Media Ignore Democrat Astroturfing at Pelosi Event

By Noel Sheppard | August 08, 2009 | 11:42

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As media members fell all over themselves last week calling town hall meeting protesters part of an angry mob financed by conservative organizations, they were totally disinterested in evidence of astroturfing by Democrats at an event attended by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Cali.).

To highlight the supposed impact of stimulus funds on healthcare services, Pelosi joined Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) and Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) at the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless’s Stout Street Clinic in Denver Thursday.

As marvelously reported by LookingattheLeft.com, a Democrat organization made sure that healthcare reform supporters were not only in attendance for the event, but were also nicely equipped with professionally made lawn signs (h/t Michelle Malkin via Rick Moore):

After I was on the scene for about 15 minutes I got a call from one of my location scouts. “Hey, you gotta come down by the alley here. A bunch of Obama people just showed up.”

I walked over to the far corner of the clinic and sure enough, freshly minted Obama supporters had arrived on the scene.

Note the wire lawn sign hardware left over from Obama’s Presidential campaign. These people were organized by the ArapaHope Community Team (A.C.T.)

As LATL reported, the following e-mail message was sent by the ArapaHope Community Team:

From: "donna galassi" <donna.galassi@arapahope.org>
To: vcmoon@comcast.net
Sent: Wednesday, August 5, 2009 11:49:49 PM GMT -07:00 US/Canada Mountain
Subject: Thursday, August 6, Show Your Support for Healthcare Reform
Vorry,

Tomorrow, Thursday, August 6, there are two events to spotlight our support for healthcare reform.

Nancy Pelosi, Representatives Jared Polis and Diana DeGette touring the Stout Street Clinic
Where: Stout Street Clinic, 2100 Broadway, Denver, CO Map
When: Thursday, August 6 at 1:30 pm

There will be a lot of media covering this event and those against reform will attend to make their message heard. For that same reason, we plan to attend and ensure that our support is seen and heard.

But here's the best part:

This clinic is adjacent to Denver’s day laborer pickup street, Park Avenue. Being fluent in Spanish, El Marco asked these guys “¿hablan ingles?” “casi nada” was the reply from our amigo on the left. I asked him if he could tell me what the signs said. “¿Quien sabe?” (who knows?) was all he said to me, with a big grin. I’m kicking myself for not asking them how much they were getting paid to support the grassroots.

The irony of their lack of comprehension of the signs they were holding was heightened by the fact that they were the most elaborate and detailed signs of either group.

Ironic indeed, but maybe more so is how media totally ignored this. According to LexisNexis, not one major national news outlet felt this obvious astroturfing by Democrats was newsworthy.

I guess falsely accusing Republicans of manufacturing dissent is much more important to today's so-called journalists than exposing when Democrats actually do it.

Why might that be?

As a post facto aside, the most powerful and obvious astroturfing is regularly performed by the left given their connection to unions and community organizers. As such, when Democrats point fingers at Republicans for orchestrating dissent, it's because they know that much of the protesting by their constituents is indeed manufactured.

In the end, if we actually had an honest media rather than advocates with bylines, they'd see through these absurd claims by the left and report the truth to the electorate.

Or is that asking too much?