I'm getting a lot of comments about GOP money being behind the reopen protests.

Please keep in mind that the FB pages and websites being used as evidence weren't created until after the big protests started organizing; almost all of the big money pages/websites were created *after* the NC rally on April 14th and the big Michigan rally on the 15th.

This why I've been focusing on what led to the Reopen NC Facebook page (April 7th) and the EndtheShutDownNow website (April 4th) and hashtag (March 22nd.)

GOP money is seeking to amplify both a self-destructive rage and a protest plan that were already in place when they threw money at them. They're fanning the flames but they didn't build this fire.

As far as paying protesters to drive to their state capitals to gather under unsafe conditions, there's no evidence that that is happening, and a ton of evidence that participants were already mad as hell, and didn't need to be paid to gather.

I think reporters who aren't immersed in this segment of society have no idea big it is & how long it's been brewing. Facebook, not Twitter, is the gathering place and since many of the groups are private & aren't laser-focused on a single issue, quick research isn't possible.

It's also important not to overinflate the significance of the protests. 500 people gathered in a state capital during a period of social distancing may seem huge (and indeed, it's really stupid), but it's really just 500 people in a state with a population of tens of millions.

The issue of whether these volunteer vectors are going to carry the disease back to rural communities is real. The political importance of such rallies isn't.

I once heard a reporter ask a circus trainer how they get wild animals to do such amazing tricks. The trainer replied, "I find out what the animal likes to do and I build an act around it."

The GOP money groups are the animal trainer. We need to focus on the animal, not the act.