A Washington Post reporter formerly employed as a union activist is taking the lead in attacking Republican Sen. Ben Sasse for asking questions about paid protesters, according to reports.
Following President-elect Donald Trump’s successful bid for the White House, demonstrations popped up in cities across America, sometimes under suspicious circumstances.
Numerous media outlets report on the existence of Craigslist advertisements that offer individuals up to $1,500 to block traffic and hold up signs protesting Donald Trump‘s fair victory. “We are looking for motivated individuals who are seeking Full-Time, Part-Time, and Permanent positions,” one Craigslist advertisement in Seattle read, according to Fox News.
People took to Twitter to point out rows of buses present in Chicago during what was widely described as spontaneous protests in the Windy City:
Rows of Soros busses paid to protest against Trump ~This is not only wrong it’s un American & as vile as him~Bad bad man no morals at all~♡~ pic.twitter.com/LopyKxy9CZ
— Fran Cifelli (@FranCifelli) November 15, 2016
Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse inquired into the lack of reporting on instances where paid protesters are inciting violence following the presidential election:
Why don’t we have more reporting on paid rioting?
Who pays for it?
How much?
Why?
Through what orgs?
Who are the “workers”?
Who recruits?— Ben Sasse (@BenSasse) November 17, 2016
Question for those certain there is no such thing as paid protesting:
Why not just report more on astroturfing then? Size? Funders? Limits? https://t.co/sp0k3HWO0E
— Ben Sasse (@BenSasse) November 17, 2016
The Washington Post’s Phillip Bump responded to Sen. Sasse in a Nov. 17 article entitled, “Sen. Sasse, here are some answers to your questions about ‘paid rioting.'” In the piece, Bump asserts that there isn’t any good evidence that the people who are protesting are actually being paid to do so. Bump dismisses the Jame’s O’Keefe videos, claiming that they don’t actually say that they paid anti-Trump protesters.
Bump also describes evidence of paid protesters as nothing more than “wisps,” ignoring substantial evidence that paid provocateurs have been present at post-election “anti-Trump” demonstrations, adding that there are “progressive organizations” which help organize protests, asserting their goal is to “manifest existing political attitudes by getting sympathetic people to take action.” Bump failed to mention some of the seedier tactics progressive organizations and labor groups sometimes resort to in order to further its goals and objectives. Bump, according to the political blog San Jose Inside, worked for the South Bay Labor Council in 2009, a Silicon Valley-based union group with a history of targeting political opponents and local journalists who question media narratives.
Bump reportedly administered “San Jose Revealed,” an anonymous website that was known for personal attacks against adversaries of local labor-backed politicians. San Jose Inside claims that Bump received payments from the labor council. Bump and his website revealed a map to the personal residence of a political adversary, and when the individual asked for the information to be removed, Bump and his website doubled down, resulting in property damage to the victim’s home, according to San Jose Inside.
The WaPo reporter’s website also published a map to Deputy District Attorney David Pandori’s home. Pandori prosecutes gangs for a living, and releasing his home address put his entire family in danger. The instances of vitriolic, personal attacks against professional opponents include the shaming of a local business owner’s daughter for an unpaid garbage bill, and the pubic posting of an opposing local politician’s Match.com dating profile. (RELATED: Washington Post hires ultra-liberal former union bully and nobody bats an eye)
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