Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Obama in Portsmouth, NH Today

In a blog post on MSNBC’s First Read, Chuck Todd over-reports a fairly standard mass e-mail from a conservative group as “one invitation NBC News has gotten their hands on from a group rallying against the president,” when he is in Portsmouth, NH today.

As for President Obama himself, well, he would never, ever run an “Astroturf” operation with fake questions and stuff.  How do I know?  Why, Chuck Todd says so:

And as much as some might want to believe the White House will be staging the questions, don’t believe that hype. The White House knows the political price for being caught doing that is MUCH higher than having to deal with a confrontation or two at the meeting itself. If anything, I’d bet some inside the White House are hoping for a confrontation since they believe the president’s demeanor alone will politically play well with the folks the White House cares most about right now, ACTUAL independents.

Sigh.  Just so we’re clear: Obama’s political organization has been attempting to churn people out to this event over the last several days.  In fact, every left-of-center organization in New England has been urging people to try to get tickets to the town hall event at Portsmouth High School and otherwise driving its members to what will no doubt be a monstrous rally in support of the president.  I know because I see all the e-mails (I’ve appended one below).

Guess what?  There’s nothing wrong with it.  Here’s a news flash: If every attempt a crowd generation qualifies as “Astroturf” then our entire democracy is a farce.

What’s more, Obama, like Bush before him, has a history of fielding staged, or at least pre-approved, questions.  Sorry, but it’s true.

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Dear New Hampshire Democratic Leader,

As you know, President Obama will be coming to speak in Portsmouth tomorrow. Right Wing groups and radical special interests are on the attack, and trying to obstruct progress on one of the most important issues facing us today—fixing our broken health care system.

With that in mind, the president needs your help. Please join us for a rally in support of President Obama’s health insurance reform proposal tomorrow morning at 8:00 am at Lafayette Park.

There are more details below—if you have any questions, please let us know.

I will see you all tomorrow morning!

Sincerely,

Ray Buckley
Chair, New Hampshire Democratic Party

Friend—

Tomorrow, President Obama will be coming to speak in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Special interests are attacking the President, and we need to show that the American people are standing up for change.

So we’re inviting supporters like you to gather nearby to publicly show our support. Please join us—here are the details:
WHAT: Show of support for President Obama

WHERE: Lafayette Park (the corner of Lafayette Road and South Street)
Portsmouth, NH 03801

WHEN: Tuesday, August 11th
8:00 a.m. Eastern Time

Additional parking is located at the Park and Ride at 185 Grafton Road in Portsmouth. Shuttles will start running at 6:30 a.m.

Last fall, when Swiftboaters and special interests attacked President Obama, folks like you came to his defense. We knocked on doors, talked to neighbors, and made our voices heard.

Now, we need to do it again. This time, he’s under attack by Washington insiders, insurance companies, and well-financed special interests who don’t go a day without spreading lies and stirring up fear. We need to show that we’re sick and tired of the fear mongering.

Join us tomorrow to stand up for President Obama and publicly show your support for the big changes the President is fighting for and this country needs.

RSVP Now

I hope you’ll join us.

Thanks,

Tim

Tim Arsenault
New Hampshire Field Director
Organizing for America

Topics: msnbc, chuck-todd, barack-obama