Anatomy of a Beat-Down Part 4: Why Kenneth Gladney Was Beaten And by Whom

On July 31, 2009, the Democratic House Leadership communicated to their members that they were working in close coordination with the White House and Health Care for America Now (HCAN) to get “grass roots” activities at town hall meetings through the month of August. Five days later HCAN released a detailed instruction sheet for the union members of SEIU on how to control admission, speech, behavior and security at town hall meetings. Two days after that staff members of the St. Louis SEIU implemented these strategies at Rep. Russ Carnahan’s town hall event which resulted in Kenneth Gladney being beaten by an SEIU Business Agent and an SEIU Public Service Director.

The three-page document titled: “Strategic Communications Plan for August: Health Insurance Reform” details various strategies for working district health care events, telephone town hall meetings, press outreach…etc. Then under the heading of “Coordination” (and they say there is a vast RIGHT wing conspiracy) the House Democratic Leadership states:

The Leadership is working in close coordination with the White House and outside groups (including but not limited to HCAN, Families USA, AFSCME, SEIU, AARP, etc.) to ensure complementary efforts during August. The President, Secretary Sebelius and other principals in the reform debate will be working throughout the month to hold events, promote the message in the press and move the reform effort forward. We are also working closely with supportive organizations to ensure they are implementing comprehensive plans for August that include grassroots efforts, media strategies and anything else that can add to the momentum. In addition, a list of groups supporting health reform has been provided to your offices with information on ways you can partner with them in your districts.

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The document was reported on by Politico on July 31^st and only a few blogs reported on it, nothing in main stream media outlets. And, this is understandable as it seems benign on the face of it; no politician is going to release a memo stating that they are going to “mobilize the muscle of the unions and community organizers to fight back and intimidate town hall protestors”. Of course not. But looking at the events of August and the systematic intimidation, confrontations, strong-arm tactics and physical violence that occurred at these Town Hall meetings which all seemed to involve HCAN, SEIU, ACORN, Moveon.org and other Democratic Party affiliated organizations, and then back tracking to the HCAN memo and, ultimately the Democratic House Leadership memo, a reasonable story can be told.

Here are the facts (circumstantial though they may be) that show a clear level of coordination from the House Democratic Leadership (“in close coordination with the White House”) all the way down to the SEIU staff members now facing charges for beating Kenneth Gladney:

• July 31^st: House Democratic Leaders state they are coordinating with the White House and HCAN to ensure they are implementing grass roots efforts in August.
• August 4^th: HCAN releases an instruction sheet with a plan to “Fight Back Against the Right” with details on security, confiscating posters and leaflets, loading the room with supporters, providing pre-written and rehearsed questions and suggestions on how to keep protestors out of the town halls
• August 5^th: Speaker Pelosi derisively calls protesters “Astro-turf” and says they are coming to these meetings carrying swastikas. DNC releases a video calling the protesters an “Angry Mob”.
• August 6^th: White House political strategists David Axelrod and Jim Messina meet with Congressional Democratics with rules and suggestions for August town hall meetings. Messina is quoted saying: “If you get hit, we will punch back twice as hard.”

On the evening of August 6^th, at Rep. Russ Carnahan’s town hall meeting in St. Louis organized by HCAN hundreds and hundreds of protestors were shut out of the meeting while SEIU members were ushered into a side entrance. The protestors that did get in were shouted down by SEIU plants who were seated in the front of the room. Outside, while protestors who had been shut out by the union security were demonstrating, two members of the SEIU crowd control team began to confiscate the materials being distributed by Kenneth Gladney. Gladney was assaulted resulting in the arrest of the SEIU staffers.

Did the White House and Democratic Leadership write a memo telling Elston and Molens to beat people up? No, of course not.

But, use your ability to reason. Use the facts that you know are true. And use the wisdom you possess to reach a reasonable conclusion.

Can one conclude that it is common knowledge that one of the ways unions in America have exercised their power in the past is by using intimidation tactics and physical violence? Is that a stretch? And when the Democratic Leadership (“in close coordination with the White House”) charge the unions who support them with the responsibility of coordinating grass roots efforts at Town hall meetings, wouldn’t a reasonable person conclude that they were asking the unions to “punch back twice as hard” on their behalf?

THIS is why Kenneth Gladney was beaten. And McCowans, Molens, SEIU, HCAN, the House Democratic Leadership and yes, the White House is who did it.