Why The White House is Asking Supporters to 'Snitch' on The Opposition

Why is it that the Obama administration is asking supporters to 'snitch' on the opposition? They requested "If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov" (Berman Post: The White House is Asking You to Report on The Opposition).

Some are concerned that the administration is compiling an enemy-list of sorts. While I can not say they are not, it just does not seem very likely. The list, should they try to create one, would be to massive to really use. Based on his election, just under half the population of this country could be considered enemies. Based on recent polls, a significant majority of the population could be considered enemies based on their opposition to his health care plan.

A sort of add on to the enemy-list notion is that they want people to know that there will be a permanent record of their opposition also does not really make sense. Most people already know that anything they put online is almost impossible to permanently and fully delete given the search engine bots, page caching, and purpose made web archives.

The official explanation, that they need help keeping track of the 'disinformation', also does not seem very likely. Sites deemed 'important enough' are easy to monitor with staff and respond to as seen at Berman Post: More Video of Obama's Health Care Plan Goal. Sites not important enough will not be responded to for fear of boosting them, and would not be that hard to find and monitor through simple web searches. The truth is that the White House does not have the time and resources to respond to everything on an individualized basis. You do not need specifics (names, websites...) if you are going to respond in broad strokes.

Asking supporters to email them may even be detrimental to their cause. Before asking for supporters to pass the disinformation to them, the supporter would likely have been more inclined to send a reply-all or post a comment refuting the claim or arguing the counterpoint. Now, they may just pass on the word to the White House and figure they will take it from there.

I think the real reason the Obama administration is asking people to email them the "fishy" claims is not to get the emails, but to deter the person from making them. Not just fishy claims, but any dissent at all. Asking people to snitch on the opposition to the government may have a chilling effect on people voicing any concern at all. That deterrent or chilling effect is infinitely more valuable to the administration then any list they can compile.

There could be another more mundane reason. The White House could be compiling a mass email list not to select people for punishment, but to mass email Obama's counter argument specifically to those who appose him with the hopes of changing their mind.