Tea Party Redux: Fake Grass Roots Coronavirus Protests Coordinated by Rightwing Groups

To read the ABC News headline you'd think the nation was awash in vast protests decrying the stay-at-home orders implemented in many states. From a survey of protests over the weekend, however, Forbes found relatively few participants. For example, in Austin TX, a city of approximately one million people, only a few dozen showed up to protest. In Franklin, KY, Raleigh, NC, and Columbus, OH, about 100 protesters each appeared. And in New York City only about 30 protesters could be found. Protests such as that in Lansing, MI, which attracted several thousand cars and around 100 people on the state Capitol lawn, were apparently the exception.

The various state regulations under protest are largely consistent with the White House coronavirus guidelines, and there is some question whether the president would even have the authority to stop interstate travel or order governors to shut down their states.  But in typically Trumpian fashion, Trump has challenged his own guidelines, taking to his favorite schoolyard-graffiti medium (Twitter) on Friday afternoon, April 17, to send calls to "liberate" Minnesota, Michigan, and Virginia.

In those states, as well as Washington, Illinois, Colorado, Tennessee, Florida, and New Hampshire, protests popped up agitating against a grab bag of government actions, but generally protesting directives to stay at home -- in the absence of proven treatment or a vaccine, one of the few steps that has been proven to slow the spread of the disease.

The Center for Media and Democracy's SourceWatch credits former Senator Lloyd Bentsen with coining the term "astroturf lobbying" to refer to "synthetic grassroots movements that now can be manufactured for a fee...." Like the Tea Party before it, the protests of state efforts to contain the coronavirus pandemic appear to have significant coordination.

As reported by the Guardian, protests in Lansing, MI, on  Wednesday, April 15, were a joint effort of two conservative not-for-profit groups: Michigan Conservative Coalition and Michigan Freedom Fund (MFF).

Michigan Freedom Fund has been linked to the family of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.  The day before the protests Michigan Governor Whitmer had thanked the DeVos family, whose Amway company donated personal protective equipment (PPE) to state hospitals. A DeVos family spokesman claimed that MFF was not behind the protests, but Detroit Free Press found that MFF had, at a minimum, paid for two Facebook ads that took users to the protest event page, nicknamed "Operation Gridlock." Photos and videos of the protest were also posted on the MFF Facebook page. 

The Guardian found that the Michigan Conservative Coalition also operates as Michigan Trump Republicans. During the 2016 presidential campaign Michigan Conservative Coalition promoted an image of Trump embracing "Pepe the Frog," an emblem of the so-called "alt right" white identity movement. Among its past activities Michigan Conservative Coalition protested the creation of a state entity to prosecute hate crimes.

The Michigan protest also drew participation of the Proud Boys, identified by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a "general hate group," and who were instrumental in organizing the "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottestville, VA in August 2017.

A protest in Boise, ID, similar to that in Lansing, MI, was promoted by the Idaho Freedom Foundation (IFF), which is funded in part by a network of conservative groups including the Mountain States Legal Foundation, backed substantially by beer mogul Joseph Coors, and the Donors Trust and Donors Capital funds, which receive billions from the Koch brothers Charles and David.

Also connected to the Idaho protest, at least tangentially, were Diego Rodrigquez, and anti-government activist Ammon Bundy. Rodriguez is a self-styled "author, speaker, entrepreneur" who participated in  an Easter service on April 10, in defiance of Republican Governor Brad Little's prohibition on large gatherings. Bundy, known primarily for occupying a wildlife refuge in 2016, was featured at the service, having told adherents that he wants to be infected soon, although he is otherwise healthy. "I want the virus now," he told a gathering in Idaho on March 28.

One of the larger demonstrations was held Sunday, April 19, in Washington state, organized primarily by Republican state committee chairman Tyler Miller. Miller gained a measure of notoriety last December when he helped pass a resolution in support of state representative Matt Shea who was thrown out of the Washington state legislature when it concluded that he had "participated in an act of domestic terrorism against the United States." The Washington chapter of gun advocacy group the 3 Percenters also participated in the Sunday protest. 

"I don't disagree with the social distancing. I don't disagree with the CDC guidelines. But those should all be at the liberty of individuals to make that choice," Miller said. "It cannot be a mandate of the state, and that's where it crosses that constitutional bound." Critics naturally questioned whether the virus would grant individuals a choice.

If the various protests weren't coordinated, it's not for lack of trying. As reported by the Associated Press, FreedomWorks, a key political organization in the Tea Party movement, has been "holding weekly virtual town halls with members of Congress," trying to energize an activist base. Led by right-wing commentator and economist wannabe Stephen Moore, advocates claim to be concerned that a prolonged shutdown will lead to civil unrest. Businesses should be allowed to "adapt and innovate," argue the Koch-brothers backed Americans for Prosperity.

Nationally, public opinion currently firmly supports business closures and social distancing measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. A Pew survey of 5,000 Americans recently found that 66% of those surveyed were concerned that strictures would be lifted too soon, compared to 32% concerned they would not be lifted soon enough. A comparable NBC/Wall Street Journal survey found 58% concerned about lifting regulations too soon, compared to 32% concerned about lifting them too late.

The Washington Post's Greg Sargent obtained a breakdown of the NBC/Wall Street Journal poll by geography and education, and found remarkable consistency across demographic categories. Rural (49%), suburban (58%), and urban voters (64%) all reported being more worried about lifting restrictions too quickly rather than too slowly; 51% of whites without a college degree, and 62% of whites with a college degree shared the same concern. Sargent reports that, as with many issues in the current political environment, the real divider may be party. 48% of Republicans reported concern about restarting the economy, whereas 57% of independents were more concerned about lifting restrictions too quickly.

In Michigan in particular, Trump may be losing support, while Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer remains popular. Some internal Republican party polling reportedly shows Trump "down by double digits," while a Detroit regional poll found 57% of Michigan residents approved of Governor Whitmer's handling of the pandemic, while only 37% disapproved.