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| There's an old idea in Washington politics that a "Cascade Curtain" divides east from west. This blog tackles the political issues that matter to Eastern Washingtonians, from Congress on down to your local irrigation district. Join the conversation by commenting or e-mailing Herald political reporter Michelle Dupler at mdupler@tricityherald.com |
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closeMonday, Aug. 03, 2009
Free speech, or free speech zones?
By Michelle Dupler, Herald staff writer
Frank Benenati, regional press secretary for the Democratic National Committee, is circulating a memo by e-mail today about strategies right-wing groups are using to "harass" Democratic members of Congress as they talk about health care and energy policy.
Here's what I got from Benenati, which originally came from website thinkprogress.org:
Right-Wing Harassment Strategy Against Dems Detailed In Memo: 'Yell,' 'Stand Up And Shout Out,' 'Rattle Him'
This morning, Politico reported that Democratic members of Congress are increasingly being harassed by "angry, sign-carrying mobs and disruptive behavior" at local town halls. For example, in one incident, right-wing protesters surrounded Rep. Tim Bishop (D-NY) and forced police officers to have to escort him to his car for safety.
This growing phenomenon is often marked by violence and absurdity. Recently, right-wing demonstrators hung Rep. Frank Kratovil (D-MD) in effigy outside of his office. Missing from the reporting of these stories is the fact that much of these protests are coordinated by public relations firms and lobbyists who have a stake in opposing President Obama's reforms.
The lobbyist-run groups Americans for Prosperity and FreedomWorks, which orchestrated the anti-Obama tea parties earlier this year, are now pursuing an aggressive strategy to create an image of mass public opposition to health care and clean energy reform. A leaked memo from Bob MacGuffie, a volunteer with the FreedomWorks website Tea Party Patriots, details how members should be infiltrating town halls and harassing Democratic members of Congress:
– Artificially Inflate Your Numbers: "Spread out in the hall and try to be in the front half. The objective is to put the Rep on the defensive with your questions and follow-up. The Rep should be made to feel that a majority, and if not, a significant portion of at least the audience, opposes the socialist agenda of Washington."
– Be Disruptive Early And Often: "You need to rock-the-boat early in the Rep's presentation, Watch for an opportunity to yell out and challenge the Rep's statements early."
– Try To "Rattle Him," Not Have An Intelligent Debate: "The goal is to rattle him, get him off his prepared script and agenda. If he says something outrageous, stand up and shout out and sit right back down. Look for these opportunities before he even takes questions."
The memo above also resembles the talking points being distributed by FreedomWorks for pushing an anti-health reform assault all summer. Patients United, a front group maintained by Americans for Prosperity, is currently busing people all over the country for more protests against Democratic members. Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX), chairman of the NRCC, has endorsed the strategy, telling the Politico the days of civil town halls are now "over."
Meanwhile, AHIP, the trade group and lobbying juggernaut representing the health insurance industry is sending staffers to monitor town halls and other right-wing front groups are stepping up their ad campaign to smear reform efforts. The strategy for defeating reform — recently outlined by an influential lobbyist to the Hill newspaper as "delay" then "kill" — is becoming apparent. By delaying a vote until after the August recess, lobbyists are now seizing upon recess town halls as opportunities to ambush lawmakers and fool them into believing there is wide opposition to reform.
There also was an image embedded there I couldn’t copy over, so visit the original thinkprogress item if you want to see that.
Part of me wonders if this reported tactic isn't a facet of plain, old-fashioned free speech. Don't these groups have a right to show up with as many of their cohorts as they can muster to shout their opposition to something they believe is bad policy? Since when do politicians have a right to be shielded from dissent?
We're living in an age when politicians of virtually every shade of red, blue and everything in between want to control the information presented to the public, whether by sending paid lobbyists to shout at a town hall meeting or by locking the opposition out of political forums and events. Sometimes they do it by making conflicting statements to different audiences and then blaming the media when their constituents demand a straight answer.
Can democracy function when all we get is political leaders preaching only to their faithful? I’m reminded of a quote from one of my favorite writers, Ray Bradbury, from his classic anti-censorship novel Fahrenheit 451: "We need not to be let alone. We need to be really bothered once in a while. How long is it since you were really bothered? About something important, about something real?" Sometimes it’s important to listen to the things you don’t want to hear. Sometimes the public has to be bothered to have real discourse and not just polemic streaming from each end of the political spectrum.
As a journalist, I'm bothered that information is being manipulated and I'll think twice about who I'm quoting at any kind of public political meeting.
But I'm equally bothered by this trend embraced by so many in the political sphere that the solution to speech they don't like or don't want to hear is to suppress it. Wasn't there a time we were supposed to believe that more speech was the answer?
What do you think?
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