TPM spent most of yesterday covering the astro-turf teabagger campaigns happening all over the country to create the false impression that more than a tiny minority oppose health care reform. It's all very much like the Bush v. Gore staged "riots" of 2000. It falls right into the playbook of trying to delay a vote on health care reform until after the recess. This way there's time to play games with astro-turf in congresscritters' home districts. Delay = a better chance of killing reform. No different, really, than Judd's strategy.
The goal is to create a media buzz, and thus drive a narrative that we're all happy with the current health care nightmare. And already The Grey Lady fell for the bait.
A reader sent along possible evidence emerging of this happening in New Hampshire, though at the link it's not clear whether the NH Teabaggers intend to be intentionally disruptive. And here is an account of a town hall meeting in Indiana where the teabaggers failed to disrupt the meeting, and some good lessons learned.
Update: FWIW, Skip over at grok is emphatic that their effort is not astro-turf. If so, more power to them.
