Armey Resigns From Lobbying Firm Over Town Hall Protests

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Former House majority leader Dick Armey resigned his position at the lobbying firm DLA Piper on Friday in response to a growing chorus of critics who claim his “grassroots” advocacy group, FreedomWorks, is little more than an extension of the American pharmaceutical industry.

Naturally, Armey blamed his decision to resign on the liberal media. “The firm is busy with its business, and shouldn’t be asked to take time out from their work, to defend themselves of spurious allegations,” he told Politico. “No client of this firm is going to be free to mind its own business without harassment as long as I’m associated with it.”

FreedomWorks has not been shy about its role in inflaming protests against health care reform. Last week it released an “August Recess Action Kit” and its website even provides a ten-point action guide on “How to Organize Your Own ‘Tea Party’ Protest.” 

MoJo will have more on the astrotuf groups driving the opposition to healthcare reform early next week—stay tuned.

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In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

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