How the Game is Played
Another email Rolling Stone has obtained from the Conservatives For Patients’ Rights listserv offers another glimpse into the machinery of AstroTurf activism:
On Wed, Oct 21, 2009 at 4:19 PM, Daniel Faraci danielfar…@hotmail.com wrote:
All,
Have been in several offices on Capitol Hill and the phone call organization is now close to equal on the opposition/support. This can not continue. We have dialogued, organized, etc., but effective targeted grassroots events, operations, etc. are now needed in the critical phase of this process.
1) Blue Dogs and moderate Democratic Senators must be blanketed in calls.
2) Rallies in “key” states with local media attention must transpire.
**3) MOST IMPORTANT, the members of your organizations must call their LOCAL Members of Congress (House/Senate) to the District offices and provide their zip codes. This way the true “on the fence” votes on health reform can log calls from THEIR CONSTITUENTS, which is much more effective and powerful than simple phone blitzes known to come from interest groups!
I’ve seen Dr. McKalip especially organizing on this exchange (amongst others), but this must continue to be tightly/methodically organized. As emailed earlier, there are Blue Dogs who must feel the pressure, and in the Senate…Bayh, Dorgan, Tester, Snowe, Collins, Lieberman, Landrieu, Casey, Conrad, Lincoln, Webb are the most important for your voices to be heard from. We can weaken this legislation, and there is still time to combat this, but all efforts must be at a peak now, just like in August…but much better organized!!!