Pirate's Cove

At one point, the Obama voters were grassroots. But, ever since he started gaining traction during the primaries, the organization has grown stronger and more controlling, especially when you add groups such as ACORN and SEIU into the mix. I’m just wonder if Pete Wallsten of the LA Timeseven read what he wrote. We all have an off day, but, then, most of us in the blogosphere do not do this as our main jobs

To win the White House, Barack Obama and his political team built a vast grass-roots network of supporters and volunteers that came to be considered one of the most valuable assets in American politics. Their ambition after the election was to reshape the network, with its trained organizers and 13 million e-mail addresses, into a ground-level force to push the new president’s policy goals.

OK, it does involve the “common people,” but, generally, a grass-roots movement is comprised of The People and is run by The People. Did Pete happen to re-read the section he wrote regarding “its trained organizers?” Quite a few of those 13 million email addresses belong to conservatives who wanted to know what the opposition was doing. If you want to know what real astro-turfing looks like, hey, you just got another email from Organizing For America. In case you didn’t get your email telling you how you can go and talk to your congress critter to show support for government run health care system as I and many others did, you can see it in this McQ post.

In Chester, Va., Beth Kimbriel often volunteers 40 hours a week to persuade locals to support Obama. But with critics of the healthcare plan so prominently grabbing headlines and spreading what she calls misinformation, Kimbriel finds that “it’s difficult to be believed” when she lays out the president’s position.

Well, since the president basically creates strawmen to blame and never goes beyond empty platitudes, not to mention that he apparently has no idea what the bill actually does, yeah, it is rather hard to believe what the Obama Zombies are attempting to say. Back on topic

Beyond the healthcare debate, the network’s troubles suggest that even a well-tuned campaign operation — with its stable of trained organizers, precinct captains and neighborhood coordinators — is not easily transformed into a policymaking force that Obama might rely on to deliver on other issues, such as global warming and immigration legislation.

Private citizens, and even organizations, banding together, sharing information, then showing up for anti-government health system rallies and to give their elected representatives and earful is a mob run by the RNC and the insurance companies, but, a well-tuned campaign operation with a stable of trained organizers is a grass-roots movement.

Organizing for America’s websitedisplays hundreds of upcoming events, ranging from tiny house parties to solicitations to match the conservative presence at town hall meetings. With new online tools, supporters can tell their own healthcare stories to be distributed to lawmakers, and network members can monitor their colleagues’ calls to Capitol Hill.

Grass-roots, you mobsters!

The fate of Obama’s health and energy plans rests, in large measure, with wavering lawmakers within Obama’s own party.

And some of those Democrats are unhappy at the prospect of being pressured by a group that is funded with party money and housed at the Democratic National Committee. They raised concerns at a pre-recess meeting of freshman lawmakers and Organizing for America officials.

Grass-roots!

Anyhow, what’s your mob name? I’m leaning towards Grand Master T.