Vast Right-Wing Astroturf Conspiracy Revealed!

Matt Welch | August 7, 2009

You might have heard either of this Rachel Maddow expose on the moneybags Republican P.R. wizards concocting the anti-health care overhaul protests, or the Think Progress report [PDF] upon which some of it was based. If so, you should read this Mary Katherine Ham deconstruction/debunking at The Weekly Standard's blog. From Ham's conclusion:

So [Bob] MacGuffie, a local [libertarian] activist in Connecticut who never volunteered for FreedomWorks wrote a memo and also wrote a blog post on a site not paid for or hosted by FreedomWorks. There's your national conspiracy, folks.

There are also quoted headlines that were never written, and a link to several media organizations that took the bait. Whole thing well worth a read.

Bonus Reason.tv link: Matt Kibbe of FreedomWorks talks to Nick Gillespie about the Tea Party protests.

Comments

|8.7.09 @ 9:24AM|#

I don't understand the double standard here. What do Rachel and Keith say about protesters for the war and environmental protesters? It's getting pretty out of hand over MSNBC.

Tomcat1066|8.7.09 @ 9:27AM|#

Maddow and Olbermann are confused beyond their wildest imaginings. Suddenly, people are protesting for things that aren't typically identified with the left and it's confusing the hell out of them.

Good. Maybe their heads will explode on national TV. Now THAT is family entertainment ;)

|8.7.09 @ 9:37AM|#

Its truthy, dammit. Truthy!

Just Wondering|8.7.09 @ 9:40AM|#

Speaking of birther rumors, is it true that Rachel Maddow is the end result of Keith Olbermann's anal intercourse with Ed Schultz?

|8.7.09 @ 9:47AM|#

Ed Schultz is definitely tunnelesque, but not even he could give ass-birth to a creature with that thick of a neck through his mangina.

Maddow was of woman-born'd. And Maddow and her mother seem close.

|8.7.09 @ 9:51AM|#

Please refrain from writing one of your stories about those two, SF.

|8.7.09 @ 9:54AM|#

I have a strong stomach, but it's not that strong.

|8.7.09 @ 10:06AM|#

The lack of evidence merely proves they did it. Special corporate operatives covered their tracks for them.

The Libertarian Guy|8.7.09 @ 10:33AM|#

"The King of Norway uses my penis as a radio transmitter to broadcast anti-Semitic lesbian meatloaf recipes to Soupy Sales and Marvin Hamlisch."

RIP, George Carlin.

|8.7.09 @ 10:37AM|#

If only the people managing all of these conspiracies, with their inhuman efficiency and focus, were running the country.

<strike>strike through</strike|8.7.09 @ 11:13AM|#

Maddow was of woman-born'd. And Maddow and her mother seem close.

Yikes, that's a scary photo. Even more entertaining is this gem of a quote from Herr Maddow:

"Even though I can be harsh in my criticism and I can be strong in my beliefs, I try not to be mean," she says. "And I don't have a very high tolerance for other people who are cruel or personally insulting in a way that I think is meant to humiliate people."

Riiiight, Rachel. Calling half the country "teabaggers" isn't intended to be cruel or humiliating. I wonder sometimes if the left is even aware of their own hypocrisy.

triangleman|8.7.09 @ 11:30AM|#

Where do these fuckers get off? Just because Americans for Prosperity tipped off 1 person about a townhall (which was publicly known anyway) who tipped off 400 Facebook and Meetup friends does not mean the protests were "organized" by right-wing groups in any way.

And for the love of god, what about ANSWER, ACORN, and any number of left-wing dingbats who bussed people into major cities to protest all manner of issues. They are experts at this sort of thing. Apparently they are experts at hypocrisy too.

Franklin Harris|8.7.09 @ 12:27PM|#

Of course the protests are organized! All protests are organized. You know what they call an unorganized protest? A riot.

|8.7.09 @ 1:20PM|#

Accusing the Republican Party of organizing massivie protests all over the nation is like accusing the Detroit Lions of organizing several playoff victories.

JB|8.7.09 @ 3:31PM|#

I think it's time to start protesting MSNBC. I wouldn't mind seeing a few hundred people at their corporate HQ.