Today on Fox News — which has actively been promoting the protests [ http://mediamatters.org/items/200904080025 ] — Glenn Beck pushed the tea party talking points, similarly claiming that the protests aren’t “coordinated” and are fully organized by “regular” people. Watch it:
Despite these attempts to make the “movement” appear organic, the principle organizers of the local events are actually the lobbyist-run think tanks Americans for Prosperity and Freedom Works. The two groups are heavily staffed [ http://www.freedomworks.org/about/staff ] and well funded [ http://mediatransparency.org/recipientprofile.php?recipientID=5836 ], and are providing all the logistical and public relations work necessary for planning coast-to-coast protests:
– Freedom Works staffers coordinate conference calls among protesters, contacting conservative activists [ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHDFWViHL7o ] to give them “sign ideas, sample press releases, and a map of events around the country.”