Moroun spreads cash and misinformation

It’s old news that Republican billionaire benefactor and Ambassador Bridge owner Matty Moroun is spreading misinformation and lies in order to keep his monopoly on the busiest commercial border crossing in all of North America, but as the public-private partnership for the planned Detroit River International Crossing (DRIC) bridge inches toward a reality, he has pulled out all the stops.

Most people have seen his TV commercial full of lies and the Michigan Truth Squad has called them out on their $400,000 worth of lies and scare campaign. The Moroun family now has bought the help of Faux “news” pundit Dick Morris and the Washington, D.C.-based rightwing think tank “Americans for Prosperity.”

Morris will work for anyone who pays him, and the so-called AFP organized and financed the teabaggers. The AFP has sent out glossy, full-color direct-mail pieces and radio ads against three Republican senators who have not taken a position on DRIC. The DRIC bridge has widespread bipartisan support, including the last three Michigan Governors and the current one; Snyder, Blanchard, Engler and Granholm.

The shrinking but vocal teabaggers have taken up the cause, blogging about it and calling lawmakers because Moron has sold it as a public bridge against a government bridge, ignoring the fact that public uses are just that, and if the DRIC bridge it not built, the 10,000 jobs and a new bridge will go to Buffalo.

Moroun claims a second bridge is not needed because traffic across the bridge has fallen, while he ignores the basic truths that we are just coming out of the worst recession since the Great Depression and the domestic auto industry going into bankruptcy. The fact is Ambassador Bridge “traffic jumped 11.4 percent between 2009 and 2010,” and Moroun has not explained why then he wants to build a second bridge if traffic is falling.

But the biggest lie is that DRIC will lose money and stick Michigan taxpayers with $100 million every year, and that is the scare tactic they are peddling. Canada has agreed to pay Michigan’s estimated cost of $550 million, and it will not cost Michigan taxpayers a penny. The Canadian government has called the proposed bridge its most important infrastructure priority and it will not give Moroun a permit to land this bridge to, again, empty into downtown Windsor.

GOP and teabaggers are beside themselves that their hateful rhetoric might actually have to go before voters

Apparently, the near impossible has happened, and the teabaggers may actually establish themselves as a third political party and obtain ballot status in November. But Republicans and the alleged “leaderless” teabaggers are up in arms over it.

Apparently, Mark Steffek, from Reese in Tuscola County, who described himself as head of the party that turned in the petitions, turned in petitions on Wednesday with almost 60,000 signatures, according to the Detroit Free Press, well above the required 38,013 signatures needed to obtain ballot status.

Both the Michigan Republican Party and various teabagger groups are claming this is the work of an imposter, designed to drain votes away from the Republican candidates. The latter part of that is true; it will drain votes away from GOP candidates because the teabaggers are the violent, racist fringe of the fringe Republican Party.

They also claim this is the work of the Michigan Democratic Party. In fact, Michigan Republican Party Chairman Ron Weiser said that in a statement, but that is simply not true.

You will remember when the anti-Obama teabagger farce began almost 18 months ago the claim was that it was a nonpartisan, grassroots movement consisting of both Republicans and Democrats because they were angry at both political parties and big government. Events quickly proved that not to be the case, and events left no doubt that the teabaggers wee the racist and violent arm of the Republican Party. The reaction of Weiser just confirms that.

We were also sold a bill of goods that the teabaggers were a grassroots uprising, but that was quickly debunked when it was revealed it was a creation of two Washington, D.C. think tanks and lobbying groups. Teabaggers still cling to that “grassroots” lie, claiming there is no leader and that there are just individual groups not aligned with the GOP or each other. The claim that "the tea party is a grassroots movement that belongs to everybody” is just one more lie.

But now so-called teabag leaders are claiming this cannot be a legitimate petition drive because they don’t know the people behind the petition drive. If it’s leaderless like they claim, then why is it not surprising that they may not know them. I don’t know every Democrat in the state or even in Livingston County.

I’m very surprised to see teabaggers achieve ballot statues because the teabaggers don’t stand for anything but hate, racism and anti-government rhetoric, and they are the violent wing of the Republicans Party. It would be nice for them to stand up for what they say they believe in, but they know voters will soundly reject them.

But like I said back in May when the petition drive was first news, they have a lot of roadblocks to getting real candidates on the ballot. I didn’t think it could get enough signatures, but I was wrong about that.

The hurdles to getting candidates on the ballot in November are huge. The party has to obtain a facility to hold a convention, publish a call to the convention, draw up bylaws, transmit that Information to the Secretary of State and accomplish the hundreds of details that goes along with a convention by August 3. Then it has to find actual candidates to run. Finding good candidates to run against long odds, like recruiting a good Democrat to run in a strong Republican area and a Republican in a strong Democratic area is difficult. Finding good candidates will also be imposters will be even harder.

I’m very anxious to see how this plays out. The unsuccessful teabagger petition drive to deny Michigan residents health care showed some cracks in the "tea party" and alleged teabagger leaders Joan Fabiano and Wendy Day were at each other’s throats over it.

Health care reform rally set for Saturday in Oakland County

Health Care Now 9th District in Oakland County is sponsoring a rally for health care reform at 11 a.m. Saturday Aug. 22 in Birmingham, across from Border's bookstore.

We are aware of the highly organized “tea baggers” and “birthers” stirred up by outrageous lies from the rightwing Washington, D.C. lobbyists groups and think tanks Americans for Prosperity” and “Freedom Works” – the same people behind the fake, Astroturf “tea parties – that have been hijacking Democratic townhall meetings and shouting down the Congressman and anyone who disagrees with them. This is a chance to join in the fight of our lives, and rightwing extremists have been fighting health care reform since 1961 with the introduction of popular Medicare.

Bring your friends, family and neighbors, and don’t forget your signs.

The rightwing blogs have been abuzz about Service Employees International Union (SEIU) allegedly busing in 100 members to a health care rally in Jackson near the office of U.S. Rep. Mark Schauer, D-Battle Creek. They made the explosive charge that there were “…rented vans and encouraged people to carpool to the event.” They use the usual “thug” labels for middle class working people who dared to band together to get a better shake from their employer, and they are even going as far as to steal the name “Astroturf.”.

I don’t see any union members or health care reform supporters trying to shout anyone down, and it was certainly not scripted by the insurance lobby like the Astroturf Townhall meetings are.

Oh my God, liberals and environmentalists car pooling to an event to show support for Schauer? Who would have thought that would happen? Working people rallying for health care reform when health care premiums for family plans have increased 78 percent in Michigan since 2000? Somebody better alert the corporate, conservative media. Stop the presses; I’ve wanted to say that since the first time I saw by byline in print.

Wow, this is their smoking gun? “…Rented vans and encouraged people to carpool to the event.” Wow. I’m stunned. I guess that dispels those polls that say 70 percent of Americans want health care reform is bunk, or that that the overwhelming victory in November when health care reform was a campaign issue was a fluke. Union members – regular working middle class people, not thugs – want health care reform, and it’s their union dues that paid for the van, if that story is true. It wasn’t money from the $1.4 million a day the insurance lobby is spending to kill real reform through rightwing lobbying groups like “Americans for Prosperity” and “Freedom Works.”

If this fails, the health insurance companies will continue to line their pockets at the expense of good medical care for the middle class, and if this passes, the majority of the 50 million U.S. citizens with no access to health care will be covered. The right is complaining about working people pooling their money to get out and fight back against misinformation, showing their support for a cause they have been fighting to gain for the past 50 years and to stop the shouting down of Democratic Congressman? Just sad.

What the right is really mad about is we are finally starting to fight back against their disgusting and disruptive tactics.

Senate Republicans throw fake ‘tea party’ during Judiciary Committee meeting

LANSING - Sen. Wayne Kuipers, R-Holland, threw a fake Astroturf “tea party” Tuesday, but the only problem was he chose the Senate Judiciary Committee to do it, and six other Senators had to hear the drivel usually spouted at the fake “tea parties.”

With a boatload of meaningful Legislation the Senate Republicans could take up, like the budget, the workplace smoking ban many people have been clamoring for, laws to make voting easier that has bipartisan support and were passed in the House or the unemployment bills that will give Michigan families running out of unemployment access to $140 million in federal funds. Instead, the committee wasted almost two hours on a pair of resolutions that mean absolutely nothing.

The Judiciary Committee approved - there was no reason to vote against them - Senate Resolution 17 and Senate Concurrent Resolution 4. Both resolutions “affirm Michigan’s sovereignty under the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.”

This has been a rallying point for extremist right-wingers since the militia was widespread back in the mid 1990s; it’s no coincidence they are back.

The sponsor- Sen. Bruce Patterson, R-Canton, - said it was a no-brainer. He was right. This was simply playing to the base.

“There is nothing to debate,” he said. “All this does is remind us of what we already agreed to.”

I agree. So, why did we waste two hours listing to extremist Republicans rail against the Democratic administration and crap about “state’s rights?”

Representatives of rightwing extremist groups tramped up to the microphone one after another to read their talking points. We heard from groups like the rightwing Republican Washington, D.C. lobbying group and think tank Americans for Prosperity - the people behind the “tea parties” and disrupting town hall meetings - something called the “campaign for liberty” and even a rightwing blogger who said she helped organize the fake tea party in Lansing.

The hearing raised more questions that were answered. Like where were these people railing about the federal government when George Bush was shredding the Constitution?

Where were these people when Bush conned Americans into a useless war that did nothing but endangered this country?

Where were these people when Bush violated the separation of powers with the signing statements that said he wasn’t going to uphold the law?

Where were these people when Bush was spying on American citizens?

Where were these people when Bush was dictating what we had to teach with no dime left for any child program?

Where were these people when Bush was blowing the cover of undercover CIA agents?

Where were these people when Bush was politicizing the U.S. Justice Department?

Where were these people when Bush was giving no bid contracts to his cronies in Iraq?

Where were these people when Bush was giving out bank bailouts?

We even got a long, rambling speech from former extremist Republican State Representative Jack Hoogendyk, a board member of Michigan AFP and a candidate for just about every office in Michigan.

“The first 10 amendments were therefore added to include the ancient, unalienable rights of Anglo-Saxon freemen so there could be no question as to the strictly limited authority the people were conferring on their central government,” he said.

In an earlier time in this country, the states used the 10th amendment to justify repressive and immoral policies, including slavery, to secede from the union, to deny African-Americans the right to vote and southern states invoked it as a barrier to enforcement of the 14th Amendment and to justify segregation and Jim Crow.

The thugs come out at night

What a class guy Congressman John Dingell is. Despite the abuse and crap he took from the fake Astroturf tea bag thugs at his townhall meeting on health care Thursday night in Romulus, he opted for a second session so everyone could get inside.

As expected, the thugs, egged on by the corporate, Rightwing lobbying groups and think tanks “Americans for Prosperity” and “ “Freedom Works,” - the same people who brought us the fake “tea parties” - did their best to intimidate and harass people they disagree with. A colleague called me from there to tell me how was crazy it was, and as out of control as I expected. There were the usual disgusting signs comparing Democrats and President Obama to Hitler, and they tried to shout down anyone who disagrees with them.

I watched the 11 p.m. local news, and a guy who gave his name as Mike Sola of Milan to the media interrupted Dingell repeatedly as he pushed his son, Scott, in a wheelchair to the podium and got in the Congressman’s face and screamed at him until he was finally escorted out by the police. Frankly, I was a little confused by what he was angry about. I’m pretty sure his son is getting SSI checks every month (Supplemental Security Income), and his health care will be taken care of my Medicaid. This will not affect him. Plus, there is no such person as Mike Sola in Milan; or at least he is not a registered voter.

They have excellent coverage and photos of the event over at Michigan Liberal, as well as Blogging for Michigan.

I almost fell out of my chair when I read the official unofficial rightwing blog, who said “Wayne County Democrats did a great job of stacking the meeting, while simultaneously angering the large number of people who were in attendance this evening.”

Hello. This was a townhall for constituents of the 15th Congressional District, and the Downriver area is predominantly Democratic. However, this person is right about one thing though: we do need to “stack the meeting” to let people know insurance providers are making huge profits, rates for family plans have gone up 73 percent in just a few years and more than 50 million Americans are without access to quality health care is unacceptable. We also need to stack the meetings so that people know they are just a small, fringe minority. A loud, vocal minority, but still a minority. Most civilized people don’t want to get in the kind of mosh pit these people have created, but we need to for the good of our country and its citizens.

The good news is people are getting a good look at how low the GOP has sunk. We also know they will do anything to stop real reform.

It was also interesting to read the accounts from the corporate media.

Booth Newspapers reported:
“The meeting wasn't announced until Thursday morning, but word quickly spread.
Freep.com, Aug. 7: Scott Hagerstrom, the Michigan director for Americans for Prosperity -- a group opposing President Barack Obama's health care initiative -- said that after he learned about it, he sent an e-mail alerting 18,000 members in southeast Michigan.”

That’s a complete lie. Their affiliate web sits have been pushing this since at least Monday, but it does show that the corporate lobbyists are pushing this. After all, the insurance lobby is spending $1.4 million a day to stop this needed reform, but they are getting a bargain with these thugs. It’s a shame the way these people have been used, and that they have actually bought into the lies they have been told about assisted suicide, socialism and socialized medicine. Fear and ignorance can easily be manipulated.

Update: I was wrong about Mike Sola when I said he was not a registered voter and even suggested that may not be his real name. He is a Croatian immigrant, and because Mike is apparently an Americanized version of his first name I was unable to find him. In a good story in the Free Press, he claims he is now getting death threats, so I won’t tell you his real first name. But just like many of he other people disrupting townhalls who were duped by conservative lobbying firms and Republicans, he was set off by an outrageous lie. In this case is was a since debunked op-ed in the NY Post by Betsy McCaughey, a Republican former Lt. Gov. of New York, a fellow at the “free market” conservative think tank called the Hudson Institute and a member of the Board of Directors at Cantel Medical Corp.

Dingell town hall on health care may disrupted by rightwing thugs

U.S. Rep. John Dingell, D-Dearborn, is holding a health care town hall at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Romulus Athletic Center, 35765 Northline Road in Romulus, and there are plans by right wing thugs, stealthy organized by a rightwing lobbyist group, to disrupt the meeting.

MSNBC host Rachel Maddow reported last night on a plan by the Washington, DC-based, rightwing think tank and lobbying firm Freedom Works, chaired by former U.S. House Majority Leader and rightwing Republican Dick Armey, to disrupt town hall meetings as members of Congress return to the district for summer break and meet with constituents. You may remember this group from their organization of the so-called "tea parties" with another rightwing lobbying group, Americans for Prosperity (AFP).

Maddow reported on a leaked memo from a Freedom Works lobbyist that has a script and instructions on how to shout down the speaker, intimidate anyone objecting and how to disrupt the meeting.

I saw some of that this weekend by a similar group also targeting Dingell at the Monroe County Fair parade. The protest fizzled, but they were attempting to use similar tactics. Dingell is a prime target because he has been a champion for health care in his long public career. At the beginning of every session of Congress since 1955, Congressman Dingell introduced the national health insurance bill, just like his father before him did.

Maddow played videos of Democratic Congressmen getting leading questions, and when they tried to answer them they were shouted down and the mob refused to let them answer. The mob shouted down the lawmaker trying to speak, as well as anyone asking a legitimate question.

Dingell’s town hall meeting is already being advertised on some rightwing blogs here in Michigan, and it’s clear that these mobs are not interested in hearing what he has to say or even to have a civil debate. In fact, they even have a Facebook event page where they brag about disrupting past meetings. The thugs will try to do the same thing in Michigan.

We need to get supporters there or people who are neutral and just want some answers and are willing to act like decent human beings.
The meeting is set for 6 p.m. Thursday Aug. 6 at the Romulus Athletic Center, 35765 Northline Road in Romulus

Another Astroturf “tea party” post-mortem

As the hyped hoopla fades on the Astroturf “tea parties” organized by corporate friendly rightwing Washington, D. C. lobbying groups, a quick post-mortem is in order.

Washington based “Americans for Prosperity” said there would be no elected GOP officials speaking at the Lansing Republican political rally, despite Republicans speaking at rallies all over the nation. It also didn’t stop Wendy Day, extremist rightwing Republican Howell Public School Board Member and founder of the anti-gay hate group known as LOVE (Livingston Organization for Values in Education), from speaking.

It also didn’t stop former GOP state Representative and director of the Michigan Taxpayers Alliance Leon Drolet from speaking. Drolet used the event as a fundraising opportunity as did other Republicans. Drolet also is looking for more exposure because he just acknowledged he is a candidate for Michigan Senate in the 11th Senate district in 2010. It’s ironic that a guy who hates government has never held a job outside of government, unless you count this brief stint at MTA hauling around a huge pink fiberglass pig.

Then it’s puzzling that AFP denied the person who represents Lansing in the U.S. House an opportunity to speak, Mike Rogers. Subscription only Gongwer reported that despite his office issuing a press release that very day saying he would speak, Rogers was not allowed to speak to the crowd, and it was reported “he left the event early after being told he would not have an opportunity at the podium.” It did not say if he left in a huff or why he didn’t stay to hear what the other stellar speakers had to say.

Michigan Messenger reporter and photographer Todd Heywood got some excellent photos, including this shot of Rogers at the event.

At the GOP rally in Chicago, organizers turned down RNC Chair Michael Steele's request to speak in a vain atempt to keep up the farce that it was a grassroots effort organized for everyday people.

In November of 2010 this will all be forgotten, and what will be remembered is the GOP’s association with extremist fringe groups like white supremacists and militia groups.

The lies keep on coming in GOP, anti-Obama Astroturf rally

The lies on the Astroturf Republican, anti-Obama rally set for today keep on coming.

I received an email from the Livingston County chapter of the Washington, D.C. lobbying firm Americans For Prosperity that is co-sponsoring the misnamed “tea parties” disguised as GOP rallies telling who the speakers would be. We already know elected Republican officials will be speaking at other rallies because it is a GOP campaign rally.

AFP made it a point to say there would be no elected officials speaking in Lansing, saying “No elected officials will be speaking at the event. This is truly a grassroots Tea Party.” That’s two lies right there.

The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus reported this morning that Wendy Day, extremist rightwing Republican Howell Public School Board Member and founder of the anti-gay hate group known as LOVE (Livingston Organization for Values in Education), would speak at the Lansing event. So much for no elected officials speaking.

The piece was a classic example of shoddy journalism filled with inaccuracies passed off as fact, and it was basically a promo that should have appeared in one of the advertorial publications the company produces where businesses and people pay to have a flattering article written about them.

Considering the mandate President Obama received, how many seats the Democrats picked up in Congress in November and that 61 percent of Americans thing the income tax they pay is fair, this is basically a protest against democracy.

Republicans pushing the myth that the “tea party” protest is a grassroots effort

As the April 15 deadline for filing your federal income taxes approaches, right-wingers are buzzing about their misnamed and misguided “tea party” allegedly to protest government spending and taxation.

That the alleged tea party is non-partisan is the first myth, and the second myth is that it is a “bottom-up, grassroots protest.” Nothing could be farther from the truth. This is a partisan, Republican anti-Obama event. What it certainly is not is a tea party. The Boston Tea Party was staged to protest taxation without representation. That’s simply not the case here, and the American people spoke loud and clear when and where it counts the most: at the ballot box.

Many of the events will feature Republican elected officials as guest speakers. The hysterical hate against the President is increasing, and it will be on full display April 15. White supremacist and militias groups will be well-represented at the “tea parties“, and I guarantee that we will see crude, homemade signs there that say crap like “Hitler gave good speeches too,” “Obama Bin Lyin’” and “Impeach Obama.” We saw some of them at the misnamed “tea party” back in February. Is every protest by Republicans called a “tea party?”

It is also not a grassroots effort. The Washington, DC-based, rightwing think tank Freedom Works, chaired by former U.S. House Majority Leader and rightwing Republican Dick Armey, is working hard to organize it. The Washington, D.C.-based rightwing think tank Americans for Prosperity is also organizing the “tea parties. “ It has a web site complete with talking points.

There is even a web site where you can get gear to wear to the event.

The rightwing blogoshere in Michigan is pushing it hard, but they, of course, ignore the fact that the last Bush administration budget rang up a $500 billion deficit and added more than $4 trillion to the national debt over his eight disastrous years. During the first Bush term, when the Republicans controlled Congress, government spending grew on average at an annual rate of over 4 percent — far higher than during the Clinton administration.

If you need further proof that this is an anti-Obama rally, the event is listed by the Michigan Legislative Council as a “Nationwide Chicago Tea Party.”

Rally
Nationwide Chicago Tea Party
East Steps & Walks, North & South Lawn
9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.