcare for America Now, SEIU, ACORN and others creating a problem to suit meet their ends?  Then he talked about the campaign and how to defeat their opponents.

We have to spend a lot of time particularly now, in this next year, going after our principle adversary here: the private insurance industry. … We need to reduce the credibility of the private insurance industry as, I mean, let’s be honest, right?  Twenty five percent of America’s health care costs go to administration and advertising.  …  This is a political campaign.  We need to bring down the positives and bring up the negatives of our opponents.  And the private insurance industry is our opponent in this battle. (emphasis added)

In analyzing the defeat of HillaryCare in 1993, Creamer identified then opponents then and ways to make them allies now.  He specifically mentioned major businesses with huge legacy costs (ie. General Motors), small businesses, and the American Medical Association.

To win any major social change in America that restructures a sixth of the economy, we need some Republican support.  We need it in Congress and we certainly need it in the population.  Now, that doesn’t mean we say we have to negotiate with these guys, it means, you know, we want the train to be as long as possible, we just want the progressive vision to be in the engine here.  So we’ve got to beat the crap out of the Susan – well, if Susan Collins loses, that’s wonderful – but some of the swing votes in the Senate in particular to get them with the program. So part of our targeting has to be not just on holding Democrats with us, although that’s a problem for us, it’s also – we gotta have some of those Republicans. (emphasis added)

Creamer then suggested that liberals need to devise ways to draw conservatives into the debate.

We need to really go at their alternative but we need to establish that they have an alternative.  We need to establish as the political dialog, “everyone agrees there’s a health care crisis in America.  Here’s our plan, here’s their plan.  Now your only alternatives, public, are to choose one of the two, not the status quo.

Using language similar to SEIU president Andy Stern, Creamer articulated what is at stake:

If we get the presidency, we must deliver.  And if we do, we will create the investment of huge numbers of Americans in a revitalized commitment to the importance of the public sector and the progressive vision for the future.

Prior to Creamer’s remarks, pollster Celinda Lake gave her analysis of poll-tested phraseology that will best sell socialized medicine to an already skeptical, pro-capitalism American public.  A PowerPoint presentation, created by Lake for a similar meeting, can be seen below:

CelindaLakeHealthCare09pollingpresentation –

Let’s be clear: the need for health care reform (assuming for a moment there actually is a need), is seen in battle terms by liberals in power.  They need it.  They salivate for it.  It’s something they must deliver for their base and their biggest campaign contributors.

Pro-free market conservatives are dealing with an issue bigger than simple health care reform.  They’re dealing with a liberal movement hell-bent on securing a victory and delivering the bacon to the interest groups that can return them to power next year.

ACORNcracked.com recently obtained an audio recording a speech by Robert Creamer, given at the Take Back America 2008 conference in Washington, DC, that was hosted by Campaign for America’s Future, an ultra-liberal organization.

In a March 19 session entitled, “Health Care: The Politics of Winning,” ex-convict Creamer and husband of Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), laid out his vision for health care reform.  Of Creamer’s 10-point plan, number 5 is:

To have a movement that both deals with that fact [that health care reform should be personal] and creates a movement we have to have two elements.  In a lot of campaigns we run are either about a populist kind of message and feel because it’s about people’s pocketbooks and needs directly.  Or it has a moral dimension that is inspirational and empowering – the civil rights movement, for instance.

This movement needs to have both.  To have a movement, to mobilize people, to inspire people, you have to appeal to their sense of meaning and purpose and something important.  So we have to create a sense that this is a historic battle. This is about you’re being part of something that will make you meaningful. (emphasis added)

If there is a legitimate crisis, does the “sense” really need to be “created?”  Or are Creamer, Healthcare for America Now, SEIU, ACORN and others creating a problem to suit meet their ends?  Then he talked about the campaign and how to defeat their opponents.

We have to spend a lot of time particularly now, in this next year, going after our principle adversary here: the private insurance industry. … We need to reduce the credibility of the private insurance industry as, I mean, let’s be honest, right?  Twenty five percent of America’s health care costs go to administration and advertising.  …  This is a political campaign.  We need to bring down the positives and bring up the negatives of our opponents.  And the private insurance industry is our opponent in this battle. (emphasis added)

In analyzing the defeat of HillaryCare in 1993, Creamer identified then opponents then and ways to make them allies now.  He specifically mentioned major businesses with huge legacy costs (ie. General Motors), small businesses, and the American Medical Association.

To win any major social change in America that restructures a sixth of the economy, we need some Republican support.  We need it in Congress and we certainly need it in the population.  Now, that doesn’t mean we say we have to negotiate with these guys, it means, you know, we want the train to be as long as possible, we just want the progressive vision to be in the engine here.  So we’ve got to beat the crap out of the Susan – well, if Susan Collins loses, that’s wonderful – but some of the swing votes in the Senate in particular to get them with the program. So part of our targeting has to be not just on holding Democrats with us, although that’s a problem for us, it’s also – we gotta have some of those Republicans. (emphasis added)

Creamer then suggested that liberals need to devise ways to draw conservatives into the debate.

We need to really go at their alternative but we need to establish that they have an alternative.  We need to establish as the political dialog, “everyone agrees there’s a health care crisis in America.  Here’s our plan, here’s their plan.  Now your only alternatives, public, are to choose one of the two, not the status quo.

Using language similar to SEIU president Andy Stern, Creamer articulated what is at stake:

If we get the presidency, we must deliver.  And if we do, we will create the investment of huge numbers of Americans in a revitalized commitment to the importance of the public sector and the progressive vision for the future.

Prior to Creamer’s remarks, pollster Celinda Lake gave her analysis of poll-tested phraseology that will best sell socialized medicine to an already skeptical, pro-capitalism American public.  A PowerPoint presentation, created by Lake for a similar meeting, can be seen below:

CelindaLakeHealthCare09pollingpresentation –

Let’s be clear: the need for health care reform (assuming for a moment there actually is a need), is seen in battle terms by liberals in power.  They need it.  They salivate for it.  It’s something they must deliver for their base and their biggest campaign contributors.

Pro-free market conservatives are dealing with an issue bigger than simple health care reform.  They’re dealing with a liberal movement hell-bent on securing a victory and delivering the bacon to the interest groups that can return them to power next year.

ACORNcracked.com recently obtained an audio recording a speech by Robert Creamer, given at the Take Back America 2008 conference in Washington, DC, that was hosted by Campaign for America’s Future, an ultra-liberal organization.

In a March 19 session entitled, “Health Care: The Politics of Winning,” ex-convict Creamer and husband of Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), laid out his vision for health care reform.  Of Creamer’s 10-point plan, number 5 is:

To have a movement that both deals with that fact [that health care reform should be personal] and creates a movement we have to have two elements.  In a lot of campaigns we run are either about a populist kind of message and feel because it’s about people’s pocketbooks and needs directly.  Or it has a moral dimension that is inspirational and empowering – the civil rights movement, for instance.

This movement needs to have both.  To have a movement, to mobilize people, to inspire people, you have to appeal to their sense of meaning and purpose and something important.  So we have to create a sense that this is a historic battle. This is about you’re being part of something that will make you meaningful. (emphasis added)

If there is a legitimate crisis, does the “sense” really need to be “created?”  Or are Creamer, Healthcare for America Now, SEIU, ACORN and others creating a problem to suit meet their ends?  Then he talked about the campaign and how to defeat their opponents.

We have to spend a lot of time particularly now, in this next year, going after our principle adversary here: the private insurance industry. … We need to reduce the credibility of the private insurance industry as, I mean, let’s be honest, right?  Twenty five percent of America’s health care costs go to administration and advertising.  …  This is a political campaign.  We need to bring down the positives and bring up the negatives of our opponents.  And the private insurance industry is our opponent in this battle. (emphasis added)

In analyzing the defeat of HillaryCare in 1993, Creamer identified then opponents then and ways to make them allies now.  He specifically mentioned major businesses with huge legacy costs (ie. General Motors), small businesses, and the American Medical Association.

To win any major social change in America that restructures a sixth of the economy, we need some Republican support.  We need it in Congress and we certainly need it in the population.  Now, that doesn’t mean we say we have to negotiate with these guys, it means, you know, we want the train to be as long as possible, we just want the progressive vision to be in the engine here.  So we’ve got to beat the crap out of the Susan – well, if Susan Collins loses, that’s wonderful – but some of the swing votes in the Senate in particular to get them with the program. So part of our targeting has to be not just on holding Democrats with us, although that’s a problem for us, it’s also – we gotta have some of those Republicans. (emphasis added)

Creamer then suggested that liberals need to devise ways to draw conservatives into the debate.

We need to really go at their alternative but we need to establish that they have an alternative.  We need to establish as the political dialog, “everyone agrees there’s a health care crisis in America.  Here’s our plan, here’s their plan.  Now your only alternatives, public, are to choose one of the two, not the status quo.

Using language similar to SEIU president Andy Stern, Creamer articulated what is at stake:

If we get the presidency, we must deliver.  And if we do, we will create the investment of huge numbers of Americans in a revitalized commitment to the importance of the public sector and the progressive vision for the future.

Prior to Creamer’s remarks, pollster Celinda Lake gave her analysis of poll-tested phraseology that will best sell socialized medicine to an already skeptical, pro-capitalism American public.  A PowerPoint presentation, created by Lake for a similar meeting, can be seen below:

CelindaLakeHealthCare09pollingpresentation –

Let’s be clear: the need for health care reform (assuming for a moment there actually is a need), is seen in battle terms by liberals in power.  They need it.  They salivate for it.  It’s something they must deliver for their base and their biggest campaign contributors.

Pro-free market conservatives are dealing with an issue bigger than simple health care reform.  They’re dealing with a liberal movement hell-bent on securing a victory and delivering the bacon to the interest groups that can return them to power next year.

ACORNcracked.com recently obtained an audio recording a speech by Robert Creamer, given at the Take Back America 2008 conference in Washington, DC, that was hosted by Campaign for America’s Future, an ultra-liberal organization.

In a March 19 session entitled, “Health Care: The Politics of Winning,” ex-convict Creamer and husband of Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), laid out his vision for health care reform.  Of Creamer’s 10-point plan, number 5 is:

To have a movement that both deals with that fact [that health care reform should be personal] and creates a movement we have to have two elements.  In a lot of campaigns we run are either about a populist kind of message and feel because it’s about people’s pocketbooks and needs directly.  Or it has a moral dimension that is inspirational and empowering – the civil rights movement, for instance.

This movement needs to have both.  To have a movement, to mobilize people, to inspire people, you have to appeal to their sense of meaning and purpose and something important.  So we have to create a sense that this is a historic battle. This is about you’re being part of something that will make you meaningful. (emphasis added)

If there is a legitimate crisis, does the “sense” really need to be “created?”  Or are Creamer, Healthcare for America Now, SEIU, ACORN and others creating a problem to suit meet their ends?  Then he talked about the campaign and how to defeat their opponents.

We have to spend a lot of time particularly now, in this next year, going after our principle adversary here: the private insurance industry. … We need to reduce the credibility of the private insurance industry as, I mean, let’s be honest, right?  Twenty five percent of America’s health care costs go to administration and advertising.  …  This is a political campaign.  We need to bring down the positives and bring up the negatives of our opponents.  And the private insurance industry is our opponent in this battle. (emphasis added)

In analyzing the defeat of HillaryCare in 1993, Creamer identified then opponents then and ways to make them allies now.  He specifically mentioned major businesses with huge legacy costs (ie. General Motors), small businesses, and the American Medical Association.

To win any major social change in America that restructures a sixth of the economy, we need some Republican support.  We need it in Congress and we certainly need it in the population.  Now, that doesn’t mean we say we have to negotiate with these guys, it means, you know, we want the train to be as long as possible, we just want the progressive vision to be in the engine here.  So we’ve got to beat the crap out of the Susan – well, if Susan Collins loses, that’s wonderful – but some of the swing votes in the Senate in particular to get them with the program. So part of our targeting has to be not just on holding Democrats with us, although that’s a problem for us, it’s also – we gotta have some of those Republicans. (emphasis added)

Creamer then suggested that liberals need to devise ways to draw conservatives into the debate.

We need to really go at their alternative but we need to establish that they have an alternative.  We need to establish as the political dialog, “everyone agrees there’s a health care crisis in America.  Here’s our plan, here’s their plan.  Now your only alternatives, public, are to choose one of the two, not the status quo.

Using language similar to SEIU president Andy Stern, Creamer articulated what is at stake:

If we get the presidency, we must deliver.  And if we do, we will create the investment of huge numbers of Americans in a revitalized commitment to the importance of the public sector and the progressive vision for the future.

Prior to Creamer’s remarks, pollster Celinda Lake gave her analysis of poll-tested phraseology that will best sell socialized medicine to an already skeptical, pro-capitalism American public.  A PowerPoint presentation, created by Lake for a similar meeting, can be seen below:

CelindaLakeHealthCare09pollingpresentation –

Let’s be clear: the need for health care reform (assuming for a moment there actually is a need), is seen in battle terms by liberals in power.  They need it.  They salivate for it.  It’s something they must deliver for their base and their biggest campaign contributors.

Pro-free market conservatives are dealing with an issue bigger than simple health care reform.  They’re dealing with a liberal movement hell-bent on securing a victory and delivering the bacon to the interest groups that can return them to power next year.

ACORNcracked.com recently obtained an audio recording a speech by Robert Creamer, given at the Take Back America 2008 conference in Washington, DC, that was hosted by Campaign for America’s Future, an ultra-liberal organization.

In a March 19 session entitled, “Health Care: The Politics of Winning,” ex-convict Creamer and husband of Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), laid out his vision for health care reform.  Of Creamer’s 10-point plan, number 5 is:

To have a movement that both deals with that fact [that health care reform should be personal] and creates a movement we have to have two elements.  In a lot of campaigns we run are either about a populist kind of message and feel because it’s about people’s pocketbooks and needs directly.  Or it has a moral dimension that is inspirational and empowering – the civil rights movement, for instance.

This movement needs to have both.  To have a movement, to mobilize people, to inspire people, you have to appeal to their sense of meaning and purpose and something important.  So we have to create a sense that this is a historic battle. This is about you’re being part of something that will make you meaningful. (emphasis added)

If there is a legitimate crisis, does the “sense” really need to be “created?”  Or are Creamer, Healthcare for America Now, SEIU, ACORN and others creating a problem to suit meet their ends?  Then he talked about the campaign and how to defeat their opponents.

We have to spend a lot of time particularly now, in this next year, going after our principle adversary here: the private insurance industry. … We need to reduce the credibility of the private insurance industry as, I mean, let’s be honest, right?  Twenty five percent of America’s health care costs go to administration and advertising.  …  This is a political campaign.  We need to bring down the positives and bring up the negatives of our opponents.  And the private insurance industry is our opponent in this battle. (emphasis added)

In analyzing the defeat of HillaryCare in 1993, Creamer identified then opponents then and ways to make them allies now.  He specifically mentioned major businesses with huge legacy costs (ie. General Motors), small businesses, and the American Medical Association.

To win any major social change in America that restructures a sixth of the economy, we need some Republican support.  We need it in Congress and we certainly need it in the population.  Now, that doesn’t mean we say we have to negotiate with these guys, it means, you know, we want the train to be as long as possible, we just want the progressive vision to be in the engine here.  So we’ve got to beat the crap out of the Susan – well, if Susan Collins loses, that’s wonderful – but some of the swing votes in the Senate in particular to get them with the program. So part of our targeting has to be not just on holding Democrats with us, although that’s a problem for us, it’s also – we gotta have some of those Republicans. (emphasis added)

Creamer then suggested that liberals need to devise ways to draw conservatives into the debate.

We need to really go at their alternative but we need to establish that they have an alternative.  We need to establish as the political dialog, “everyone agrees there’s a health care crisis in America.  Here’s our plan, here’s their plan.  Now your only alternatives, public, are to choose one of the two, not the status quo.

Using language similar to SEIU president Andy Stern, Creamer articulated what is at stake:

If we get the presidency, we must deliver.  And if we do, we will create the investment of huge numbers of Americans in a revitalized commitment to the importance of the public sector and the progressive vision for the future.

Prior to Creamer’s remarks, pollster Celinda Lake gave her analysis of poll-tested phraseology that will best sell socialized medicine to an already skeptical, pro-capitalism American public.  A PowerPoint presentation, created by Lake for a similar meeting, can be seen below:

CelindaLakeHealthCare09pollingpresentation –

Let’s be clear: the need for health care reform (assuming for a moment there actually is a need), is seen in battle terms by liberals in power.  They need it.  They salivate for it.  It’s something they must deliver for their base and their biggest campaign contributors.

Pro-free market conservatives are dealing with an issue bigger than simple health care reform.  They’re dealing with a liberal movement hell-bent on securing a victory and delivering the bacon to the interest groups that can return them to power next year.

ACORNcracked.com recently obtained an audio recording a speech by Robert Creamer, given at the Take Back America 2008 conference in Washington, DC, that was hosted by Campaign for America’s Future, an ultra-liberal organization.

In a March 19 session entitled, “Health Care: The Politics of Winning,” ex-convict Creamer and husband of Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), laid out his vision for health care reform.  Of Creamer’s 10-point plan, number 5 is:

To have a movement that both deals with that fact [that health care reform should be personal] and creates a movement we have to have two elements.  In a lot of campaigns we run are either about a populist kind of message and feel because it’s about people’s pocketbooks and needs directly.  Or it has a moral dimension that is inspirational and empowering – the civil rights movement, for instance.

This movement needs to have both.  To have a movement, to mobilize people, to inspire people, you have to appeal to their sense of meaning and purpose and something important.  So we have to create a sense that this is a historic battle. This is about you’re being part of something that will make you meaningful. (emphasis added)

If there is a legitimate crisis, does the “sense” really need to be “created?”  Or are Creamer, Healthcare for America Now, SEIU, ACORN and others creating a problem to suit meet their ends?  Then he talked about the campaign and how to defeat their opponents.

We have to spend a lot of time particularly now, in this next year, going after our principle adversary here: the private insurance industry. … We need to reduce the credibility of the private insurance industry as, I mean, let’s be honest, right?  Twenty five percent of America’s health care costs go to administration and advertising.  …  This is a political campaign.  We need to bring down the positives and bring up the negatives of our opponents.  And the private insurance industry is our opponent in this battle. (emphasis added)

In analyzing the defeat of HillaryCare in 1993, Creamer identified then opponents then and ways to make them allies now.  He specifically mentioned major businesses with huge legacy costs (ie. General Motors), small businesses, and the American Medical Association.

To win any major social change in America that restructures a sixth of the economy, we need some Republican support.  We need it in Congress and we certainly need it in the population.  Now, that doesn’t mean we say we have to negotiate with these guys, it means, you know, we want the train to be as long as possible, we just want the progressive vision to be in the engine here.  So we’ve got to beat the crap out of the Susan – well, if Susan Collins loses, that’s wonderful – but some of the swing votes in the Senate in particular to get them with the program. So part of our targeting has to be not just on holding Democrats with us, although that’s a problem for us, it’s also – we gotta have some of those Republicans. (emphasis added)

Creamer then suggested that liberals need to devise ways to draw conservatives into the debate.

We need to really go at their alternative but we need to establish that they have an alternative.  We need to establish as the political dialog, “everyone agrees there’s a health care crisis in America.  Here’s our plan, here’s their plan.  Now your only alternatives, public, are to choose one of the two, not the status quo.

Using language similar to SEIU president Andy Stern, Creamer articulated what is at stake:

If we get the presidency, we must deliver.  And if we do, we will create the investment of huge numbers of Americans in a revitalized commitment to the importance of the public sector and the progressive vision for the future.

Prior to Creamer’s remarks, pollster Celinda Lake gave her analysis of poll-tested phraseology that will best sell socialized medicine to an already skeptical, pro-capitalism American public.  A PowerPoint presentation, created by Lake for a similar meeting, can be seen below:

CelindaLakeHealthCare09pollingpresentation –

Let’s be clear: the need for health care reform (assuming for a moment there actually is a need), is seen in battle terms by liberals in power.  They need it.  They salivate for it.  It’s something they must deliver for their base and their biggest campaign contributors.

Pro-free market conservatives are dealing with an issue bigger than simple health care reform.  They’re dealing with a liberal movement hell-bent on securing a victory and delivering the bacon to the interest groups that can return them to power next year.

In today’s Big Government post by Joel Pollak readers were treated to an amazing glimpse into the political strategy that has been put into place over the past year by the Obama Administration to force the radical overhaul of the American health care system all under the guise of “Health Care Reform”

If anyone doubts that the strategy blue print written by convicted felon Robert Creamer (while he was serving his time in Federal Prison) was really put into action by the administration, one only needs to look at the endorsements page and notice a rave from none other than David Axelrod:

Bob Creamer has devoted his life to progressive causes.  Here he provides a fascinating narrative of how progressives have won in the past and provides a blueprint for future victories.

When David Axelrod reads and endorses Creamer’s book and describes it as a “blueprint for future victories” then it might be more than just a coincidence that what Creamer suggested/predicted is exactly what has come to pass.

As odd as it seems that President Obama’s top political advisor would see fit to publicly endorse a book by a newly released felon, it is still instructive to actually look at Mr. Creamer’s “blueprint for future victories” and see how Mr. Axelrod and the Democratic leadership has used that blueprint for President Obama’s Health Care scheme.

For today we will focus on two specific passages of his plan:

“We must create a national consensus that the health care system is in crisis.” and “To win we must not just generate understanding, but emotion—fear, revulsion, anger, disgust.” – Page 545

In much the same way that advocates of “Global Warming” continue to repeat that “The debate is over” those pushing the President’s Health Care Scheme continue to parrot that “We can all agree that our current system is in crisis…”  Right?  How often do we hear that?  Meanwhile, polls show that 80% of Americans are HAPPY with their health insurance.  But politicians who cite these numbers are painted with a broad dismissal and vilified for wanting to do nothing while Americans are dying because they have no health care.

The plan, from the beginning was to manufacture a crisis in health care.  And, with the willing media on their side (“This will require an ongoing highly integrated earned-media messaging program that brings the growing crisis into relief over the next two years” – Page 545) that crisis becomes a stipulated FACT, not a political position, not an opinion, but a given.  This book was written in 2007 and the plan calls for implementation over “the next two years”…  do the math.

So, now the “Crisis” has been manufactured and a solution has been put forth.  Now, how do our progressive leaders plan to win the votes of politicians and the support of the American people?

“We must focus especially on the mobilization of the labor movement…” and “Over the next two years, we must design and organize a massive national field program”  – Page 546

To fully understand Mr. Creamer’s ability to mobilize the labor movement and how his suggestion was put into action this Summer, you need to know a little bit more about him and his involvement with organized labor.

Readers of Big Government are by now familiar with Health Care for America Now (HCAN).  Mr. Creamer is alternately described on LEFT-leaning web sites as either a over-paid consultant for, or as a leader of HCAN.  As we described in these pages last week, HCAN provided the plan for the August offensive against grass roots protestors who were rallying against the Obama Care legislation.  That offensive led to violence and mayhem.  Or, as Mr. Creamer benignly predicted:  “the mobilization of the labor movement” and “a massive national field program”.

But understand the most important element of this “massive national field program”: The participants in this program are SEIU, ACORN, HCAN, AFLCIO, AARP, AFSCME etc.  These organizations are not just advocating for this health care scheme because they care about fictional people who are “dying because they don’t have health care”.  These organizations stand to benefit the most from the elimination of the health insurance industry.

This is about money and this is about power.

If the health insurance industry in America is forced to collapse (the way advocates of the President’s scheme have publicly said they hope will happen) then organized labor, specifically the SEIU, will be the largest beneficiary of such a collapse.  And people like Creamer, who counts amongst his largest clients ALL of these organizations, will also benefit.  (Here is a little secret of capitalism:  If your clients get a huge windfall and it is directly attributed to your efforts, it will be very, very good for you.)

These two passages from Creamer’s battle plan to manufacture a crisis, foment outrage and revulsion at those opposed to the progressives’ solution to that crisis and then the mobilization of organized labor to bully those opposed to that solution are the essence of the political atmosphere we are living in at this very moment.

Just today, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid compared those opposed to his “Solution” to the “Crisis” with those who were in favor of slavery.  It is exactly as Creamer wanted it.  You see:  “People are dying because they have no health care… we have the solution so those people will live…. You are opposed to that solution… YOU ARE WORSE THAN A SLAVE OWNER!”  No wonder people are willing to bite off the fingers of those standing in the way of this scheme.

The problem is:  It is all a lie.

Even the examples that President Obama used in his address to a joint session of Congress to illustrate why this scheme is needed were exposed as lies.

And ask yourself (and your progressive friends) this question:  If this is such a crisis, if people are dying because of our current “crisis”, why does this “solution” not even go into effect until 2013?

Hopefully, showing that ex-con Creamer’s fingerprints are all over the manipulated environment of crisis and outrage we are living in will help undermine this move toward a socialized, single-payer health system (that is what the President wants, that is what the progressives want, it is what Creamer’s wife wants).

But, if the media will not take notice of this, perhaps they will at least point the spotlight on the embarrassing fact that ex-con Creamer was at the President’s first State Dinner two weeks ago… and unlike war-hero Senator John McCain, Creamer was invited, he didn’t even need to “crash the gate”.

Suppressing dissenting viewpoints is so natural for the Left that they don’t even mind if people tape them encouraging it.

I went with Joel Pollak to Rep. Jan Schakowsky’s town hall meeting on August 31, 2009.  I didn’t expect to see anything outrageous, just wanted to see how she would handle real people with real concerns.  Joel wasn’t a candidate at that point, just a constituent.  What we saw there, however, pushed him to challenge Jan Schakowsky for the privilege to represent the people of the 9th district of Illinois.

We got there two hours early, and a long line had already formed, so we dutifully took our places at the back.  ”Health Care for America Now” organizers (HCAN) were walking up and down, passing out lapel stickers to everyone there.  The line was already packed with Schakowsky’s supporters, who had been told to come early to fill up the place before people got off work and came over.

We conveniently made ourselves unavailable whenever they passed by.  I didn’t want to take a sticker, but I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it either.  Since I was surrounded by stickered people, I knew that my refusal would start something.  I hadn’t come to cause problems, just to watch.

Eventually, a lead organizer came by with not just stickers, but advice for how to drown out any dissenting views that might be expressed at the town hall.  We had a Flip camera with us, just in case, but weren’t filming the line.  As soon as the organizer came over, he started to talk about the “tea baggers.”  Given how loaded that word is, we figured we might as well start the video.

The organizer goes on to explain that the “tea baggers” might ask questions, and if that happens, the HCAN supporters are to stand up, block them with their illicitly brought in signs, and chant “Health Care Now! Health Care Now!”  He concludes by telling the HCAN supporters “It’s your meeting.  Hold on to your meeting.”  Of course, we were under the impression that it was a meeting about the concerns of the 9th district voters, not an operational exercise in Stalinist conformity.

What is so shocking as you watch the video is how casually he explains all this.  It’s so completely normal to him, that he says it very nonchalant and matter-of-fact.  We’re standing there, with a flip camera pointed at him, not wearing HCAN stickers.  The camera is practically in his face, he knows we’re taping.  Apparently he sees nothing wrong with astroturfing and encouraging his people to drown out opposing view points.  Is that democracy in action?

On August 31, I headed to the health care town hall meeting of my congressional representative, Jan Schakowsky (D-IL). I suspected that she planned to stack the meeting with paid organizers, after she vowed on Real Time with Bill Maher to bring “millions” of people into the streets to support the so-called “public option.” So I brought a video camera.

A friend and I took turns filming protesters on both sides of the issue. We caught an organizer from the group Health Care for America Now (HCAN) instructing followers to block dissenting views: “So if they stand up and start asking questions, and you’re in that area, simply stand up, and start chanting… ‘Health care now! Health care now!’”

My experience at Rep. Schakowsky’s town hall meeting that night convinced me to challenge her in the 2010 election. I had already stood up to Rep. Barney Frank at Harvard University, when I asked him about his role in the financial crisis. I could not simply watch thugs drown out the people of my own community back home, and do nothing.

The HCAN video became a YouTube sensation, the “smoking gun” in the controversy over which side of the debate was “Astroturfing”—i.e. creating a false image of grass roots support. I have since discovered that the video contains clues about how the entire nationwide health care campaign was planned and executed by congressional Democrats and the White House.

It turns out that the organizer in the video is John Gaudette, the Illinois director of HCAN. Gaudette also works for a left-wing group linked to ACORN called Citizen Action/Illinois. Rep. Schakowsky sits on the Policy Council of the group, which suggests that she may have known about or even coordinated the suppression of her own constituents’ views by HCAN.

The plot thickens.

Rep. Schakowsky’s husband, Robert Creamer, used to be the leader of Citizen Action/Illinois. He also founded its predecessor, Illinois Public Action, in which Ms. Schakowsky served as Program Director. He runs a political consulting firm, the Strategic Consulting Group, which lists ACORN and the SEIU among its clients and which made $541,000 working for disgraced former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich.

Creamer resigned from Citizen Action/Illinois after the FBI began investigating him for bank fraud and tax evasion at Illinois Public Action. He was convicted in 2006 and sentenced to five months in federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, plus eleven months of house arrest.

While in prison—or “forced sabbatical,” he called it—Creamer wrote a lengthy political manual, Listen to Your Mother: Stand Up Straight! How Progressives Can Win (Seven Locks Press, 2007).

The book was endorsed by leading Democrats and their allies, including SEIU boss Andy Stern—the most frequent visitor thus far to the Obama White House—and chief Obama strategist David Axelrod, who noted that Creamer’s tome “provides a blueprint for future victories.”

In the book, Creamer draws lessons from decades of experience on the radical left, including the teachings of arch-radical Saul Alinsky, and several episodes from Rep. Schakowsky’s political career. He also lays out a “Progressive Agenda for Structural Change,” which includes a ten-point plan for foisting universal health care on the American people in 2009:

• “We must create a national consensus that health care is a right, not a commodity; and that government must guarantee that right.”
• “We must create a national consensus that the health care system is in crisis.”
• “Our messaging program over the next two years should focus heavily on reducing the credibility of the health insurance industry and focusing on the failure of private health insurance.”
• “We need to systematically forge relationships with large sectors of the business/employer community.”
• “We need to convince political leaders that they owe their elections, at least in part, to the groundswell of support of [sic] universal health care, and that they face political peril if they fail to deliver on universal health care in 2009.”
• “We need not agree in advance on the components of a plan, but we must foster a process that can ultimately yield consensus.”
• “Over the next two years, we must design and organize a massive national field program.”
• “We must focus especially on the mobilization of the labor movement and the faith community.”
• “We must systematically leverage the connections and resources of a massive array of institutions and organizations of all types.”
• “To be successful, we must put in place commitments for hundreds of millions of dollars to be used to finance paid communications and mobilization once the battle is joined.”

Creamer adds: “To win we must not just generate understanding, but emotion—fear, revulsion, anger, disgust.”

Democrats have followed Creamer’s plan to the letter. They have claimed our health care system is in crisis despite polls showing the overwhelming majority of Americans are happy with the care they receive. They have—with the help of President Obama—circulated false horror stories about Americans dying for lack of health care and health insurance.

They have targeted the health insurance industry, with Rep. Schakowsky herself promising to “put the private insurance industry out of business,” though it is a top employer in Illinois.

Democrats have cut deals with the pharmaceutical industry and the American Medical Association, among others. They have brought in the President himself to tell wavering “Blue Dog” Democrats that their re-election chances depend on passing health care reform. They have bused in SEIU members to town hall meetings, and used rabbis and pastors to back health care reform from the pulpit.

They have used a complex, interconnected web of organizations—including HCAN and Organizing For America, the former Obama campaign arm—to whip up support and silence opposition. And they have benefited from hundreds of millions of dollars in advertising to convince the public to support bills that their representatives have never read themselves.

Creamer wrote his plan in 2006, explicitly proposing that it be carried out in 2009, once a “progressive Democrat is elected President” and once Democrats could count on 60 votes in the Senate. It is curious that Creamer, sitting in prison, could have predicted the details and the timing of President Obama’s legislative agenda so precisely.

The likeliest explanation is that Creamer helped design the Democrats’ health care strategy. That would explain why President Obama made health care an obsession in 2009, when it was only one among many issues he raised on the campaign trail in 2008. It would explain the role of several overlapping left-wing groups, including Creamer’s own Citizen Action/Illinois.

It would explain why HCAN was particularly aggressive at Rep. Schakowsky’s own town hall meeting. And Creamer’s involvement would also explain his high profile after being released from prison. He worked for the Obama campaign, training volunteers at “Camp Obama.” He has continued his work at the Strategic Consulting Group, leading “many of the country’s most significant issue campaigns,” he claims. He was also at the White House state dinner last month—together with Stern, Axelrod, and other cronies—despite the fact that ex-convicts are usually barred from such events.

Creamer’s broader aim, as laid out in his book, is the “democratization of wealth” in America and “progressive control of governments around the world.” As he recently wrote on his blog at the Huffington Post: “If we succeed in winning health insurance reform we will have breached the gates of the status quo. We will demonstrate that fundamental change is possible. Into that breach will flow a wave of progressive change.”

It is a radical agenda, making use of Rep. Schakowsky’s public profile, a network of far-left organizations, and Creamer’s old friends in the White House. It began in federal prison, and has unfolded exactly as intended, over the protests of thousands of ordinary Americans across the nation. It will not end with health care. It will continue until Mr. Creamer’s Alinskyite dream of radical change is realized—or until voters stand up and put a stop to it in 2010.

Pete Yost of the Associated Press asked for my comment regarding the findings of the ACORN “internal investigation.”  Here is what I emailed him:

ACORN is a corrupt and criminal organization, and anyone with open eyes can see this. Yet SEIU’s Andy Stern and left wing puppetmaster John Podesta, of the Soros-funded radical leftist think-tank, the Center for American Progress, chose to architect a whitewashed ‘internal investigation’ by a Democrat Party hack from Massachusetts, and have put immense efforts into launching a two-pronged propaganda  campaign and legal assault against the filmmakers of the ‘pimp and  prostitute’ exposé and the story’s publisher. BigGovernment.com  continues to expose ACORN’s illegal activity and has helped to  illuminate how corrupt organizations like ACORN, SEIU and HCAN are coordinating the efforts to shove radical health care reform down an unwilling  majority of Americans throats.

Here is the sole excerpt from the above statement chosen for the article:

The report is “a whitewashed ‘internal investigation’ by a Democrat Party hack from Massachusetts,” said conservative columnist Andrew Breitbart, who is being sued by ACORN along with James O’Keefe and Hannah Giles, who played the prostitute and her boyfriend in the videos. Breitbart posted the videos on his Web site.

I wanted the BigGovernment.com readers to see that’s it’s not just the internal investigators who are whitewashing the magnitude of the ACORN scandal, it’s the mainstream media writ large.

Read the whole article here: ACORN prober finds no illegal pattern on videos

Well, ACORN retained a law firm to investigate its operations and, surprise, the law firm found that ACORN hadn’t done anything wrong in the undercover videos filmed by James O’Keefe and Hannah Giles. The review, overseen by former Massachusetts Attorney General Scott Harschbarger, a long-time ally of ACORN, found that any problems within ACORN are, gosh darn it, simply because ACORN was too successful, i.e. grew too big and too fast. The problems are also mostly, conveniently, the result of people who are no longer employed by ACORN, i.e. Wade Rathke.

Full report below:

ACORN Report –

The entire report can be summed up: Wade Rathke really made a mess of things. The current management, i.e. Bertha Lewis, has been trying to reform the organization and she is really, really committed to it now. ACORN has a “roadmap” for reform that, while it may take a while to implement, will really fix everything you thought was wrong with ACORN. Just trust them.

The overdue Whitewash Report comes at a critical time for ACORN and its big brother SEIU. ACORN and SEIU are the lead organizations behind Health Care for America Now (HCAN), which is the principle organization agitating for the passage of ObamaCare.  In short, HCAN is ACORN.  HCAN and SEIU are planning a big rally/blitz in support of ObamaCare this Thursday. ACORN’s ongoing scandals were a big obstacle on the left’s push to enact a sweeping government take-over of health care.  As that battle reaches its climax, ACORN’s hired gun enters the scene to say, really, everything is just fine with ACORN.

As members of ACORN’s advisory committee, SEIU’s Andy Stern and Center for American Progress’ John Podesta, had a big role in selecting Harschbarger for the whitewash. Stern, the most frequent guest of the Obama White House, is a leading architect of the health care overhaul that will deliver him millions of more dues-paying members. Podesta is a long-time ACORN ally. The PR group he helped create, Media Matters, has devoted itself to running media interference for ACORN around the clock.

We’ll have a lot more to say about the report in the future. We’ll leave you with one point, however. Of the dozens of people Harschbarger said he interviewed as part of this “report”, not one was from outside the ACORN empire. No former workers nor ousted Board members. Not one person who isn’t currently affiliated with or paid by ACORN. As the saying goes, “Garbage in, garbage out.”

Well, ACORN retained a law firm to investigate its operations and, surprise, the law firm found that ACORN hadn’t done anything wrong in the undercover videos filmed by James O’Keefe and Hannah Giles. The review, overseen by former Massachusetts Attorney General Scott Harschbarger, a long-time ally of ACORN, found that any problems within ACORN are, gosh darn it, simply because ACORN was too successful, i.e. grew too big and too fast. The problems are also mostly, conveniently, the result of people who are no longer employed by ACORN, i.e. Wade Rathke.

Full report below:

ACORN Report –

The entire report can be summed up: Wade Rathke really made a mess of things. The current management, i.e. Bertha Lewis, has been trying to reform the organization and she is really, really committed to it now. ACORN has a “roadmap” for reform that, while it may take a while to implement, will really fix everything you thought was wrong with ACORN. Just trust them.

The overdue Whitewash Report comes at a critical time for ACORN and its big brother SEIU. ACORN and SEIU are the lead organizations behind Health Care for America Now (HCAN), which is the principle organization agitating for the passage of ObamaCare.  In short, HCAN is ACORN.  HCAN and SEIU are planning a big rally/blitz in support of ObamaCare this Thursday. ACORN’s ongoing scandals were a big obstacle on the left’s push to enact a sweeping government take-over of health care.  As that battle reaches its climax, ACORN’s hired gun enters the scene to say, really, everything is just fine with ACORN.

As members of ACORN’s advisory committee, SEIU’s Andy Stern and Center for American Progress’ John Podesta, had a big role in selecting Harschbarger for the whitewash. Stern, the most frequent guest of the Obama White House, is a leading architect of the health care overhaul that will deliver him millions of more dues-paying members. Podesta is a long-time ACORN ally. The PR group he helped create, Media Matters, has devoted itself to running media interference for ACORN around the clock.

We’ll have a lot more to say about the report in the future. We’ll leave you with one point, however. Of the dozens of people Harschbarger said he interviewed as part of this “report”, not one was from outside the ACORN empire. No former workers nor ousted Board members. Not one person who isn’t currently affiliated with or paid by ACORN. As the saying goes, “Garbage in, garbage out.”

We have already established the Healthcare for America Now (HCAN) is a front group primarily staffed by former SEIU members and financed by the SEIU.  And we’ve established HCAN’s role in the angry intimidating tactics employed to bully the town hall protestors during the month of August.  So, who is HCAN?

In short, HCAN is ACORN.  Take a look at their staff page:

f3f6e561444d6d6ca2_3xm6b5vr5 –

Notice the names on that list and their affiliations.

Were you harrassed by these people?

Have any of them tried to “Community Organize” you?

On July 31, 2009, the Democratic House Leadership communicated to their members that they were working in close coordination with the White House and Health Care for America Now (HCAN) to get “grass roots” activities at town hall meetings through the month of August.  Five days later HCAN released a detailed instruction sheet for the union members of SEIU on how to control admission, speech, behavior and security at town hall meetings.  Two days after that staff members of the St. Louis SEIU implemented these strategies at Rep. Russ Carnahan’s town hall event which resulted in Kenneth Gladney being beaten by an SEIU Business Agent and an SEIU Public Service Director.

The three-page document titled:   “Strategic Communications Plan for August: Health Insurance Reform” details various strategies for working district health care events, telephone town hall meetings, press outreach…etc.  Then under the heading of “Coordination” (and they say there is a vast RIGHT wing conspiracy) the House Democratic Leadership states:

The Leadership is working in close coordination with the White House and outside groups (including but not limited to HCAN, Families USA, AFSCME, SEIU, AARP, etc.) to ensure complementary efforts during August. The President, Secretary Sebelius and other principals in the reform debate will be working throughout the month to hold events, promote the message in the press and move the reform effort forward. We are also working closely with supportive organizations to ensure they are implementing comprehensive plans for August that include grassroots efforts, media strategies and anything else that can add to the momentum. In addition, a list of groups supporting health reform has been provided to your offices with information on ways you can partner with them in your districts.

PPM41_aug_strategic_plan_draft__2_ –

The document was reported on by Politico on July 31^st and only a few blogs reported on it, nothing in main stream media outlets.  And, this is understandable as it seems benign on the face of it; no politician is going to release a memo stating that they are going to “mobilize the muscle of the unions and community organizers to fight back and intimidate town hall protestors”.  Of course not.  But looking at the events of August and the systematic intimidation, confrontations, strong-arm tactics and physical violence that occurred at these Town Hall meetings which all seemed to involve HCAN, SEIU, ACORN, Moveon.org and other Democratic Party affiliated organizations, and then back tracking to the HCAN memo and, ultimately the Democratic House Leadership memo, a reasonable story can be told.

Here are the facts (circumstantial though they may be) that show a clear level of coordination from the House Democratic Leadership (“in close coordination with the White House”) all the way down to the SEIU staff members now facing charges for beating Kenneth Gladney:

• July 31^st:  House Democratic Leaders state they are coordinating with the White House and HCAN to ensure they are implementing grass roots efforts in August.
• August 4^th:  HCAN releases an instruction sheet with a plan to “Fight Back Against the Right” with details on security, confiscating posters and leaflets, loading the room with supporters, providing pre-written and rehearsed questions and suggestions on how to keep protestors out of the town halls
• August 5^th:  Speaker Pelosi derisively calls protesters “Astro-turf” and says they are coming to these meetings carrying swastikas.  DNC releases a video calling the protesters an “Angry Mob”.
• August 6^th:  White House political strategists David Axelrod and Jim Messina meet with Congressional Democratics with rules and suggestions for August town hall meetings.  Messina is quoted saying:  “If you get hit, we will punch back twice as hard.”

On the evening of August 6^th, at Rep. Russ Carnahan’s town hall meeting in St. Louis organized by HCAN hundreds and hundreds of protestors were shut out of the meeting while SEIU members were ushered into a side entrance.  The protestors that did get in were shouted down by SEIU plants who were seated in the front of the room.  Outside, while protestors who had been shut out by the union security were demonstrating, two members of the SEIU crowd control team began to confiscate the materials being distributed by Kenneth Gladney.  Gladney was assaulted resulting in the arrest of the SEIU staffers.

Did the White House and Democratic Leadership write a memo telling Elston and Molens to beat people up?  No, of course not.

But, use your ability to reason.  Use the facts that you know are true.  And use the wisdom you possess to reach a reasonable conclusion.

Can one conclude that it is common knowledge that one of the ways unions in America have exercised their power in the past is by using intimidation tactics and physical violence?  Is that a stretch?  And when the Democratic Leadership (“in close coordination with the White House”) charge the unions who support them with the responsibility of coordinating grass roots efforts at Town hall meetings, wouldn’t a reasonable person conclude that they were asking the unions to “punch back twice as hard” on their behalf?

THIS is why Kenneth Gladney was beaten.  And McCowans, Molens, SEIU, HCAN, the House Democratic Leadership and yes, the White House is who did it.

In Part 1 of this series we detailed the events leading up to the assault on Kenneth Gladney on August 6^th and revealed the document written by Margarida Jorge at Health Care for American Now (HCAN) a front group funded by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) which laid a blueprint for the unions to follow that evening at Rep. Russ Carnahan’s town hall meeting.  Yesterday, in Part 2, we exposed a second town hall meeting that occurred the same night in Tampa Bay, FL with Rep. Kathy Castor that followed the same structure and had very similar results.  We also detailed the relationships of key decision makers at HCAN, Rep. Carnahan’s office and the White House and showed how they were all inter-related at SEIU, the Obama for America campaign and the two accused of assaulting Kenneth Gladney that evening.

Margarida Jorge

On the evening of August 6^th hundreds of citizens were shut out of the meeting and not allowed to question their elected official while hundreds of SEIU members were ushered in a side entrance to sit in reserved seats in the front of the hall.  This followed precisely the instructions penned by Margarida Jorge of HCAN.

• We need to stack our folks in the front to create a wall around the Member…
• Get to your location early and make sure you set up the venue in a way that ensures that the attendees you want are at the front and that any protesters who come are sequestered as far as possible from the stage.
• Make sure that you assign marshals to take care of moving the crowd, keeping people organized and orderly, and acting as security

According to eye-witnesses, Elston McCowan and Perry Molens approached Kenneth Gladney and began grabbing the “Don’t Tread on Me” materials that he was distributing.  This also was in line with the instructions laid out in the HCAN memo.

• Another way to limit protesters’ ability to hijack your event is to confiscate signs or leaflets that they may bring into the venue from outside.

The climate of intimidation and frustration created by following HCAN’s rules of “Responding to Right-Wing Attacks” led to the confrontations outside of Rep. Carnahan’s town hall meeting.

The St. Louis Police were dispatched that evening to respond to the assault on Kenneth Gladney and arrests were made.  Big Government has already revealed the 24-page police report detailing the police’s own account of the events as well as eye-witness testimony.  The suspects taken by the police that night were booked on assault charges and last Wednesday, November 25^th, more than three months after the incident, charges were finally brought against the suspects.

Elston McCowan

As anyone who has taken a high school civics class can tell you (or, more likely, anyone who has ever seen an episode of ‘Law and Order’), city and county attorneys are responsible for prosecuting suspects who the police arrest.  The County Prosecuting Attorney has ultimate authority over cases such as the arrest of SEIU senior staff members Elston McCowan and Perry Molens.  And the Prosecuting Attorney is an elected official which by definition makes that person a politician.  Who is the politician ultimately responsible for ensuring the crimes against Kenneth Gladney are brought to justice?

Meet Robert McCulloch .  Robert McCulloch  is the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney in whose jurisdiction these arrests were made.  Last year, during the presidential election, Robert McCulloch was a central figure in something called “The Barack Obama Truth Squad”.  This “truth” squad was created at the request of the Missouri Obama for America campaign.  As KMOV reported at the time:

“They will be reminding voters that Barack Obama is a Christian who wants to cut taxes for anyone who makes less than $250,000 a year. They also say they plan to respond immediately to any ads and statements that violate Missouri’s ethics laws.”

McCulloch himself was quoted in the report saying:

“If they’re not going to tell the truth, somebody’s got to step up and say, ‘That’s not true. This is the truth.’”

That is what McCulloch said he would do on “The Barack Obama Truth Squad” in his capacity as Prosecuting Attorney, NOT as a paid employee of the Obama for America Campaign.  Please understand, in September of 2008, St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch  took on as his responsibility as a public official, paid for by the good people of Missouri, the role of “Rapid Response” for the Obama Campaign responsible for informing the voters of what is true and what is not, all the time reminding everyone that Barack Obama is a Christian who wants to cut taxes for anyone who makes less than $250,000 a year.  I think even the most casual observer can look at this and reach the conclusion that Mr. McCulloch  brings with him a certain level of partisan bias when executing his duties as Prosecuting Attorney.

As the KMOV report stated:

“The Barack Obama campaign is asking Missouri law enforcement to target anyone who lies or runs a misleading TV ad during the presidential campaign.”

“The Barack Obama campaign is asking…”  We have already discussed who was in charge of the Barack Obama campaign in Missouri, but I think it bears repeating:

• Buffy Wicks ran the Obama for America campaign in Missouri, Buffy Wicks now works for Valerie Jarret in the White House Office of Public Engagement and was involved in the NEA Conference Calls.
• Sara Howard worked with Buffy Wicks on the Obama for America Campaign in Missouri and Sarah Howard worked at SEIU in St Louis.  The day before the St. Louis town hall she was hired by Rep. Russ Carnahan.
• Margarida Jorge also worked at SEIU in St. Louis, just like Sara Howard and Margarida wrote the HCAN memo on fighting back against the right.
• Just like Jorge and Howard, Elston McCowan and Perry Molens worked at SEIU in St. Louis.  They have been charged with the bloody assault of Kenneth Gladney.

Now, let’s add THIS one to the mix:

• Robert McCulloch worked on behalf of the Obama for America campaign (Wicks and Howard) by aggressively promoting a pre-emptive strike against negative campaigning against Barack Obama.  McCulloch is the person charged with the duty to bring charges against McCowan and Molens for assaulting Gladney outside the town hall meeting of Carnahan arranged by Howard following the volatile template written by Jorge!  (Follow all that?)

So, how did McCulloch do in executing his duties in the Gladney case?  McCulloch handed the case over to county counselor Patricia Redington and washed his hands from that point on.  It is interesting that McCulloch moved so quickly in using intimidation tactics by wielding the power of his office and the threat of legal ramifications for any negative advertising that may have suggested that candidate Obama might not actually lower taxes on everyone making $250,000 per year (have you gotten your tax cut yet?) but he passed the buck when it came to this case.

Meanwhile, Redington let this case languish for months before finally bringing modest charges against the suspects on the afternoon before Thanksgiving (an obvious attempt to let the story disappear).  One week before the charges were brought, Big Government reported:

• Redington hasn’t spoken to Kenneth Gladney
• Redington hasn’t called any of the witnesses on the police report.
• Redington hasn’t contacted any of the Tea Party members that are seen on video
• Redington hasn’t contacted any of the people who shot video that night and whose YouTube urls are listed on the evidence page

Also, despite the fact that Redington never investigated the injuries Gladney suffered and never interviewed the medical personnel who administered assistance to Gladney, she still felt it best to reduce the charges down to an ordinance violation.  In the words of Judge Anthony Napolitano:  “The moral equivalent of jay walking.”

But, make no mistake; this is happening on McCulloch’s watch.  He has the authority to handle this case and to ensure that proper charges are filed, but he has chosen not to.  It begs the question:  If he jumped through the “Truth Squad” hoops when Buffy Wicks asked him to during the campaign, is it possible he has turned his back on this case for similar reasons?

Tomorrow:  We reveal a document linking the activities of HCAN and SEIU in August at the town hall meetings with the highest levels of the Government.

Yesterday we discussed the events leading up to the August 6^th health care town hall meeting featuring Rep. Russ Carnahan (D-MO).  The event was hosted by Health Care For American Now (HCAN) and Organizing for America (OFA), the former a front group for Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the latter an off-shoot of the Obama Campaign now run by the Democratic National Committee (DNC).  We revealed a four page document released by HCAN two days before the August 6^th town hall meeting.  In that document, guidelines are revealed for members of HCAN (union members) on how best to stifle the protestations of ObamaCare.

The meetings hosted by HCAN (like the one on August 6^th in St. Louis) were set up using these rules.  Americans showed up at these meetings thinking that it would be an opportunity to address their elected representatives and talk to them about the single most important piece of legislation our congress has proposed in decades.  Instead, they were pushed to the back of the room and shouted down by the well-trained SEIU members.  Eventually, an American citizen who was distributing “Don’t Tread on Me” flags and buttons was assaulted by a handful of the SEIU members.  His name is Kenneth Gladney.

Let’s look at that memo and how it matches the events of August 6^th:

• One advantage to organizing your own Town Hall or public event with Members of Congress is that you will have much more control over the event and limit the other side’s opportunities for disruption.
• Make sure you turn out a substantial number of people from your base and that everyone signs a sign-in sheet upon entering the event. Give everyone name tags so they are easily identifiable. If you want to ensure greater control over turnout, you can ask attendees to RSVP or even issue tickets to the event and require presentation of the ticket at the entrance.
• Choose a venue that is difficult for the opposition to access without being noticed. Get to your location early and make sure you set up the venue in a way that ensures that the attendees you want are at the front and that any protesters who come are sequestered as far as possible from the stage.
• Make sure that you assign marshals to take care of moving the crowd, keeping people organized and orderly, and acting as security should any need arise to ask noisy or disruptive protesters to leave.
• Another way to limit protesters’ ability to hijack your event is to confiscate signs or leaflets that they may bring into the venue from outside. The best way to do this is to make a blanket rule that no one can bring signs or leaflets and to advertise this fact as you do turn out in the weeks preceding the event. You can distribute your own signs in the event and offer them one as they enter if you choose to allow them to enter.
• It’s important that you take away right-wingers opportunities to talk with reporters by making sure that your staff or leaders are in constant contact with the media who attend.

According to Harris Himes an eyewitness at the scene of the town hall meeting the evening of the 6^th:

They let in about two hundred of us but had about 120 seats set aside, marked “RSVP,” and these were for Carnahan supporters. These people were let in by a side door for the “handicapped.” Many had purple t-shirts with “Organizing for America” in white letters on the back and large “SEIU,” smaller “Service Employees International Union” on the front. They shut the doors on about 1000 people around 6:30 pm for the 7:00 pm event. After being introduced, Carnahan spoke but was booed frequently while the supporters stood and applauded…. Finally, Carnahan stood for questions. It turned out that the questions had to be written and turned in. The dissenters booed, shouting that they didn’t know this and hadn’t been given a chance to write any. It didn’t make any difference, because he answered a couple of seminar questions and then announced that he had to leave about 8:30 for an “interview”—after most of the time had been taken up by the panel.

Also on the evening of the 6^th, a town hall meeting organized by HCAN and OFA was set up in Tampa Bay, FL with Rep. Kathy Castor.  An eyewitness describes what is seen on this YouTube video:

This is part one of the Tampa Town Hall meeting on August 6. Left Wing organizers are seen passing out Obama Flyers and signs.  Once they see that right wingers have their own sings, they quickly pick them up and hide them. Hundreds of people are outside trying to get in, many of them who had been waiting for hours while others were able to sneak in the back door. Even with all this, there was still many in the audience that booed once Kathy Castor started detailing the Health Care Plan.

And here is a second description on a YouTube video that shows the “marshals” and security forces in action:

Kathy Castor’s union thugs beat up a guy (in the green shirt – evidence 3:21) and shut the doors to prevent the opposing opinions from being heard. She then proceeded leave, not taking any questions, because “she couldn’t hear.

The Tampa Bay meeting and the St. Louis meetings followed the same templates and they were both arranged by HCAN and OFA.  Both ended with pushing and shoving (in both cases the pushing being done by card-carrying members of SEIU) and both ended with the elected official leaving after only answering a few scripted questions put forth by plants in the crowd.

It is hard to not reach the conclusion that the events of August 6^th were a result that could have been expected given the rhetoric from elected officials in the Democratic Party (Speaker Pelosi saying the protesters carries swastikas) and the President’s Advisers (Jim Messina telling Senators “if they hit you, we will punch them back twice as hard”) coupled with the instructions handed down to obedient union members by their union leaders.  If you agree that HCAN and OFA were instrumental in creating the climate for violent confrontation that led to Kenneth Gladney’s assault, then it is important to learn about the leadership of HCAN and the SEIU members who are suspects in the assault and learn who they are and what might have motivated their actions.

Meet Margarida Jorge.  She works for HCAN and is the person who released the memo that served as a template for the meetings in Tampa Bay and St. Louis.  Ms. Jorge worked for SEIU in Missouri prior to her position at HCAN.  She is often featured at the People’s World web page (a direct descendant of the Daily Worker the newspaper of the American Socialist and Marxist Movement).  In fact, Ms. Jorge was honored with an award from People’s World for her work with an organization called Progressive Vote, or Pro-Vote.  Pro-Vote is a coalition of many organizations including SEIU, HCAN and ACORN.  Their mission:  To fight for progressive issues and progressive candidates.

That is Margarida Jorge.  She wrote the HCAN memo.  In the past she worked with Sara Howard.

Meet Sara Howard.  She used to work with SEIU.  She also worked for a group called America Coming Together (ACT).  In the 2004 campaign, ACT was very active in registering voters on behalf of the Kerry Campaign.  ACT was later fined $775,000 for taking illegal donations (including those from SEIU), the largest FEC fine in history.  She also worked as a Senior Strategist for Obama for America.  On August 5^th, the day before the St. Louis town hall meeting featuring Rep. Russ Carnahan, Sara Howard was named the Communications Director for the Missouri Democrat.

That is Sara Howard.  She is Russ Carnahan’s Communication’s Director.  When she was working on the Obama Campaign, she was under the direction of Buffy Wicks.

Meet Buffy Wicks.  Buffy Wicks is the Deputy Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement directly under Valerie Jarrett.  She was the White House representative on the infamous conference calls involving Yosi Sergant and the NEA which were exposed by Big Hollywood resulting in Mr. Sergant’s forced resignation.  Before her job at the White House Buffy Wicks ran the Obama Campaign operation in Missouri where she was instrumental in get out the vote programs involving SEIU, ACORN and Pro-Vote, where she worked with Sara Howard and Margarida Jorge.

That is Buffy Wicks, Sara Howard and Margarida Jorge.  In their capacities with SEIU and Pro-Vote and HCAN and the Obama Campaigns, they were involved with SEIU Public Service Director and former organizer Elston McCowan and SEIU Business Agent and Organizer Perry Molens.  McCowan and Molens are the men charged with the assault on Kenneth Gladney.

Let me just lay this out once more:

• Margarida Jorge worked at SEIU in St. Louis.  She wrote the HCAN memo on fighting back against the right.
• Sara Howard worked at SEIU in St Louis.  She also worked for Obama For America.  The day before the St. Louis town hall, she was hired by Rep. Russ Carnahan.
• Elston McCowan and Perry Molens worked at SEIU in St. Louis.  They have been charged with the bloody assault of Kenneth Gladney.
• Jorge, Howard, McCowan and Molens were all involved with Buffy Wicks at Obama For America in Missouri.
• Buffy Wicks now works for Valerie Jarret in the White House Office of Public Engagement and was involved in the NEA Conference Calls.

Does your head hurt yet?  If it doesn’t, it will tomorrow.

Tomorrow we will show how this small network of insiders in the leftist political power structure of St. Louis are inter-connected with the very people charged with investigating and prosecuting the individuals responsible for beating Kenneth Gladney.  And, how those same people were also instrumental in the Obama Campaign in Missouri in 2008.  We will show how the three month delay in bringing charges against the assailants appear to be motivated by political and personal relationships in the close-knit family that is the St. Louis Democratic Party.

On August 6, 2009 two Service Employee International Union (SEIU) leaders and a volunteer for Organizing for America (OFA) assaulted Kenneth Gladney outside of Rep. Russ Carnahan’s Town hall meeting on health care.  The perpetrators were arrested at the scene of the crime, and three months later charges have finally been filed.

Much has been said in the past three months about this incident.  Here at Big Government calls have been made for justice, for formal charges and mostly for the mass media to follow the story and delve into the government’s role in this violent attempt to intimidate and silence dissent.  We can no longer wait for the establishment journalists to connect the dots and bring to light the insidious relationships between the SEIU, OFA, Russ Carnaham’s office and the Obama Administration.

Was this assault merely a flare up of tempers during a heated exchange of rival political camps?  Or was it a coordinated attempt to silence the scores of protesters who had been so effective at swaying public opinion against the President’s health care scheme?  Today, Big Government will bring to light documents that read like an instruction manual for the SEIU forces in St. Louis the evening of August 6^th.  We will also show that on the very same evening of the St. Louis assault, an almost identical scene played out in Tampa Bay, Florida.  Also involving SEIU and OFA.  Also resulting in hordes of union members shouting down and physically evicting protesters from a U.S. Representative’s Town hall meeting.  Finally, we will introduce all of the various players in leadership roles at these organizations, what they said in instructing their members in how to fight back against the Town hall protesters, and how these individuals all connect to each other and to the Obama Administration.  As I said, we’ve been waiting for the “Real” journalists to do this, we’ve waited long enough.

On June 1, 2009 President Obama enjoyed a 64% Job Approval rating with a disapproval rating of 30%.  As Summer approached, the President began the plans for the roll out of his comprehensive plan to overhaul the entire distribution system for America’s health care services.  As the messaging began, the talking points were clear:  “If you like your current health plan, you can keep it”, “This plan will cover the 40 million Americans who have no insurance”, “This plan will not add to the deficit and not raise taxes”.  It all seemed too good to be true.   The House Committee on Energy and Commerce promptly passed the first version of a reform bill in June.  President Obama planned multiple town hall meetings across the country including an unprecedented event televised live on ABC and everything seemed moving toward a major victory for the President and the Democratic Party.

In late June and through the month of July, members of congress held scattered town hall meetings in their districts to get their constituents’ feedback on the proposed health care bill.  The clusters of semi-organized protesters who had rallied at “Tea Parties” earlier in the Spring took these meetings as opportunities to rejuvenate their energies with passionate opposition to these congressmen.  YouTube videos began circulating showing outraged citizens challenging their representatives and showing those representatives completely unprepared for any legitimate questions about the proposed bill.  It was clear in many cases that the representatives were not well versed on these bills beyond the boiler-plate talking points the administration had handed them.  They were not used to being questioned.

By the beginning of August Sarah Palin had caught headlines by describing certain policy discussions that evaluate a patients “level of productivity in society” and how it relates to the level of prioritized care they would receive as ‘death panels’ , Rep. Michelle Bachmann had delivered a stinging speech on the House floor tearing apart the President’s advisors on health policy, Sen. Arlen Spector was caught flat-footed at a town hall meeting and protests began cropping up all around the country at various town hall meetings of Senators and Congressmen.  President Obama’s job approval rating had now plummeted to  52% with a disapproval rating of 41% (an unbelievable 23% swing in approval loss and disapproval gain combined in 60 days).  The White House had seen enough.  It was time to take action and engage the opposition.

Somewhere between August 2^nd and August 6^th a strategy was devised that put all tools at the administrations disposal in line and firing at the protesters.  August 4^th seems to be an important day in the roll out of this strategy.  The White House famously posted a new aggressive offensive on their blog calling out what they described as “mis-information” about the proposed bill and directed true-believers to report any sources of these “lies” to a special e-mail address:  flag@whitehouse.gov.  Also on the 4^th, an organization called Health Care for America Now (HCAN) released a document that became a blueprint for intimidation and, ultimately, violence under the guise of confronting the tea party protesters at these town hall meetings.

HCAN is an organization funded by various unions, most significantly SEIU, whose main purpose is to promote and push the effort for government-provided, universal health care.  (To understand the SEIU’s reasons for pushing for this government health care, read this post.)  The National Field Director for HCAN is Margarida Jorge.  Margarida Jorge used to work for the SEIU as an organizing director.

On August 4^th Margarida Jorge released a four page memo instructing members of HCAN on how best to combat the mounting opposition on display at the town hall meetings.  On the HCAN web site, the new tactics were filed on a post under the heading “Fight Back Against the Right”.  A subsequent HCAN call to action on August 5^th was under the benign headline “The Guns of August: A Call to Arms for Progressives and Obama Activists” likening the debate to World War I.

The entire memo can be seen here.

763d952c7bee4c4abe_12m6bxper –

The memo features instructions and tactics for the left on how to dominate the meeting and marginalize the protesters from the right:

• Their side will be smaller but noisier. You must bring enough people to drown them out and to cover all our bases so as to marginalize their disruptive tactics.
• We need to stack our folks in the front to create a wall around the Member, and we need to stake out the best spots for visibility and signs. Reconnaissance on the venue and an understanding of the staging will be important here. Make sure you do your homework so you can position your folks most effectively.

It features ideas on how to manipulate the media:

• Make sure you have people holding signs in every place where a TV camera is likely to be and that next to every right wing sign, there’s one of your signs with your message.
• Don’t wait for the reporter to approach you. You must approach the reporters and be assertive in shaping the narrative that they write. Have someone assigned to greeting the media or checking in media as they arrive. That way you will know who they are and be able to work with them both during the event and afterwards.

It has ideas about how to dominate the conversation by asking the congressman prepared, rehearsed questions:

• Line up a number of people who feel comfortable interrupting and prepare them with statements like:
  • Excuse me, I came today to listen to Representative XXX explain how this bill is going to make health care more affordable for me and my family. We’re being gouged by insurance companies that just want to make more profits while we struggle to keep up with premiums and co-pays. Representative, how are you going to fix that?”
  • “I’m retired and can’t afford my prescription drugs because I’m on a fixed income. Representative, how is this bill going to affect me?”
  • “I want to hear the Representative speak. He’s the one voting on the bill. Representative, how will this bill help people who already have insurance at work?”
  • “What I’m worried about is how we’re going to keep the insurance companies from continuing to charge people more for being sick and keep them from taking away coverage when we need it most. What’s the plan for that?”

And, on page four of the memo written by Margarida Jorge of HCAN are instructions for hosting a town hall meeting.  These instructions include:

• One advantage to organizing your own Town Hall or public event with Members of Congress is that you will have much more control over the event and limit the other side’s opportunities for disruption.
• Make sure you turn out a substantial number of people from your base and that everyone signs a sign in sheet upon entering the event. Give everyone name tags so they are easily identifiable. If you want to ensure greater control over turnout, you can ask attendees to rsvp or even issue tickets to the event and require presentation of the ticket at the entrance.
• Choose a venue that is difficult for the opposition to access without being noticed. Get to your location early and make sure you set up the venue in a way that ensures that the attendees you want are at the front and that any protesters who come are sequestered as far as possible from the stage.
• Make sure that you assign marshals to take care of moving the crowd, keeping people organized and orderly, and acting as security should any need arise to ask noisy or disruptive protesters to leave.
• Another way to limit protesters’ ability to hijack your event is to confiscate signs or leaflets that they may bring into the venue from outside. The best way to do this is to make a blanket rule that no one can bring signs or leaflets and to advertise this fact as you do turn out in the weeks preceding the event. You can distribute your own signs in the event and offer them one as they enter if you choose to allow them to enter.
• It’s important that you take away right-wingers opportunities to talk with reporters by making sure that your staff or leaders are in constant contact with the media who attend.

On August 5^th the DNC released a video advertisement calling the protesters an “angry mob” and showing a photo of one alleged protester hanging a congressman in effigy.  Also on August 5^th we had Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi derisively calling the protesters “Astro-turf” and claiming that they were carrying signs with swastikas.

By August 6^th liberal web sites like Talking Points Memo and Daily Kos were cheering HCAN’s instructions and the stance taken by Organizing For America (The left-wing volunteer web site evolved from the Obama Campaign) urging liberals to call congress (providing them instructions on how to do this) and then to register the call at the OFA web site.  Huffington Post celebrated the new bold move with a post urging the unions to get more involved (an astounding 11,000 comments appear on this post in just 6 days, many of them from early in the day on August 6^th show that the readers of HuffPo knew exactly what this union engagement meant and what the results would be).

Finally on August 6^th, hours before the Carnahan town hall meeting where Kenneth Gladney was assaulted by members of the SEIU, David Axelrod and Jim Messina gave a pep talk to Senators on Capitol Hill prior to their leaving for the August recess.  According to Politico:

They showed video clips of the confrontational town halls that have dominated the media coverage, and told senators to do more prep work than usual for their public meetings by making sure their own supporters turn out, senators and aides said.  And they screened TV ads and reviewed the various campaigns by critics of the Democratic plan.

”If you get hit, we will punch back twice as hard,” Messina said, according to an official who attended the meeting

Two days after the instructions on how to manage and control protestors at town hall meetings were released by Margarida Jorge at HCAN, one day after the Speaker of the House likened protestors to Nazis and mere hours after President Obama’s top political advisors assured Congressional Democrats that “If you get hit, we will punch them back twice as hard”, Kenneth Gladney lay beaten and bloody on the ground outside Rep. Russ Carnahan’s Town Hall meeting.

Tomorrow we will show how the people who are now charged with assaulting him are connected to SEIU and HCAN, how they followed HCAN’s instructions perfectly which inevitably led to the violence, and we will show how St. Louis was not the only meeting that followed HCAN’s template and ended in much the same way.

Tis the season to be thankful, and this year one thing stands out as something to be particularly grateful for…the Internet.

Thanks to the Internet, and the Army of Davids it has empowered, the mainstream media no longer possess a strangle hold on information. They no longer get to decide what we know about the people and organizations that effect our daily lives.

In direct terms, this means that when SEIU thugs beat up a black conservative at a health care town hall meeting, the whole world gets to see it via the internet.

And when those thugs are outed as Health Care for America (HCAN) coordinated responders to criticism of Obamacare, the whole world can take it upon themselves to learn about HCAN, using Google and other fabulous tools of the internet.

And when the world learns that HCAN is primarily a function of a group called USAction, they can investigate who USAction is using the same fabulous tools of the Internet.

And when the world learns that USAction was founded by DSA-Marxist 60’s radicals named Heather and Paul Booth, they can take it upon themselves to learn more about USAction, like that their president and spiritual leader, William McNary, is a BIG TIME communist sympathizer. And that valuable information can be spread far and wide for all to see, complete with video documentation of the facts, all without the lamestream media being able to sweep it under the rug on behalf of their favored candidates.

In the first clip, USAction President William McNary stands outside the Capital, preaching to his HCAN minions.

In the second clip, USAction President William McNary can be heard delivering the key note address to the Communist Party USA in 2005! Note how thoroughly he identifies with the Communists he is speaking to, always using the term “we”. Note how close they feel to him and USAction.

Thank God for the Internet!

Happy Thanksgiving to all, and to all a good night!

Previously on Founding Bloggers regarding USAction: Ward Churchill Meets Rahm Emanuel

The story of Kenneth Gladney may finally be getting somewhere. County Counselor Patricia Redington, after waiting three months, has been forced to come out and defend her office in emails and in an interview with KMOX, a local St Louis radio station.  We’d say it was quick work, but waiting to look into charges of political violence until after healthcare reform comes to a vote seems to be the plan.  In previous columns, we identified a time difference for assault charges of 3 months versus 2 days.  3 months to start looking if you’re a black man beaten by union thugs and 2 days if you’re a Republican running for Congress against Dick Gephardt.

Redington is now responding to emails saying she is looking into the events, the investigation is still under review, and her office is interviewing witnesses.  This is one of her responses to a St Louis county resident about the affair.

There were several incidents at this event which required police intervention, and our office is reviewing the police report and has been interviewing various witnesses before making a final decision on what charges may be issued.

One wonders just what exactly if anything new is being done.  Three months seems a long time to wait to bring charges, especially in the case of Kelly Owens, where the incident is on video camera and witnessed by a police office.  The answer given by Redington is noncommittal, and basically says ‘we’re looking into it.’  But are they?  The pressure of the police report, the line drawn between St Louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch and the Obama truth squads, and the background stories on Perry Molens and Kelly Owens got local citizens up in arms and interested KMOX reporter Kevin Killeen enough to ask some questions.  This is Redington’s response to Killeen’s questions.

Six people were arrested by St. Louis County Police, with at least two suspects booked on suspicion of assault. But the person who will decide whether to file charges,  St. Louis County Counselor Patricia Redington, is still sorting it all out. “There were multiple altercations and police involvement,” Redington said. “We’re looking at the whole evening and the charges that may be filed as a result of that.”

Redington says there were half a dozen possible criminal incidents at that event and she plans to announce her findings all at the same time. She did not give KMOX a timetable for the announcement. But, according to Redington, the incident, ‘definitely has not been swept under the rug.’”

It’s interesting that Redington says the incident is not being swept under the rug.  I wonder if she would admit that it has been slowed to a crawl so as not to bring to light the fact that five HCAN supporters were arrested the week that Margarida Jorde sent out instructions on how to counter Townhalls?  And let’s not forget Jake Wagman, the silenced reporter arrested that night. If the Post Dispatch had done their job as a news organization and asked a single question about the event anytime after August 14th, perhaps we wouldn’t still be waiting to find out if it’s acceptable to punch and kick your political opponents to send a message.  It is only when KMOX contacts Redington that we hear the investigation is moving forward.  And yet the question remains whether Redington is telling the whole truth, or counting on the local press to cut her some slack.

In the email above, Redington says her office “is reviewing the police report and has been interviewing various witnesses.”

Allow us to remain slightly skeptical and ask, just who exactly is Patricia Redington interviewing?

• She hasn’t spoken to Kenneth Gladney
• Redington hasn’t spoken to Kelly Owens.
• Redington hasn’t called any of the witnesses on the police report.
• Redington hasn’t contacted any of the Tea Party members that are seen on video
• Redington hasn’t contacted any of the people who shot video that night and whose YouTube urls are listed on the evidence page

Who exactly is Redington interviewing?  If she’s talking to witnesses, she’s only talking to ones pre-approved by SEIU’s defense lawyer, the high powered Paul D’Agrosa. We should keep in mind that D’Agrosa is being paid by SEIU Local 2000, the employer for Elston McCowan and Perry Molens.  He, like SEIU and their new media spin team, have fallen silent.  Despite her protestations, it’s very clear that Redington is delaying action for some reason.  If Big Government hadn’t broken the story, it’s not hard to imagine no word of this would have been spoken until healthcare was passed and the charges could be filed or pled down over a busy holiday weekend.

Redington was forced to act because KMOX asked her a question.  Compare the foot dragging of one serious assault and one face punch to her quick work filing charges when a Democratic staffer claimed he was pushed after jamming his camera into a Republican’s face.   We’re wondering just how much pressure Redington is under because McCulloch is pushing all the heat to her.  Email responses from McCulloch’s office claim the problem is all Redington’s, but that is passing the buck as well. Political and racial violence could easily give him the authority to prosecute under Missouri state laws, as could Gladney’s medical reports, which could elevate the assault to a felony.  McCulloch is not interested. It seems he’s more concerned with prosecuting citizens who don’t pay $600 to a mechanic than investigating clear attempts to use violence to frighten away legitimate political protest.  It’s a shame.  He could have made quite a name for himself as a staunch defender of St Louis citizens if he had the courage to at least bring the matter to the attention of the press.  We are unconvinced with the argument that a prosecutor with a 20 year political record has no influence in a story as big as the beating of a black man by union members and the arrest of five Healthcare for America Now volunteers.

For Redington to tell citizens and reporters the investigation is ongoing is a sign that pressure is getting to her.  If you’re from St Louis, keep it up.  And if you’re the Post Dispatch, anytime you want to pretend to be a real paper, you’re welcome to get involved.  We’ll even give you our notes.

The story of Kenneth Gladney may finally be getting somewhere. County Counselor Patricia Redington, after waiting three months, has been forced to come out and defend her office in emails and in an interview with KMOX, a local St Louis radio station.  We’d say it was quick work, but waiting to look into charges of political violence until after healthcare reform comes to a vote seems to be the plan.  In previous columns, we identified a time difference for assault charges of 3 months versus 2 days.  3 months to start looking if you’re a black man beaten by union thugs and 2 days if you’re a Republican running for Congress against Dick Gephardt.

Redington is now responding to emails saying she is looking into the events, the investigation is still under review, and her office is interviewing witnesses.  This is one of her responses to a St Louis county resident about the affair.

There were several incidents at this event which required police intervention, and our office is reviewing the police report and has been interviewing various witnesses before making a final decision on what charges may be issued.

One wonders just what exactly if anything new is being done.  Three months seems a long time to wait to bring charges, especially in the case of Kelly Owens, where the incident is on video camera and witnessed by a police office.  The answer given by Redington is noncommittal, and basically says ‘we’re looking into it.’  But are they?  The pressure of the police report, the line drawn between St Louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch and the Obama truth squads, and the background stories on Perry Molens and Kelly Owens got local citizens up in arms and interested KMOX reporter Kevin Killeen enough to ask some questions.  This is Redington’s response to Killeen’s questions.

Six people were arrested by St. Louis County Police, with at least two suspects booked on suspicion of assault. But the person who will decide whether to file charges,  St. Louis County Counselor Patricia Redington, is still sorting it all out. “There were multiple altercations and police involvement,” Redington said. “We’re looking at the whole evening and the charges that may be filed as a result of that.”

Redington says there were half a dozen possible criminal incidents at that event and she plans to announce her findings all at the same time. She did not give KMOX a timetable for the announcement. But, according to Redington, the incident, ‘definitely has not been swept under the rug.’”

It’s interesting that Redington says the incident is not being swept under the rug.  I wonder if she would admit that it has been slowed to a crawl so as not to bring to light the fact that five HCAN supporters were arrested the week that Margarida Jorde sent out instructions on how to counter Townhalls?  And let’s not forget Jake Wagman, the silenced reporter arrested that night. If the Post Dispatch had done their job as a news organization and asked a single question about the event anytime after August 14th, perhaps we wouldn’t still be waiting to find out if it’s acceptable to punch and kick your political opponents to send a message.  It is only when KMOX contacts Redington that we hear the investigation is moving forward.  And yet the question remains whether Redington is telling the whole truth, or counting on the local press to cut her some slack.

In the email above, Redington says her office “is reviewing the police report and has been interviewing various witnesses.”

Allow us to remain slightly skeptical and ask, just who exactly is Patricia Redington interviewing?

• She hasn’t spoken to Kenneth Gladney
• Redington hasn’t spoken to Kelly Owens.
• Redington hasn’t called any of the witnesses on the police report.
• Redington hasn’t contacted any of the Tea Party members that are seen on video
• Redington hasn’t contacted any of the people who shot video that night and whose YouTube urls are listed on the evidence page

Who exactly is Redington interviewing?  If she’s talking to witnesses, she’s only talking to ones pre-approved by SEIU’s defense lawyer, the high powered Paul D’Agrosa. We should keep in mind that D’Agrosa is being paid by SEIU Local 2000, the employer for Elston McCowan and Perry Molens.  He, like SEIU and their new media spin team, have fallen silent.  Despite her protestations, it’s very clear that Redington is delaying action for some reason.  If Big Government hadn’t broken the story, it’s not hard to imagine no word of this would have been spoken until healthcare was passed and the charges could be filed or pled down over a busy holiday weekend.

Redington was forced to act because KMOX asked her a question.  Compare the foot dragging of one serious assault and one face punch to her quick work filing charges when a Democratic staffer claimed he was pushed after jamming his camera into a Republican’s face.   We’re wondering just how much pressure Redington is under because McCulloch is pushing all the heat to her.  Email responses from McCulloch’s office claim the problem is all Redington’s, but that is passing the buck as well. Political and racial violence could easily give him the authority to prosecute under Missouri state laws, as could Gladney’s medical reports, which could elevate the assault to a felony.  McCulloch is not interested. It seems he’s more concerned with prosecuting citizens who don’t pay $600 to a mechanic than investigating clear attempts to use violence to frighten away legitimate political protest.  It’s a shame.  He could have made quite a name for himself as a staunch defender of St Louis citizens if he had the courage to at least bring the matter to the attention of the press.  We are unconvinced with the argument that a prosecutor with a 20 year political record has no influence in a story as big as the beating of a black man by union members and the arrest of five Healthcare for America Now volunteers.

For Redington to tell citizens and reporters the investigation is ongoing is a sign that pressure is getting to her.  If you’re from St Louis, keep it up.  And if you’re the Post Dispatch, anytime you want to pretend to be a real paper, you’re welcome to get involved.  We’ll even give you our notes.

The story of Kenneth Gladney may finally be getting somewhere. County Counselor Patricia Redington, after waiting three months, has been forced to come out and defend her office in emails and in an interview with KMOX, a local St Louis radio station.  We’d say it was quick work, but waiting to look into charges of political violence until after healthcare reform comes to a vote seems to be the plan.  In previous columns, we identified a time difference for assault charges of 3 months versus 2 days.  3 months to start looking if you’re a black man beaten by union thugs and 2 days if you’re a Republican running for Congress against Dick Gephardt.

Redington is now responding to emails saying she is looking into the events, the investigation is still under review, and her office is interviewing witnesses.  This is one of her responses to a St Louis county resident about the affair.

There were several incidents at this event which required police intervention, and our office is reviewing the police report and has been interviewing various witnesses before making a final decision on what charges may be issued.

One wonders just what exactly if anything new is being done.  Three months seems a long time to wait to bring charges, especially in the case of Kelly Owens, where the incident is on video camera and witnessed by a police office.  The answer given by Redington is noncommittal, and basically says ‘we’re looking into it.’  But are they?  The pressure of the police report, the line drawn between St Louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch and the Obama truth squads, and the background stories on Perry Molens and Kelly Owens got local citizens up in arms and interested KMOX reporter Kevin Killeen enough to ask some questions.  This is Redington’s response to Killeen’s questions.

Six people were arrested by St. Louis County Police, with at least two suspects booked on suspicion of assault. But the person who will decide whether to file charges,  St. Louis County Counselor Patricia Redington, is still sorting it all out. “There were multiple altercations and police involvement,” Redington said. “We’re looking at the whole evening and the charges that may be filed as a result of that.”

Redington says there were half a dozen possible criminal incidents at that event and she plans to announce her findings all at the same time. She did not give KMOX a timetable for the announcement. But, according to Redington, the incident, ‘definitely has not been swept under the rug.’”

It’s interesting that Redington says the incident is not being swept under the rug.  I wonder if she would admit that it has been slowed to a crawl so as not to bring to light the fact that five HCAN supporters were arrested the week that Margarida Jorde sent out instructions on how to counter Townhalls?  And let’s not forget Jake Wagman, the silenced reporter arrested that night. If the Post Dispatch had done their job as a news organization and asked a single question about the event anytime after August 14th, perhaps we wouldn’t still be waiting to find out if it’s acceptable to punch and kick your political opponents to send a message.  It is only when KMOX contacts Redington that we hear the investigation is moving forward.  And yet the question remains whether Redington is telling the whole truth, or counting on the local press to cut her some slack.

In the email above, Redington says her office “is reviewing the police report and has been interviewing various witnesses.”

Allow us to remain slightly skeptical and ask, just who exactly is Patricia Redington interviewing?

• She hasn’t spoken to Kenneth Gladney
• Redington hasn’t spoken to Kelly Owens.
• Redington hasn’t called any of the witnesses on the police report.
• Redington hasn’t contacted any of the Tea Party members that are seen on video
• Redington hasn’t contacted any of the people who shot video that night and whose YouTube urls are listed on the evidence page

Who exactly is Redington interviewing?  If she’s talking to witnesses, she’s only talking to ones pre-approved by SEIU’s defense lawyer, the high powered Paul D’Agrosa. We should keep in mind that D’Agrosa is being paid by SEIU Local 2000, the employer for Elston McCowan and Perry Molens.  He, like SEIU and their new media spin team, have fallen silent.  Despite her protestations, it’s very clear that Redington is delaying action for some reason.  If Big Government hadn’t broken the story, it’s not hard to imagine no word of this would have been spoken until healthcare was passed and the charges could be filed or pled down over a busy holiday weekend.

Redington was forced to act because KMOX asked her a question.  Compare the foot dragging of one serious assault and one face punch to her quick work filing charges when a Democratic staffer claimed he was pushed after jamming his camera into a Republican’s face.   We’re wondering just how much pressure Redington is under because McCulloch is pushing all the heat to her.  Email responses from McCulloch’s office claim the problem is all Redington’s, but that is passing the buck as well. Political and racial violence could easily give him the authority to prosecute under Missouri state laws, as could Gladney’s medical reports, which could elevate the assault to a felony.  McCulloch is not interested. It seems he’s more concerned with prosecuting citizens who don’t pay $600 to a mechanic than investigating clear attempts to use violence to frighten away legitimate political protest.  It’s a shame.  He could have made quite a name for himself as a staunch defender of St Louis citizens if he had the courage to at least bring the matter to the attention of the press.  We are unconvinced with the argument that a prosecutor with a 20 year political record has no influence in a story as big as the beating of a black man by union members and the arrest of five Healthcare for America Now volunteers.

For Redington to tell citizens and reporters the investigation is ongoing is a sign that pressure is getting to her.  If you’re from St Louis, keep it up.  And if you’re the Post Dispatch, anytime you want to pretend to be a real paper, you’re welcome to get involved.  We’ll even give you our notes.

The story of Kenneth Gladney may finally be getting somewhere. County Counselor Patricia Redington, after waiting three months, has been forced to come out and defend her office in emails and in an interview with KMOX, a local St Louis radio station.  We’d say it was quick work, but waiting to look into charges of political violence until after healthcare reform comes to a vote seems to be the plan.  In previous columns, we identified a time difference for assault charges of 3 months versus 2 days.  3 months to start looking if you’re a black man beaten by union thugs and 2 days if you’re a Republican running for Congress against Dick Gephardt.

Redington is now responding to emails saying she is looking into the events, the investigation is still under review, and her office is interviewing witnesses.  This is one of her responses to a St Louis county resident about the affair.

There were several incidents at this event which required police intervention, and our office is reviewing the police report and has been interviewing various witnesses before making a final decision on what charges may be issued.

One wonders just what exactly if anything new is being done.  Three months seems a long time to wait to bring charges, especially in the case of Kelly Owens, where the incident is on video camera and witnessed by a police office.  The answer given by Redington is noncommittal, and basically says ‘we’re looking into it.’  But are they?  The pressure of the police report, the line drawn between St Louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch and the Obama truth squads, and the background stories on Perry Molens and Kelly Owens got local citizens up in arms and interested KMOX reporter Kevin Killeen enough to ask some questions.  This is Redington’s response to Killeen’s questions.

Six people were arrested by St. Louis County Police, with at least two suspects booked on suspicion of assault. But the person who will decide whether to file charges,  St. Louis County Counselor Patricia Redington, is still sorting it all out. “There were multiple altercations and police involvement,” Redington said. “We’re looking at the whole evening and the charges that may be filed as a result of that.”

Redington says there were half a dozen possible criminal incidents at that event and she plans to announce her findings all at the same time. She did not give KMOX a timetable for the announcement. But, according to Redington, the incident, ‘definitely has not been swept under the rug.’”

It’s interesting that Redington says the incident is not being swept under the rug.  I wonder if she would admit that it has been slowed to a crawl so as not to bring to light the fact that five HCAN supporters were arrested the week that Margarida Jorde sent out instructions on how to counter Townhalls?  And let’s not forget Jake Wagman, the silenced reporter arrested that night. If the Post Dispatch had done their job as a news organization and asked a single question about the event anytime after August 14th, perhaps we wouldn’t still be waiting to find out if it’s acceptable to punch and kick your political opponents to send a message.  It is only when KMOX contacts Redington that we hear the investigation is moving forward.  And yet the question remains whether Redington is telling the whole truth, or counting on the local press to cut her some slack.

In the email above, Redington says her office “is reviewing the police report and has been interviewing various witnesses.”

Allow us to remain slightly skeptical and ask, just who exactly is Patricia Redington interviewing?

• She hasn’t spoken to Kenneth Gladney
• Redington hasn’t spoken to Kelly Owens.
• Redington hasn’t called any of the witnesses on the police report.
• Redington hasn’t contacted any of the Tea Party members that are seen on video
• Redington hasn’t contacted any of the people who shot video that night and whose YouTube urls are listed on the evidence page

Who exactly is Redington interviewing?  If she’s talking to witnesses, she’s only talking to ones pre-approved by SEIU’s defense lawyer, the high powered Paul D’Agrosa. We should keep in mind that D’Agrosa is being paid by SEIU Local 2000, the employer for Elston McCowan and Perry Molens.  He, like SEIU and their new media spin team, have fallen silent.  Despite her protestations, it’s very clear that Redington is delaying action for some reason.  If Big Government hadn’t broken the story, it’s not hard to imagine no word of this would have been spoken until healthcare was passed and the charges could be filed or pled down over a busy holiday weekend.

Redington was forced to act because KMOX asked her a question.  Compare the foot dragging of one serious assault and one face punch to her quick work filing charges when a Democratic staffer claimed he was pushed after jamming his camera into a Republican’s face.   We’re wondering just how much pressure Redington is under because McCulloch is pushing all the heat to her.  Email responses from McCulloch’s office claim the problem is all Redington’s, but that is passing the buck as well. Political and racial violence could easily give him the authority to prosecute under Missouri state laws, as could Gladney’s medical reports, which could elevate the assault to a felony.  McCulloch is not interested. It seems he’s more concerned with prosecuting citizens who don’t pay $600 to a mechanic than investigating clear attempts to use violence to frighten away legitimate political protest.  It’s a shame.  He could have made quite a name for himself as a staunch defender of St Louis citizens if he had the courage to at least bring the matter to the attention of the press.  We are unconvinced with the argument that a prosecutor with a 20 year political record has no influence in a story as big as the beating of a black man by union members and the arrest of five Healthcare for America Now volunteers.

For Redington to tell citizens and reporters the investigation is ongoing is a sign that pressure is getting to her.  If you’re from St Louis, keep it up.  And if you’re the Post Dispatch, anytime you want to pretend to be a real paper, you’re welcome to get involved.  We’ll even give you our notes.

The story of Kenneth Gladney may finally be getting somewhere. County Counselor Patricia Redington, after waiting three months, has been forced to come out and defend her office in emails and in an interview with KMOX, a local St Louis radio station.  We’d say it was quick work, but waiting to look into charges of political violence until after healthcare reform comes to a vote seems to be the plan.  In previous columns, we identified a time difference for assault charges of 3 months versus 2 days.  3 months to start looking if you’re a black man beaten by union thugs and 2 days if you’re a Republican running for Congress against Dick Gephardt.

Redington is now responding to emails saying she is looking into the events, the investigation is still under review, and her office is interviewing witnesses.  This is one of her responses to a St Louis county resident about the affair.

There were several incidents at this event which required police intervention, and our office is reviewing the police report and has been interviewing various witnesses before making a final decision on what charges may be issued.

One wonders just what exactly if anything new is being done.  Three months seems a long time to wait to bring charges, especially in the case of Kelly Owens, where the incident is on video camera and witnessed by a police office.  The answer given by Redington is noncommittal, and basically says ‘we’re looking into it.’  But are they?  The pressure of the police report, the line drawn between St Louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch and the Obama truth squads, and the background stories on Perry Molens and Kelly Owens got local citizens up in arms and interested KMOX reporter Kevin Killeen enough to ask some questions.  This is Redington’s response to Killeen’s questions.

Six people were arrested by St. Louis County Police, with at least two suspects booked on suspicion of assault. But the person who will decide whether to file charges,  St. Louis County Counselor Patricia Redington, is still sorting it all out. “There were multiple altercations and police involvement,” Redington said. “We’re looking at the whole evening and the charges that may be filed as a result of that.”

Redington says there were half a dozen possible criminal incidents at that event and she plans to announce her findings all at the same time. She did not give KMOX a timetable for the announcement. But, according to Redington, the incident, ‘definitely has not been swept under the rug.’”

It’s interesting that Redington says the incident is not being swept under the rug.  I wonder if she would admit that it has been slowed to a crawl so as not to bring to light the fact that five HCAN supporters were arrested the week that Margarida Jorde sent out instructions on how to counter Townhalls?  And let’s not forget Jake Wagman, the silenced reporter arrested that night. If the Post Dispatch had done their job as a news organization and asked a single question about the event anytime after August 14th, perhaps we wouldn’t still be waiting to find out if it’s acceptable to punch and kick your political opponents to send a message.  It is only when KMOX contacts Redington that we hear the investigation is moving forward.  And yet the question remains whether Redington is telling the whole truth, or counting on the local press to cut her some slack.

In the email above, Redington says her office “is reviewing the police report and has been interviewing various witnesses.”

Allow us to remain slightly skeptical and ask, just who exactly is Patricia Redington interviewing?

• She hasn’t spoken to Kenneth Gladney
• Redington hasn’t spoken to Kelly Owens.
• Redington hasn’t called any of the witnesses on the police report.
• Redington hasn’t contacted any of the Tea Party members that are seen on video
• Redington hasn’t contacted any of the people who shot video that night and whose YouTube urls are listed on the evidence page

Who exactly is Redington interviewing?  If she’s talking to witnesses, she’s only talking to ones pre-approved by SEIU’s defense lawyer, the high powered Paul D’Agrosa. We should keep in mind that D’Agrosa is being paid by SEIU Local 2000, the employer for Elston McCowan and Perry Molens.  He, like SEIU and their new media spin team, have fallen silent.  Despite her protestations, it’s very clear that Redington is delaying action for some reason.  If Big Government hadn’t broken the story, it’s not hard to imagine no word of this would have been spoken until healthcare was passed and the charges could be filed or pled down over a busy holiday weekend.

Redington was forced to act because KMOX asked her a question.  Compare the foot dragging of one serious assault and one face punch to her quick work filing charges when a Democratic staffer claimed he was pushed after jamming his camera into a Republican’s face.   We’re wondering just how much pressure Redington is under because McCulloch is pushing all the heat to her.  Email responses from McCulloch’s office claim the problem is all Redington’s, but that is passing the buck as well. Political and racial violence could easily give him the authority to prosecute under Missouri state laws, as could Gladney’s medical reports, which could elevate the assault to a felony.  McCulloch is not interested. It seems he’s more concerned with prosecuting citizens who don’t pay $600 to a mechanic than investigating clear attempts to use violence to frighten away legitimate political protest.  It’s a shame.  He could have made quite a name for himself as a staunch defender of St Louis citizens if he had the courage to at least bring the matter to the attention of the press.  We are unconvinced with the argument that a prosecutor with a 20 year political record has no influence in a story as big as the beating of a black man by union members and the arrest of five Healthcare for America Now volunteers.

For Redington to tell citizens and reporters the investigation is ongoing is a sign that pressure is getting to her.  If you’re from St Louis, keep it up.  And if you’re the Post Dispatch, anytime you want to pretend to be a real paper, you’re welcome to get involved.  We’ll even give you our notes.

The story of Kenneth Gladney may finally be getting somewhere. County Counselor Patricia Redington, after waiting three months, has been forced to come out and defend her office in emails and in an interview with KMOX, a local St Louis radio station.  We’d say it was quick work, but waiting to look into charges of political violence until after healthcare reform comes to a vote seems to be the plan.  In previous columns, we identified a time difference for assault charges of 3 months versus 2 days.  3 months to start looking if you’re a black man beaten by union thugs and 2 days if you’re a Republican running for Congress against Dick Gephardt.

Redington is now responding to emails saying she is looking into the events, the investigation is still under review, and her office is interviewing witnesses.  This is one of her responses to a St Louis county resident about the affair.

There were several incidents at this event which required police intervention, and our office is reviewing the police report and has been interviewing various witnesses before making a final decision on what charges may be issued.

One wonders just what exactly if anything new is being done.  Three months seems a long time to wait to bring charges, especially in the case of Kelly Owens, where the incident is on video camera and witnessed by a police office.  The answer given by Redington is noncommittal, and basically says ‘we’re looking into it.’  But are they?  The pressure of the police report, the line drawn between St Louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch and the Obama truth squads, and the background stories on Perry Molens and Kelly Owens got local citizens up in arms and interested KMOX reporter Kevin Killeen enough to ask some questions.  This is Redington’s response to Killeen’s questions.

Six people were arrested by St. Louis County Police, with at least two suspects booked on suspicion of assault. But the person who will decide whether to file charges,  St. Louis County Counselor Patricia Redington, is still sorting it all out. “There were multiple altercations and police involvement,” Redington said. “We’re looking at the whole evening and the charges that may be filed as a result of that.”

Redington says there were half a dozen possible criminal incidents at that event and she plans to announce her findings all at the same time. She did not give KMOX a timetable for the announcement. But, according to Redington, the incident, ‘definitely has not been swept under the rug.’”

It’s interesting that Redington says the incident is not being swept under the rug.  I wonder if she would admit that it has been slowed to a crawl so as not to bring to light the fact that five HCAN supporters were arrested the week that Margarida Jorde sent out instructions on how to counter Townhalls?  And let’s not forget Jake Wagman, the silenced reporter arrested that night. If the Post Dispatch had done their job as a news organization and asked a single question about the event anytime after August 14th, perhaps we wouldn’t still be waiting to find out if it’s acceptable to punch and kick your political opponents to send a message.  It is only when KMOX contacts Redington that we hear the investigation is moving forward.  And yet the question remains whether Redington is telling the whole truth, or counting on the local press to cut her some slack.

In the email above, Redington says her office “is reviewing the police report and has been interviewing various witnesses.”

Allow us to remain slightly skeptical and ask, just who exactly is Patricia Redington interviewing?

• She hasn’t spoken to Kenneth Gladney
• Redington hasn’t spoken to Kelly Owens.
• Redington hasn’t called any of the witnesses on the police report.
• Redington hasn’t contacted any of the Tea Party members that are seen on video
• Redington hasn’t contacted any of the people who shot video that night and whose YouTube urls are listed on the evidence page

Who exactly is Redington interviewing?  If she’s talking to witnesses, she’s only talking to ones pre-approved by SEIU’s defense lawyer, the high powered Paul D’Agrosa. We should keep in mind that D’Agrosa is being paid by SEIU Local 2000, the employer for Elston McCowan and Perry Molens.  He, like SEIU and their new media spin team, have fallen silent.  Despite her protestations, it’s very clear that Redington is delaying action for some reason.  If Big Government hadn’t broken the story, it’s not hard to imagine no word of this would have been spoken until healthcare was passed and the charges could be filed or pled down over a busy holiday weekend.

Redington was forced to act because KMOX asked her a question.  Compare the foot dragging of one serious assault and one face punch to her quick work filing charges when a Democratic staffer claimed he was pushed after jamming his camera into a Republican’s face.   We’re wondering just how much pressure Redington is under because McCulloch is pushing all the heat to her.  Email responses from McCulloch’s office claim the problem is all Redington’s, but that is passing the buck as well. Political and racial violence could easily give him the authority to prosecute under Missouri state laws, as could Gladney’s medical reports, which could elevate the assault to a felony.  McCulloch is not interested. It seems he’s more concerned with prosecuting citizens who don’t pay $600 to a mechanic than investigating clear attempts to use violence to frighten away legitimate political protest.  It’s a shame.  He could have made quite a name for himself as a staunch defender of St Louis citizens if he had the courage to at least bring the matter to the attention of the press.  We are unconvinced with the argument that a prosecutor with a 20 year political record has no influence in a story as big as the beating of a black man by union members and the arrest of five Healthcare for America Now volunteers.

For Redington to tell citizens and reporters the investigation is ongoing is a sign that pressure is getting to her.  If you’re from St Louis, keep it up.  And if you’re the Post Dispatch, anytime you want to pretend to be a real paper, you’re welcome to get involved.  We’ll even give you our notes.

The story of Kenneth Gladney may finally be getting somewhere. County Counselor Patricia Redington, after waiting three months, has been forced to come out and defend her office in emails and in an interview with KMOX, a local St Louis radio station.  We’d say it was quick work, but waiting to look into charges of political violence until after healthcare reform comes to a vote seems to be the plan.  In previous columns, we identified a time difference for assault charges of 3 months versus 2 days.  3 months to start looking if you’re a black man beaten by union thugs and 2 days if you’re a Republican running for Congress against Dick Gephardt.

Redington is now responding to emails saying she is looking into the events, the investigation is still under review, and her office is interviewing witnesses.  This is one of her responses to a St Louis county resident about the affair.

There were several incidents at this event which required police intervention, and our office is reviewing the police report and has been interviewing various witnesses before making a final decision on what charges may be issued.

One wonders just what exactly if anything new is being done.  Three months seems a long time to wait to bring charges, especially in the case of Kelly Owens, where the incident is on video camera and witnessed by a police office.  The answer given by Redington is noncommittal, and basically says ‘we’re looking into it.’  But are they?  The pressure of the police report, the line drawn between St Louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch and the Obama truth squads, and the background stories on Perry Molens and Kelly Owens got local citizens up in arms and interested KMOX reporter Kevin Killeen enough to ask some questions.  This is Redington’s response to Killeen’s questions.

Six people were arrested by St. Louis County Police, with at least two suspects booked on suspicion of assault. But the person who will decide whether to file charges,  St. Louis County Counselor Patricia Redington, is still sorting it all out. “There were multiple altercations and police involvement,” Redington said. “We’re looking at the whole evening and the charges that may be filed as a result of that.”

Redington says there were half a dozen possible criminal incidents at that event and she plans to announce her findings all at the same time. She did not give KMOX a timetable for the announcement. But, according to Redington, the incident, ‘definitely has not been swept under the rug.’”

It’s interesting that Redington says the incident is not being swept under the rug.  I wonder if she would admit that it has been slowed to a crawl so as not to bring to light the fact that five HCAN supporters were arrested the week that Margarida Jorde sent out instructions on how to counter Townhalls?  And let’s not forget Jake Wagman, the silenced reporter arrested that night. If the Post Dispatch had done their job as a news organization and asked a single question about the event anytime after August 14th, perhaps we wouldn’t still be waiting to find out if it’s acceptable to punch and kick your political opponents to send a message.  It is only when KMOX contacts Redington that we hear the investigation is moving forward.  And yet the question remains whether Redington is telling the whole truth, or counting on the local press to cut her some slack.

In the email above, Redington says her office “is reviewing the police report and has been interviewing various witnesses.”

Allow us to remain slightly skeptical and ask, just who exactly is Patricia Redington interviewing?

• She hasn’t spoken to Kenneth Gladney
• Redington hasn’t spoken to Kelly Owens.
• Redington hasn’t called any of the witnesses on the police report.
• Redington hasn’t contacted any of the Tea Party members that are seen on video
• Redington hasn’t contacted any of the people who shot video that night and whose YouTube urls are listed on the evidence page

Who exactly is Redington interviewing?  If she’s talking to witnesses, she’s only talking to ones pre-approved by SEIU’s defense lawyer, the high powered Paul D’Agrosa. We should keep in mind that D’Agrosa is being paid by SEIU Local 2000, the employer for Elston McCowan and Perry Molens.  He, like SEIU and their new media spin team, have fallen silent.  Despite her protestations, it’s very clear that Redington is delaying action for some reason.  If Big Government hadn’t broken the story, it’s not hard to imagine no word of this would have been spoken until healthcare was passed and the charges could be filed or pled down over a busy holiday weekend.

Redington was forced to act because KMOX asked her a question.  Compare the foot dragging of one serious assault and one face punch to her quick work filing charges when a Democratic staffer claimed he was pushed after jamming his camera into a Republican’s face.   We’re wondering just how much pressure Redington is under because McCulloch is pushing all the heat to her.  Email responses from McCulloch’s office claim the problem is all Redington’s, but that is passing the buck as well. Political and racial violence could easily give him the authority to prosecute under Missouri state laws, as could Gladney’s medical reports, which could elevate the assault to a felony.  McCulloch is not interested. It seems he’s more concerned with prosecuting citizens who don’t pay $600 to a mechanic than investigating clear attempts to use violence to frighten away legitimate political protest.  It’s a shame.  He could have made quite a name for himself as a staunch defender of St Louis citizens if he had the courage to at least bring the matter to the attention of the press.  We are unconvinced with the argument that a prosecutor with a 20 year political record has no influence in a story as big as the beating of a black man by union members and the arrest of five Healthcare for America Now volunteers.

For Redington to tell citizens and reporters the investigation is ongoing is a sign that pressure is getting to her.  If you’re from St Louis, keep it up.  And if you’re the Post Dispatch, anytime you want to pretend to be a real paper, you’re welcome to get involved.  We’ll even give you our notes.

The story of Kenneth Gladney may finally be getting somewhere. County Counselor Patricia Redington, after waiting three months, has been forced to come out and defend her office in emails and in an interview with KMOX, a local St Louis radio station.  We’d say it was quick work, but waiting to look into charges of political violence until after healthcare reform comes to a vote seems to be the plan.  In previous columns, we identified a time difference for assault charges of 3 months versus 2 days.  3 months to start looking if you’re a black man beaten by union thugs and 2 days if you’re a Republican running for Congress against Dick Gephardt.

Redington is now responding to emails saying she is looking into the events, the investigation is still under review, and her office is interviewing witnesses.  This is one of her responses to a St Louis county resident about the affair.

There were several incidents at this event which required police intervention, and our office is reviewing the police report and has been interviewing various witnesses before making a final decision on what charges may be issued.

One wonders just what exactly if anything new is being done.  Three months seems a long time to wait to bring charges, especially in the case of Kelly Owens, where the incident is on video camera and witnessed by a police office.  The answer given by Redington is noncommittal, and basically says ‘we’re looking into it.’  But are they?  The pressure of the police report, the line drawn between St Louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch and the Obama truth squads, and the background stories on Perry Molens and Kelly Owens got local citizens up in arms and interested KMOX reporter Kevin Killeen enough to ask some questions.  This is Redington’s response to Killeen’s questions.

Six people were arrested by St. Louis County Police, with at least two suspects booked on suspicion of assault. But the person who will decide whether to file charges,  St. Louis County Counselor Patricia Redington, is still sorting it all out. “There were multiple altercations and police involvement,” Redington said. “We’re looking at the whole evening and the charges that may be filed as a result of that.”

Redington says there were half a dozen possible criminal incidents at that event and she plans to announce her findings all at the same time. She did not give KMOX a timetable for the announcement. But, according to Redington, the incident, ‘definitely has not been swept under the rug.’”

It’s interesting that Redington says the incident is not being swept under the rug.  I wonder if she would admit that it has been slowed to a crawl so as not to bring to light the fact that five HCAN supporters were arrested the week that Margarida Jorde sent out instructions on how to counter Townhalls?  And let’s not forget Jake Wagman, the silenced reporter arrested that night. If the Post Dispatch had done their job as a news organization and asked a single question about the event anytime after August 14th, perhaps we wouldn’t still be waiting to find out if it’s acceptable to punch and kick your political opponents to send a message.  It is only when KMOX contacts Redington that we hear the investigation is moving forward.  And yet the question remains whether Redington is telling the whole truth, or counting on the local press to cut her some slack.

In the email above, Redington says her office “is reviewing the police report and has been interviewing various witnesses.”

Allow us to remain slightly skeptical and ask, just who exactly is Patricia Redington interviewing?

• She hasn’t spoken to Kenneth Gladney
• Redington hasn’t spoken to Kelly Owens.
• Redington hasn’t called any of the witnesses on the police report.
• Redington hasn’t contacted any of the Tea Party members that are seen on video
• Redington hasn’t contacted any of the people who shot video that night and whose YouTube urls are listed on the evidence page

Who exactly is Redington interviewing?  If she’s talking to witnesses, she’s only talking to ones pre-approved by SEIU’s defense lawyer, the high powered Paul D’Agrosa. We should keep in mind that D’Agrosa is being paid by SEIU Local 2000, the employer for Elston McCowan and Perry Molens.  He, like SEIU and their new media spin team, have fallen silent.  Despite her protestations, it’s very clear that Redington is delaying action for some reason.  If Big Government hadn’t broken the story, it’s not hard to imagine no word of this would have been spoken until healthcare was passed and the charges could be filed or pled down over a busy holiday weekend.

Redington was forced to act because KMOX asked her a question.  Compare the foot dragging of one serious assault and one face punch to her quick work filing charges when a Democratic staffer claimed he was pushed after jamming his camera into a Republican’s face.   We’re wondering just how much pressure Redington is under because McCulloch is pushing all the heat to her.  Email responses from McCulloch’s office claim the problem is all Redington’s, but that is passing the buck as well. Political and racial violence could easily give him the authority to prosecute under Missouri state laws, as could Gladney’s medical reports, which could elevate the assault to a felony.  McCulloch is not interested. It seems he’s more concerned with prosecuting citizens who don’t pay $600 to a mechanic than investigating clear attempts to use violence to frighten away legitimate political protest.  It’s a shame.  He could have made quite a name for himself as a staunch defender of St Louis citizens if he had the courage to at least bring the matter to the attention of the press.  We are unconvinced with the argument that a prosecutor with a 20 year political record has no influence in a story as big as the beating of a black man by union members and the arrest of five Healthcare for America Now volunteers.

For Redington to tell citizens and reporters the investigation is ongoing is a sign that pressure is getting to her.  If you’re from St Louis, keep it up.  And if you’re the Post Dispatch, anytime you want to pretend to be a real paper, you’re welcome to get involved.  We’ll even give you our notes.