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The anti-quarantine protests seem spontaneous. But behind the scenes, a powerful network is helping
The Washington Post via SFGate ^ | April 22, 2020 | by Isaac Stanley-Becker and Tony Romm

Posted on 04/22/2020 6:30:49 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer

The ads on Facebook sounded populist and passionate: "The people are rising up against these insane shutdowns," they said. "We're fighting back to demand that our elected officials reopen America."

But the posts, funded by an initiative called "Convention of States," were not the product of a grass-roots uprising alone. Instead, they represented one salvo in a wide-ranging and well-financed conservative campaign to undermine restrictions that medical experts say are necessary to contain the coronavirus - but that protesters call overkill and whose economic fallout could damage President Trump's political prospects.

A network of right-leaning individuals and groups, aided by nimble online outfits, has helped incubate the fervor erupting in state capitals across the country. The activism is often organic and the frustration deeply felt, but it is also being amplified, and in some cases coordinated, by longtime conservative activists, whose robust operations were initially set up with help from Republican megadonors.

The Convention of States project launched in 2015 with a high-dollar donation from the family foundation of Robert Mercer, a billionaire hedge fund manager and Republican patron. It boasts past support from two members of the Trump administration - Ken Cuccinelli, acting director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and Ben Carson, secretary of housing and urban development.

"The involvement of the Koch institutional apparatus in groups supporting these protests is clear to me," said Robert J. Brulle, a sociologist at Drexel University whose research has focused on climate lobbying. "The presence of allies on the board usually means that they are deeply engaged in the organization."

Brulle said the blowback against the coronavirus precautions carries echoes of efforts to deny climate change, both of which rely on hostility toward government action.

"These are extreme right-wing efforts to delegitimize government," he said. "It's an anti-government crusade."

(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: articlev; beijingtonpost; bencarson; bias; brulle; china; conventionofstates; coronavirus; democrats; isaacstanleybecker; journalism; liberty; media; robertbrulle; robertjbrulle; robertmercer; thebeijingtonpost; tonyromm; virus
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1 posted on 04/22/2020 6:30:49 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

Gee, imagine if the Leftist media did an actual (truthful) in-depth report on antiFA...


2 posted on 04/22/2020 6:32:27 AM PDT by jeffc (The U.S. media are our enemy)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

ALL protests have some organizational network that is doing things behind the scenes.

I’m supposed to believe that these clods in scrubs who show up with FearBro messages claiming to be “healthcare workers” are random and spontaneous? Give me a break.

My daughter is a nurse and these days she is WAY too busy to go out and protest anything.


3 posted on 04/22/2020 6:35:41 AM PDT by Buckeye McFrog (Patrick Henry would have been an anti-vaxxer)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

I swear the “media” uses the same story over and over and simply inserts different names——so despicable.


4 posted on 04/22/2020 6:35:57 AM PDT by mikelets456
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To: jeffc
Robert J. Brulle, a sociologist at Drexel University...

A Leftist professor of environmental "science" and endorser of Bernie...

C'mon, SFGate and WaComPost, how many people did you interview to find someone who will tell you waht you really want to print? If this isn't the pot calling the kettle black, IDKWI...

5 posted on 04/22/2020 6:36:54 AM PDT by jeffc (The U.S. media are our enemy)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

Gotta make those freedom-loving protesters look like menacing Nazis.

Otherwise other citizens might actually get the idea that they don’t have to obey Government orders.

Next thing you know, the Big Government Agenda is dead! Can’t have that!!


6 posted on 04/22/2020 6:37:07 AM PDT by canuck_conservative
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

They had better be careful.

My situation is relatively good. Still being paid, no debt to speak of, unconcerned about the future of my job, (I’m near retirement). The restrictions keep me from going to the gym and golfing as much as I’d like. Heck, the weather is impacting me as much as the restrictions.

That said, I’m angry. Not just that momentary spike from experiencing some stupid thing, it’s a deep anger. I’m watching collective stupidity destroy my country. I don’t want to be this angry, but I can’t shake it. The constant reminders of the virus and seeing my fellow citizens quake at the mere mention is infuriating. Knowing that many of the businesses I patronize will close permanently.

If I had big debt, owned a business, had young kids, I would be on the edge. Keep pushing, more than a few will snap.


7 posted on 04/22/2020 6:37:31 AM PDT by brownsfan (Behold, the power of government cheese.)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

Conservatives with an opinion. How is this tolerated?!


8 posted on 04/22/2020 6:40:36 AM PDT by dead (Trump puts crazy glue on their grenades and they never know it until after they pull the pin.)
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To: jeffc
Drexel!

Ha ha ha!

The same School where the one profressor literally said "I hope we Gulag these crackers", a few years ago over one of those overblown racial incidents.

9 posted on 04/22/2020 6:41:24 AM PDT by KC_Lion (I fear we are approaching the "American War of Liberation")
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To: jeffc

A Denver radio show host and some independent papers are digging into that “scrubs wearing medical worker) who’s pics are viral.

The media story is doing a typical job of falling apart.

Some things coming out: scrubs had no hospital ID - pretty much a standard of all mospitals, scrubs were colored for surgery - ??, the so-called med workers refused to give there names to the independent reporters, the incident happened far from the center of things, coincidently where the photographer was, the woman who drove the truck gives quite a different story than the media, ...and on and on.

Summary, yup, it’s becoming apparent that we have your typical media “fake news” setup here.

We’ll see.


10 posted on 04/22/2020 6:41:42 AM PDT by Da Coyote
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

SJWs always PROJECT.

The “medical personnel” blocking traffic in Denver were probably crisis actors funded by Sore-Ass or Pelosi or the DNC. As if there’s a difference.

(Real doctors have all kinds of pagers and other stuff tucked about their person; they wouldn’t waste precious clean scrubs out on the street, and wouldn’t risk contaminating others by wearing used ones; and the traffic they were blocking was not easy walking distance from the nearest hospital.)


11 posted on 04/22/2020 6:43:08 AM PDT by grey_whiskers (The opinions are solely those of the author and are subject to change with out notice.)
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To: Da Coyote

Apologies - I typed the above in haste and did not bother to check my grammar & spelling. Good grief, I’m almost bad enough to call myself a journalist.

Regardless, something smells very Obama-y about the Denver protest story.


12 posted on 04/22/2020 6:43:37 AM PDT by Da Coyote
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

I find it interesting that the left have now picked Convention of States as the target to personalize and destroy. Not exactly the happy bunch celebrating about getting a mythical chance to go out of control are they?


13 posted on 04/22/2020 6:44:05 AM PDT by Nateman ( Unless the left is screaming you are doing it wrong.)
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To: brownsfan

You are not alone.


14 posted on 04/22/2020 6:44:24 AM PDT by NativeSon ( What Would Virginia Do? #WWVD)
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*


15 posted on 04/22/2020 6:44:45 AM PDT by Jane Long (Praise God, from whom ALL blessings flow.)
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To: brownsfan

I second your assessment. My wife and I are relatively young and stay away from the MSM as much as possible. We are bombarded daily with reminders of this hysteria and get very irritated by the completely nonsensical wearing of masks and hoarding of TP. this all stinks of a larger entity taking advantage of something that amounts to a recoverable illness for most.

Meanwhile if you’re tired of seeing society cower in fear and want to see business bounce back you’re a radical and backed by some mega corporation? Wow. No self awareness allowed anymore I suppose.


16 posted on 04/22/2020 6:47:43 AM PDT by rarestia (Repeal the 17th Amendment and ratify Article the First to give the power back to the people!)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

But there is no organization and cooperation among the factions of the Commie left????

They have been engaged in a full blown conspiracy of sedition and treason against the US for many, many years.

I think we ought to start some jailin’, shootin’ & hangin’ against their evil deeds!!!


17 posted on 04/22/2020 6:51:59 AM PDT by RatRipper ( Democrats and socialists are vile liars, thieves and murderers - enemies of good and America.)
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To: Da Coyote

I suspect that they’ll discover that the “healthcare workers” are SEIU members who are janitors or work in hospital cafeterias.


18 posted on 04/22/2020 6:52:54 AM PDT by Buckeye McFrog (Patrick Henry would have been an anti-vaxxer)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

Something good has come out of this!!!
We have identified them!!!
They could not help themselves, the little communist tyrants.
Almost every state has a recall mechanism. USE IT!!!
Fire them all...
See my tagline


19 posted on 04/22/2020 6:54:40 AM PDT by joe fonebone (Communists Need To Be Eliminated)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

If by “anti-government crusade” you mean forcing the government back in to the confines iterated by the Constitution, then yes.


20 posted on 04/22/2020 7:00:01 AM PDT by yuleeyahoo (The nation which can prefer disgrace to danger is prepared for a master and deserves one. Hamilton)
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