White House Folds the Flag

Flag@WhiteHouse.gov, that is:

In a tacit acknowledgment of some new media missteps, the White House made changes to its White House’s “Reality Check” website this week after anger that some people were receiving unsolicited emails generated from the White House, and suggestions from a Republican senator that the White House was using an email address to compile a list of political opponents.

White House Director of Media Macon Phillips writes in a blog post that the irony is that the website, which tried to clear up misinformation caused by “fear-mongering” has now become the subject of the same beast.

“An ironic development is that the launch of an online program meant to provide facts about health insurance reform has itself become the target of fear-mongering and online rumors that are the tactics of choice for the defenders of the status quo," Phillips writes.

Macon says that it has come to his attention that some people may have been added to the White House email list without their knowledge, “likely as a result of efforts by outside groups of all political stripes” and that they regret any inconvenience it has caused.

All political stripes? Does the White House expect us to believe that conservative anti-Obamacare groups were feeding their email lists into the White House website so their people could receive White House propaganda? Not hardly.

While a website offering their side of the argument would have been a good idea if managed correctly, the idea of a snitch site where people could turn in their Obamacare-opposing neighbors was incredibly tone deaf, not to mention constitutionally questionable. It's just another in a sequence of missteps by the White House on this issue.