Astroturf Yields Weak Coffee Crop

Coffee Vs Tea: A Political Movement is Brewing Dozens Turn Out Nationwide For 'Successful' Coffee Parties.

At Java Monkey in Decatur, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta, coordinator Stacey Hopkins said turnout far exceeded expectations, with around 60 people participating at the "very productive" meeting where health care reform was the overriding issue... [snip] In Asheville, North Carolina, about 35 people gathered at Filo Pastries and Coffee..[snip] About 30 people came out to a meeting at Raleigh, North Carolina's Cup A Joe.

Coffee Party founder Annabel Park, who worked as a volunteer for Barack Obama's presidential campaign and Democratic Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia's 2006 campaign, says the group is not "aligned" with any party and calls the two-party system out of date.

One glaring omission in the fawning articles and puff pieces about this 'spontaneous, grassroots' movement was Annabel Park's work as a political strategy analyst for the New York Times, which miraculously didn't appear in any of the articles about the Coffee Party (hell, her work for the Webb and Obama campaigns only got a belated mention).

Astroturfing is defined as calculated, well-publicised and well-funded political campaigns being presented to the public as a popular, spontaneous 'grassroots' movement. Early on, the Tea Party was accused of being 'astroturf', but the Coffee Party almost seamlessly fits that definition.

If you stop and think about it, this time last year the mainstream media was ignoring the Tea Party movement. Then, when they did acknowledge its existence, it was only to portray them as a dangerous and threatening fringe movement- that's if they weren't applying homoerotic monikers to the attendees. This was followed up by falsely attributing recent high-profile acts of violence to the perpetrators' [ultimately non-existent] participation with the Tea Party or falling under its influence. Now the latest tactic seems to be starting well-connected and well-financed organizations to counter the Tea Party such as the Big Labor-funded TheTeaPartyIsOver website or Annabelle Park's Coffee Party.

Here is Annabelle Park's Coffee Party mission statement:

The Coffee Party Movement gives voice to Americans who want to see cooperation in government. We recognize that the federal government is not the enemy of the people, but the expression of our collective will, and that we must participate in the democratic process in order to address the challenges that we face as Americans. As voters and grassroots volunteers, we will support leaders who work toward positive solutions, and hold accountable those who obstruct them.

Which more or less translates to: "Shut up and stop complaining: Obama and the Democrats are in charge and know what's best, so don't you dare question them on anything".

I'd really love to know what the Coffee Party's stance on Cap and Trade, Card Check, Obamacare or a second stimulus are. I'm sure we'll know once I hear Rahm Emmanuel, David Axelrod or the SEIU sounds off....

[Hat tip: Lonely Conservative; Big Journalism]