Obama's 'Thought Police' Invading Your Inbox

Posted by Bobby Eberle, August 17, 2009 on "The Loft" at GOPUSA.com

Earlier, I wrote about Barack Obama's White House web site that encourages citizens to report on other citizens. It was an unprecedented move by the Obama's advisors to obtain information on people who disagree with their positions. What would be done with this information? Where would it be stored? What information would be collected? All these questions went unanswered.

Now, many Americans across the country are getting official White House e-mail messages which support Obama's health care plan. The problem is... these people did not sign up to receive such messages. When asked about this issue, the White House response was a series of ums and errs.

The problem of unsolicited e-mails from the White House was raised by Fox News' Major Garrett, after he noted that Fox had received hundreds of complaints from citizens saying they are now getting White House e-mail messages from Obama advisor David Axelrod.

As usual, Gibbs will not answer the question and only perpetuates the notion that the Obama White House is up to no good.

I have personally been contacted by numerous GOPUSA subscribers wondering how they are suddenly receiving White House e-mails. I have no idea, but rather than the White House providing answers, all they provided was the brush off.

Finally, on Sunday, the White House provided a response and blamed other groups. As noted in a report on FOXNews.com, "The White House for the first time Sunday seemed to acknowledge that people across the country received unsolicited e-mails from the administration last week about health care reform, suggesting the problem is with third-party groups that placed the recipients' names on the distribution list."

Fox News received a statement from the White House which read:

"The White House e-mail list is made up of e-mail addresses obtained solely through the White House Web site. The White House doesn't purchase, upload or merge from any other list, again, all e-mails come from the White House Web site as we have no interest in e-mailing anyone who does not want to receive an e-mail," the statement said. "If an individual received the e-mail because someone else or a group signed them up or forwarded the e-mail, we hope they were not too inconvenienced."

"Further, we suggest that they unsubscribe from the list by clicking the link at the bottom of the e-mail or tell whomever forwarded it to them not to forward such information anymore. We are implementing measures to make subscribing to e-mails clearer, including preventing advocacy organizations from signing people up to our lists without their permission when they deliver petition signatures and other messages on individuals' behalf."

The White House e-mails were even received by a GOPUSA staff member. In one e-mail, Obama senior advisor David Axelrod addresses health care by noting that "rumors and scare tactics have only increased as more people engage with the issue. Given a lot of the outrageous claims floating around, it's time to make sure everyone knows the facts about the security and stability you get with health insurance reform."

In a second e-mail, also on the health care topic, Axelrod says, "Across the country we are seeing vigorous debate about health insurance reform. Unfortunately, some of the old tactics we know so well are back -- even the viral emails that fly unchecked and under the radar, spreading all sorts of lies and distortions."

He continues:

So let's start a chain email of our own. At the end of my email, you'll find a lot of information about health insurance reform, distilled into 8 ways reform provides security and stability to those with or without coverage, 8 common myths about reform and 8 reasons we need health insurance reform now.

Right now, someone you know probably has a question about reform that could be answered by what's below. So what are you waiting for? Forward this email.

In addition, to Axelrod spreading his own misinformation, there is a big problem. This GOPUSA associate never signed up for the White House e-mails. When asked on what sites or business he uses that e-mail address, he said that it is used on the "government website for retired federal employees health care." In addition, he uses it on the family's health insurance web site and prescription drug web site.

Now, let's assume that the White House explanation is true... that some left-wing advocacy group took the e-mail addresses from a petition and signed up the people to receive White House e-mail messages. The problem is that the GOPUSA staff member never signed any left-wing petition. I would venture to say that many of the conservatives out there who are now receiving Axelrod e-mails also never signed a left-wing health care petition.

The White House response to this issue is weak. First they ask for people to be turned in for spreading "fishy" information about health care, and now those same type of people are getting White House e-mails? As noted in a story on OneNewsNow.com, former White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said:

"I'm still so close to having been White House press secretary that I imagine what it would have been like for me at the White House podium if there was a suggestion that we had taken the 'fishy' email list and then tried to use those email addresses to espouse our position to them. I am pretty sure that the White House briefing room would have been unglued."

Barack Obama's White House is engaging in behaviors that certainly warrant more attention from the media. Collecting information on "dissidents" and then sending propaganda to those opposed to their policies is a scary and unprecedented trend. What's next? A personal visit by the thought police?

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