Written by D.C. Douglas, now former voice over for the Geico Gecko ads. (Outro and any intro. See “update”) From his blog
[UPDATE: Four things need clarifying. 1) Please DO NOT call GEICO. If you read the blog carefully, you’ll see I hold no animosity toward them, only FreedomWorks. 2) Some readers seem to miss the fact that I did apologize for my words. Please read carefully. 3) I was NOT the gecko or the main vo tag announcer. That was a conflation by Matt Kibbe. 4) Comments have been closed because the server can’t handle it, man. Please go here to enjoy a debate: HuffingtonPost Article. We now return you to your originally scheduled blog post.]
I never wanted to be political in this blog. It was supposed to be about my life in the biz. But my biz life and personal life were recently slammed together by a political bully group.
I hate bullies. Its a mentality that starts with children and doesnt evolve much more in quality or nuance through the adult years. Yes, this is going to be a huge blog post, kids. Get your Cheetos out.
The Nutshell:
FreedomWorks encouraged Tea Baggers to get me fired from GEICO because I left a complaint on their voice mail. (Press Release)
Oh yeah, Im serious. Read on
THE PLAYERS:
Me. An actor and voice over guy. Not famous (except in my mind). An American citizen. Impetuous. Likes long walks on the beach and nipple-twisting any idiots-in-power on occasion (but usually anonymously).
FreedomWorks. The conservative lobbying firm headed by the Ex-Republican House Majority Leader Dick Armey, which has been behind the Fox News sponsored tea bagging party movement that miraculously materialized the moment the Republican party lost the Presidential election on 11/4/08.
GEICO. A good insurance company owned by Warren Buffets Berkshire Hathaway that has hired me in the past.
Now, lets follow the drama, shall we? The following blog is my opinion of what happened.
December 2007: Ron Paul supporters attempted to rent a blimp with Google Ron Paul on the side. It would fly to Washington, DC and then on to Boston, where they would dump tea bags into the Boston Harbor in a symbolic protest against the big-spending ofwait for it Republicans! It failed due to lack of cash. But at least they knew their facts and where the blame should go.
February 2009: CNBCs Rick Santelli proposed a Chicago Tea Party because he was ticked-off that distressed homeowners would be getting loan modifications (hes all heart). Thus the new Angry bring your guns Tea Bagger Movement was stolen, er, born. And FreedomWorks Tom Gaithens helped organize the astroturf events. Since then, FreedomWorks has been the engine of the Tea Party, though they deny it regardless of the facts.
Summer 2009: Dick Armey and Matt Kibbe aimed their angry mob at Health Care Reform.
Scene One: The Chaos
Prologue: The Rise of Facts Averse Tea Baggers
During the Health Care vote last month I was so upset by the slurs the Tea Party crowd angrily yelled at Barney Frank, et al, that I called FreedomWorks. (The last time I felt so compelled was when I saw Fred Phelps protesting an Iraqi soldiers funeral with a Thank God for IEDs sign.)
During my impulsive call I:
- inquired as to their intelligence level
- wondered if they had a plan on how to spin the eventual news of one of their members turning violent and killing someone.
- left my phone number because I wanted someone to call me back and defend their Tea Party actions,
(The recording of my voicemail message can be heard in a special music video at the end of this blog.)
Yeah, I know STUPID! And certainly not constructive. But venting calmly with a twist of humor soothes my liberal soul. Plus, homophobia and racism are my Achilles heal. Unfortunately, in my haste, I used the phrase mentally retarded which, ultimately, drags me down to their level.
My first question was an unfortunate choice of words and I regret it. But my second question was the more pertinent one: How will they spin it when one of their members crosses the line and does something violent?
Now, my calling them, my choice of words, and leaving my number were all mistakes, and I accept responsibility for them. But what happened next was way beyond an appropriate response. It was downright sleazy, unethical and most likely illegal.
Scene Two: Matt Kibbe Gets His Freak On
(Adam Brandon)
A week after the Health Care Reform bill passed, FreedomWorks errand boy Adam Brandon called me to verify my identity. I had already calmed down and couldnt care less about debating their negative and insidious tactics.
Unbeknownst to me, Adam was recording the conversation (an illegal act depending upon which state he was calling from).
Then FreedomWorks researched my career.
Unfortunately, GEICO has been on their boycott list for pulling their ads from the Glenn Beck Im inciting sedition all the way to the bank show last year. FreedomWorks discovered my connection with GEICO: I had been the announcer on their Celebrity campaign in 2007 and 2008. But they didnt do anything for a few weeks
Scene Three: When Teabaggers Attack
Then I posted on my FaceBook fan page that I had just recorded a new Shocking News campaign for GEICO.
The very next morning, Matt Kibbe (the president of FreedomWorks, not his errand boy) submitted a post to the conservative hate-blog-ring:
- deliberately conflating me with the voice of GEICO
- publishing my private voicemail message (an invasion of privacy)
- publishing the (possibly illegal) recording of their follow-up call
- included a badly photoshopped picture of the gecko (seriously, their photoshop guy sucks.)
- published my home phone number
- published GEICOs business line
- instructed readers to harass me and GEICO
Yup. You read that right, folks. This Christian American group published my home phone number and issued these glib instructions:
Feel free to contact Lance. He was so kind to provide his number in the voicemail. Call his employer too Let them know that you, in fact, are not a mentally retarded killer, but that you are now in the market for car insurance.
I was inundated with calls and hang-ups. But they died after a day. GEICO may have received twice as much, but again, they died after a day.
However, GEICO made a quick corporate decision to drop me from the campaign ten hours after Matt Kibbes blog post appeared. Obviously not because of the magnitude of Matt Kibbes self-serving revenge campaign, as it was just a tempest in a teapot (pun intended), but because of the fear that has become synonymous with the Tea Bagger Party: The potential for the wackos of the party to get very loud and dangerous.
Finale: Washing Matt Kibbes Soul Out With Soap
I did not post my views in a large public forum. I did not publicly campaign against them. I left a calm (albeit impulsive) phone message ONCE. FreedomWorks responded with napalm.
Its akin to me getting any one of the unblocked phone callers who harassed me fired from their jobs. I could try to do it, but an eye for an eye leaves everyone blind. Oh, and its kind of illegal Tortious Interference, invasion of privacy and harassment. (If there are any lawyers out there whod like to take this on pro bono, come and get it.)
Of course, Matt Kibbe could care less who I am. He just had a hard-on for the lizard and was more than happy to throw a stranger under the bus merely for some possible press Yes, actions of an unethical opportunist. And of a writer bereft of any positive blog post ideas.
Mind you, I dont blame GEICO. They shouldnt have to take on an angry mob over an anonymous voice over guy. Besides, I do just fine outside of my GEICO campaigns. I also know that there are other big corporations out there that arent intimidated by the Tea Party Telemarketers and Ill be on another national campaign soonunless, of course, FreedomWorks decides to start a Hollywood blacklist.
Study Guide: FreedomWorks As Anger Machine
So how does FreedomWorks achieve lower taxes, less government and more freedom by getting me dropped from a GEICO campaign? They dont. Its simply the politics of destruction.
Matt Kibbe, DickArmey and FreedomWorks are just using their followers as attack dogs in their beltway battles. They are an anger machine hellbent on undermining the administration if the administration happens to be Democratic. They, like Glenn Beck, are flirting heavily with sedition.
Remember, this is the same group that passed out a handbook to members on how to disrupt town hall meetings on Health Care, essentially derailing democratic discourse. This Tea Party mentality culminated in aHealth Care Reform weekend marked by:
- Barney Frank being called a f****t.
- Rep. John Lewis being referred to as a n****r.
- Rep. Emanuel Cleaver being spat upon.
- A weekend that saw Sedgwick County Democratic Party headquarters in Wichita vandalized.
- Rep. Tom Perriellos home gas line to a propane tank being cut (his home address had been posted on a Tea Baggers FaceBook page).
- Death threats sent to Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Patty Murray.
- Me calling FreedomWorks and tweaking their nipple.
A Dedication: Matt Kibbe Can Kiss My Pimply Ass
In the past few days, I have been advised to just let it all happen to me not to respond because these guys cannot be reasoned with they only know anger, hatred and destruction. I also hear folks in the media say we should just ignore them and theyll go away.
But heres the rub: a portion of those members do have legitimate complaints and should be heard. (Hell, even Im for abolishing income tax and going with a progressive VAT.) Thesepeople shouldnt be ignoredthough I would argue they should find a better organization to represent them. Or at least speak up and object to their groups radical majority.
Unfortunately, the radical majority is provoked to racial paranoia and mob mentality by unethical Washingtonian operatives like Dick Armey and Matt Kibbe. If we do not confront these kinds of groups,we risk letting a hate movement gain a dangerous level of influence in our country.
theres this vast echo chamber, and [these provocative words] go across space and they fall on the serious and the delirious alike. They fall on the connected and the unhinged alike – President Bill Clinton (April, 2010)
Personally, I have no tolerance for intolerance Which is why I invite Matt Kibbe to kiss my pimply ass.
Coming Soon: Dick Armeys Army of Dicks
Dick Armey illustrates how big his tea bags are.
To celebrate my LOVE of ALL ethnicities, sexualities, genders; my belief in a womans right to choose, a gay/lesbian/transgender couples right to marry, an Atheists right to seek office; an impetuous actor/voice over guys right to leave a voicemail message I give you my Tea Bagger Boogie Video, constructed from FreedomWorks followers who left me voice mails (though I will not identify anyone nor list their phone numbers that would be kinda sleazy and illegal.)
Note: there is more after this post. Please click here and then scroll.
If you are going to believe all their lies, like Cleaver being spat upon, proven to be a lie by the video record, and get out of sorts about it, you have no leg upon which to stand in attacking the Tea Party protesters.
Obama is spending and borrowing from China. He is driving doctors out of health care. He is making America look weak to Iran. He is appointing leftists to high positions. The TP movement has something to say. You haven’t anything worthwhile to spew but your left wing childish anger. Lord knows Americans must stop this left wing regime.
Years ago, a friend successfully sued the company who fired him because his ex-wife, following an acrimonious divorce, sent nasty letters to his employer, lying about various aspects of his personal life, including falsely accusing him of physically abusing her. (She did it for spite since the divorce settlement didn’t go her way.) At any rate, he was fired for violating the ‘morals clause’ in the company’s employment policy, but it was entirely based on the unverified claims of one person. The law clearly said that a person’s job could not be terminated on that basis and the case was quickly settled out of court. I wonder if this could apply to D.C. Douglas’ firing?
Actually “Libertyballs,” you have every right and absolute “legs” to stand upon to attack Tea Party protesters: or FreedomWorks which is who the attack was aimed at. It’s called “free speech.” It amazes me how those who claim to love “liberty” often don’t have the “balls” to protect they very “liberty” they claim to love.
Or are you an “America hater?”
Libertyballs, the video ‘proof’ you saw was a video made later, not at the time Cleaver was spat upon and John Lewis was insulted.
As to your ‘points’:
1. Bush started borrowing from China to keep the economy afloat after he expanded the govt., started unfunded wars and gave tremendous tax cuts to his wealthy pals. Obama has been forced to continue that practice or else our entire economic system would collapse. Would you prefer to live in the Weimer Republic, circa 1925? BTW, last I checked, George W. Bush was one of the most conservative presidents in our history — were you as enraged against him as you are against Obama?
2. With eleven carrier battle groups at sea, 10,000 nuclear-tipped missiles and supersonic aircraft, as well as all kinds of other expensive military hardware and two million-plus people in uniform, I don’t think little Iran has any illusions about our ‘weakness’ nor Obama’s willingness to respond with force if attacked. Perhaps you should try dealing with the totality of reality rather than fearful talking points provided you by the right-wing media which is advancing the GOP agenda.
3. Obama is appointing ‘leftists’ (actually moderates) to high positions to replace the incompetents and crooks appointed by Bush. Do you have something against competent, honest people in high positions?
4. So far, the Tea Partiers seem to be saying that they want smaller government and lower taxes, as long as nobody touches their taxpayer-funded Social Security, Medicare and other programs. Let them start refusing their govt.-paid SS and Medicare and I’ll take ther complaints more seriously. And then there are the racists who can’t find even one racist in the Tea Party movement. Hell, I’m in the northern Midwest and I can throw a bar cushion in a crowded place on a weekend night and have a 1 in 10 chance of hitting a white idiot with some racist tendencies, but you guys can’t find one in the whole Teabagger movement. That doesn’t match reality or common sense.
5. I admit the ‘childish anger’ of the left-wing will never equal the childish anger of the right — instead of accepting the vote of the majority of Americans, you instead throw a temper tantrum at how unfair it all is that you didn’t get your way in the last election. Weren’t you the same people who told us to ‘get over it’ when Bush was illegally appointed by the Supreme Court in 2000?
BTW, as far as leftists taking over the govt., it might be good for a change from the failed conservative policies — from Reagan to Bush — that have brought us to this point. I know it’s a hard pill to swallow, but everything the conservative Republicans have proposed the past 30 years has been tried and failed miserably. That’s what you Tea Partiers should be objecting to — more of the same GOP game. Instead, you’re in bed with people who use you for their own ends and privately have comtempt for you, like Dick Armey and his band of rich lobbyists. Get mad about that for they are the real enemies of freedom and our nation.
Unless, of course, you’re just a mindless racist, in which case you’re beyond reason.
Because of dial up my vid watching is minimal at best, RS. That exactly is this vid he’s referring to?
There were two vids, Ken. One, which was shown extensively on Fox and the innertubes, shows Lewis, Cleaver and company LEAVING the Capitol without incident. But the spitting and insults occurred when they were ENTERING the building earlier. Another sleight-of-hand by the right-wing media.
The other video shows Cleaver reacting to the spitting, but is sufficiently fuzzy and taken from such a distance that it’s hard to see the actual spittle. This is hardly ‘proof’ that nothing happened, except to a confused teabagger.
Tim Wise has an interesting piece on this at AlterNet, “What If The Tea Party Were Black?” that clearly points out the racism of the media treatment of the white teabaggers. Just imagine a few thousand black people descending on DC packing heat, or hundreds of Hispanics carrying signs that said, ‘This Time We Came Unarmed.’ Glenn Beck would have a stroke; Sean Hannity would faint dead away. As Wise points out in his piece:
I have not met a racist since the early ’70s who would openly admit to being racist. They will say vile and demeaning things about people of other races and then claim they don’t ‘hate’ anybody, so they’re can’t be racists. The GOP realizes that racism doesn’t play well anymore, even in the South; like Nixon’s Southern Strategy, which used code words like ‘law and order’ instead of overt anti-black slogans to get its point across, the Teabaggers toss around words like ‘socialism’ and ‘tyrant’ which really mean, as Bartcop has said, ‘we want that n-gger out of our White House.’ That’s really what all of this irrational rage boils down to.
Fortunately, the Teabaggers are a tiny minority of the voting public getting much more media attention than their puny numbers warrant. They’ll be gone once the GOP and lobbyists no longer have use for them.