SEIU’s Notes On A Tea Party Strategy Conference Call
GOP Tea Party—Astroturf Strategy Call
Summary
A Republican strategy conference call on August 7th brought together right-wing activists from anti-tax groups, anti-health care organizations, and small government associations—all under the guidance of the National Tax Limitation Committee, the American Liberty Alliance, the “Tea Party Patriots”, RecessRally.com, and the infamous Dr. Laffer. The call began with attacks on Paul Krugman, George Soros, MSNBC, and liberals in general. The moderator then asserted that their movement is indeed a grassroots one and that the August fight is a “war.” There were repeated attacks on unions, particularly SEIU (cited Kathy Castor town hall in Tampa). The “policy” part of the discussion was based on an assumption that President Obama’s health care plan and resulting “health care inflation” would lead to $17,000 annual cost increases per family in the US. There was a lot of talk about a health care report Laffer had recently written.
Apparently we on the left aren’t the only ones frustrated with the Senate Finance Committee. Listeners on the call were encouraged to actively protest Senators Grassley, Enzi, and Snowe in order to stop them from negotiating with Democrats. The moderator said, “The goal is not compromise, and ANY bill coming out this year would be a failure for us… because the Democrats will turn even a weak bill from the Senate Finance Committee into Canadian-style single-payer through underhanded implementation.” They called for mass protests in Iowa in order to sway Grassley.
Mobilization:
Apparently there is a Patient’s First Bus Tour this month (they didn’t give much more information on that). Constituents from Republican districts were told to focus on neighboring Democratic districts. The organizers are using a Facebook page via a redirecting URL—www.prescriptionforacure.com—in order to reach out to young people. RecessRally.com has an email sign-up form that will put you on a listserve for conference calls and GOP rallys. There is also an attempt to form an OFA-style conservative network before September.
August 22nd is their mass rally day. At noon, local time, right-wing activists will rally outside of every district office in the country (so they hope, anyway). The following week will consist of “peaceful” member visits.
Some great quotes from the organizers:
• “We have an opportunity to realistically kill Obama’s agenda.”
• “Let’s try to keep our protests peaceful. We’re not like the union thugs.”
• “There’s a lot of coverage for poor people out there already that the Democrats don’t want you to know about. It’s just not on the radar screen.”
• “The purpose of Tea Parties is not to find a solution to the health care crisis—it is to stop what is not the solution: Obamacare.”
• When asked if we should get rid of Medicare because it is government health care: “Who is this asking?! I don’t have to answer that.”