Paul Ryan Mocks Idea That Tea Parties Are Astroturf At A Tea Party Organized By A Lobbyist Group
OPS_admin | Apr 16, 2009 | Comments 0
Paul Ryan Mocks Idea That Tea Parties Are Astroturf At A Tea Party Organized By A Lobbyist Group
ThinkProgress first reported that corporate front groups run by lobbyists were orchestrating the radical anti-Obama tea party protests held yesterday. One of the front groups that mobilized the protests is Americans for Prosperity, an organization funded by oil industry money and run by Tim Phillips, a former partner in Ralph Reed’s lobbying firm. On Monday, New York Times columnist Paul Krugman noted these these “astroturf” campaigns were meant to appear as a grassroots, spontaneous protests.
Speaking at a tea party protest in Madison, Wisconsin yesterday, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) mocked Krugman’s assertions:
RYAN: Earlier this week, a columnist from the New York Times wrote about these events and I want to read you a few quotes. What we have here today is an astroturf event, a fake grassroots event. These rallies don’t represent a spontaneous outpouring of public sentiment. What do you all think about that? [audience boos]
Watch it:
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