D.C. Douglas: Don't Blame GEICO, Blame FreedomWorks

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FreedomWorks campaign to fight hate with hate?

Their unethical tactics are what should be looked at in depth by both the media and Tea Party members.

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) April 24, 2010

D.C. Douglas, who announced earlier this week that FreedomWorks bullied GEICO into dropping him from a new campaign yet to air, will appear on "Geraldo At Large" at 10:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time to discuss FreedomWorks' bullying tactics in depth.

Mr. Douglas is concerned about where blame for the incident has been directed. While he's received much support, many of his defenders have pointed their fingers at GEICO, a position he does not stand behind.

"GEICO is not to blame here," Mr. Douglas explains. "They made a strict business decision. I do not advocate people calling or harassing GEICO or canceling policies based on my recent misadventure. The economy is hard enough without additional bullying of any business, let alone one already targeted by FreedomWorks."  

Mr. Douglas' original statement argued that FreedomWorks already had its crosshairs set on GEICO, looking for additional ways to target the insurance company for pulling its ads from Glenn Beck's show in 2009. "The only reason GEICO was put in a position of having to replace me is because of the egregious actions of Matt Kibbe, Dick Armey, Adam Brandon and FreedomWorks," he continues. "They are the ones who posted my private voicemail message without editing out my phone number. They posted a possibly illegal recording of a follow-up call. They printed my phone number and GEICO's and told their readers to call us. Their unethical tactics are what should be looked at in depth by both the media and Tea Party members."

As stated in Mr. Douglas' original press release, voice over blog and every radio interview he's done this week, he accepts of full responsibility for the call he made to FreedomWorks and the inappropriate language he used. But he still stresses the second question in his message as the relevant one that deserves an answer: how will they handle it when one of their more radical members crosses the line and hurts someone?

In a statement to FOX News, he posed these questions to Tea Party members: "If you believe in what the Tea Party stands for, ask FreedomWorks executives Matt Kibbe and Dick Armey how launching a blacklisting campaign against an anonymous voice over actor serves the goals of 'lower taxes, less government, more freedom'. Ask Matt and Dick if this is a good use of the movement's time, energy and resources. Ask them if it's okay to engage in unethical acts in the pursuit of press. But most importantly, ask them if this is what their many Christian followers would want them doing. FreedomWorks says it wants to 'Stop The Haters - as they posted on their website today. Do you know what tactics they're about to use to accomplish this?"

When asked about the "Tea Bagger Boogie" video that has garnered over 100,000 hits in three days, Mr. Douglas responds, "That was my response to the Tea Baggers of the movement, not the original Tea Party members. Tea Baggers are the dangerous fringe elements that Matt Kibbe and FreedomWorks have been attracting and inciting. They drown out the rational voices of the movement."

Mr. Douglas was the tag announcer on GEICO's 2007 and 2008 celebrity campaign ("Real service, real savings."), but never the voice of the trademark gecko or their GEICO's brand announcer. At the time of his initial call to FreedomWorks, he was not hired to voice any GEICO campaigns. He was only later hired for a single campaign that has yet to air. One day after Mr. Douglas recorded the campaign, Matt Kibbe and FreedomWorks posted his contact information.

Follow-up release:

D.C. Douglas Gets Boost From FreedomWorks/GEICO Controversy

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