As Congress comes back into session, the healthcare bill stands irreparably damaged. Public polling shows the majority of Americans now don't want this bill passed, and the Democratic Party leadership is left contemplating nuclear and possibly unconstitutional options like trying to pass the bill in chunks through the reconciliation process (which is for budgets).
The truth is we won the first battle. Even with 60 votes in the Senate, a large majority in the House, and a President who likes to outsource all decisions to Congress, the Democrats couldn't shove this monstrosity through. While the politics may go on a bit longer, the opportunity has passed. The public wants none of this, and Obama's personal popularity, as well as that of several leading Democratic Senators, is taking a beating. People are talking about a 1994 style reverse, and while it's premature to say its completely over, passing this bill would put a whole lot of politicians out of jobs, and they know it. And the Tea Party rallies played a large part in that. To understand what happened, one of the things you must do is look at St Louis as one of the catalysts in this fight.
February 27, 2009
The Tea Party in St Louis started as a blog entry that morphed into a facebook page. Bill Hennessy, a local conservative unattached to the Republican party, called for a Tea Party event based on Rick Santelli's words to rise up against the stimulus. Bill hoped for 100, but 1200 people showed that cold day in February to stand up against the passing of an unread bill by Democratic majorities. Assembling 1200 people (I counted) anywhere that soon after an election is unheard of, but the rising tide of red ink started by the Bush Administration and vastly inflated by the fledgling Obama administration had people hopping mad. The local media laughed, downplayed our numbers, and the only coverage was a short television shot of tea being poured in a river and a sneering editorial about a Food Bank.
April 15th, 2009
On April 15th, across the nation, Pajamas Media estimated 1,000,000 citizens showed up at over 700 tea parties across the country. In St Louis, a police officer told organizers the crowd was estimated at 10,000. That caught people's attention.
Politicians judge citizen responses based somewhat on the content, but mostly on the effort it takes to communicate the message. Phone calls, emails and faxes are too easy. Showing up at an office or showing up to a rally has an impact that is much greater than just a phone call, because it represents more effort. The rule of thumb differs by who you are talking to, but a phone call or email represents 100 people who feel the same way, and an in-person visit represents as many as 1000. These are rough numbers, but when 10,000 people showed up at the April 15th Tea Party in Kiener Plaza, politicians sat up and took notice. Something was wrong here. Who were these people who showed, and what did they want? It was nothing that had ever been seen before. A large group of citizens who had never been to a protest showed up and started yelling about "freedom," and "responsibility," and something called a "Constitution."
For the record, Republicans were just as confused as Democrats. It differed in other parts of the state, but in St Louis, office holders weren't allowed to speak. In fact, Sarah Steelman was specifically turned down by Dana Loesch on April 15th. This wasn't about them. As numbers and stories poured in across the country, the press still mostly ignored us, except for mockery as a sexual slur over and over by supposedly objective journalists. To this day, the offensive term is repeated by Beacon reporters, Charles Jaco, MSNBC and CNN hosts, and of course, tolerant progressives. That's quite an argument they have - my opponent is a sex act. It speaks volumes to how pathetic their arguments are in comparison. In the meantime, small groups of people held rallies in every state, both blue and red, and the coverage by the blogosphere started to take hold. A platform was being built by people with only a vague sense of what other groups were doing.
Cap and Trade vote:
The Cap and Trade vote, barely pushed through the house with a lot of arm-twisting, was a turning point. The stimulus bill was passed with little actual deliberation, with the final bill not made available to Congress until the night before the vote. No one had a chance to read the bill, but it was deemed so important it had to be passed (Obama immediately took a vacation, and came back five days later to sign it). By July, less than 10% of the funds had been spent, and it included funds for sex studies on the effect of crystal meth on rats. The clear disdain for the legislative process was apparent with the stimulus bill, but when Cap and Trade came, it was worse. The vote barely passed, and like the stimulus, a 300 page amendment was dropped into the bill at 2:00 in the morning the day the bill was voted on.
Read the Bill took on a new meaning. The Democratic majority had decided to pass legislation that no one was reading. In fact, there was no official bill ready when the vote was taken. Republicans were left asking where the bill was, and were told it was online (despite it being debated in the chamber).
Russ Carnahan and every Missouri Democrat voted for that bill, and in doing so provided the margin of victory. It also provided a new rallying point for the Tea Party. If Carnahan couldn't be bothered to read the bills he voted on, we would.
July 4th:
The July 4th Tea Party was held in Washington, MO, where 4000 patriots turned out. At this point, the Tea Party had figured out they should be taking photographs and videotaping everything. We had a live stream ready to go, shot video, and had formed a core of volunteers that though hope, prayer, and a little elbow grease had turned out three successful events. The framework was in place, and the question was what would happen next?
The Russ Carnahan TownHall
The first big break came when Russ Carnahan returned to St Louis to throw a faux-Townhall prior to voting on the healthcarebill. HR 3200 was the next big bill to come up, and Carnahan set up a panel of plants (including an ACORN activist and a big Democratic donor) to speak, followed by "coalition" heads who would say nice things about the healthcare bill and the need to pass it. Tea Party video and cameras were there, as were last minute volunteers who heard about the event and showed in numbers.
Carnahan had to endure a number of pointed questions he was not prepared to answer, including one where he was asked if Congress was going to have the same healthcare as the rest of us. He looked to his panelists for help (none of them Congressman), but was clearly not prepared. His attempt at a staged event to get a nice writeup in the local press had fallen apart. The defining moment came when Carnahan read a talking point claiming the healthcare bill would actually save $6 billion dollars that could be used to pay down the deficit. The crowd erupted in laughter. That wasn't supposed to happen, and the event was uploaded and transferred around the country, shaking political experts who realized something new was going on, and Russ had failed miserably.
While the St Louis Tea Party Coalition was among those leading the charge, other groups acting independently were creating their own reactions. These groups of volunteers were mostly nonpolitical, working from common sense and no script, and the result was a series of tactics that kept the Obama administration and congressional Democrats on edge. A local businessman put his anger up on a sign. A lawyer started a Show Me The Bill Rally. And Tea Party members started to write and connect on blogs, through photos, and through video. An attempt was made to name these protests astroturf, but as the events grew it was clear to everyone something new was happening. This wasn't Republicans, it was something unique - real and sustained anger against the entire political class.
Claire McCaskill protest and townhall
A protest was set up for McCaskill's office on Delmar by Americans for Prosperity. About a hundred protesters picketed outside her office when the Tea Party publicized the event, but were locked out when they tried to present information to the office. A man upstairs flipped the protesters off, and McCaskill was forced to address the matter on Tumblr and apologize for her staff locking the door. Media and leftwing coverage made the protesters out to be a violent mob, but a few people picketing and chanting and knocking on windows was a normal reaction to being prevented from speaking to a Senator's staff. Compare this to the standard leftwing protest that includes smashing windows, taking over university buildings, and personal threats against businesses and even the homes of executives.
Through Carl Bearden, a former state senator, McCaskill's staff agreed to meet with the protesters the following Monday at Forest Park Community College. Carl works with Americans for Prosperity, but his involvement with the St Louis Tea Party was a supporting one. He helped with press and in organizing the meeting, but it was the Tea Party members who made it memorable. The event was moved from a small venue upstairs down to the cafeteria. Hundreds of protesters showed up versus a handful of Climate Change folks (who were told the event was about energy, not healthcare) and McCaskill supporters who were asked to come by McCaskill's staff.
The lineup of speakers, including yours truly, couldn't have been cast by Hollywood. A soldier, a man with a hearing disability, a nurse, a doctor, small business owners, retirees, and a whole group of folks shared their concerns over an hour and a half as McCaskill's staff listened. The counter protesters had mostly given up by the end of the event, but one thing was clear - this was something new. Claire knew what was going on, and from them on denied that the protests were fake. Her staff saw who we were, and despite more claims from uninformed and lazy leftwing bloggers, the truth was apparent. These were real people who had taken the time to read the bill available, were quoting it, and were sharing their experiences with their elected officials.
Local media finally ran with the story, and national aggregation of events like these starting occurring across the nation. People became aware that the healthcare bill was being debated, and as they did, the support for the bill fell. The anger over the way the stimulus bill and cap and trade were handled boiled over, as it became clear that the Democrats sought to force another unread bill through prior to the August recess. The pressure was on, and as Tea Party events continued local pressure on legislators, a series of bad reviews on the cost of the bill, arguments over Death Panels and video of hard left Democrats hoping to use the public option as a trojan horse for single payer kept a slow-moving Obama administration from the goal of a bill passed quickly.
That's when they decided to respond.
Russ Carnahan's Town Hall on Aging
Russ Carnahan was having a tough month. A congressional rating came out showing him with a 100% voting record with Obama. A protest at a car dealership caught him unaware, and he was forced to scurry out the back (caught on tape) despite promises to address the crowd. He had an event planned in South St Louis, and it was clear he needed help.
The townhalls planned by Democrats for the August recess were supposed to be easy rallies. Aware that Tea Party folks had the ability to disrupt the staged events, and sensitive to looking like they were hiding, Democratic lawmakers started working with Organizing for America, unions, ACORN and HCAN to set up townhalls where Tea Party members would be restricted while union members were given special access. In Tampa, this structure infuriated the protesters, who watched bused in union members get special access to reserved sections while protesters were left outside. The same attempt was made in Mehlville, where SEIU members were brought in a side door to a reserved section while protestors were kept outside. Inside, union members walked around the crowds, shushing anyone who spoke and screaming obscenities at anyone with a sign. Although Carnahan claims it was a townhall on Aging, the pro-Obamacare forces showed up looking for a fight, and they got one.
Four pro-Obamacare union members attacked Kenneth Gladney, a vendor selling conservative buttons outside the townhall as the event wound down. The video of the aftermath has been published, and while SEIU claims it was their members that were attacked, it is four SEIU people who have been charged with assault, two of these caught on tape, and two others vouched by witnesses at the scene. Left wing bloggers have created a series of alternate scenarios, but the facts are clear to those who were there, and criminal and civil suits are in process. As those facts are made public, the degree to which SEIU, left wing bloggers, and leftwing newssites have sought to make up a story will be exposed.
What was clear was that Obama, the community organizer in chief, had failed to match numbers with the Tea Party members. Despite attempts to intimidate protesters across the country, the story was told, and public opinion polls showed increased sympathy for the Tea Parties, and declining poll numbers for HR 3200. The public saw the truth, and despite increased noise and the occasional counterprotest, tea party events proved overwhelmingly successful across the country in turning out large numbers, outnumbering the opposition with 10-to-1 and 20-to-1 advantages (all reported by blogs, of course).
The McCaskill TownHall
As other national stories were breaking, a townhall was set up for Claire McCaskill in Hillsboro, MO. The event was not officially attended by the St Louis Tea Party, but several people were there, again with videos and cameras. The event was large, and well attended by both sides, as leftwing activists finally activated and drove down to the event to provide cover, and something else.
McCaskill took questions, but the crowd was unfriendly. At one point, she asked if they trusted her, and the crowd roared, "No." And then the setup occurred. Maxine Johnson, politically connected with the Gateway Greens (including the main suspect alleged to have assaulted Kenneth Gladney) marched into the townhall a hour and a half late bearing signs. The townhall had security and police there who had taken away the signs of everyone in the hall. Johnson and three friends marched into a hall holding up large posters showing Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Jr, and Barack Obama. As the crowd yelled that no signs were allowed, Johnson begin to taunt the crowd. Senator McCaskill asked her to stop twice, and when they finally settled down, a man stood up, walked over and grabbed the closest sign. Video uploaded nationally showed Johnson taken away, but later video and clarification showed someone had stepped forward and taken her sign. Leftist bloggers, led by a new media consultant and Democratic strategist who conveniently started a blog and Twitter account for the event, uploaded an edited video that conveniently showed only the sign stealing, and not the events leading up to the event. The video was played by CNN, MSNBC, and a new narrative was launched - a black woman assaulted by angry white Tea Party folks. The left had succeeded in muddying the waters with false charges of racism.
Despite the fact that Claire McCaskill herself dismissed the allegations of racism, the attempts to paint Maxine Johnson were made, the video shown, and the story breathlessly published.
Since a radio interview over two weeks ago, no further updating has occurred at the site of Peter Glickert. The new media strategist had done his job, getting a video that told a false story just long enough to change the subject.
Finale: August Recess Rallies
Even though Hillsboro was not an official St Louis Tea Party event, the difficulties of creating large rallies and avoiding left wing agitators was apparent. The clear attempts at physical intimidation, fake Hitler signs carried by Democratic supporters and LaRouche supporters, fake doctors telling stories, and even vandalism done in Denver with reported "right wing" signs left at the scene showed diminishing returns. The loose group of volunteers in St Louis begin discussing new ways to get the message across. The Town Halls had done their job of awakening the public and forcing politicians to respond. Their responses on video, combined with ludicrous attacks by national Democratic leader of protestors being un-American, violent, racist, and dangerous had proved the undoing of the healthcare bill. St Louis was one of the leaders in that effort, but we were also a high profile target.
In St Louis, our final public rallies held at local offices showed good numbers (over 1000 at Carnahan, 300 at McCaskill) but the attempts to intimidate continued. Leftwing protestors at two locations attempted to draw Tea Party organizers into fights, even calling the police on both occasions to try to create new events. Tea Party folks wisely chose not to respond in kind, but as the national 9/12 rallies come up, the initial goals have been met.
Conclusion and the Future:
I do not speak for the Tea Party. A number of citizens continue to hold their own rallies, set up events, and of course videotape and photograph elected officials and the newly organized counter rallies. This occurred at highway K and N on Saturday, where 400 people showed up to support 67 year old woman for a 99 corners project. It occurred last night, as 150 folks showed up to deny the HCAN rally a clean, astroturfed presentation. The StLouisTeaParty.com website continues to post events, and show support. But as someone who has watched and occasionally participated, the next phase is here, and it will be more about education and connection than public rallies.
The HCAN rally last night, one of a supposed 500 sweeping the nation, was a bust. It was lackluster, and the people there, while earnest, aren't changing any minds. They came as requested, like sheep to a shepherd, but they're not organizing on their own. You could tell while there. This was a copycat rally, and the impact on the national discussion will be nothing. What does it mean?
1) There is no groundswell of support for healthcare. Obama's supporters are forced to bring busloads of people to different events to make sure they have decent size crowds. The rallies are carefully managed and include a menagerie of every left wing group imaginable (thanks for the pics, Show Me Progress) coming together because this is what leftists do. There are many paid organizers wandering around, but true grassroots? Not without spending tens of thousands on speakers, lights, staff, and phone banks.
2) Rallies have lost their affect. The sad attempt to parrot the size and passion of Tea Party crowds is doomed to fail. While media will trumpet the approved narrative that the HCAN rallies show the momentum has changed, everyone knows these are paid OFA organizers, bused in supporters, college students looking for credit, and actual, bonafide socialists (some of you are going to love my new posts) who show to scream they support a bill none of them can discuss intelligently. While this is happening, The Tea Parties are reorganizing into organic groups to work on new tactics.
3) New Tactics You Say? Of course - the Tea Parties are built on individual volunteers, and in St Louis alone, a dozen different ideas have started taking root as previously uninvolved conservatives engage in the political process. You can expect things you have never seen before - some serious, some silly, but all uniquely American. Mass rallies are draining, and they have serious risks. As was seen by the anti-war movement, of well, every war in the last 60 years, it gets old seeing people in the street. It's past time to move to education, persuasion, and the building of neighborhood ties.
4) You need to get involved. The organizers you have seen are not professionals. We're not perfect, and we don't claim to be. If you have an idea, let one of us know (there are a good dozen blogs now out there), or better yet, organize something yourself and send us the results.
5) Realize you are the media. The media doesn't have the resources to cover everything, and do you really trust everything they tell you? Photographs, audio, and video from citizens have been invaluable in giving us information on what really happens at these events. We also keep records on the leftwing, which has increasingly sought to disrupt these events, and that information is great for exposing them when they try to start trouble.
6) Most of all, speak out. You may be afraid of what others might say, but you cannot allow statists who desire to change this country into one where the spoils are only for those who know the right politicians. We remained silent for too long, and the result has been a sickness spreading through the popular culture. It's time you stood up and reclaimed the public schools, the public libraries, your churches, your public events, and yes, even your family dining rooms. Educate yourself. Practice speaking. Pay attention to your local elected leaders, and make a difference. This country can not run if we all hide our heads and just focus on ourselves. The good news is WE SURROUND THEM. This country is still basically filled with good people of all ages and races. They just want a free country to live out their dreams and protect their family. The people arrayed against us want slavery for themselves. They wish to be run by elites who pat them on the head and tell them they are too weak and helpless in the face of a scary world.
You are made of sterner stuff. The center can hold. It simply requires that we stand together and remain vigilant. This chapter is over. A new chapter, one of friendship, and service, and the brotherhood of free men and women is beginning.
Lucrum Verum. Narro Verum (Learn the truth. Speak the truth).
Well Jim, you've done it again.
Great article. I pray you have not claimed victory too soon.
Posted by: D. Holder | 08/31/2009 at 02:37 PM
A battle won is not the victory, but they can't pass it under cover of night. And I have a feeling the sunlight will make it difficult for them to do.
Posted by: -Jim Durbin | 08/31/2009 at 02:53 PM
Jim,
Really great article, chief. Keep up the good work.
Posted by: Mark Polege | 08/31/2009 at 06:46 PM
Nice Article D.
Keep up the Good Work.
Posted by: Patch W Adams | 09/01/2009 at 03:22 AM
Hi...
Looks like the Tea Party Express surely knows a hell lot about protesting. I think the liberalism is going to have a hard future. I wonder when the Tea Party express will be there in San Antonio.
Posted by: alpha | 09/22/2009 at 08:42 PM