Oregonian blogger Jeff Mapes reports (http://blog.oregonlive.com/mapesonpolitics/2009/08/wu_town_hall_in_mcminnville_ma.html#more) that Democratic Rep. David Wu may be the next target of the Teabagger Brigade when he holds a town hall in McMinnville on Monday.
Neal Lockhart, who heads a group called Conservative Friends of Yamhill County that’s part of the Teabag Party movement, says he expects to turn out more than 300 people for the event.
“The point is not to shout him [Wu] down,” Lockhart told Mapes. “If we want to be treated respectfully, we have to act with respect. … We would like to pin him down, we would like detailed answers.”
But respectfulness and politeness have not been much in evidence at other Democratic town halls that the teabaggers have invaded this summer, including one held by Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley in Madras last week.
Mapes links to a video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNjLpWDWCaE&feature=related) of a meeting in Delaware at which a birther (somebody who’s convinced President Obama isn’t a native-born US citizen) waves a copy of her own birth certificate and shouts at Rep. Mike Castle. The crowd then boos and shouts at Castle when he says “the president is a citizen of the United States.”
Meanwhile liberals are trying to organize to combat the right-wing loonies.
“Trent Lutz, executive director of the Democratic Party, told me that party officials are putting out the word to their members that they should attend the town halls of Wu and other Democratic representatives,” Mapes writes.
The liberal group Democracy for America is sending out e-mails asking supporters to show up at town hall meetings and counter “The Right-Wing Scream Machine.” The group asks supporters to sign a pledge (http://www.democracyforamerica.com/activities/179) stating that “we will not stay home and let the Republican fringe dominate the airspace.”
Organized labor, though, is sounding like it’s getting ready to play a more hardball version.
As reported by Sam Stein on the Huffington Post, (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/06/unions-to-take-on-conserv_n_252720.html) “The nation’s largest federation of labor organizations has promised to directly engage with boisterous conservative protesters at Democratic town halls during the August recess.
“In a memo sent out on Thursday, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney outlined the blueprint for how the union conglomerate would step up recess activities on health care reform and other topics pertinent to the labor community. The document makes clear that Obama allies view the town hall forums as ground zero of the health care debate.”
Ratcheting up the rhetoric, Stein says Sweeney compared the teabaggers’ activities to the notorious “Brooks Brothers riot” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooks_Brothers_riot) in which Republican Washington staffers tried to disrupt vote counting in Florida in 2000, and described the teabaggers as “hooligans.”
The rest of August could get VERY interesting.
This article appears in Aug 6-12, 2009.
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Mr. Miller:
As I have previously stated I am not one to normally post here. However, I find your writings personally offensive, morally bankrupt and reprehensible. I feel that it is necessary to counter your political hate speech in a vain attempt to infuse civility and rationality back into the political discourse here in Central Oregon. To quote Jules from Pulp Fiction “Well allow me to retort.”
Your obsessive need to disparage those who have the audacity to question the activities of our elected officials reeks of intolerance at best. A lively opposition is a hallmark of democracy and we do not yet reside in the Socialist Dictatorship Utopia that you seem to pine for. I wonder, was your criticism of Code Pink and MoveOn.org's obstructionist tactics as pointed, vicious and personal?
The persistent referencing of 'birthers' and 'deathers' is a straw man argument, and a convenient rhetorical device designed to dismiss and insult citizens who have genuine concerns about our government. You had to go to Delaware to dig up some ranting sufficient to fit your ideological agenda? That seems hardly relevant to the debate at hand. The truth is that most people do not subscribe to the theories which you most frequently reference. I don't know where Obama was born, nor do I care. He was elected by a majority of American voters for the office of President, which is all the legitimacy that he needs. Furthermore, if you actually believe that the government is going to euthanize old people, well then you probably should be euthanized in the name of natural selection.
Why can't you deal with the larger and more important issues raised by Tea Party Movement? Namely a stimulus package that was a handout to special interests, the eroding of property rights in the GM and Chrysler bankruptcies and endless bailouts to politically important and connected groups. Why must the overhaul of nearly 1/5th of the US economy be completed in less than 90 days? Obviously there is a need for an intelligent debate about these issues, unfortunately that debate is not happening. As a well educated, Generation Y professional, I know many who voted for Obama and change led by the Democrat party, and many of them have begun to openly question that decision due to aforementioned issues. As twenty something year olds with positive income prospects, we, and our children, will be the ones left to foot the final bill for the record deficits currently being racked up. The $700 Billion set aside for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) alone could have bought two wars in Iraq. Why do you expect us to act like sheep as we are being led to the slaughter?
Now Mr. Miller I challenge you to intelligently respond to the issues I have raised. Prove to me that you are not the primordial worm adrift in the sea of the liberal blogosphere mindlessly consuming and regurgitating whatever filth you accumulate, which I assume that you are. Although your piece debunking the commonly held conception that the mosquito problem in Bend is not being caused by natural cycles and weather, but rather by overdevelopment, was most thought provoking. Have you submitted it for peer review?
Sincerely:
Benton Rowe
The script was written (pdf) before these townhall disruptions even began.
Instructions on how to shut down civic discourse:
You need to rock-the-boat early in the Rep’s presentation, Watch for an opportunity to yell out and challenge the Rep’s statements early. If he blames Bush for something or offers other excuses — call him on it, yell back and have someone else tallow-up with a shout-out. The goal is to rattle him.
When the formal Q&A session begins get all your hands up and keep them up…. The balance of the group should applaud when the question is asked, further putting the Rep on the defensive.
A leaked memo from Bob MacGuffie, volunteer with the FreedomWorks website Tea Party Patriots, details how “Tea Baggers” are infiltrating town halls and harassing members of Congress:
– Artificially Inflate Your Numbers: “Spread out in the hall and try to be in the front half. The objective is to put the Rep on the defensive with your questions and follow-up. The Rep should be made to feel that a majority, and if not, a significant portion of at least the audience, opposes the socialist agenda of Washington.”
– Be Disruptive Early And Often: “You need to rock-the-boat early in the Rep's presentation, Watch for an opportunity to yell out and challenge the Rep's statements early.”
– Try To “Rattle Him,” Not Have An Intelligent Debate: “The goal is to rattle him, get him off his prepared script and agenda. If he says something outrageous, stand up and shout out and sit right back down. Look for these opportunities before he even takes questions.”
It’s Called Hooliganism, this type of tactic, this type of intimidation is a deliberate choice. And it is stoked and organized by corporate lobbyists. It is not something that is happening in a vacuum.
There’s been a lot of media coverage about organized mobs intimidating lawmakers, disrupting town halls, and silencing real discussion about the need for real health insurance reform.
It’s a sham. These “grassroots protests” are organized and paid for by Washington special interests and insurance companies desperate to block reform. They’re trying to use lies and fear to break the President and his agenda for change.
This is well paid lobbyists doing this as a strategy. It’s the same thing with the deathers. These scare your grandmother myths that the whole point of health care reform is secretly to kill old people. This patently, patently false rumor about health care reform was started by a woman who sits on the board of directors of one of the nations biggest medical device companies.
://nice new look
Mr. Ware:
Firstly I want to disclose that I am not a member of the Tea Party movement, I did not participate in any of the organized activities nor have I volunteered anytime or money to the organization. However I did witness the tax day protest, and having cut a large check to the government myself I was rather sympathetic to the cause. I was standing on the corner waiting for my parents (who had participated in the tea party) and watched hundreds if not over 1,000 people marching in protest of out of control government spending and expansion of government power. It dwarfed any anti-war protest that downtown Bend has ever seen. Not every one of those people was some reactionary republican activist. Where there some people that were espousing radical ideas or positions? Absolutely, but the vast majority were everyday Americans with genuine concerns about the direction the country is being led. Mr. Miller's insipid, juvenile and unimaginative slandering of the group is disgusting. People can have differences of opinion, but when discourse digresses into hate speech and intolerance the entire system suffers.
I can neither confirm nor deny the veracity of the talking points that you have posted. I will admit that there are undoubtedly radical elements that are seeking to engage in disruptive activities at these meetings. Once again this does not mean that every single person participating in these town halls is there to be disruptive. The post even quotes a conservative activist, Neal Lockhart, describing how his group is approaching the town hall meeting:
“The point is not to shout him [Wu] down,” Lockhart told Mapes. “If we want to be treated respectfully, we have to act with respect. … We would like to pin him down, we would like detailed answers.”
Shouldn't we be expecting this level of scrutiny from all of our elected leaders both right and left? Shouldn't town hall meetings actually be used for their intended purpose rather than as glorified press conferences? Shouldn't we as citizens 'Speak Truth to Power'? In an era where participation in elections lags participation in American Idol any and all, reasonable, participation in the democratic process should be commended and encouraged rather than belittled, berated and insulted. Lumping all conservative participants as 'loonies', 'teabaggers' or part of a 'scream machine' is akin to assuming that all black males are likely gang bangers, thieves or murderers; or conversely all writers for The Source are brain dead, drug addled hipsters with no talent and a 4th grade vocabulary.
Trolling extreme political websites (right and left), using intellectually dishonest arguments and engaging in hate speech will not solve one problem this country faces; it will exacerbate all of them. We must, as a country, engage in a thoughtful, personal and respectful debate about the issues. I don't believe we as a society have completely lost our ability to act civilly and debate our opponents in an honorable and honest manner. Only hacks such as Mr. Miller have.
Sincerely:
Benton Rowe
I plan on attending any open town hall meeting that will be held locally. I also will cary a sign that say’s ‘Health Care Reform Is A Must and a right for all Americans, not just the wealthy.’ Instead of all the shouting and screaming why are these people not helping to solve the health care crises in this country. For there is one. I am the face of one that want’s health care but can’t afford it, though I work full time. I take care of a child and two parent’s, I pray that nothing happens to me every day, but who will take care of my family and how will I pay for medical treatment. We need preventative health care in this country not just daily medical, but dental. It has been proven that if there is both preventative health and dental care the cost of medicine in all area’s go down and we have a healthy society in general. What I find ironic we can supply over 3 billion dollars for the Cash For Clunkers program, but when it comes to taking care of the well being of the America people we fight it tooth and nail. We are a foolish and childish nation we care more about the almighty dollar than about the person. Remember when it comes time to meet your maker you sure as hell aren’t taking it with you. So Teabaggers Nazis, if you want to come to the meetings be constructive and help with the process, don’t hender it. By the by in case you think I’m a Obama believer, no I did not vote for him, I wrote in Hilary Clinton who I thought was the better candiate.
It’s cool guys – now it’s all over the national news how the shout down anti-democratic town hall disruptions were staged. You can go ahead and apologize to Bruce Miller for spotting it as quickly as he did and calling it for what it was. Go ahead. Fill the commentary section with your mea culpa.
Mr. McClure, just who was it that signed off on the “Cash for Clunkers” program? Do you really think it was the “teabaggers”? Do you really think that they signed off on the bailout for the bankers which resulted in the creations of another thousand millionaires?
Where is this “right” to health care insurance at? Is it in the same place where the “right” to a house is at? Just where would you stop at when it comes to “taking care” of the people?
As to gadfly’s comment, what is also all over the news is Obama telling the Republicans to shut up, and get out of the way. Then again, I have seen nothing that indicates a mass conspiracy to disrupt the town hall meetings. However, I did see where one of the union members supporting this farce attacked a Black Conservative protestor who was handing out “Don’t Tread On Me” flags. I also saw where many of the protestors were actually people who voted for Obama.
Now, when the “left” apologizes for destroying this country perhaps, just perhaps, you will see a unification of the people. Till the time comes when you recognize that no one has a “right” to the earnings of another then perhaps the country can once again grow.
Mr.Swipies my point about the Cash For Clunkers was the fact that people were not readily complaining about that program, and whether it be Democrat or Republican that voted and signed off on it. Plenty of Americans were readily to get their collective arse’s down to the nearest dealer to take whole advantage of this program Democrat and Republican alike. Yet when it comes time to really work on something that is vital and important to this country and it’s people. I also don’t by these town hall meeting protesters being just local individuals from our various counties protesting. If it had been one or two meetings yes, but this has become a national brow beating on selected Democratic legislatures. This has the smell of what happened to John Kerry and the Swift Boat Campaign. It’s to coincidental. I believe that the right wingers owe this nation an apology as well, for the eight years that made this proud country hate by other nations, for allowing a war that shouldn’t of been and for allowing a President and Vice President promoting fear among st it’s people. This country is tired of the same thing. Though as I said earlier I did not vote for President Obama, I at least am willing to give the man a chance to reverse the damage and there has been significant damage done. As I said earlier, don’t hinder the process be a part of the solution Mr. Swipies, if we worked together with the Democrats and the Republicans, like they used to once upon a time ago, we could solve allot of the problems together. Health Care is a must and to many it is as important to buying a new car for some. I am one that doesn’t believe that owning a gun is a right, it’s a privilege with certain responsibilities and the in interpretation of the Constitution. So please people stop the BS and work to solve the health care crises together that’s how we became a great nation to many.
From the NY Times this morning — note especially the last paragraph:
The bitter divisions over an overhaul of the health care system have exploded at town-hall-style meetings over the last few days as members of Congress have been shouted down, hanged in effigy and taunted by crowds. In several cities, noisy demonstrations have led to fistfights, arrests and hospitalizations.
Democrats have said the protesters are being organized by conservative lobbying groups like FreedomWorks. Republicans respond that the protests are an organic response to the Obama administration's health care restructuring proposals.
There is no dispute, however, that most of the shouting and mocking is from opponents of those plans. Many of those opponents have been encouraged to attend by conservative commentators and Web sites.
“Become a part of the mob!” said a banner posted Friday on the Web site of the talk show host Sean Hannity. “Attend an Obama Care Townhall near you!” The exhortations do not advocate violence, but some urge opponents to be disruptive.
“Pack the hall,” said a strategy memo circulated by the Web site Tea Party Patriots that instructed, “Yell out and challenge the Rep's statements early.”
“Get him off his prepared script and agenda,” the memo continued. “Stand up and shout and sit right back down.”
The memo was obtained by the liberal Web site ThinkProgress. Its author, Robert MacGuffie, a founder of the conservative Web site Right Principles, confirmed to The New York Times that the memo was legitimate.
The right-wingers are claiming these demonstrations are a spontaneous outpouring of public opposition to Obama’s “socialist” plans, yet in the next breath they admit they are organizing and encouraging them.
These things are popping up all over the country, with people reading from the same script, using the same tactics and shouting the same slogans. “Spontaneous” my ass — they are about as spontaneous as the Nuremberg rallies.
written by KMcClure , August 08, 2009
Mr.Swipies my point about the Cash For Clunkers was the fact that people were not readily complaining about that program, and whether it be Democrat or Republican that voted and signed off on it. Plenty of Americans were readily to get their collective arse’s down to the nearest dealer to take whole advantage of this program Democrat and Republican alike.”
It’s called greed, and some people are actually foolish enough to think that it will benefit the economy. What has been shown to be happening is that people who were going to buy a new car next year are doing so today. So, what will happen next year? Charities that use these cars from donations are seeing a loss in donated cars thus adding to the stress on food banks, etc. The cars themselves are being destroyed thus there will be a shortage of used parts for other cars.
“I also don’t by these town hall meeting protesters being just local individuals from our various counties protesting. If it had been one or two meetings yes, but this has become a national brow beating on selected Democratic legislatures.”
So, you think they were bussed in as the Democrats did in 2000 in Florida?
“This has the smell of what happened to John Kerry and the Swift Boat Campaign.”
John Kerry is a liar as has been proven. He deserved what he got.
“I believe that the right wingers owe this nation an apology as well, for the eight years that made this proud country hate by other nations,”
I can remember books being written back in the 60’s about how other countries hated America.
“As I said earlier, don’t hinder the process be a part of the solution Mr. Swipies,”
What solutions do you see being presented today?
“if we worked together with the Democrats and the Republicans, like they used to once upon a time ago, we could solve allot of the problems together.”
Back when they worked together both parties had a semblance of Conservative values.
“Health Care is a must and to many it is as important to buying a new car for some. I am one that doesn’t believe that owning a gun is a right, it’s a privilege with certain responsibilities and the in interpretation of the Constitution. So please people stop the BS and work to solve the health care crises together that’s how we became a great nation to many”
So, health care is a right while it is not mentioned in the Constitution, yet individual gun ownership is a privilege even though it says differently in the Constitution. And health care has no responsibilities attached to it?
Seems to me that everything has been a “crisis” since Obama came to office. One should ask just who created these “crisis”, and don’t be so naive as to think it was done in just the past 8 years.
Main Entry: 1or * ga * ni * za * tion
Pronunciation: ?o?r-g?-n?-?z?-sh?n, ?o?rg-n?-
Function: noun
Date: 15th century
2 a : ASSOCIATION, SOCIETY b : an administrative and functional structure (as a business or a political party); also : the personnel of such a structure
The Tea Party Group is an organization that is seeking to mobilize supporters against reckless government spending.
The AFL-CIO is an organization (as well as a paragon of democratic virtue), MoveOn.org is an organization, the NRA is an organization and both the Democrat and Republican parties are organizations with specific agendas, structures and goals.
How are the Tea Party Patriots organizing and mobilizing their supporters? Are they pulling them out of their beds at night and transporting them to brainwashing facilities in windowless vans? Or are they using the mass media tools at their disposal, namely talk radio and the internet to reach the grassroots? Methinks that the rabid left is not so concerned with the methods, but rather the effectiveness of the strategy and has set out to destroy its credibility with straw man arguments (birthers and deathers) as well as hypocritical accusations of 'staging' protests. The Tea Party Patriots cannot compel people to attend these meetings. I wonder what the internal memos of the AFL-CIO (who does have the power to demand support, monetary or otherwise, from their members whether they like it or not) say about their strategies to counter the Tea Party movement. I'm positive that there are talking points and memo's referencing the Right Principles memo being circulated among the Democratic Party, its grassroots organizations and its mass media outlets. This is how the system works. If you want to talk about 'staged' protests look at Code Pink's disruptions of congressional hearings and State of the Union addresses.
The fact of the matter is that not every Tea Party protester is some Republican activist sent to these meetings armed with talking points and beholden to some special interest group in Washington DC. Is there a layer of organization compiling strategies, marketing the plan and mobilizing supporters? Yes absolutely and there are equal efforts being made by the other side. The truth is that there is an outpouring of anger at the activities of the government by a large swath of the population. The Tea Party Patriots and other aligned groups have capitalized on it and organized a systematic outlet to vent that frustration and let our elected leaders know about it. Maybe instead of denigrating and attacking the effort you should take notice and heed the warnings of those in your own party (Blue Dogs) who have serious reservations about the out of control spending being pushed by the administration. Or you can continue in blissful ignorance, comparing your opponents to Nazis and the placing of one's scrotum on another's face/mouth while you are passed by and defeated by the opposition on Election Day. It has happened to the Democrats in 1994, 2000-2004 and it crushed the Republicans in 2006-2008. The system is self correcting and the electorate's adoration is fleeting, ignore them at your own peril.
B. Rowe: The problem is not with the teabaggers’ organizing tactics. The problem is with the tactics of disruption and distraction they employ at the town halls, shouting down and in some cases threatening those who disagree with them. Their aim is not to encourage debate but to stifle it. I grew up in the ’60s and this reminds me of some of the shit the SDS and other radicals pulled back then.
As for comparing one’s opponents to Nazis, I guess that’s only okay when Limbaugh does it.
Hey, HB
It’s all free speech, you know?
Some people fix on one or two words–liar and greed seem to the favorites in this thread.
Rush’s latest WTF was likening the Caduceus to the Nazi Eagle and symbol in an attempt to make some kind of point about the Health Care proposal and discussion.
But then, Rush and his ilk lack the educational depth or intellectual integrity to know the difference.
And let’s not forget the Code Pink penchant for trying to drown out debate in the name of ‘speaking to power’ and ‘having a dialogue.’ The behavior of hooligans has been the same ever since three people sat around a fire and tried to make a decision. The loudest and the strongest won. Cavemen (and women) never change…
Whats wrong with being a teabagger anyway. It is a meaningless made up by leftists who are shocked that real Americans are standing up for their rights. The invented stereo-typical moniker of teabagger rises almost to the leval of homophobe in its idiocy.