Leaked Email Reveals Dem Astro-Turf Operation
By Andrew at August 23rd, 2009.
UPDATE: Welcome MichelleMalkin.com readers!
A leaked email originating from Congressman Jay Inslee’s office may reveal a widespread astroturfing effort on behalf of Washington Democrats and liberal interest groups to pack town halls with “grassroots supporters” of government-run health care.
In stark contrast to a spontaneous grassroots groundswell against President Obama and Congressional Democrats’s government-run health plan, it appears both overt and covert efforts are underway to orchestrate support for the President’s agenda from the highest-levels of the political Left.
In the email which follows below the jump, Inslee’s official Congressional scheduler forwarded to State Democratic Chairman Dwight Pelz a list of upcoming town halls the Congressman has scheduled.
Pelz then forwarded the email with a note saying “Let’s keep turning people out for these!” to high-ranking Democrat and union organizers including: “progressive” political group FUSE Executive Director Aaron Ostrom, Organizing for America State Director Dustin Lambro (the President’s on-going campaign arm housed at the DNC), and Washington State Labor Council Political Director Benjamin Lawver (one of the state’s most powerful union committees).
A Longview event focusing on Mt. St. Helens with Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, along with embattled Congressman Brian Baird, was cancelled in recent weeks after Lambro, the OFA organizer, mis-construed the purpose of the event in an email to supporters.
NWD Contributor Nansen blew the lid off that story in an earlier post titled, “Going Stealth in Longview.”
The email trail seems to suggest an on-going and coordinated campaign among Democratic Congressmen, Democratic Party leaders, as well as official campaign arms of liberal interest groups and unions, to issue marching orders for members and activists. Similar efforts to disguise ObamaCare astroturfing as spontaneous grassroots efforts have occurred in other parts of the country as well.
The email follows…
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Dwight Pelz
Date: Fri, Aug 14, 2009 at 12:54 PM
Subject: Inslee Town Halls
To: Misty Shock, Aaron Ostrom, Dustin Lambro, Benjamin Lawver, Susan Sheary, Carl OlsonLet’s keep turning people out for these!
From: Hutchins, Kiersten
Sent: Friday, August 14, 2009 12:44 PM
To: Dwight Pelz
Subject: Town HallsInslee health care town hall meetings
POULSBO, Wash. – U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee will hold two town-hall meetings in Washington’s 1st Congressional District this August. He plans to host the hour and a half long public events to hear the views of his constituents and provide an update on the congressional response to the health care debate.
Inslee’s first public forum will take place in Poulsbo on Saturday, August 29, during the August district work period. His other town hall will be held on Sunday, August 30 in Edmonds. Attendees are asked to RSVP via email to inslee.rsvp@mail.house.gov or by phone at 206-361-0233.
Poulsbo town-hall meeting
11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 29, 2009
North Kitsap High School
The Gymnasium
1780 NE Hostmark St
PoulsboDirections from Silverdale:
Take SR 305 in the direction of Poulsbo/Bainbridge Island
Turn LEFT (East) onto NE Hostmark St
North Kitsap High School will be on your left about a half mile up Hostmark
Directions from Bainbridge:
Take SR 305 in the direction of Poulsbo/SR-3
Turn RIGHT (East) onto NE Hostmark St
North Kitsap High School will be on your left about a half mile up Hostmark
Edmonds town-hall meeting
1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009
Edmonds-Woodway High School
The Gymnasium
7600 212th St SW
Edmonds
Directions from I-5N and I-5S:
Take Exit #179 220th Street SW
Head west (away from I-5) onto 220th Street SW
Continue west on 220th Street and cross Highway 99
Turn RIGHT onto 76th Avenue West
Continue north on 76th
School will be on the left
Kiersten Hutchins
District Scheduler
U.S. Representative Jay Inslee (WA-01)
18560 1st Ave NE, Suite E-800
Shoreline, WA 98155
PH: (206)-361-0233
FAX: (206)-361-3959
TOLL FREE: 800-226-7144
NOTE: This email was leaked by a high-ranking member of the State Democratic Central Committee. It’s authenticity has been confirmed by multiple sources.
Tags: Aaron Ostom, Astroturfing, Benjamin Lawver, Brian Baird, Dustin Lambro, Dwight Pelz, featured, FUSE, Jay Inslee, Maria Cantwell, Organizing for America, Patty Murray, WSLC
Andrew
Andrew is a UW alum, Seattle native and dedicated hometown football fan.
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I don’t understand how asking people to turn out for an event is evidence of wrongdoing, regardless of party affiliation. This article seems to take the tack that grassroots action is spontaneous and has no organization behind it. That strikes me as naive.
The left has accused citizens of “astro-turfing” and staging “fake outrage” at these townhall meetings when all we wanted was a little truth. Now we find that leftist “representatives” stymie the efforts of law-abiding citizens to take part in public meetings and engage in hypocritical backstage organizing to pack the audiences of the hastily rescheduled meetings.
Slimy and underhanded – that is today’s dhimmicrat
The left were caught off guard, so now they have to gather fake crowds. How typical.
The reason this American cannot trust this new administration is the arm twisting, lies, and arrogance that the Democrtatic Congress has toward fair minded individuals. They have failed with Freddie Mac. They have failed with the post office. They have failed with Medicare. They have failed a small program called Cash for Clunkers. They WILL fail if they take over health care. This is the most unpopular Congress in history and they still blame everyone else but themselves. Vote them out of office!
Don’t forget the internal AFL-CIO email discovered 2 weeks ago in Maryland. Here is the Political Director of the AFL-CIO admitting Sen. Cardin of Maryland is asking for counter protesters:
“They have asked us to send people that support health care reform to counter the ones who will try to disrupt the meeting. Please let your staff, members, friends, family all know and encourage them to attend.
They can RSVP to:
RSVP – sean_mckew@cardin.senate.gov
Thank you!
Denise
Denise Riley Political Director Maryland State and District of Columbia AFL-CIO”
I believe REDSTATE were the ones who broke that story.
There is a difference between a congressman making a public announcement, and the congressman using official resources to organize special interest groups. The congressman should just make a public announcement and let the various groups and individuals do whatever they will.
“I don’t understand how asking people to turn out for an event is evidence of wrongdoing, regardless of party affiliation.”
There was no accusation of wrongdoing. The accusation can more accurately be termed lying or at least hypocracy. By charging the protesters with “Astroturfing”, an implication is made that ony by ginning up fake support can protesters gain momentum, whereas the truth is exactly the opposite. Its the left that has to resort the such tactics, not the right.
If one wants to truly see what the left is up to, one needs to simply look at what they accuse the right of doing, and it becomes much clearer.
They are getting desperate. Obamacare is going down in flames. They have been doing this for weeks. All one has to do is look at the professionally made pro-Obamacare signs and organization tee shirts they wear to see it.
So…basically, the government is using our money (taxes) in order to organize against us. (We’re paying the politician’s salaries and benefits. Remember?)
So, we have the Obama ‘death panels,’ the VA “Death Book,” FEMA emergency ‘camps,’ and the chance to be picked up by the cops and/or military for refusing to get the flu vaccine. Oh, and let’s not forget the new ‘Torture Czar.’
Startin’ to connect the dots yet, are ya?
I once went to a conservative leaning public assembly at the State Capitol in Olympia, WA.
Across the street was a contingent of union members. They were antagonistic, foul mouthed and ill mannered. **Ironically it’s those against Obamacare who now get marked as such.**
One of them told me that they were getting paid a full day’s wage to: “Show up, leave early and go to the bar.”
Yet it’s the Repubs that are “Nazis”, “Brownshirts” and “Thugs.”
the real smoking gun is that HCAN has made craigslist postings offering $8to $14 an hour to picket. search in cali for “obama’s” or “healthcare” under jobs. There were a dozen postings last week they all linked to the HCAN website.
LOOK AT ARTICLE ON DRUDGE. Dems have 500 pro health care rallys planned for the next two weeks. Let’s keep turning people out for these!
[...] to vote for him in the next election. Further evidence of his lack of interest can be found in the leaked e-mail from Dwight Pelz, Washington State Democratic Chairman, to various progressive groups that reveals [...]
[...] to vote for him in the next election. Further evidence of his lack of interest can be found in the leaked e-mail from Dwight Pelz, Washington State Democratic Chairman, to various progressive groups that reveals [...]
I found this information very interesting and I am looking forward to more posts!