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Related: About this forum'Tea party' holds protest against #Everglades conservation. There's just one problem ...
Daily Kos
'Tea party' holds protest against #Everglades conservation. There's just one problem ...
Well, this is just pathetic.
The Tea Party of Miami put up a convincing demo last week to oppose a 'land grab' that would see 46,000 acres of sugar farm land restored for Everglades conservation. Just one problem - the 'protestors' were actors each being paid $75 for the two-hour shift.
Last week, South Florida Water Management District held a meeting about the possible purchase of 46,000 acres of land that sits to the south of Lake Okeechobee, currently owned by U.S. Sugar and residents.
The intention is to use the land to recreate a large area of the Everglades ecosystem on the former farmland, and create a 26,000 acre system of lakes to store and remediate seriously contaminated run-off water from sugar farms, and so keep the nitrogen and phosphorus-rich water out of lakes, water courses, wetlands, springs and public water supply.
Thanks to the surfeit of nutrients, huge areas of open water and wetlands are regularly afflicted by outbreaks of stinking green slime - and the water district has come under growing pressure to act to stop the pollution and its severe consequences on local people and the Everglades.
The protest took place last Thursday outside the South Florida Water Management District and was staged by the Tea Party of Miami and Florida Citizens Against Wastea group that, according to the Palm Beach Post, "has no contact information on its website and is not registered to do business in Florida."
The call for actors to appear at the protest originally appeared on Facebookalthough they have since deleted it. Luckily, some folks took screenshots before the post was taken down.
Cue a mysterious post on the Facebook page of the Broward Acting Group headed "Political Really Protestors Needed!!" and offering $75 each (no breakfast) for up to 40 actors to show up at the water district on 2nd April from 8.30 to 10.30 am:
"Details: Basically to stand behind fence, holding banners or signs that will be provided. Clothing is almost anything!! Use common sense and don't wear 'club' outfits or gym clothes. Just wardrobe for a Political Rally...We will pay CASH of $75 at end of shoot."
More
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/04/09/1376605/--Tea-party-protest-against-Everglades-conservation-turns-out-to-be-just-a-bunch-of-paid-actors?detail=email
PotatoChip
(3,186 posts)calimary
(81,540 posts)Last edited Fri Apr 10, 2015, 04:18 PM - Edit history (1)
Just think for a moment.
WHAT WOULD YOU DO, if you had to move the meter on people's thinking and perception. WHAT WOULD YOU DO, if you had funding to use to stage stuff, hire people, manipulate the image, craft the talking points - WHATEVER IT TAKES to tilt the playing field, WHATEVER IT TAKES to put your thumb on the scale and apply pressure - so you get the reading you want, the results you want, the manipulation you want. In other words: CHEAT. RIG THE GAME.
And actually, PotatoChip, what YOU would do would likely be to play fair. Straight-up, follow the rules, be honest, don't fake stuff, don't manipulate, don't lie or misrepresent to the public, don't cheat. YOU would do it THAT way, I suspect. Most of us on our side would try to do it THAT way. Because that's who we are and what we know. Fight but fight fair.
Well, the problem is - we're up against opponents WHO DO NOT FIGHT FAIR. They DON'T believe in it! They don't believe in it because the results cannot be guaranteed when you fight fair and you follow the rules and you don't do shitty stuff and scheme behind the scenes and cheat. When you NEED to win because you realize you have a huge job ahead of forcing the nation UNNATURALLY to the extreme "right" - to defy the swinging of the pendulum, to negate the gigantic demographic trends and other indicators that point away from your red side and toward the blue side, when the world is trending against how YOU think it's supposed to be - you'll do ANYTHING. You will rule out NOTHING. You will be ruthless. You'll go to whatever extent and expense you have to, particularly if you know YOU have the big bucks and the big donors on YOUR side.
So we need to start thinking the way THEY do. We need to start strategizing and counter-strategizing against an enemy WE KNOW DOES NOT FIGHT FAIR. If we fight fair against an enemy that refuses to, then we're gonna lose every time. We're gonna get rolled. We're gonna get had on the end of a fork. We have to bring a new mentality to this, in order to out-think them and beat the crap outta them. Otherwise we're sitting ducks.
RecoveringJournalist
(148 posts)We have a winner! Tell him what's he's won, Johnny!
valerief
(53,235 posts)KansDem
(28,498 posts)flobee1
(870 posts)They have to be paid to have an opinion, with liberals, our opinion comes from the heart and soul.
phantom power
(25,966 posts)I'm sure there are a lot more people these days desperate enough to sell themselves out like this for a bit of extra cash.
RecoveringJournalist
(148 posts)Perhaps a good way to approach this would be to infiltrate some of these sites where the actors are drawn, go along with the gag, then when the time comes to start the <cough> rally <cough> unfurl a banner of your own which says in BIG letters, "I was paid to be here today! Ask me why!"
Fight dirty tricks with dirty tricks.
[link:|
drm604
(16,230 posts)Buzz Clik
(38,437 posts)packman
(16,296 posts)another rode behind him, the rider tossing out coins to the crowd - cheering them on. Shh, the days of Rome and corruption have never fully left us.
samsingh
(17,602 posts)BlancheSplanchnik
(20,219 posts)Or whatever it's called.
I'm GLAD their cattle call got busted.
Have I mentioned how much I hate those fucking teapukes?