Stay Classy, FreedomWorks!

Ken AshfordTea PartyLeave a Comment

FreedomWorks is the political action commitee supporting tea party candidates.  Right now, there's an internal investigation by its members, who seem to be displeased with some past behavior from its former president, Matt Kibbe.  David Corn of Mother Jones brings us the latest in FreedomWorks creepiness (my emphasis):

FreedomWorks staffers worried last year about a promotional video created ahead of FreePAC, a FreedomWorks conference held on July 26, 2012, where thousands of conservative grassroots activists nearly filled the American Airlines Center in Dallas to hear from tea party favorites, including Glenn Beck and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah). The short film hailing FreedomWorks was intended to play on the large video screens inside the arena.

In one segment of the film, according to a former official who saw it, [FreedomWorks executive vice president Adam] Brandon is seen waking from a nap at his desk. In what appears to be a dream or a nightmare, he wanders down a hallway and spots a giant panda on its knees with its head in the lap of a seated Hillary Clinton and apparently fellating the then-secretary of state. Two female interns at FreedomWorks were recruited to play the panda and Clinton. One intern wore a Hillary Clinton mask. The other wore a giant panda suit that FreedomWorks had used at protests to denounce progressives as panderers.

According to Corn's report, FreedomWorks staffers were "outraged and stunned" when they previewed advance copies of the film. Brandon, who is still with the organization and is the right-hand man to president Matt Kibbe, defended it as being funny and in good taste, but the video was nonetheless shelved.