From The Hill, "Health Protesters Plan Saturday Rallies Outside Offices," and Fox News, " 'Tea Party' Organizers Plan Anti-'Obamacare' Rallies Across the Country."
Here's this, from the text of The Hill piece:
Many of the organizers of the anti-tax Tea Party protests are collaborating Saturday for a Nationwide Recess Rally to protest "socialized, government-controlled healthcare" outside members' district offices.Gateway Pundit's report is here, "The Hill Reports on the 1,000 Rallies Planned For Tomorrow ...Update: DNC Slanders Town Hall Protesters!" But check out this, from the Fox report:
Backed by right-of-center bloggers and conservative groups, the effort calls for demonstrations at noon in each time zone at more than 1,000 congressional offices across the country.
"These events will represent a strong statement that we’ve been pushed to the edge and simply cannot be pushed any further," the nationwide organizers state on the Recess Rally website. "It is at this time that we will also hand deliver a coalition letter to every single congressional office in the country."
Protests are planned outside offices of both Democrats and Republicans, ranging from House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) to House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.), who famously answered a town hall protester's comment Tuesday about "Nazi policy" with "On what planet do you spend most of your time?"
Jim Hoft, who blogs at Gateway Pundit and has been covering many of the protest events in the St. Louis area, told The Hill that the demonstrations are being planned by activists on the local level.
Hoft, who will be outside Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill's (Mo.) office for the rally on Saturday, said he believes the protest efforts at town halls throughout recess have been making a difference.
"That's why we want to keep the momentum going," Hoft said. "This isn't about politics — some people say it would be a big defeat for Obama and the Democrats, but that isn't what's important to us in St. Louis.
"We want to defeat this legislation because we believe it's bad for America," Hoft said.
Hoft said more than 2,000 protesters are expected at the Missouri locations. Word about the events has spread through blogs, talk radio and some local news outlets.
Hoft brushed aside the characterization of the demonstrations as a right-wing event. "We're seeing in the polls most of America is against this piece of legislation today," he said. "The people out there who are passionate would include the right."
"If you look at many, if not most, of the state pages on the website - there are no rallies listed so it's hard to comment on something that doesn't appear in many places to be happening," Democratic National Committee spokeswoman Brandi Hoffine told The Hill. "Of course - this would match the trend we've seen over the last two weeks where the supporters of reform are outnumbering the protesters at town halls across the country. The opposition made a splash at a handful of town halls in the first few days of the recess, but after its tactics -- including hanging members in effigy and the use of Nazi symbolism -- backfired we've seen the opposition recede and supporters of health insurance reform emerge."
If Democratic lawmakers thought all the furor over President Obama's health care plan expressed this month at town hall meetings was dying down, they might be in for a surprise Saturday.
That's when citizens are planning anti-"Obamacare" rallies across the country Saturday in all 435 congressional districts.
And their message is clear: We will not stand for socialized, government-controlled health care.
The same groups who made the "tax tea parties" possible in April are behind this weekend's movement. American Liberty Alliance, FreedomWorks and Americans for Prosperity are working with The Sam Adams Alliance, among others, to stage the rallies.
They come as town hall clashes between Democratic lawmakers and protesters of Obama's health care plan have captured national attention. Some Democrats have dismissed those protesters as "mobs" organized by special interests. But many protesters have said they attended the town halls out of genuine concern.
Now they can express their concerns at Saturday's rallies.
"Obviously the idea behind this was to have a unified day for those concerned about government-controlled health care to talk outside their representatives' offices," said Paul Miller, spokesman for The Sam Adams Alliance, a Chicago-based political organization which is one of several groups promoting the event through new media.
They're not kidding about the "new media." See, CNN, "Liberal Bloggers Admit Conservatives Have Upper Hand on Twitter."
See also, USA Today, "Town Hall Meetings Stir More Conservatives to Action."
Related: Legal Insurrection, "Throw Out the Democratic Health Care Sponge."
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