Film Praised By Tea Party, Bashed By MoveOn

Something is going on in the country and Americans need to wake up to it.

This was the central message behind “Agenda: Grinding America Down.” The film, created by former Idaho Rep. Curtis Bowers and released in September 2010, was screened Thursday night for about 100 people during the Redlands Tea Party Patriots monthly general meeting.

Tea Partiers say several liberal groups and organizations, such as the ACLU and labor unions like teacher’s associations, are slowly chipping away at the nation’s foundation by eroding family values and moving away its Christian roots.

Images of Stalin, Hitler and Lenin were peppered throughout the film. Charts to illustrate the connections from so many socialist leaders upward to President Barack Obama and the White House were shown.

“What we’d like you to do is get the movie, invite people to your home and share it,” said Phillip Naman, member and spokesman for the Redlands group. “Let them see what’s happening. Buy some more copies and pass them on. That’s really what we want to see happening.”

Members of MoveOn.org who attended the screening were said they were appalled by some of the images. Zoe Lane, MoveOn.org Redlands council coordinator, said she was saddened by the producer’s constant appeal to members of the Christian faith.

The film makes reference to liberals and socialists working to erode Christian and family values.

“They blatantly use peoples' faith to guilt them and scare them into supporting a specific political ideology,” Lane said. “And I think that's very wrong. There is nothing in Christianity that tells you to hate and fear your neighbor the way this film promoted, with such lines as, and I believe this is a direct quote, ‘These are not just people with different ideas, they are a dangerous, dangerous enemy, intent on overthrowing the country.’ ”

“And to not see how they are the ones taking a page right out of the Fascism playbook, I mean, the lack of self-awareness among this crowd would be laughable if it weren't so disturbing,” Lane said.

Tea Party members, however, say the information in the film is true.

“I think the movie is very real,” said 18-year-old Lindsey Livoni. “And I think the movie is very scary.”

She said she has seen the degradation of education. It concerned her that homosexually themed subjects are discussed with children as early as kindergarten.

The night went smoothly for organizers, even after opposition arose from members of the MoveOn.org district that recently launched in the area. Individual members of the organization sent requests to Assemblyman Mike Morrell, who was scheduled to speak to the group, not to attend.

The assemblyman chose to attend, but arrived after the film started and had dinner in another part of the restaurant while the movie played to its end.