New White House Political Plan:Collect Private Information on Opponents
By Dr. Tony Magana
A new White House plan to collect “causal speech and emails” originating from private citizens opposed to President Obama’s health care proposal is generating considerable controversy after being brought to light by Senator John Cornyn (R-TX). Denials by WH Press Sec. Gibbs conflict with WH policy and Democratic website practices.
The communications director for the White House’s Health Reform Office, Linda Douglass, and White House Director of New Media, Macon Phillips, incited the beginning of a scandal on August 4 when they posted on the official White House website a request to collect information from the public on disinformation put out by opponents of health care reform spread through emails or even “casual conversation”. They requested that anything “fishy” be sent to the an official government email address interestingly named “flag@whitehouse.gov”
Subsequently, Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) sent a letter to the White House today concerned that the new White House plan was an intent to collect information on political opponents that is historically unprecedented and contrary to normal political discourse and free speech. He raised concerns that IP addresses, names, and addresses collected by the government of those who are opposed to the President’s proposal could be misused. These communications he points out would be classified as private and referring them to the White House is more than inappropriate.
When asked about this at today’s White House press conference, the Press Secretary Gibbs initially blurted out “nobody is collecting names” and lamely explained that they often use the White House website as a tool to “debunk things that are simply not true” because they are after all the standard of truth. But in the same press conference, follow up questions, brought out immediate contradictions to Mr. Gibbs pronouncement. Under federal law requiring an archive be keep of all White House records, all information sent to the White House must be officially collected. Reporters asked if the government had a duty to let private citizens know that their private speech or communications were being sent to the government? Mr. Gibbs dismissed that notion as irrelevant because in his words there is no evidence of a “government conspiracy”.
During the weekend of June 6, 2008 the current White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs intentionally and in a pre-meditated fashion lied to the White House press corp leading them to board a flight to nowhere. Mr. Gibbs said that the agenda of Barack Obama was and in the future would be a sufficient justification for telling lies.
This was not the end but only the beginning of a White House policy of deception. Seasoned White House reporter, Patrick Gavin with Politico (a somewhat liberal news outlet) just this week wrote an article about Mr. Gibb’s “methods of evasion”. In this article which includes quotes from other White House reporters who echo that Mr. Gibb’s evasiveness is extraordinary. The writer even gives over thirty specific examples where the White House has wished to maintain the President’s “privacy” even though this President promised an an new era of transparency.
The main political internet tool of the White House and the Democratic National Committee is a website called Organizing for America. The privacy policy specifically stated on the website contradicts the statements made by President Obama’s political appointees in the White House on how information gathered through the internet is handled for political purposes.
The website says “We may also make personal information available to organizations with similar political viewpoints and objectives, in furtherance of our own political objectives.” This puts into complete clarity the belief held by the Obama administration that any information gained could be used for political gain.
A further disclosure is even more revealing. Using spy-ware technology and IP address collections, the Democrats admit that they use this internet portal in way that could collect and maintain very personal information. Curiously, although they say they have no malevolent intent, they also warn that other third parties might have access to personal data.
The concerns raised by Senator John Cornyn are serious and have more than ample evidence supporting their importance. The use of casual speech and private communication to smear individuals for political gain was last seen during the Joe McCarthy black listings. Given Obama’s declining popularity one cannot help but wonder if the desperate Democrats now feel that the end justifies the means in pursuing a new type of political gangsterism.
The ultimately authority on truth vs. disinformation should be the American public not the President, the Congress, or the pundits. Can Press Secretary Gibbs and President Obama be trusted in their benign explanations of the intent on collecting private information about individual Americans? Will Americans now have to fear that what they say casually at a party or write in an email to a friend will end up on some official black list at the White House?
Thanks for reading Contempo Magazine blog which discusses issues for McAllen, the Rio Grande Valley, and America from a conservative Hispanic point of view. Tony Magaña grew up in McAllen Texas, attended Texas A&M University, served as an officer in Army Reserve, and holds a doctorate from Harvard University. The co-founder of Contempo Magazine has participated in Valley business for over 20 years. He is a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and also writes for the American Daily Review. Follow him on twitter http://twitter.com/contempomagazin
Copyright 2009, Dr. Tony Magana. Some rights reserved.
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