Following the vote and passage of universal health care in the U.S., an endless string of alleged “threats” began rapidly circulating the mainstream media with feverish fury, portraying the Tea Party and its attendees as nothing short of “racist,” “crazy” and “homophobic,” based off virtually zero evidence to back up their claims.
However, lack of evidence did not matter. The mainstream media picked up the stories and ran with them. Luckily for them, a new front organization has launched which could help them “validate” their claims and continue to spread misinformation to the general public.
A group called “Crash the Tea Party,” registered to a man named Jason Levin, is encouraging participants to attend nationwide Tea Party rallies on April 15 with one—and only one—objective in mind: to paint the Tea Party as pathetically disturbed and out of touch as possible. Ultimately, through no hidden secret, this is a tactic to crush the legitimacy of the movement and its members as a whole. In their own words, they seek to “dismantle and demolish the Tea Party by any non-violent means necessary.”
In a brash statement of its goals, the Crash the Tea Party Web site states:
—“Whenever possible, we will act on behalf of the Tea Party in ways which exaggerate their least appealing qualities (misspelled protest signs, wild claims in TV interviews, etc.) to further distance them from mainstream America and damage the public’s opinion of them. We will also use the inside information that we have gained in order to disrupt and derail their plans.”
The Hot Air blog first caught wind of the story from a tipster and raised the question that this could possibly be a group launched by Tea Party members to cover their tracks if any questionable incidents were to arise, so they investigated.
After digging around and looking into the man behind this “movement,” they found this is not in any way, a smart, subliminal or roundabout devious tactic of anyone within the Tea Party.
Jason Levin, in fact, is not a member nor does he have any affiliation with the Tea Party. The group is also legitimate, as Hot Air points out through this AP story:
—“Jason Levin, creator of http://www.crashtheteaparty.org, said Monday the group has 65 leaders in major cities across the country who are trying to recruit members to infiltrate tea party events for April 15 — tax filing day, when tea party groups across the country are planning to gather and protest high taxes.
“Every time we have someone on camera saying that Barack Obama isn’t an American citizen, we want someone sitting next to him saying, ‘That’s right, he’s an alien from outer space!’” Levin said…
Levin says they want to exaggerate the group’s least appealing qualities, further distance the tea party from mainstream America and damage the public’s opinion of them.
“Do I think every member of the tea party is a homophobe, racist or a moron? No, absolutely not,” Levin said. “Do I think most of them are homophobes, racists or morons? Absolutely.”
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Levin, as Michelle Malkin followed up and stated in her blog, is not staying mum or remotely trying to hide the fact that he is the “mastermind” behind this, referencing his personal Twitter page as well as the Crash the Tea Party Twitter account, which can be found here.
There has been much speculation on how all of this started and why these events are “occurring.”
Throughout the entire health care debate, backroom deals were struck, arms were twisted, and votes were bought. A majority of the American public was against the overhaul, the processes being utilized by Democrats, and despite this, the bill was ultimately rammed through.
It has been speculated that given Democrats projected themselves as bullies during the entire process, the focus should now, for their benefit, shift away from them in the role of the bullies, to the victimized. What better way to accomplish this objective other than riding on the coattails of what could be legitimate threats to conjure up sympathy?
While not all of the reported threats were fabricated, the most talked-about and blown-out-of-proportion incidents had no proof or merit behind them whatsoever.
During the Kill the Bill protest in Washington, D.C., a day before the health care vote, it was said that protesters screamed racial slurs at black congressmen, who conveniently walked out of their way to make sure they were cutting through the herd of people. Despite the accusations, video emerged that did not, and could not, confirm that racial slurs were used.
One thing that can be confirmed is during a Tea Party protest in the past, former speechwriter to George H.W Bush had the words “white boy” shouted at him. Essentially, in the sense used by the man who screamed it, as a racial slur.
It was also claimed that a protester spit on Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) during the Kill the Bill rally in D.C. The same video as above clearly shows the man sprayed the Congressman while shouting “kill the bill,” but it was not a deliberate action. In fact, the man involved was never formally charged with any wrongdoing.
Another incident, which involved a coffin apparently being placed in the front lawn of Rep. Russ Carnahan of Missouri, was drummed up as an underlying death threat. This was also exaggerated.
The coffin was used at a prayer vigil days before the accusations even surfaced, and no coffin was left in the congressman’s lawn. In fact, it was never even placed in his lawn at any point in time. The original story was later retracted and corrected. The so-called incident was used as a fundraising tool for the congressman, who was trailing his opponent in the fundraising cycle.
It should, however, be noted during a Carnahan town hall a couple of months back, a black conservative was attacked and beaten by two SEIU members. Bill Hennessy, a member of the St. Louis Tea Party Patriots and the man who wrote the article within the last link, chastised the SEIU on their actions. Ironically, Mr. Hennessy was the person blamed in placing the coffin in front of Carnahan’s lawn.
If events such as the above described occur at the peaceful Tea Party protests throughout the nation on April 15 and you are in attendance, be prepared.
The best way to combat and counter groups such as Crash the Tea Party is simply by using use your cell phones, Flip cams, whatever you may have to record the incidents and then upload the videos on the internet as citizen journalists. Bloggers and a select few media outlets will take note and use your footage, exposing these groups and organizations for what they truly are.
Joe Schoffstall is a reporter and writer and assists in public relations and communications at a news agency based in Alexandria, Va.