Posted the The Loft at GOPUSA Eagle by Bobby Eberle
August 6, 2009 at 7:28 am
Yesterday I wrote about "Chicago-style" politics in the White House. I had no idea that the actions of Obama and his team would soon be going from bad to worse. Not only are they trying to intimidate sitting governors and members of Congress, but now they are trying to intimidate regular citizens.
The White House is now putting the hammer down on people who disagree with Obama's health care proposals, and they want to know who these people are. In fact, the White House is encouraging people to report any "fishy" e-mails they receive. This is beyond "Chicago-style" politics. This type of intimidation cuts at the heart of free speech. Speak out against Obama, and you'll find yourself on a new White House "enemies" list.
There are two plans that Obama and his team are executing in order to raise support for their massive, left-wing health care plan. Neither one involves speaking to the merits of the plan. The first is to group all dissenters as part of some right-wing "mob" which is specifically organized to defeat Obama's plans.
Congressmen are now returning to their districts and are facing angry constituents at their townhall meetings. People are frustrated and irate that Obama is imposing massive debt on the American people and calling for even more spending and government control on issues such as health care. Here's one example:
The Democrats are saying that those angry citizens like you see in the video are part of some organized, underground effort to subvert Obama. Here is what the DNC is saying in their latest press release:
The Republicans and their allied groups - desperate after losing two consecutive elections and every major policy fight on Capitol Hill - are inciting angry mobs of a small number of rabid right wing extremists funded by K Street Lobbyists to disrupt thoughtful discussions about the future of health care in America taking place in Congressional Districts across the country.
However, much like we saw at the McCain-Palin rallies last year where crowds were baited with cries of 'socialist,' 'communist,' and where the birthers movement was born - these mobs of extremists are not interested in having a thoughtful discussion about the issues - but like some Republican leaders have said - they are interested in 'breaking' the President and destroying his Presidency.
The statement goes on to say that "despite the headline grabbing nature of these angry mobs and their disruptions of events, they are not reflective of where the American people are on the issues - or the hundreds of thousands of thoughtful discussions taking place around kitchen tables, water coolers and in homes."
The Democrats are right about one thing... there ARE thoughtful discussions going on around the country, and more and more of those discussions revolve around how Obama is spending this country into oblivion and imposing more government on them then they ever imagined.
Their plan is so transparent, but it is up to the American people to pay attention. Obama is losing support in the polls. His health care plan is on the ropes because so many Americans don't like it. Yet, according to Obama and his team, the only people who don't like the plan are those involved in some kind of right-wing "mob" conspiracy. According to Obama's team, the average American couldn't possibly be opposed to socialist policies.
But now, the Obama White House is taking things to a new level. They are actually requesting that people report on other citizens who voice opposition to Obama's plans. This is an unprecedented move at intimidation and puts direct pressure on Americans' First Amendment rights.
According to a post on the White House web site, "scary chain emails and videos are starting to percolate on the internet, breathlessly claiming, for example, to 'uncover' the truth about the President's health insurance reform positions."
Scary chain e-mails? Again, Obama's team is trying to label any information that is counter to their plans, not as honest disagreement, but as an organized effort by fringe groups to attack Obama. Again, based on their wording, they are trying to drive the message home that no "normal" American is opposed to Obama.
The deceiving headlines are coming straight from her mouth! And... the clips she uses show us that. As Obama pushes for a new government-run health insurance provider, it will DIRECTLY affect current plans. You can read a host of op-eds on this subject.
The post on the White House web site goes further, stating:
There is a lot of disinformation about health insurance reform out there, spanning from control of personal finances to end of life care. These rumors often travel just below the surface via chain emails or through casual conversation. Since we can't keep track of all of them here at the White House, we're asking for your help. If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov.
Now they are asking Americans to report "fishy" information. This is crazy! What will the White House do with this information?
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) is calling Obama out on such tactics. In a letter sent to Obama, Cornyn writes:
I am not aware of any precedent for a President asking American citizens to report their fellow citizens to the White House for pure political speech that is deemed "fishy" or otherwise inimical to the White House's political interests.
By requesting that citizens send "fishy" emails to the White House, it is inevitable that the names, email addresses, IP addresses, and private speech of U.S. citizens will be reported to the White House. You should not be surprised that these actions taken by your White House staff raise the specter of a data collection program. As Congress debates health care reform and other critical policy matters, citizen engagement must not be chilled by fear of government monitoring the exercise of free speech rights.
Cornyn asks a number of questions that all Americans should be asking regarding this plan to collect information on citizens opposed to Obama. Namely:
* How do you intend to use the names, email addresses, IP addresses, and identities of citizens who are reported to have engaged in "fishy" speech?
* How do you intend to notify citizens who have been reported for "fishy" speech?
* What action do you intend to take against citizens who have been reported for engaging in "fishy" speech?
Cornyn then asks a brilliant question: "Do your own past statements qualify as 'disinformation'? For example, is it 'disinformation' to note that in 2003 you said: "I happen to be a proponent of a single-payer universal health care plan"?
Obama is trying to chip away at our rights. All one has to do is look at what he's already done. He has stated in the past that he wants to do away with private health insurance. Now he's trying to spin it that he doesn't. He is also trying to stop any disagreement to his plans by fear and intimidation. If you disagree with him, you are not a concerned citizen... you are part of an angry mob. And... if you are part of an angry mob, it is up to Obama's Americans to report you. Does this sound like the land of the free and the home of the brave to you?
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