All aboard the Astroturf bus!

Chris Gautz of the Jackson (MI) Citizen Patriot reports that the SEIU and Organizing For America chartered buses from nearly 200 miles away to plant Obamacare supporters at a town hall meeting held by Democrat Rep. Mark Schauer.
All aboard the Astroturf bus:
Several readers have criticized the Citizen Patriot’s coverage of last week’s health-care rally outside U.S. Rep. Mark Schauer’s office, where hundreds came out — both to support and oppose — President Barack Obama’s reform plan.
The chief criticism was that we failed to mention that some supporters were bused in from around the state.
It is true, and it wasn’t included in the original story, but not because we were trying to slant coverage. The simple truth is it was a difficult fact to nail down.
You’re reading this story today because Tuesday I was able to confirm with the Service Employees International Union that it rented vans and encouraged people to carpool to the event. About 100 SEIU members attended, from as far away as Muskegon and Detroit, said Zac Altefogt, a spokesman for SEIU Healthcare Michigan.
OFA wasn’t very happy about being smoked out:
On Friday, we followed up with Organizing for America, which put out the call for supporters to attend the event. OFA state director Aletheia Henry assured us that her group had not bused people to the rally.
We wrote a short follow-up Saturday and thought it was resolved.
Then this week, some readers e-mailed us photos of supporters standing in front of a bus from Trinity Transportation parked several blocks away near Family Video, 1111 W. Ganson St.
My colleague followed up with Henry. We told her we understood OFA hadn’t chartered the buses, but we wondered if she knew who had. She refused to answer the question and then hung up the phone.
Seems like an overreaction to a news organization simply looking for a straight answer.
Hat tip: Jim Hoft, who maps the bus routes.
See what others have said
Note from Michelle: This section is for comments from michellemalkin.com's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that I agree with or endorse any particular comment just because I let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with my terms of use may lose his or her posting privilege.
Trackbacks
- Runnin’ Scared: Democrats Not Handling ObamaCare Town Hall Protests Well… Some Hiding Out from Voters (video) « Frugal Café Blog Zone
- Looks Like West Los Angeles Is Another Hot Bed for ACORN-Union Thuggery Against ObamaCare Protesters « Frugal Café Blog Zone
- Newest Member of ‘Obama Shill Show’: Meet Roxana Mayer, Town Hall Doctor Liar & *No Surprise* Obama Delegate & Lead Organizer for OfA « Frugal Café Blog Zone
- Attack of the Purple Shirts: Malkin on Beck about Democrat-Approved SEIU Members Intimidating, Beating Up ObamaCare Town Hall Protesters (video) « Frugal Café Blog Zone
- Phony-Baloney Democrat Astro-Turfing: Dems Hiring Fake ObamaCare Protesters from Ads Placed on Craigs List; UPDATE, Little Girl with Political Connections to POTUS? « Frugal Café Blog Zone
- The New Third Rail « Michigan Taxes Too Much
- Health Care: Let The War Begin « NEOAVATARA
- Barney Frank’s Wacky Town Hall Circus: Says He’ll Vote the Way HE Think Is Best on ObamaCare, Will Likely Ignore Majority of Voters (video) « Frugal Café Blog Zone
- Michelle Malkin » SEIU Watch: Obama to rouse Purple Army in special conference call
- Michelle Malkin » SEIU Watch: Obama to rouse Purple Army in special conference call
- Andy Stern and the SEIU purple shirts to hold health care reform strategy meeting on Thursday with Obama | Fire Andrea Mitchell!
- URGENT: Miami Commissioners’ community meetings – 8/19/2009 at 6pm (local media fails to notify) « FactReal
- Walking Barefoot in a Pasture: Stepping in the Cow Patties of Government-Run Health Care Horror Stories (video) « Frugal Café Blog Zone
- More Cow Patties, More Government-Run Health Care Horror Stories: US Military’s VA Health System (video) « Frugal Café Blog Zone
- Liberal Liars & Hypocrites: Outpouring of Fake Obama-Bot Doctors & Protesters at Townhalls, MSM Silent… But Attacking Joe the Plumber Was A-OK « Frugal Café Blog Zone
- GayPatriot » Holding Obamacare Advocates to the Maddow Grassroots Standard
- GayPatriot » The Hypocrisy at the Heart of the Obama Administration:Flooding the Washington Swamp While Claiming to Drain itA Review of Michelle Malkin’s Culture of Corruption
- Obama’s Annoying “We Inherited…” Radio’s Mark Levin Lets Liberals and Obama Really Have It for Imposing Their Will on Our Nation (video) « Frugal Café Blog Zone
- GayPatriot » Holding Democrats to Maddow Standard for Grassroots Activism
- GayPatriot » Obama’s “Diversity” Guy at FCC Loves Hugo Chavez
Comments
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Categories: Health care, SEIU
Pundit & Pundette
» Reports of Broder's retirement greatly exaggerated
AmSpecBlog
» The Road Ahead in the Health Care Battle
NewsBusters.org
» Harry Reid Rips WaPo's David Broder On Senate Floor
Legal Insurrection
» Yes, It Really Is That Bad
Riehl World View
» Burka Barbie w/ Western Outfits And Removable Head?
Stop The ACLU
» It’s Burkha Barbie! No, Seriously. I’m Not Kidding. Really

Weekly Standard
» Beamer: Why'd Obama Recuse Himself on Terror Trials?










Bussss ted!
Hope those folks are being paid for their time and effort in being bussed almost 200 miles. If so, then the administration could claim it actually is stimulating the economy.
Wow, that will reduce their carbon footprint.
I saw something very striking this morning. Over at the daily kook there is a posting of the pics from their meeting in Pittsburgh.
I looked through the pics and they were the usual preppy with computers pics. Nothing real odd, some funny looking folks having fun, some serious looking folks not having as much fun. Just pics from a convention
Then it hit me, the only black folks in these pics were either alone or seemingly grabbed by some lone liberal to show their face with a black person. It also struck me how few black folks were in that series of over 200 pics. And when I looked closer it seemed a few of the pics were of the same black people. They were just pimped to make it look like there was some even minor contingent of african americans.
So for all there talk of diversity it seems the liberal kooks like their conventions just like their klan rallys.
White very white.
Obama and SEIU are but two of the vermin parasites eating us alive. Can they be removed before the damage is fatal?
That would be double dipping since most of these folks get a gov’ment check anyhow…not that double dipping is anything a demoncrap supporter wouldn’t do anyway.
200 miles?! How green is that?!
Some people will do anything for a WIC card.
Oh, they’re getting paid.
ok, these folks are union employees we’re told, if so, when do they work or is this their union job?
That you can bet on…one way or another their getting paid and guess who’s paying them.
No doubt! But the sad fact is, no one in the media but FNC will notice it. To the MSM, this is just an above-board example of average, everyday Americans exercising their right to “free” speech!
Just a broad meaning of ‘community’ organizing.
Most of the recruits that the union gets to walk picket lines or protest come from the unemployed on the union books. These are usually the whiners and complainers who can’t keep a job and the non-productive who are the first to be laid off when a job finishes. When I was a union carpenter foreman many years ago, we referred to them as “warm bodies”.
They do whatever the union tells them so they can work just enough to qualify the rest of the year for unemployment and keep their healthcare benefits.
Appreciate your input, so, that means these people are incapable of thinking for themselves and need to be ushered through life with a hand out? Now it all makes sense.
Ew. Glad I wasn’t on that bus.
The Hessians were hired mercenaries who fought for money. The Continental Army consisted of patriots who fought for their freedom.
Let the buses come.
DUDE!! Awesome comparision! Well done; I’m gonna have to borrow that one.
Wow, I was just going to send this as a tip, it’s my home town and Mark Schauer is my congress critter (ugh) Schauer was just at my old employer the other day to talk health care. It is a union shop full of people who already have health care.
link here
As a correection, Schauer was not holding a town hall meeting, it was a planned protest. He only held a “telephone townhall”. He said that he won’t hold any townhalls because no one was coming. Of course he had his last one BEFORE this bill was made public…..bet people would show up now.
BTW, Jackson MI. is the birthplace of the Republican party….
JUST MADE MY FLIGHT PLANS FOR SEPT 12 TO D.C. IN IN THE MORNING OUT AT NIGHT, INEXPENSIVE, AND WITH THE METRO, NO CAB FARE OR HOTEL. ACCORDING TO OUR PREZ, IF YOU CONDUCT ANY BUSINESS THERE, IT’S DEDUCTABLE. TALK TO THE GUY NEXT TO YOU ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS, THAT’S A MEETING TO PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS.
I would also add, good for the Patriot for following up on the story.
The one’s I saw on TV were getting off school buses. Now maybe those who got off the bus were attending summer school because they weren’t the sharpest pencils in the box, but they sure looked too old to be riding a school bus to the event.
Get bussed around to vote.
Get bussed around to protest.
Glad I’ve got that ACORN neck pillow.
/fraud_mode_off
I was in Phoenix on Monday when Obama spoke to the VFW convention. “They” busssed in people from Los Angeles with the likely hood of meeting “the One” as VIP’s and were PAID TO BE THERE. Probably 3/4 of the ones shown in all the pictures are NOT from AZ. What’s more. all the pictures showing the “guns” were taken on the Obama side of the street—total SET UP!!!!
The “Astro-turfers” really had a great time.
It bears mentioning that Schauer’s district (MI7) isn’t one of those bizarrely gerrymandered creatures they have in Pennsylvania. Muskegon and Detroit are far outside of this district, and people not represented by Rep Schauer have no business displacing his actual constituents at a town hall.
Bill Clinton had to make do with just an El Camino with Astroturf in the back!
Ho hum, does that mean I need to make yet another trip over to realitycheck to have them explain this along with the 2nd fake wacko doctor? Well at least it’s consolidated with flag now so I don’t have to report in two places.
I hear Hillary still suffers an occasiional flareup of turf toe.