Big Oil Lobbyists Stage Astroturf Rally in Greensboro Today; Real Grassroots Activists to Hold Counter Rally
Submitted by alina_CCNC on Thu, 08/20/2009 - 7:50am
This evening, a fake grassroots rally is being orchestrated at the Greensboro Coliseum to trick Senator Kay Hagan into believing there is a groundswell of popular opposition to reforms that will create clean energy jobs and lessen our dependence on foreign oil.
These events are organized and paid for by the American Petroleum Institute (API), an umbrella group that lobbies for Big Oil and businesses that want to block investment in new, cleaner forms of energy. Petroleum Institute members include ExxonMobile, Halliburton and GE, to name a few.
The “citizens” with the urge to rise-up on this issue just so happen to live in states with U.S. Senators whose vote is being sought by Big Oil.
A leaked memo (read here) from the Petroleum Institute details their hiring of an events managed company to stage the rallies. The memo also notes that buses will be provided to round up the “citizens” for the events – paid employees of the Petroleum Institute and its member organizations.
The Real Deal: Across the street from the Coliseum a broad coalition of clean energy advocates, business leaders, organized labor, elected officials and North Carolina citizens will be gathering to support a clean energy economy in North Carolina -- one that creates good paying jobs for North Carolinians. Take a couple of hours today to help show our elected officials and the media that REAL voters won't bow down to huge corporate interests like Big Oil - North Carolina wants climate action, clean energy, and green jobs this year!
What: Real Deal Rally for Clean Energy
When: Thursday, August 20, 2009
Time: 4:30pm
Where: Greensboro, NC (corner of Patterson Court and High Point Road)
- alina_CCNC's blog
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Thanks for all you do
I hope some of our Triad readers can be on hand.
Just posted this
on a student message board & on facebook to some environmental & lgbt activists I know out towards Greensboro, it maybe too short of a notice, but the people whose hands I put this into know how to stir up a crowd. Hopefully the counter rally will be large enough to make it into any news story about the event so that the coverage is balanced & there is a suggestion in the coverage that the main event is corporate rather than grassroots.
Has anyone made a website for the "Real Deal" thing, or is it just spreading by word of mouth?
If you can't be there, call Hagan's office
Here's an easy link to call Hagan's office and a short sample phone script:
http://tools.advomatic.com/19/stopoil
I will
I will be there today at 4:45. I have been working to spread the word on this counter rally since Greenpeace contacted me to help organize last week. I expect a great turnout today and will check in later to provide some more details after the event.
All this on top of my campaign for City Council! I need more hours in the day.
Jay Ovittore
“The will of the people is the only legitimate foundation of any government, and to protect its free expression should be our first object.” Thomas Jefferson
It was a large crowd
Large enough of a crowd gathered, with the press present to cover it, for us to have all four corners of the High Point Rd and Patterson Ave intersection covered with a lot of people. There was a group of drummers, tons of signs and plenty of cars honking for clean energy. I know there is photos floating around from the event and as soon as I get some sent to me, I will post something for all to see. API may have not wanted to hear us, but there was no way that they didn't hear us, for the grassroots make a lot of noise!
Jay Ovittore
“The will of the people is the only legitimate foundation of any government, and to protect its free expression should be our first object.” Thomas Jefferson
Press Coverage
I'm trying to find some press coverage of the event, but I'm not seeing anything covering either the API rally or the counter rally. Granted I'm not as familiar with triad area news outlets as I was when I lived in Mt. Airy now that I live in the triangle area, but I'm not seeing anything about it on News14.com's triad section or on a few other sites I looked at. Can you find any coverage for the event?
Also, I just wanted to say thanks for going to the event. I hadn't heard about your campaign before, but now I'll make sure everyone I know out towards Greensboro knows about your campaign & facebook group.
http://www.new.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6697894815
So sad...
I have fond memories of my parents taking me to see Peter, Paul, and Mary in the Greensboro Coliseum back in the mid 1960's. It was wonderful to hear them sing about truth and justice at a time when we all had hope that that eventually, we could overcome the lies and injustice that were the foundations of much of "American" society.
Sometimes it seems that all of that hope and promise was just a dream.
Good to see you here Jay
thanks for going and keeping us informed. Hope to see some pics soon.
not exactly what we were looking for
Despite extensive outreach and vocal commitments from several reporters prior to the event, media coverage was weak at both the API rally and the counter-rally. Only one camera showed up from the local Fox affiliate. A blogger from the local paper also showed up. Both interviewed clean energy business owners, labor organizers, and local citizens, all of whom spoke extensively about the boost NC’s economy will receive from clean energy jobs that will be created under ACES. The resulting stories were not what we were hoping for.
http://www.news-record.com/content/2009/08/20/article/environmental_activists_energy_citizens_face_off
http://www.myfox8.com/videobeta/watch/?watch=f532351e-41fd-4372-b458-01e82b430b5e&src=front
Big thanks to the folks who braved the sweltering August heat and severe thunderstorms to join us!
View a video of the clean energy rally from NC Conservation Network
This diary was up at Kos earlier today
and it had a video of the protest along with an interview of Pricey Harrison. Apparently Harrison was denied entry into the Astroturfed party but ole Howard Coble was welcomed and escorted inside.
"Energy Citizens" Astroturf rally in NC turns away state rep
Can that possibly be true?
That would be mind-boggling if it were true. This is when I wish I were a lawyer.
Howard Coble
Howard Coble - get a load of what somebody did to his party affiliation on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Coble
Doubt it stays there long.
Is Howard still kicking wikipedia around?
I had no idea that Howard was a Nazi and had committed suicide with Senator East years ago.......I have to stop going to those Republican Town Hall meeting.......
Stick around on Coble
Howard Coble is a mainstay in republican politics and is loved by the majority in his district. Stick around though. He's got a lot of age on him and he may very well be opting out of his tenure in congress in the 6th. Greensboro and surrounding areas are becoming more and more liberal/moderate due to demographics and Coble's name recognition won't enable someone other than him running for his seat anymore if and when he retires. I do like many of his stances and I like the fact that he isn't taking the congressional retirement/health care option. But, let's face it, Howard is a millionaire many times over so he can afford it.
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“Discussion is an exchange of knowledge; argument is an exchange of ignorance" __ Robert Quillen
Poor Howard
I wasn't expecting the Wikipedia thing so it truly made me laugh but then I thought about how anyone could do that to anyone else and then it wasn't so funny.
You're right about Greensboro. The folks in the video above could have been in Philadelphia or San Francisco and hearing Pricey speak made me proud to be a North Carolinian.
As confirmed bachelors that are totally not gay go
Coble is a decent enough fellow. He's right wing, but not bat shit embarrassing.
Not to be confused with megatron.