Right wing assaults on August Town Halls are partying like it's 1994: Attack of the Zombie Plumbers
Have you seen the teabaggers in action during Rep. Lloyd Doggett's (D-TX)town hall on health care? These are standard right-wing tactics -- attack any kind of meaningful change in health care, or even any kind of meaningful discourse around it. They remind me of a gathering of Joe the Plumbers.
Today, House members are back home to begin their month-long recess. The far right has indicated that they plan to welcome many of their representatives with large, angry throngs (“town halls gone wild”). The corporate lobbyists engineering these “grassroots” efforts have indicated their harassment strategy is to “yell,” “stand up and shout,” and “rattle” the members. Politico reported that Democratic members of Congress are increasingly being confronted by “angry, sign-carrying mobs and disruptive behavior” at local town halls. This past weekend, Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) was the latest victim of the right’s strategy, where protesters followed him and chanted “just say no” to health care.
We've all seen it before. I wonder how many of these teabaggers actually have health insurance and are working. This should have been expected because it's all too familiar. Digby links to this piece by PBS that charts the fight for health care. A Detailed Timeline of the Healthcare Debate portrayed in "The System." It's a facinating look at the time line of events.You'll notice that Newt Gingrich raised the flag that health care was coming and republicans should do everything they could to destroy it.
Spring 1991 - Minority Whip Newt Gingrich, in a private discussion about long-term Republican political strategy, predicts that the "next great offensive of the Left," as he puts it, will be "socializing health care." Gingrich declares the need for hardline Republicans to begin positioning themselves now to keep Democrats from winning in the future.
I'm sure the Democrats all remember this and are prepared for it this time. Right?
If you haven't read the entire PBS timeline on how health care reform was derailed in 1994 recently, do yourself a favor and read it. The legislative side has an eerily familiar feel to it, especially the part where the Democrats in the Senate preen egomaniacally while selling out reform to the insurance industry and the Republicans. You'll recall that the Republicans consciously pumped Whitewater in the press to create a distraction for the public and fuel mass protest among their own base. It's a sign of their impotence that the best they could come up with this time was a fringy clown show like the birthers, but it's certainly done its job among the 58% of Republicans who now aren't sure if Obama is actually an illegal alien. This stuff is evergreen.
If you can, please attend any town hall meeting in your area and try to bring some sanity to it or expose these phony populists for what they are. If you can, interview the teabaggers and send me the video at crooksandliars@gmail.com or crooksandliarsvideos@gmail.com. It will be up to the progressive groups also to organize activists to offset what Republicans hope to accomplish. The Democratic party should have expected this. That's why I asked President Obama to demand that Congress work through the August recess. You can depend on Max Baucus to do his part and screw up health care for all Americans. He sold us out before.
August will be littered with images of the Zombie Plumbers disrupting town hall meetings because the media just loves this stuff. As usual, they won't give proper context or explain who these teabaggers are, and Americans will view these wackos on the news as a legitimate effort by patriotic Americans who are against changes to the health care system instead of explaining who they really are. I hate to bring this up, but do you remember how the media handled the six weeks leading up to the Pennsylvania Democratic primary? It was pretty frightening. That's what we can expect this month, and it won't be pretty.
An elusive species apparently.
I have. It's like watching de-evolution in progress. They are cheering and demanding their own destruction at the hands of their predators.
And if you try to save their stupid asses, it pisses them off even more.
Rush Limbaugh is what a smart person thinks a stupid bigot sounds like.
only one alternative.
Which I cannot say here.
Well said. It's a sad day for America that we perpetuate ignorance and stupidity. But we do in this country. We promote it.
We have "lords" such as limpballs, she-man, ingraham, vannity, savage, bor, beck, michael raygon, and on and on and on. They all spew their hatred, their fear mongering, and their lies for the simpletons to lap up and repeat over and over in their heads.
It's sad...really sad. We "could be" a nation of well educated, caring and insightful citizens. Instead, we are a divided nation of the former and the morons....those that "want to believe" the nonsense spewed by this right wing propaganda machine. They are even too ignorant to realize it is against their own best interests to fight the fight of nonsense and stupidity. But fight on they do...wrapped in their American flags, chanting their three word phrases of nonsense.
God, help this nation of f*cking morons. It's a sad day in America. We are ONLY #1 with morons...nothing more.
Sign these petitions
http://www.change.org/actions/view/i_demand_c...
http://www.change.org/actions/view/rep_mike_r...
http://www.change.org/actions/view/stop_calli...
Oh and the FBI knows of this right wing thuggery and will investigate.
Read our blog http://blog.democratz.org
The brownshirts are partying like it's 1933 in Germany.
The right-wing propagandists feeding lies to these Morans should be gathered together and sent to Afhanistan to be used as cannon fodder. That would be the kind thing to do.
persons arrested and put in jail , as they did the the democrat demonstrators in the Bush/Cheney administration.
Persons with an anti Bush/Cheney T-Shirt would be dragged from meetings and either fined or jailed...
Americans driving their car with an anti-Bush/Cheney sticker would be stopped , fined or jailed...
None
S.A. playbook.
like the last days of the Roman empire to me. and for the same reasons.
very same comparison...
take pictures, or videos, of these people (there should be a thread here for this) and have these fascists identified. Seriously, show the country who these people are and what corporations, lobbying firms and right wing organizations they're connected to. They can do this as long as they remain faceless.
Wilbur1...
Excellent idea!
I just tweeted Rachael Maddow asking her to research these thugs and expose them. If you have a town meeting in your area, it is your DUTY to attend and take pictures of the disruptors. If they are being bused around or are not from the area they will show up as repeats. Then we can do research to identify them for the rats they truly are. Remember the Gore sElection of 2000? It's the same action all over again - but this time we are onto them. Time to go viral!
known. video should be shot and they should be exposed for what they are doing. they shouldn't have any problem with that if it's really something they are proud of doing. someone should also find out how much money they are making and how it is that they were contacted and by whom in order to be recruited into this mockery.
opposition? You would think there would be counter protesters with signs saying . . Go back to church idiots! or something
trying to make enough to pay the bils.
to cover the teabaggers healthcare
Folks,
What you are witnessing is brown-shirt tactics. Exposing them won't work. Asking them to stop won't either. The problem with the Left is that we feel our ideas are so full of merit that they can stand alone in the marketplace. All we need to do is present the facts and have a nice little town hall meeting about it and we'll win.
WRONG.
Just like Obama is taking the high road, we are doing the same. That's great when the other side will debate you. The insurance industry that sponsors these thugs has no intention of debating anything. To pretend otherwise is extremely naive.
My solution? Show up to the townhalls ourselves, in even greater numbers. Crowd out these morons from the room. Shout in unison until they leave. Do it all over the countty. Fight fire with fire. Bullies respect one thing and one thing only: Force.
The whole religious complexion of the modern world is due to the absence from Jerusalem of a Lunatic Asylum. -Havelock Ellis
but for it to be effective there would have to be enough counter protesters to outshout the protesters to shut down their effort. It probably wouldn't require a lot of people, but it would have to be organized and a concerted effort, and, of course, the zombies undoubtedly have money motivating them. There wouldn't be big money paying for counter protesters obstructing the efforts of the zombies. The counter protesters would have to settle with the satisfaction of getting the "protesters" to shut up and fuck off by simply out shouting them and being better at their own neanderthal tactics than they are.
As the counterpoint to this nonsense, we need to step and show our support for these Dems. We have a great deal at stake in this fight, and the squeaky wheel gets the grease. The repugs will be successful without loud counterpoint from the majority.
It is essential that we rebuke this nonsense with a constant message to stay on the healthcare offensive.
elected to do. 99% of what they are doing isn't what they promised to do.
We need to support our democratic elected officials to stay on point with health care and health insurance reform and to not be deterred because of the rovian tactics of the zombie lobbyists. like the teabaggers, i'm sure the zombies are a teeny tiny group of people and the more that is exposed about them, the more obvious that fact will become. they are a pathetic little group who are getting a disproportionate amount of media exposure which is exactly what we want. Maybe we should ask the media, rather than reporting about meetings that were so disrupted that they didn't occur, that instead, the media research into exactly what is going on and by whom and for what purpose, etc. In other words, maybe the media, if it were to do it's job, would actually do a little bit of investigative reporting on this type of occurrence. The August recess has only just started. We need to get to the bottom of this now so that we have the entire August recess to respond to and to study it.
I've heard that two right-wing organizations (funded by some of the big medical insurance groups) are busing around people to disrupt the meetings. The people aren't even necessarily the constituents of the Congressman or Senator. This reminds me of the Brown Shirts in Germany in the late 1920s and early 1930s who disrupted other political organizations and destroyed democracy in that country.
if it weren't so damn serious, it would be funny...because most of these people are so fuckin ignorant of history, they don't know that they're the bad guys.
Instant karma for these people should take the form of being dropped by their insurance provider for such petty pre-existing conditions like ingrown toenails or inbreeding perhaps.
Generally speaking I don't trust anyone making over 150K a year.
made public. When Americans know that these groups of people are being paid and bussed around by big companies etc. they will be better informed and it will make a little more sense that this is happening at all because, if you look at what these zombies are doing, it just don't make any sense at all. None. Unless there are reasons for it and we really should know what/who is setting up these scenarios.
Hey, don't condemn this. These lobbyist paid protesters are probably a bunch of out of work teabaggers who didn't want to benefit from Obama's stimulus plan. This is probably the first real job they've had for months.
I'm just upset they didn't get the uniforms that the employees wear, a nicely starched brown shirt.
http://www.oldamericancentury.org/fasc_notus_...
The GOP is no longer a political party. It is simply a collection of anarchists operating at the beck and call of the corporate elite.
They don't have enough class to be considered prostitutes.
"Anyone that makes less than $150K in this country, has no business voting Republican."
lets call them what they are L&P...fascist footsoldiers...aka...brownshirts
It is a MUST to watch Keith Olbermann's tirade against "bought off, lying" Politicians.Complete with names, campaign contributions,and their positions against health care improvement. Keith fulminates against these puppets citing amounts donated to these "voter's representatives". Democrats as well as Republicans are scathed.
Thank you, Keith. From all of the American people who realize the desperate plight that we are confronted with the exposing those who stand in the way of progress.
MBrillson
mbrillo1
Why is the content of the clip a problem? Citizens expressing their views in a public forum. Looks like democracy to me even though I can't imagine why these individuals would want to block a national universal single payer health care program. The data from innumerable studies shows definitively that a single payer system is both more effective and more efficient (i.e., cheaper) than a privatized or mixed system.
"Secular humanism -- a fearless, realistic world view replete with doubt and scepticism that attempts to attain an unachievable state of equilibrium between and among the human qualities of reason, intuition, imagination, memory, ethics and common sense.
When the intent of the meeting is to allow individuals to express their views.
When a mob shouts them down, that is NOT democracy.
Democracy is too important to be entrusted to politicians.
Rise Up!
Protest!
"Plants Grow in Water" argument.
outshouting those that have arranged a town hall meeting for everryone to express their views? I think not. It is mob rule. In your view, they should just riot.
... the disruptive parties aren't interested in facts.
These people are paid by the health insurance lobbyists to shut these town hall meeting down...
This isn't democracy at work...this is fascism!
It takes stupid people to vote against their own best interests and the repubs don't lack redneck retards, that's a given.
...you not use the word "retard" in your posts. It sends a signal that these people are actually able to access a small part of the their brains. Clearly this is not the case.
In most jurisdictions there are laws against disrupting public meetings.
And even if there isn't a specific law there's always "disturbing the peace."
Dems are going to have to get tough.
Issue a set of rules -
Only one person speaks at a time.
No demonstrations, chanting, etc.
Anyone who disobeys the rules will be ejected.
Only way to deal with it.
Democracy is too important to be entrusted to politicians.
Rise Up!
Protest!
during a disruption at a GOP or Bush event.
then the right will scream that their rights are being suppressed. Mitch McConnell will get all hard on tv as he talks about America and mom and apple pie and starts to tear up like an old queen.
"Anyone that makes less than $150K in this country, has no business voting Republican."
then the right will scream that their rights are being suppressed.
I still think that would be an improvement. Enough with letting people use the very rights they want to take away from others to protect themselves. At least the other people at the meeting would get to speak and listen.
!
"The US has an army of 90,000 soldiers in Afghanistan and is spending $100bn a year, but has still been unable to defeat 20,000-25,000 Taliban who receive no pay at all." - Patrick Cockburn
!
"The US has an army of 90,000 soldiers in Afghanistan and is spending $100bn a year, but has still been unable to defeat 20,000-25,000 Taliban who receive no pay at all." - Patrick Cockburn
Here is a link to one of the Austin nutterbutterbaggers who is an organizer for these hooligans. Please feel free to post your opinions. We need the help.
http://www.statesman.com/sitelife/content/sit...
we've come full circle now "they" are out protesting . . all the ex 60's radicals are out sailing on their yachts.
shouting out the window "Grow your hair! Loosen up! Smoke some dope!"
....the first...not so much!
a previous poster was right on the money, these are Brownshirts - one must remember that Fascism was an unholy alliance between business and government - this being said, be aware that Fascism may come from multiple sources ....
If Prof. Gates can get arrested in his own home for disturbing the peace, why can't people get arrested at these meetings for making such a disturbance that no one can speak?
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
I think we can just about cover the cost of Healthcare with a Stupid tax. This is not a political battle nor is there an ideology involved. This is Morons on parade demonstrating what they do so well.
Love it - stooopid tax
"I know that there are people who do not love their fellow
man, and I hate people like that! " ~ Tom Lehrer (1928 - )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIWsMKZt3Eg
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
IF most of these lemmings are being bussed in from other states, why not just check id's at town halls - only local residents get in the door. It's not discrimination because only the local residents are the ones being represented. Might cut down on this stupid tactic.
Another great idea I heard last night was to give the stage to local residents to tell their health care nightmares - a lot harder to yell at granny than it is to yell at a politician.
Require everyone seeking admittance to bring a copy of Obama's birth certificate (the Hawaiian one, not the Orly Taitz version). Problem solved.
Or, require everyone entering the room to say and spell the President's name. That would probably keep most of them out. Half of them wouldn't know the President's name and the other half couldn't spell it.
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
I couldn't believe it. They introduced a segment on town hall opposition by first showing the swarm mob shouting at Sebalius. Next was a clip of a Charles Grassley receiving a challenging, yet polite question about congressional health insurance. The best political team on television equated the two.
Never Once did anyone report or discuss the lobbyists bankrolling this bullshit.
They probably don't even know who is sponsoring it. Most times I learn things on the internet days before I hear about it on the news.
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
TPM has provided us with an excellent document to use when facing Right Wingers in August.
It's a good thing we have web sites like TPM to show us what's going on when we're competing for Health Care Reform during Congress' August recess. Today they published the Teabaggers documentation that is being used to break up Town Hall meetings given by Democrats who support reform.
Go to http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/documents/20... and you'll find the memo and support documents that came out of Conservatives for Patients Rights (they're great at creating names that make you think they have the patients' interests at heart... not the pharmaceutical and insurance giants that are funding them).
Use this to counteract them. When they say to pack the front half of the audience with their people, get there ahead of time and pack it with yours. When they hand out materials like the ones shown in the memo, have counter materials ready and make it clear you know who they are.
Most of all, support your Representatives and Senators who will strive for YOUR best interests.
Under The LobsterScope
Just a warning.....a few weeks ago, I stumbled across some really whacked out, far right web site. They seemed to be organizing a day of general strike in this country, where people just wouldn't go to work. I think it was to be some time in October or November.
I really can't remember what the site was, and I can't seem to find it right now; but if these teabagging haters can organize these brownshirt outbursts, they might be able to organize this day of strike.
Have to do some searching to see if I can find that again.
So what are they going to do, stay home and not get paid for getting on the bus to go and disrupt a meeting?
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
A small segment of the population protesting will have no greater impact than all of those same protesters having their usual hangover sick day.
the farther to the right or left you go, the smaller the group of individuals willing to actually get involved with their agenda becomes.
Let's hope so, LibNMod. I guess I didn't even think these republictards would go this far to disrupt townhall meetings.
This has the very real potential to become a fuckin nightmare.
Seriously? How do you prove to a crazy person that their paranoid delusions aren't reality?
I saw a few of them in pictures and videos of these events carrying bibles and chanting something which I can only assume (and it is an assumption at this point) is something about Obama being the Anti-Christ which is one of those things that right-wing talking heads have tossed out there. Marc Maron coined these people right (Christian or not, they still fall into the last part of this grouping) - the Christo-Fascist Zombie Brigade. Hell, Rush calls his listeners "Ditto Heads" if I remember right and they seem okay with it.
Considering Democrats take these types of people somewhat seriously and move towards the center to try to appease them (which they'll never do unless they take their position 100%), I don't know what to do to end this type of crap.
Don't bunk em in the first place.
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
Cant we just give back Texas to the Mexicans, apologize and say we made a mistake? Or better yet, let the Govoner have his way secede from the nation. He wont then be able to decline the stimulus money while turning around and asking for federal relief money. And since they are so into states rights, except when they want to bring their guns across statelines, lets do an experiment- all the Blue states have a government option and all the Red states not and you have to stick with what you choose first. After all the Redstates take more in Federal money and I betcha( oops, sound like that Alaska Ex-govenro)in Health money, than they put in. So see how that works for them.
in 2000?
"Stop the count!" "Stop the count!"
The board had a State Supreme Court ruling to CONTINUE THE COUNT and they STOPPED when they were intimidated by this group of protesters who had been flown in from outside of Florida:
http://www.salon.com/politics/feature/2000/11...
Here is a Town Hall meeting with Rep. Tim Bishop from the east end of Long Island where the natives who turned out were VERY restless:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-Bpshk5nX0
He's a Democrat and it seemed that entire meeting was STACKED with right wingers who are out to get him.
"The US has an army of 90,000 soldiers in Afghanistan and is spending $100bn a year, but has still been unable to defeat 20,000-25,000 Taliban who receive no pay at all." - Patrick Cockburn
What do they want? Abolish the entire Federal govt, privatize the military (oh wait, already did that one...), the streets patrolled by Jesus Cops enforcing biblical law, making sure everyone is carrying their concealed weapons? Ban contraception? Forced monthly exams to pick out all the pregnant women, and locking them in cells until they give birth to make sure nobody gets an abortion? Execute all the undesirables? Gee, why does that sound so familiar?
Their ideal society is made up of elements form the absolute worst of failed, tyrannical regimes.
I doubt these teabaggin birthers have a set goal...except to try to make themselves look like the complete and utter anit-American assholes they truly are.
The ones bankrolling and organizin these "protests" however...I'm sure they have several goals, and not one of them is one that we would think of as being anything close to being beneficial to the people or the country.
Well welcome aboard since you got here just about an hour ago. You seem to be a pleasant sort as you "love" so many things about us.
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
These are not grass roots protesters. That kind of blows your entire argument out of the water.
stop it with your fuckin lying bullshit.
These people aren't exercising their right to free speech!
They're ABUSING IT! They're paid by the healthcare industry to disrupt these town hall meetings.
We "Lefties" are many things, but stupid ain't one.
Why don't you pull your head out of your fuckin ass and get some oxygen to that lizard brain of yours?
You are working against your own interest by shilling for these fascist fucks!
They don't give a fuck about you!
Oh...and you have been flagged for being a stupid troll.
Now..why don't you go play hide and go fuck yourself?
Now, now, libNMod....
He's just expressing his "free speech" right and freedom to lie. There's nothing wrong with that.
was a Ministry of Astroturf.
Must be in the toolshed.
lol, and I was exercising mine to call him out for it.
GAH!!!
They make me want to punch things...in the face!
And, they make me want to kick them where the sun don't shine!
rain down elbows and knees on these..."things" until they submit.
I probably no more than you about Christian ministry
And I practice Witchcraft
(Still ain't got the knack of it yet.)
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
Hey, YSB....finally caught you in a misspelling! You probably "no more...."
Ha! :)
or ya just been hittin teh sauce already? };)>
Hope YSB doesn't practice no witchcraft on me, especially if he's been hitting the sauce!
Yeah BBQ.
I've been really anoid today.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j696bHtrYTM
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
Are you sure you didn't mean to say you have "roids" today? Dominos gives me them.
I'm Texan
They give me gas.
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
My preference than Domino's
http://blogs.kansascity.com/photos/uncategori...
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
Ouch....she looks familiar!
Yeah, me to. Where bouts? Getting mighty strange round these parts.
...that no one took advantage of this. ysb, turnabout is fair play...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDidHzwYu3E
I love it when the likes of Glenn Beck and Orly Taitz call our President a "nazi" and a "racist." I love it when Orly Taitz (birther queen bee) calls David Schuster of MSNBC a "brownshirt" and says that MSNBC should be charged under the RICO act for acts of treason. I love it how conservative leaders like Beck and Limbaugh fully support and encourage the actions of Orly Taitz, the birthers, and these crazed wackos at town hall meetings who have been organized by the likes of freedomswatch, who are backed by industry lobbyists.
I love it when conservatives say these protestors are "grass roots" protestors when in fact many of them, if not most of them, have taken their que from a recently surfaced document produced by the "Right Principles" organization/web site.
I love it when the so-called "freedomswatch" group doesn't protect my freedom when they remove my comments from their website, as well as every single other dissenting point of view in their comments section. Isn't freedom wonderful?
I love it when the so-called "freedomswatch" and the right principles group send out documents telling people how to organize and protest at these townhalls by causing massive dissruption to the Democratic process. Again, isn't freedom wonderful....it gives these so-called "grass roots" protestors the right to fully drown out the Democratic process!
Let's be honest.....if these so-called "grass roots protestors" did this at a Bush event, they'd be handcuffed and thrown in jail....that is, if they were even given a chance to get into a Bush event.
...really wanted to read the troll's, er, I mean the Minister's response. I'm sure it was rational and completely fact-based with salient points about his stance.
Yes, DevilDog....you missed it. It was "awesome", what that minister wrote! He seemed to love many things about us liberals!
you stupid RW Texas troll.
been a member for almost an hour.
You don't know shit.
We Texans know shit
We call it crop food.
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
on my posts when it involved Texas, lol!
The speakers should have video cameras on stage with them and the audience members should be prepared for the disruptors. As soon as they stand up and start shouting, they will have lots of cameras recording who they are. Then the collected images can be posted and compared, and the traveling organized disruptors identified, shamed and ridiculed.
Anyone who genuinely wants to be heard should be happy to be recorded. The disruptors will be unhappy, and it might even shut them up...
...me how many true idiots in this country are so easily convinced to vote and act against their own self-interest. I wonder how many of those yahoos even had health care coverage?
"Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that."
George Carlin
"I know that there are people who do not love their fellow
man, and I hate people like that! " ~ Tom Lehrer (1928 - )
how many there are...
One of two things may come from all this stupidity...either teh stupid destroys us all...or teh stupid eats itself, and a new era of American prosperity begins...without those that would hold us back from our true potential.
This could be such a kickass nation...we could lead the world in science again, we could have schools and hospitals that are second to none. So many exiting possibilities....and these fuckin throwbacks want to live in a fascist theology??!?!
Fuck that, and FUCK them!
Science is a waste of time. The explanation for everything complex or mysterious or confusing is: "God did it with magic!"
So shut down the space program, it's not only a huge waste, but what if one of those rockets blasts through God's house up there in the sky??! He'd be pissed and might send another monster hurricane to teach us a lesson!
I recently heard mention of a course called "Christian Biology". Must be the shortest course ever, with a one question final exam. "How'd this happen?" "God did it with magic."
...
/sarcasm off
Check out Neil deGrasse Tyson. He knows what's up.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vrpPPV_yPY
He's a friggin genius.
The sad thing is that these are the people who would benefit most from public health care. In fact, I wouldn't doubt that many of them are already on it in one form or another.
by "bringing respect and decorum to the national dialogue."
It reminds me of old footage of Ethiopia's Haille Silasse trying to speak at the League of Nations and being hooted and filibustered by the Italian fascists.
Heckuva job, GOP.
Thank you Amato for posting this. Get together with your fellow bloggers and get this message out. All we have to do is go to these town halls. We can do it. WE HAVE TO DO IT. We will show them that we don't have to be bused in either. We don't need instructions from insurance companies and big pharma. We speak from the heart.
The Obama organization has millions of email address. Send out a request for everybody to go to the town halls. No reason to tell them what to say. Be real. If some people are worried about health care reform they can be educated. The other 70% will be there to help get the message out that ewe want big reform and the others who want to learn will learn.
I saw Doggett interviewed and he seemed quite composed about the whole scene. In other words, not "rattled". But he made a good point: the town hall meeting lasted well over an hour and he answered a lot of substantive questions (i.e., those not from the "disrupters"), yet the media, local and national, made it look like the whole forum was like this video....
What's the repubs and insurance industry are doing is to try and create a national mood from their actions in a relative few number of congressional districts. To gradually chip away at national polling support for health care reform. This is what worked for them in 1993.
If all of us who can don't attend a local town hall meeting to support health care reform - and mainly to COUNTER these right-wing nutjobs, then we'll bear a big share of responsibility if eventually 2009 resembles 1993.
As Chris Kafinis says, get some examples of people who have been screwed by the insurance companies and how they have been dropped by their insurance or how they cannot get insurance and how they are dying because of it. We all know somebody like this. Load them in your car and get to a town hall.
If yoiu are an Obama worker get this idea out. If yoiu are a MoveOn worker get the people working on this. Reality is the best thing we can throw at them.
Way to go Cap'n!
This kind of reminds me of when mobs of right-wingers converged on vote-count centers in Florida in 2000 to try to stop the counting of presidential votes so Bush could be appointed president.
Attack of the fat, white, retired, conservative, asshole, dupes, yes? Why do they have so much time to spend being bussed around to disrupt town hall meetings? I will bet good money that a lot of these faces will be at every town hall meeting that gets this treatment around the country.
And they say "libruls" need to "git a job!", yet these fools have nothing but time for this nonsense.
By the way, tucking your polo shirt into your jean shorts is NOT a good look, people. Please. Help yourself. Untuck; getting that circulation back might release the blood that has been pooling in your asses and bring some sense back to your fuzzy-logic brains.
I'm just superstitious enough to hedge my bets.
According to the Austin American Statesman some of these goobers are self-described Libertarians and Ron Paul supporters.
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
...surprising. The vocal minority trying to dictate to the silent majority.
Hire a couple of off duty cops to attend the event.
Set written ground rules before the event,eg: "No speaking until you are recognized by the rep/senator/spokesperson.
Signing in for the meeting constitutes agreement to the rules.
Failure to comply with the rules will result in expulsion from the event and a citation for disturbing the peace.
Failure to abide by an expulsion will result in arrest and charge of disorderly conduct AND a fine of $500 to be split between the PD and the speaker who was disrupted.
...to do something, but this is just too Bush-like for my liking. I'd rather just get in their faces and tell them if they don't want to hear what's being said to get the fuck out.
But that's just me.
Shades of Hitler's brown shirts breaking up opposition candidate meetings c. 1932
to disrupt? I have to say that this event was organized and there seemed to be a good number of lobbyists and their proxies present (at least they were loud even if their numbers weren't as impressive) and they certainly were shrill and prevented the Congressman from speaking because they simply overshouted him and he wasn't there to get into a shouting match with anyone, let alone a small crowd of zombies.
Now that they are out on their August recess, members of Congress need to know that they will encounter this type of neanderthal tactic and that if they have any town hall meetings scheduled, the zombies will have targeted them and will be there to shut down any semblance of civilized discourse. Maybe they should consider screening out protesters since we all know what the protesters will do and say since they are following a script and they are probably being paid for their so-called "protests". If members of Congress plan any public speaking engagements, maybe they should have the audience screened so that these industry whores are not allowed in. Letting them in is not fair for the ordinary citizens who do show up to listen and to ask questions and to participate in a democratic process. They should be given preferential treatment over these lobbyist zombies who want to shut down the democratic process. The zombies shouldn't be allowed to be disruptive, or, if they are allowed anywhere near, maybe keep them barricaded at least a block or two away so that they can't simply overshout anything that the representative has to say to the people who are there because they want to listen to their representative and ask him/her questions.
Info is coming out from Austin Texas that the people in this video are not teabaggers but registered Democrats.
Registered Democrats got mailers in the mail to have a townhall type meeting with congressman Doggett. They are not in agreement with Doggett on this health care bill. The crown then turned on Doggett when he said that will vote for the bill anyway and did not give a damn what they said. This cause the majority of the people to get angry and this was the result. There could have been some republicans there but this was the majority of democrats that were invited.
People, not all democrats are for this health care bill. The main stream media is trying to make this partisan. Democrats in the U.S. are not all Birkenstock wearing, Starbucks drinking liberals. Some see them as a counter balance aginst republicans. The media is portraying them is teabaggers to further divide the people which empowers the establishment.
Then wouldn't there protests signs say something about single-payer.
Nope, this sounds like more "liberals trying to make crazy people look crazy meme."
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
Got a link to back your claim?
I've always believed that these meetings should be far more of a holding the crooks feet to the fire event than they have been. The are far too often just one more opportunity for the thieves to push the propaganda.
Might I suggest that people in favor of civil discourse and health care for all show up with a bag containing a tinfoil hat and green pom-poms or items looking like astro-turf and when these unwitting shills start their Fox/Insurance industry-inspired circus acts, put on the hats and pom-poms and cheer them on. Perhaps join their yelling by shouting - "Fox-Scare, Fox-Scare, why doesn't Fox care?" or something equally inane. Make Fox and the Insurance industry wear their patriotism for all to see. They want a circus, give them one.
He sent out to his own mailing list. And that people on call-in radio in Texas are calling in saying "stop saying this is staged, we are Democrats!"
Once again, the Establishment media is trying to make this partisan issue and twist the truth when it's actually his constituents protesting as is their right under the Constitution.
Democrats and Republicans alike are feeling the heat from ALL AMERICANS!!!!
Read it and weep at the future of your health care.
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:...
Can we really add 50 million people to the program and reduce expenses? Really?
Want to see some real zombies? Check out any of the videos here: http://michellemalkin.com/2009/08/04/this-is-... Things like ACORN Breaks into WJZ.com homes, Minutemen protesting Columbia to block free speech -- call it as you see it.
...you can't beat the classics:
If stupidity got us into this mess, then why can’t it get us out? – Will Rogers
One man alone can be pretty dumb sometimes, but for real bona fide stupidity there ain't nothing can beat teamwork. – Mark Twain
Democratic Party progressive, Vietnam veteran and proud Union member for 41 years
No one has the right to disrupt a public meeting and not allow the speakers to be heard. I want to hear discourse, but I do not want speakers shouted down without a chance to be heard. Roberts Rules of Order were established for this very reason.
The poster above that said ground rules must be established is absolutely correct. Don't LET these crazies control the meeting. NO one should speak unless properly recognized, from a central point on the floor, and nothing shouted out from the audience. There should be security available, and loud outbursts from the floor should be cautioned on the first offense and ejected from the meeting should it continue. I have no objection to protests outside the meeting hall, but like the 100 ft. limit on polling places, the meeting halls should establish that within the meeting hall, there will be order and civil discourse or you get tossed out.
Democratic Party progressive, Vietnam veteran and proud Union member for 41 years
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