Wisconsin: A real grass roots movement!

[JohnnyApplesack]

Wisconsin: A real grass roots movement!.

Hear hear. Nice to see some natural turf after all that astro junk.

Real Americans still exist, thank god.

 

[Ragnar]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cufj2d8Co5A

A taxpayer-paid "sick-out", and useful idiot student props (not even educated as to why they are there) to make demands of a State deeply mired in debt is a lot of things: "Grass roots" does not exactly leap to the top of the list. Those kids could have used a little more class time don't ya think?

And what prey tell is that at the end of the video? Why it's professionally printed union shop signs. Quelle surprise!

How do you know that's not the kid of one of the teachers Republicans want to screw over?

Could you diagram that sentence? What are you asking?

 

[Wry Catcher]

It's not grassroots, foo.

It's union thuggery and and the attitude of entitlement in all it's ugliness.

Time wil tell. Observations and opinions are less credible when the reporter needs to add a personal attack; it is a sign of weakness.

Can't argue with his point, so you have to attack the verbiage. Nice.

An observation is not an attack. Calling someone a foo(l) is different than pointing out calling someone a foo(l) weakens an argument. Is that too abstract for you to understand?
Oh, and asking a question is not a personal attack either. I may think your stupid, but I'd never say so, in so many words.

 

[Wry Catcher]

It's not grassroots, foo.

It's union thuggery and and the attitude of entitlement in all it's ugliness.

Time wil tell. Observations and opinions are less credible when the reporter needs to add a personal attack; it is a sign of weakness.

Speaking of weakness: Having your OP obliterated by a 34 second video on page one of a thread is, well... weak.

Professional signs? Check! Bussed in? Check! The latter being the worse case (who cares what kind of signs you have?) of course. Hell, how can you get a professional sign made up if you didn't even know you were going to "protest" in the first place?

Pathetic for sure but there is a better word for it: That word is AstroTurf.

One photo is evidence that I missed all the photos; not that my premise is incorrect. The video I saw and commented on were of the massive crowd and the signage in those videos were not mass produced.

 

[Annie]

What's going on this week in Madison, WI is not AstroTurf, this is a real grass roots movement easily identified by one very obvious sign.

The signs are handmade by the people, not printed by corporate sponsors for events staged and carrried by people bussed in for a rally.

Right. Never mind that the people of WI elected a conservative governor, an overwhelming Republican legislature for just this type of legislation. Yeah, liberals love representative government, as long as they win.

DNC playing role in Wisconsin protests - Ben Smith - POLITICO.com

February 17, 2011

DNC playing role in Wisconsin protests

The Democratic National Committee's Organizing for America arm -- the remnant of the 2008 Obama campaign -- is playing an active role in organizing protests against Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker's attempt to strip most public employees of collective bargaining rights.

OfA, as the campaign group is known, has been criticized at times for staying out of local issues like same-sex marraige, but it's riding to the aide of the public sector unions who hoping to persuade some Republican legislators to oppose Walker's plan. And while Obama may have his difference with teachers unions, OfA's engagement with the fight -- and Obama's own clear stance against Walker -- mean that he's remaining loyal to key Democratic Party allies at what is, for them, a very dangerous moment.

OfA Wisconsin's field efforts include filling buses and building turnout for the rallies this week in Madison, organizing 15 rapid response phone banks urging supporters to call their state legislators, and working on planning and producing rallies, a Democratic Party official in Washington said.

The @OFA_WI twitter account has published 54 tweets promoting the rallies, which the group has also plugged on its blog...

 

[theDoctorisIn]

Jesus fucking Christ.
ALL OF YOU ARE WRONG.

Everyone always acts like such fucking "experts" as to what "real" grassroots is.

The word is MEANINGLESS. All "grassroots" organizations are ORGANIZATIONS. They have donors, they do fundraisers. They take money from special interests and corporations. They print signs and give out shirts, and lead chants. Whether the organization is a few people making signs by hand, or thousands of people making flashy professional signs, it doesn't change anything.

"Astroturf" is nothing more than an attempt to discredit the other side, whether it's Democrats calling the tea parties "astroturf", or the right calling union protests (like this one) "astroturf".

 

[theDoctorisIn]

Time wil tell. Observations and opinions are less credible when the reporter needs to add a personal attack; it is a sign of weakness.

Speaking of weakness: Having your OP obliterated by a 34 second video on page one of a thread is, well... weak.

Professional signs? Check! Bussed in? Check! The latter being the worse case (who cares what kind of signs you have?) of course. Hell, how can you get a professional sign made up if you didn't even know you were going to "protest" in the first place?

Pathetic for sure but there is a better word for it: That word is AstroTurf.

One photo is evidence that I missed all the photos; not that my premise is incorrect. The video I saw and commented on were of the massive crowd and the signage in those videos were not mass produced.

I've organized protests and rallies of all sizes, and one of the first things you buy are professional mass produced signs. They're pretty cheap, especially when you've got a relationship with a good printer.

"Astroturf" is a meaningless word.

 

[Old Rocks]

What's happening in Wisconson is not meaningless, however. It is the beginning of the counterpush to the Conservative Teabaggers, and the GOP union busting.

 

[California Girl]

What's going on this week in Madison, WI is not AstroTurf, this is a real grass roots movement easily identified by one very obvious sign.

The signs are handmade by the people, not printed by corporate sponsors for events staged and carrried by people bussed in for a rally.

Funny how it's only ever a 'grass roots' movement when it's the left.

And... the people of WI voted last November for a change of leadership. Who was it who said "We won. Get over it."

 

[California Girl]

What's happening in Wisconson is not meaningless, however. It is the beginning of the counterpush to the Conservative Teabaggers, and the GOP union busting.

No it isn't. It's a bunch of spoiled brats who care more about their own pockets than the welfare of their state.

 

[theDoctorisIn]

What's happening in Wisconson is not meaningless, however. It is the beginning of the counterpush to the Conservative Teabaggers, and the GOP union busting.

I wish it was.

The reality is that this stuff has been going on for years, but they never get much coverage.

 

[California Girl]

What's happening in Wisconson is not meaningless, however. It is the beginning of the counterpush to the Conservative Teabaggers, and the GOP union busting.

I wish it was.

The reality is that this stuff has been going on for years, but they never get much coverage.

So have the TEA Parties, and they never got coverage either.... but that doesn't stop the bullshit from the left about racists who only started protesting because a black guy got elected POTUS.

 

[theDoctorisIn]

What's happening in Wisconson is not meaningless, however. It is the beginning of the counterpush to the Conservative Teabaggers, and the GOP union busting.

I wish it was.

The reality is that this stuff has been going on for years, but they never get much coverage.

So have the TEA Parties, and they never got coverage either.... but that doesn't stop the bullshit from the left about racists who only started protesting because a black guy got elected POTUS.

I know. What can you do?

There are idiots on both sides.

 

[California Girl]

I wish it was.

The reality is that this stuff has been going on for years, but they never get much coverage.

So have the TEA Parties, and they never got coverage either.... but that doesn't stop the bullshit from the left about racists who only started protesting because a black guy got elected POTUS.

I know. What can you do?

There are idiots on both sides.

Sadly, 'we' can do nothing. It is for each individual to decide whether they are a follower or whether they have the courage to walk their own path. I chose the latter. That's why I will support certain principles but not one political party. I am a conservative - but I don't necessarily agree with every other conservative.

As long as people continue to regurgitate crap they hear from other people, instead of taking the time to honestly analyse information, evaluate it and separate the fact from the spin, things will not change.

 

[editec]

Those of us who have our doubts about the sincereity of the TP have them because everything thery are now complaining about could have been complained about when Bush II was in office, too.


Its the timing of this organization's complaints, and the people who are funding this organization that make it suspect as just an astroturf GOP tool.

Is that really all that difficult to figure out?

 

[theDoctorisIn]

So have the TEA Parties, and they never got coverage either.... but that doesn't stop the bullshit from the left about racists who only started protesting because a black guy got elected POTUS.

I know. What can you do?

There are idiots on both sides.

Sadly, 'we' can do nothing. It is for each individual to decide whether they are a follower or whether they have the courage to walk their own path. I chose the latter. That's why I will support certain principles but not one political party. I am a conservative - but I don't necessarily agree with every other conservative.

As long as people continue to regurgitate crap they hear from other people, instead of taking the time to honestly analyse information, evaluate it and separate the fact from the spin, things will not change.

And I am a steadfast liberal who rarely agrees with many of the liberals on this site. The problem isn't a partisan one. It's a simple matter of people not bothering to figure things out themselves.

 

[California Girl]

I know. What can you do?

There are idiots on both sides.

Sadly, 'we' can do nothing. It is for each individual to decide whether they are a follower or whether they have the courage to walk their own path. I chose the latter. That's why I will support certain principles but not one political party. I am a conservative - but I don't necessarily agree with every other conservative.

As long as people continue to regurgitate crap they hear from other people, instead of taking the time to honestly analyse information, evaluate it and separate the fact from the spin, things will not change.

And I am a steadfast liberal who rarely agrees with many of the liberals on this site. The problem isn't a partisan one. It's a simple matter of people not bothering to figure things out themselves.

We're boat rockers. We should be teaching critical thinking as a key skill in schools, instead we prefer to teach kids what to think and not how to think.

In this very thread, example after example of unthinking following of party lines. Bullshit about 'grass roots' as though that makes one section of protesters more legitimate than another. It's bullshit but it suits their preconceived views.

 

[California Girl]

Those of us who have our doubts about the sincereity of the TP have them because everything thery are now complaining about could have been complained about when Bush II was in office, too.


Its the timing of this organization's complaints, and the people who are funding this organization that make it suspect as just an astroturf GOP tool.

Is that really all that difficult to figure out?

They were. That you didn't see it, does not mean they weren't there. And, most certainly, the movement grew enormously in the past two years.... but that is because of the explosion of federal spending, not the skin color of the POTUS. The only reason YOU believe that the protests are race based is because the media told you it is. The liberal media tells you what to think and you think it.

 

[sparky]

In this very thread, example after example of unthinking following of party lines. Bullshit about 'grass roots' as though that makes one section of protesters more legitimate than another. It's bullshit but it suits their preconceived views.

uh huh, so serve as example and let all the labels go, and define the underlying problems first, the principals applicable second then

 

[sparky]

Those of us who have our doubts about the sincereity of the TP have them because everything thery are now complaining about could have been complained about when Bush II was in office, too.


Its the timing of this organization's complaints, and the people who are funding this organization that make it suspect as just an astroturf GOP tool.

Is that really all that difficult to figure out?

They were. That you didn't see it, does not mean they weren't there. And, most certainly, the movement grew enormously in the past two years.... but that is because of the explosion of federal spending, not the skin color of the POTUS. The only reason YOU believe that the protests are race based is because the media told you it is. The liberal media tells you what to think and you think it.

The liberal media spawned the TP?

that's a laugh CG