A Brief History of Fake Right-Wing Protests

By The Rachel Maddow Show

August 5, 2009

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Chris Hayes, Washington editor of The Nation, joins Rachel Maddow to talk about the latest Republican strategy for stalling healthcare reform: astroturf, or fake grassroots, protests staged at town hall meetings discussing healthcare. Hayes points out that the strategy of these protests is essentially "shut it down"--make so much noise and commotion that a discussion of all sides of the issue is impossible. Hayes notes that the extremist nature of these protests lends itself to what he calls Obama's political judo, using the excesses of the opponents against them.

On a fundamental level, though, Hayes notes, "The answer is to meet organizing with more organizing. . . Democrats have to organize their own forces."

--Sarah Jaffe

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