Republicans in recess: ‘Fighting Washington’ with planted questions [View all]

[Mr. Sparkle]

Republican leaders who run the U.S. House of Representatives have instructed members to follow a “fighting Washington” strategy during Congress’ upcoming August recess, with detailed instructions on how to plant questions, “target invitations” and “frame the key takeaways.” A detailed, manipulative 31-page planning kit, entitled “Fighting Washington for All Americans,” has been sent out by the House Republican Conference, chaired by Eastern Washington’s Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers. McMorris Rodgers is a key lieutenant of House Speaker John Boehner. Highlights (or lowlights), first reported in Roll Call, include:

– A sample op-ed piece, for House members to give local newspapers, stresses opposition to the nation’s capital in which they work. “Washington is out of control,” it reads. “But every day I serve in Congress, I work to fight Washington . . . I’m fighting Washington for you.”

– Opposition to the Affordable Care Act — Republicans have voted 39 times to repeal “Obamacare” — is stressed with such devices as an “Emergency Health Care Town Hall” with instructions on holding the event and how to stage “an impromptu” media availability to “frame the key takeaways.”

– House members are told to use so-called “ringers” in getting the discussion moving their way: “Invite at least 3-4 people with whom the member already has an established relationship. This will strengthen the conversation and take it in a direction that is most beneficial to the member’s goal.”

– The Republicans control the House, but the kit describes various ways they can deride the capital in which they serve and run against the government they are part of. These include an “Emergency Town Hall: Stopping Government Abuse” and a “#CutWaste Drive Time Radio tour” and an “Obamacare Media Tour.”

http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlepolitics/2013/07/23/republicans-in-reecess-fighting-washington-with-planted-questions/