Archive for the DFA Watch Category

DFA, the Health Care Debate, and the Sound Of One Hand Clapping.

Once again, someone has passed on the Democracy For America email below to me.  The hypocrisy rampant in this one is nothing short of astounding.  As usual, the left believes the debate on the issue should be the sound of one hand clapping.

You may have seen it: An angry mob in Texas carrying fake tombstones with Rep. Lloyd Doggett’s name on it. Signs with an “SS” symbol on it calling Obama a Nazi. A cardboard version of Rep. Frank Kratovil hanged in effigy outside his district office by “Teabaggers” in Maryland.The Right-Wing Scream Machine is back. Who are they? So-called “Birthers” who think President Obama’s birth certificate is a fake. “Teabaggers” who don’t want to pay taxes for schools, police, or roads. And they’re backed up by insurance industry and right-wing funded front groups who are encouraging Republicans to disrupt healthcare townhalls anyway they can throughout August. Their goal isn’t to debate or get their voices heard. Their goal is to stop any kind of civil dialogue. That’s not how we enact thoughtful reform. It’s important that we aren’t drawn into their divisive tactics and discredit our broad-based bipartisan support for real reform. And it’s up to us to make sure they don’t drown out America’s support for the choice of a public healthcare option. Will you join me in taking the high road and sign the Public Option Action Pledge?

ADD YOUR NAME AND SPREAD THE WORD NOW

 As reported by TalkingPointsMemo, here’s an outline of their tactics from a recently circulated right-wing plan: “pack the hall… spread out” to make their numbers seem more significant, and to “rock-the-boat early in the Rep’s presentation…to yell out and challenge the Rep’s statements early… to rattle him, get him off his prepared script and agenda…stand up and shout and sit right back down.” In response, I’ve signed the Public Option Action Pledge.Will you join me? SIGN THE PUBLIC OPTION ACTION PLEDGE RIGHT NOW It’s going to be a long, hot August. But we’re going to keep our cool and represent the 76% of Americans who support one of President Obama’s top priorities — a public health insurance option. Working together, we’ll beat the Right-Wing Scream Machine and pass healthcare reform that gives America a choice. Thank you for everything you do.

-Jim
Jim Dean, Chair
Democracy for America

I suppose it would be best to start with the outright lies in this email, and work our way down to through the misrepresentations and finish at ridiculous.

First, the assertion that 76% of Americans support a public health insurance option is completely unsupportable, and untrue (otherwise known as a lie).  DFA has been using this same number since the start of this effort to wrest control of America’s medical decisions from the individual.  Assuming that this number was ever correct, the tide has been turning against ANY public option in every published poll.  One wonders where this 76% number comes from.  Keep wondering, as DFA never backs up such statements with verifiable data.

Next, the ‘talking points memo’ paragraph is typical liberal-speak, and obvious misrepresentation.  Notice where quotation marks are included and excluded in this paragraph.  You aren’t actually supposed to notice that.  For example, “pack the hall…spread out” followed by a phrase that is meant to be taken as part of that suggestion, ‘to make their numbers seem more significant.’  Also notice the fact that no complete sentence is quoted.  This is a sure sign of words taken out of context.  Finally, once again, only a vague reference.  That seems strange when linking to a web post is so simple. 

Maybe we should link to some of the more interesting points on their web site, even though they take steps to try to prevent copying and pasting to provide quotes from their sites.  Here’s an example.  The same TalkingPointsMemo.com that DFA is so pleased with, provided this little gem.  “Assign people to greet the media and to stay close to reporters both as they enter and leave the event.  It’s important that you take away right-wingers (sic) opportunities to talk with reporters by making sure that your staff or leaders are in constant contact with media who attend.”  (emphasis added)  This is how easy it is to link to source documents, the text can be found in context here.  Interesting that organizations such as this want to make sure that the counter-socialist message does not get out.   They know that the more people are exposed to the truth, the more support they will lose.

 Now to the ridiculous.  More accurately, childish, disgusting, and ridiculous.  The repeated use of the term ‘teabaggers’ by the left, what apparently passes as ‘civil dialogue’ to them.  Many of them feign ignorance of the common meaning of this term.  Although it is too vile to describe, most of us, and certainly they, know this disgusting definition.  Anderson Cooper wasn’t chuckling at his own wit when he used the term, and the intent is clearly to try to connect those with a legitimate concern over runaway taxation with an immature and grotesque practice.  They are the only ones laughing about this sick joke, and are exposing their character through this behavior.  This lack of character goes hand-in-hand with the lack of reason and consideration that should inform their arguments.  Name calling is debate to them.

One additional point:  the left’s talking points regarding the backlash on this freedom-stealing bill have included the hackneyed accusations of shrillness, and accusing the protestors of being shills for right-wing corporate money.  The right has rarely engaged in shouting down opponents, a by-the-book tactic of the left.  Unlike the left, most of us on the right feel an obligation to work for a living.  We believe that working to pay our way is the obligation of every able-bodied individual or head of a family.  To put it simply, we don’t usually do protests, because we have jobs.  Think about how upset, how angry, how concerned we have to be to take our vacation time, or time off without pay, to attend these meetings.   The organizations that are involved with providing Conservatives with the information about where and when these town-hall events will take place are truly the definition of grass roots.  There are no Soros-like billionaires supporting these protests.  When Conservatives take this kind of action, and arrive in significantly larger numbers than the statists that ARE paid to protest, it should be a wakeup call to our elected representatives. 

Jim and Howard Dean and the other statists at DFA aren’t interested in a debate on this issue.  They are typical of the leftist mindset.  If the right is in power, it is an aberration and the will of the people is meaningless.  They believe that the people’s wishes have been and will be ignored unless they protest everything the right tries to do.  If their friends are in power, it is the will of the people, and the right better shut up and sit down.  The people have already spoken and your protests are therefore meaningless.

We know better.  Now is the time to ensure that our government remains a government of the Constitution, and of the law.  This is not the time to be silent.

Satire V

Dear Senator, aka Questions On The Health Care Debate

The brain trust over at DFA has come up with a series of questions they want their thralls to pass on to their Senators regarding the health care reform debate.

1. Do you support a public healthcare option as part of reform?
2. Do you support a public healthcare option that is ready on day one?
3. Do you support a public healthcare option that is national, available everywhere, and accountable to our government?
4. Do you support a public healthcare option that has the clout to establish rates with providers and big drug companies?

(Thank you to the friend that forwarded the email.)

There are obvious problems with the thinking (or lack of) that went into this group of questions.
Number one; the repeated reference to a “public option.”. This is a knowingly dishonest description. I will use the more common term “lie” from here on. This is not an option. We will not have a checkbox on our W4s asking whether it is OK with us to take some additional money from our paychecks to fund this monstrosity. Therefore, our only options are whether to pay for government health care alone or whether to pay for government health care for others and an additional amount out of pocket for actual health care.
Even the word “public” in that description should be considered a lie.  There is very little that is public regarding this Congress and Presidential administration.  BO thinks things as trivial as his birth certificate are worth spending hundreds of thousands to keep secret, and that the people don’t have any right to know how much he spends on a date to Broadway.
Number two; the following clause is loaded with more lies: “national, available everywhere, and accountable to our government.”  “National,” in this case means that States rights will be trampled or ignored.  “Available everywhere” is missing the implied words “and to everyone” ensuring that benefits won’t be limited to only the legal residents of this country, and perhaps the most telling “accountable to our government.”  The DFA shows their Socialist pedigree with this one. Perhaps they need to be reminded that the government is supposed to be accountable to the people of this Country, not another arm of the government.  We the people are supposed to be the arbiters of what is acceptable from any government entity or program.

In light of the useless nature of the questions suggested by DFA, I decided it would be more productive to ask the following instead:

As a constituent, I have a few questions I’d like you to answer. I’m looking for answers to these questions specifically so I can understand clearly your position.

Do you support substantive tort reform (limitations) as part of healthcare reform?

Will you pledge to stop using the misleading term public “option” as regards the current health care bill to ensure integrity of the legislative process? If ANY tax dollars are used to pay for a program, it ceases to be an option for any taxpayer.

Will you pledge to use ONLY the government program under this bill for yourself AND your family if you vote for this legislation and it passes? This question is crucial. Your answer to this will reveal how strongly you believe that massive government involvement will improve health care.

As a constituent, I would really like to know the answers to these questions. Please respond to these questions in writing via email.

Thank you.

In particular I believe that we should all be asking our Senators and Representatives the last question.  Please take the time to ask questions of yours regarding this issue.

Satire V

Making A Silk Purse Out Of Howard Dean’s Ear

Howard Dean, unfortunately didn’t just go away.  Or maybe it isn’t so unfortunate.  With a few more spokesmen like him, the entire Democrat Party would probably become as irrelevant as he.  Where has “Dr.” Dean gone?  He is one of the leading lights of Democracy For America, which is quite possibly one of the most woefully misnamed organizations in a very long time.  Sadly, it is also one of the largest PACs in America today.  Hence the saying “never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.”  DFA members are the left of the left, the liberal’s liberals, and viewed by some as the Jackass’ Jackass.

I personally take exception to any group which believes that America is served by taxpayer funded health care, believes that a filibuster is a “procedural trick” (of course, only when Republicans use it), that the Democrat Party is too far to the right, that man-made climate change (even they had to stop saying “global warming”) is going to destroy the Earth, and that the war in Iraq damages the Country’s global moral standing.  DFA believes that showing a picture ID to vote is “draconian”, that card check creates a strong growing middle class, and that allowing terrorists to sue telecom companies for complying with the law is right.  We aren’t served by are groups such as this that despise America, the free market, individual liberty, and think that morals are flexible and “personal.”  Groups that think anyone should be allowed to vote (citizen or not) and that unions still serve the working class.

The Democracy tag is ludicrous.  This group insists on using scare tactics and lies when Dems are in the minority, and pressure tactics and lies when in the majority.  This is not Democracy, but it certainly doesn’t stop this group from using the name.

For America.  I’m not sure that really needs much comment, other than to say that if an organization is for
America, it shouldn’t be making daily efforts to undermine the Constitution and the will of the people.  (That’s all people, not the carefully selected groups used by the polling organizations that they use.)

DFA engages in name-calling of political opponents, and provides scripts for its members to call their Congressional representatives.  They regularly threaten Dems that don’t lean far enough left.  They act like bullies, and like bullies they need to be challenged.

I would suggest that it would be helpful for most Americans to sign up for their email distribution list so that they can see what these people are up to, but as DFA uses the total number of those receiving their emails as the number supporting their ideas for their pressure campaigns, I can’t advise it.

If you are concerned about whom these people are (and you should be), you can go on the DFA site and search out full members living in your area.  These are the people that you should fight on your PTA/PTIO or whatever parent teacher organizations serve your schools.  They should not be on your HOA boards, your local councils, your zoning boards, volunteer lists at your local schools, etc, but if they are there they should be challenged constantly.  These are radicals that will attempt to influence your children and your communities to accept their extreme liberal agendas, and circumvent your liberty for their Utopian idiocy.

Time for a new name, how about “Destruction For America”?

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