The radical right organized four separate anti-Obama hate-fests in Tampa, as they mobilized for an all out assault on Barack Obama. This was pretty scary stuff. And AlterNet was there to record the fantasies and the paranoia.
AlterNet's team --with Adele Stan at the helm, along with Peter Montgomery and Arun Gupta-- has been in the middle of the action in Florida, documenting the dark words of Ralph Reed, Grover Norquist, Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich and more, as the all-star team of wing nuttery rallied the faithful to defeat Obama. The AlterNet team has been on the convention floor. And they have tracked the protests in the streets.
Some of the things these right-wing leaders said were truly hair-raising. Here are a handful of the many:
- Ralph Reed, Chairman, Faith and Freedom Coalition: We will "bathe the entire week with prayer" and dedicate the fall election to "the Lord." "We feel very strongly that America hangs in the balance,” Reed said. He also enlisted Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum to record messages that will be used in 4 million robocalls.
- Newt Gingrich: "Unlike Barack Obama," Gingrich said, "[Romney] understands that our grant comes from God." "I believe Barack Obama is a direct threat to the survival of the country I know and love." Gingrich called Obama a "pro-abortion extremist" falsely claiming that the Democratic Party platform called for late-term, taxpayer-funded abortions. And, perhaps new for Gingrich, he claimed that abortion was murder.
- Michele Bachmann: In the wake of the Supreme Court's decision upholding the Affordable Care Act, "there's only one option left for America to remain free -- and that's at the ballot box...We're not going to stand by and see socialism implemented in our country."
- Phyllis Schlafly, President, Eagle Forum declared that this is the most important election of our lifetimes and that “our whole way of life is at stake.”
- Judson Phillips, President, Tea Party Nation: Phillips, whose group served as a co-sponsor of one of the rallies, served up an unhinged string of unexplained accusations going so far as to accuse Obama, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, of "occasional mass murder." He did not elaborate on the charge.
And then AlterNet's D.C Bureau Chief went on Amy Goodman's Democracy Now to tell the world what she saw and heard.
A few weeks ago 589 of you contributed $18,000 to get our people to Tampa --in the belly of the beast-- to document the worst instincts of the rabid right. Our people are there. Many of you paid for plane flights, hotel rooms, food, transcripts etc. for our team to track the right, be inside the convention, and cover the protests.
But more is needed. Can we count on you?
At the same time, AlterNet's Steve Rosenfeld went undercover in Denver at the GOP's Voter Vigilante Project --which is aiming to disrupt the Nov. Election-- and wrote a powerful expose.
It is not stopping in Tampa.
But the lies and attacks on the humanistic American way of life isn't stopping in Tampa. The soldiers of Obama hate will now fan out to key states and hammer away with their lies and disinformation. And they have to be held accountable.
We need $12,000 more to send our team to the key states of Wisconsin, Colorado, Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania over the next 2 months. Can you help us? This is the crucial time.
With thanks for your support,
|
P.S. If you are like me, we don't want to wake up in November with the likes of Ralph Reed, Newt Gingrich, Michelle Bachman, and of course the ultra conservative VP candidate Paul Ryan and the billionaire Koch Brothers calling the shots. But we have to relentlessly push back at the hate they dish out. Please help us now if you can.
AlterNet is a 501(c)(3) non-profit media organization. Your donation is 100% tax-deductible.
