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Are lobbyists behind recent protests?
A protester talks through a megaphone.
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TEXT OF STORY
Kai Ryssdal: Speaking of the health-care debate, things have gotten downright confrontational in some parts of the country. You've probably heard of congressional town hall meetings being disrupted by protesters recently. Mobs shouted down a congressman in Texas. They hung another in effigy in Maryland and booed senators from coast to coast. Even in the age of the Internet, orchestrated mass action doesn't come cheap. Marketplace's Steve Henn looked into who's paying.
STEVE HENN: These protests started almost simultaneously. All across the country last weekend men and women holding signs and chanting greeted members of Congress and senators at town halls in at least a dozen states.
As the meetings began the protesters spread out and shouted angry questions. Opponents of the health-care overhaul called it a grassroots uprising. But many Democrats believe these nationwide demonstrations were organized by pros.
And if they were, the public may never know who paid for it. Laws require professional lobbyists to disclose the companies that hire them. But...
TARA MALLOY: At the moment, for better or for worse, the lobbying disclosure act does not cover attempts to create demonstrations.
Tara Malloy at the Campaign Legal Center says a huge part of Washington's influence industry operates out of sight. Firms can fly operatives across the country and even pay protestors directly, and they are not required to tell Congress or the public what they are up to.
MALLOY: And really it can be the biggest industries hiring the most sophisticated firms out there and the public will know very, very little about these efforts. And indeed these type of flash mobs or these types of protests, they can have a huge impact on the course of legislation. And nonetheless the lobbying law, as currently drafted, is not going to cover that and it will not provide disclosure to the public.
Some lobbying experts estimate that roughly three quarters of the industry is made up of unregistered lobbyists who never disclose their clients, their causes or how much they make.
In Washington, I'm Steve Henn for Marketplace.
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The public at large may not know what individulas and groups paid for these disruptions but that information has been researched and reported quite recently.
American Majority is one. It is headed by Lonny Leitner who was regional director for Bush/Cheny '04 and Ned Ryun, a Bush speech writer. Americans for Prosperity is another group led by conservative David Koch the 19th richest man in the world. Also, Patients First. Art Pope is the president. He is an elite conservative who contributed so much to the North Carolina GOP they named thier headquarters building after him. It's at 1506 Hillsboro Street. Patients First is responsible for bussing people around the country to the town hall meetings on health care reform with instructions and tactics to derail them. All of these groups and a couple more are listed at the website recessrally.com.
The biggest industry has hired the most sophisticated firms in order to defeat public healthcare. If they succede they will have secured 50 million new cutomers and kept their monopoly intact. That would be catastrophic for the rest of us. I encourage Market Place to develop this story.
Are lobbyists behind recent protests? Good question. Owing to the complete lack of factual information supporting an answer in the affirmative, we're left with the obvious conclusion: No.
The protests "started almost simultaneously" because the representatives all flew home simultaneously, where local constituents could hoist them by their own petard at the earliest opportunity. What people are calling "anger" is in fact well-founded fear and outrage at the step-change loss of personal freedom that this bill represents.
Your story about lobbyists possibly being behind recent protests on healthcare legislation was one of the worst pieces of journalism I've ever read. In the introduction you explain about how there are protests going on around the country. You then switch gears and talk about lobbyists and how a lot of them are not required to disclose where their funding is coming from if they are operating in certain capacities like public protests. There are many good American citizens acting out of their own will coming out and questioning their elected officials about this health care plan. You provide no proof that the protestors are funded by lobbyists, but just by raising the question you confuse the issue and make these protestors seem like they're doing something wrong. Did your reporter talk to any of the protestors that have been showing up at these town hall meetings? I wish he had, because then you would have at least had a more balanced report.
The photo in the story is misleading. Single payer health care advocates are not the same as the organizers & protestors that the story focuses on. Unfortunately, there are no big money lobby firms behind the single payer movement. If there were, we might have a more honest discussion about a plan that could reduce wasteful spending AND offer health care to all.
The image you have displayed with this story is of actual grassroots protesters who SUPPORT single-payer health care. The fake, "astroturf", corporate-sponsored protesters are AGAINST single-payer health care. Please don't lump all protesters together. The protesters depicted above are not trying to obstruct reform, and they are not supported by the health insurance and pharmaceutical industries.
That report was a very sad sign of further deterioration of journalistic and ethical standards of MPR. How can you accuse somebody without having proven facts? Is it what you were taught in your journalist schools?
The next step would be reporting for National Enquirer magazine. Shame on you.
Henn and Malloy's piece on "organized" protests against the socialized medical care initiative seems to come right out of the "Joe playbook," that is, Joe McCarthy's and Joe Stalin's. Propose and demonize a conspirator, but don't actually produce any real information or names. MPR, stay away from that Kool-Aid!
Could it possibly be that Americans just don't want to be unwillingly saddled with any more debt? From what I've read, bailout money expended is now about $2 trillion ("T" as in "trillion," Mr. Ryssdal), with obligations that could reach about $24 trillion. Estimates I've heard for the government's health care plan are of the same scale: TENS of trillions of dollars. This amounts to a debt burden per family that will never be paid off.
Couldn't it also be that Americans would prefer the federal government to confine itself to its duties defined by the US Constitution? You know, like regulating interstate commerce, running the postal service, and defending the federation? Nothing in the Constitution provides anyone a right to medical care, and there is no hint in it that the government should be taking it over on everyone's behalf.
The reason people are harassing their elected reps is because the reps have betrayed them into great debt, not because the insurance companies are paying for them to protest.
Again, name one name, provide one example of insurance money or conservative orgs funding the confrontations. I'll bet you can't.
The issue being raised in the article revolves around the fact that the disturbances at the town hall meetings are planned and bank rolled, not that there aren't also people with real questions. There is a "Tea Party Patriots" website which encourages the disturbances in a "Moveon.org" style but financed by lobbyists which you can read about further on http://pr.thinkprogress.org/2009/04/pr20090415 This highly financed "grass roots" movement is about bullying - Companies' lobbyists getting people to bully others to protect the company's profits. It is sad that profits are being protected from financial competition while people have become competitive pawns.
Every journalism class in this country should be downloading this piece as a textbook example of worst kind of shoddy, smear journalism.
Henn parrots an accusation from a political party (who btw is supported by million in special interest money),runs with it, speculates about it, and be damned with any providing evidence to support it.
"orchestrated mass action doesn't come cheap" -Ryssdal, you're no better.
I can't remember Marketplace ever running a speculative story about lobbiest funding for any left wing protests.
Have you no shame gentlemen?
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