So now, people who show up at town hall mtgs are "organized mobs." OK, let's see how a group, which apparently feels that America has NO HEALTH CARE at all, is organizing its members. Huh? NO, that cannot be! Liberal and leftist socialist trying to organize? COME ON!
Who is this group?
"Health Care for America Now (HCAN) is a national grassroots campaign of more than 1,000 organizations in 46 states representing 30 million people..."
Wow. That's a big group. More than I've seen at local tea party rallies.
Who supports this group? Here's just one list. I'm not listing the various STATE orgs.
National Organizations
9 to 5, National Association of Working Women
Abundant Children and Family Services
ACORN*
Adventists Community Services
AFL-CIO*
AFT*
AIDS in Action
Alliance for Retired Americans
American Academy of Family Physicians
American Academy of Nursing
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Family Voices
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees*
American Federation of Television and Radio Artists
American Medical Student Association
American Nurses Association
Americans for Democratic Action (ADA)
Americans United for Change*
AskSlim.org
Asian and Pacific Islander American Health Forum
Association for Better Insulation
Black Women’s Health Imperative
Brave New Films
Bus Federation
Cafemom.com
Campaign for America’s Future*
Campus Progress Action
CareTALK
Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good
Center for American Progress Action Fund*
Campaign for Community Change*
Center for Rural Affairs
Center for Science in the Public Interest
Center for Social and Economic Justice
Child Advocate Network
Children’s Defense Fund Action Council
Committee of Interns and Residents/SEIU Healthcare
Commonweal Institute
Communications Workers of America (CWA)*
Community Action Partnership
Community Service Society
Clergy Strategic Alliances, LLC
CREDO Mobile
Democracia Ahora
Democracy for America
Direct Care Alliance
Eagle Medical Services
Future Majority
Gamaliel
Generational Alliance
Health Care for the 21st Century Consulting
Healthcare United
HIV Medicine Association
Holman Healthcare Consulting
Hope for Hepatitis C
Human Rights Campaign
International Federation of Black Prides, Inc.
International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace & Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW)*
Jobs With Justice
Latinos for National Health Insurance
Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR)
League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)
MDI Imported Car Service, Inc
Moms for Universal Health Care on cafemom.com
MoveOn.org*
Muscular Dystrophy Foundation for Independent Living
My Rural America (Action Fund)
NAACP*
National Abortion Federation
National Alliance on Mental Illness
National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors
National Asian American Pacific Islander Mental Health Association
National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum
National Alliance of Professional Psychology Providers
National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance
National Association of Certified Professional Midwives
National Association of School-Based Health Care
National Association for State Community Services Programs
National Association of Hepatitis Task Forces
National Association of Social Workers (NASW)
National Beauty Culturists’ League, Inc.
National Cervical Cancer Coalition
National Coalition for LGBT Health
National Community Action Foundation
National Consumers League
National Council of Urban Indian Health
National Council of Jewish Women
National Council of La Raza* (RACIST GROUP)
National Congress of American Indians (NCAI)
National Education Association*
National Foundation for Celiac Awareness
National Institute for Reproductive Health
National Korean American Service & Education Consortium
National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health
National Minority Quality Forum
National Partnership for Women and Families
National Physicians Alliance
National Women’s Health Network
National Women’s Law Center*
Northwest Federation of Community Organizations
Out with Cancer, Inc
Paint Lick Family Clinic, Inc
PHI/Health Care for Health Care Workers
Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health
Planned Parenthood Federation of America
Progressive Action Network
Progress Now
Progressive Future
Progressive States Network
Raising Women’s Voices for the Health Care We Need
Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice
Rock the Vote
Roosevelt Institution
Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law
Service Employees International Union*
Single Stop USA
Sister Song Women of Color Reproductive Health Collective
The Congressional Black Caucus Health Brain Trust
The Healthcare Coverage Post
The League of Young Voters
OWL -The Voice of Midlife and Older Women
The Workmen's Circle/Arbeter Ring
True Majority
Universal Health Care Action Network (UHCAN)
Union for Reform Judaism
United Food and Commercial Workers*
United Professionals
USAction*
USPIRG
Votehealthcare.org
White Crane Billing Solutions
Women's Health Foundation
Woman’s National Democratic Club
Women’s Universal Health Initiative
Women’s Voices for the Earth
Women’s Voices. Women Vote.*
Working America*
Working Families Win
Work Place Fairness
YWCA – Young Women’s Christian Association
Wow, that's more than the few tea party groups I know about. HMMMMMM.....
Well come on, this can't be so bad. What could they possibly be telling their people?
Oh, here are some of their suggestions to fight off grandma and grandpa at any meetings; these don't seem so extremist, do they?
How should we prepare to encounter the right wing protesters at MOC events?
1. Contact friendly MOCs (Members of Congress) and let them know you are coming to make sure our side is heard and that the event is positive. Provide constructive support for Members of Congress who are holding public events to promote health care reform by turning out constituents and anticipating problems ahead of time. Ask the Member’s staff what would be most helpful and talk through a strategy for making sure the right messages don’t get drowned out by chaotic protesters.
2. Inoculate your staff and your volunteers by telling them what to expect and what purpose lies behind the right-wing demonstrations. The more that the attendees know what to expect; the less startled they will be by the irrational tone and militancy of the protesters.
3. Bring more people than the other side has. Their side will be smaller but noisier. You must bring enough people to drown them out and to cover all our bases so as to marginalize their disruptive tactics. You don’t want to get into a screaming match, but it must be obvious to everyone—including press—that you represent the majority.
4. Arrive earlier than the other side does. We need to stack our folks in the front to create a wall around the Member, and we need to stake out the best spots for visibility and signs. Reconnaissance on the venue and an understanding of the staging will be important here. Make sure you do your homework so you can position your folks most effectively.
5. Be more visible than the other side. Bring more signs and leaflets, and whenever possible, post your signs all over the place so that you visually out-perform the other side. Make sure you have people holding signs in every place where a TV camera is likely to be and that next to every right wing sign, there’s one of your signs with your message.
6. Have a real plan for the media. Remember, this is a communications strategy that the right wing is using and our goal is to stop them from hijacking and changing the message and tone of these events. Assign 3-5 people to speak with the reporters who attend and make sure the reporters understand the scope and message of the event. If you let the media just report on what they see, they will invariably focus on the mayhem. That is a far juicer story than affordability and the public health insurance option. Don’t wait for the reporter to approach you. You must approach the reporters and be assertive in shaping the narrative that they write. Have someone assigned to greeting the media or checking in media as they arrive. That way you will know who they are and be able to work with them both during the event and afterwards. Also, plan to record both the events you attend and the events you organize. TV stations will use amateur footage to round out their stories, and the other side is recording and posting video online. We need to be able to give the press video of successful events too.
How should we interact/what do we say to the other side?
1. Do not debate on their “policy” points. Remember, they are seeking a platform to distort the truth about reform by making health care about abortion, rationing, euthanasia, etc. Rather than try to reply with the truth (which won’t move them anyway) we should respond with our message and at every turn re-focus the agenda on communicating with the Member of Congress.
2. Interrupt them when they get disruptive and refocus the meeting: Line up a number of people who feel comfortable interrupting and prepare them with statements like:
* Excuse me, I came today to listen to Representative XXX explain how this bill is going to make health care more affordable for me and my family. We’re being gouged by insurance companies that just want to make more profits while we struggle to keep up with premiums and co-pays. Representative, how are you going to fix that?”
* “I’m retired and can’t afford my prescription drugs because I’m on a fixed income. Representative, how is this bill going to affect me?”
* “I want to hear the Representative speak. He’s the one voting on the bill. Representative, how will this bill help people who already have insurance at work?”
* “What I’m worried about is how we’re going to keep the insurance companies from continuing to charge people more for being sick and keep them from taking away coverage when we need it most. What’s the plan for that?”
3. Don’t get into a shouting match with them. Instead, prep people on our side to keep raising the questions that we want answered. Repetition is the key. We need to arm our side with questions that play to the strength of our message and make sure we keep bringing them up over and over so that the press recognizes those central themes. We should also phrase those questions strategically to help move the message.
* “Over the last XX years, insurance company profits have risen XXX %; in this bill you would regulate insurance companies so that they can no longer deny people with pre-existing conditions and would have to play by fair rules. Isn’t that right, Representative XX?”
* “Isn’t it true that this bill would guarantee everyone a choice of public health insurance option that will lower cost overall in the system?”
4. Address the MOC directly with a positive message: Remember, these Members need cover and they are getting beaten up by right wing zealots in these meetings. We want to let the Member know that we appreciate his efforts to hear constituents and that we, the majority, agree with him.
5. We should demonstrate that we are the majority by chanting: When the other side gets too loud, we should shut them down with chants that counter their message like “Health Care Can’t Wait!” and “Health Care Delayed is Health Care Denied” and prep people to chant at key points when the other side gets most disruptive.
6. Follow up with the Member one-on-one: This experience may have been trying for your MOC. Make sure that you thank him and that you let him know that the majority is with him. He needs to know that we will provide cover and support him at every turn for his leadership on this issue.
Organizing your own events with a Member of Congress
One advantage to organizing your own Town Hall or public event with Members of Congress is that you will have much more control over the event and limit the other side’s opportunities for disruption. Still, you should take precautions to make sure that you can keep meetings you organize under control. Here are some basic tips:
1. Talk to the Member of Congress ahead of time so that you agree on a format that is comfortable for the Member and that you can troubleshoot roles or concerns that the Member may have about the event. It is important to know how much time the Member will have, when he will arrive, what staff he’s bringing, and how many questions he’ll answer so that you can anticipate any issues that may arise and can plan your program appropriately.
2. Know who you are turning out to attend the event. Make sure you turn out a substantial number of people from your base and that everyone signs a sign in sheet upon entering the event. Give everyone name tags so they are easily identifiable. If you want to ensure greater control over turnout, you can ask attendees to rsvp or even issue tickets to the event and require presentation of the ticket at the entrance.
3. Choose a venue that is difficult for the opposition to access without being noticed. Get to your location early and make sure you set up the venue in a way that ensures that the attendees you want are at the front and that any protesters who come are sequestered as far as possible from the stage. Make sure that you have signs and visuals up and that you adequately understand the layout of your venue so that you know where the entrances are, where the press will be positioned, where your speakers will be, etc.
4. Select a strong moderator to move the agenda in a disciplined way. Make sure you select someone who is comfortable interrupting rowdy protesters, who can command the attention of the room, and who understands how to de-escalate tensions and re-direct people to the agenda.
5. Lay out goals for the meeting and establish ground rules for conduct in the meeting at the beginning of the event. Among these ground rules should be a protocol for asking questions. One way to do this is to ask people to submit questions ahead of time on cards, to permit only one question at a time, and to limit the topic of questions.
6. Plan for disturbances and assign marshals. Make sure that you assign marshals to take care of moving the crowd, keeping people organized and orderly, and acting as security should any need arise to ask noisy or disruptive protesters to leave. If you have cause to think that you will need more back-up, notify the police ahead of time.
7. Collect signs and leaflets that are not provided by you or your organization. Another way to limit protesters’ ability to hijack your event is to confiscate signs or leaflets that they may bring into the venue from outside. The best way to do this is to make a blanket rule that no one can bring signs or leaflets and to advertise this fact as you do turn out in the weeks preceding the event. You can distribute your own signs in the event and offer them one as they enter if you choose to allow them to enter.
8. Assign people to greet the media and to stay close to reporters both as they enter and leave the event. It’s important that you take away right-wingers opportunities to talk with reporters by making sure that your staff or leaders are in constant contact with the media who attend. You should set up a special table or area for the press to sit during the event and that area should be close t the stage and away from any areas of the venue where protesters may gather. Also make sure you have materials ready for the reporters so that they know the purpose and message of the event.
Hey Conservatives out there - take a lesson from these arrogant socialist deadbeats who want to steal what YOU have and continue with their entitled useless lives. Tea Party groups - follow these tactics - why not? They're not illegal and maybe they'll work!!
Don't forget to call your congressmen during August and tell them you DON'T WANT THIS SWEEPING OVERHAUL OF HEALTH CARE - KNOWN AS HR-3200. Remind them that you do vote.
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