Over the course of the last week or so, there has been a closely coordinated -- there's no other word for it -- attack on US Representatives when they've been speaking at their local "town hall" type meetings.
The opponents of health care reform banded together to ambush the poor public servant, shouting down those in the audience who oppose them, and in general turning what is supposed to be a "peaceful assembly" into something that resembles an angry mob scene.
Anyone recall the last time the Rethugs organized "spontaneous" angry mobs to get their way? No, it wasn't Nazi Germany (but that was a good guess).
It was Florida in the waning days of 2000, when the GOP trucked in professional thug operatives from all over the country to storm the barricades at the voting-counting locations. Sadly, that tactic worked all too well, even back then, and there's no reason to suppose that they've learned anything from it -- except that it works.
I'll be attending the upcoming town hall meetings my two Representatives give (I have two because I live on the line dividing two Congressional districts, and while I vote in only one of them, I still consider the other guy my "other Representative") to see if any of these Rethug assholes try any bullshit shenanigans.
I'm not sure what action I will take in response, but I'm hoping that it will be reasoned and measured.
Bullshit. Fuck 'em, I'm going ballistic.
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
A Dangerous -- and Disgusting -- Tactic
Posted by Farnsworth68 at 11:24 AM
Posts
3 Comments:
You know what’s really ironic? These same dumb bastards don’t want their Medicaid, Medicare or Social Security cut (uh, hello? Socialist programs dumb asses!) but don’t want you or I to have healthcare? Their disruptions are denying intelligent and informative exchange of information. Free speech is not about shouting down and shutting down conversation, it is about participation in the process. Their conduct is the opposite of Free Speech.
A few weeks ago I showed up to demonstrate for health care with other MoveOn.org members. A large group of wingnuts showed up, and encircled the MoveOn group, chanting ANGRILY. I mean, these people were SCARY and very aggressive. All fairly well dressed, too, lots of button down collars and chinos. It got so scary that the MoveOn. org organizer called the police.
The MoveOn people said this same group of wingers shows up at all their demonstrations. The same people.
Sure enough, when I saw the town hall fracas on MSNBC (at Tim Bishop's meeting) I recognized some of the people, and the signs.
It's a tactic they use to look like they're a bigger group than they are, but it's always the same people, going from town to town....
This isn't democracy. And there's nothing "grassroots" about it. I've been contacting all my representatives encouraging them to vote for a public option, and I've signed up for Organizing for America.
This is the time. Between now and October, we need to make our case, LOUDLY AND CLEARLY. Believe me, the other side is out there. (Double meaning intended). We need to have our voices out there too. No excuses.
GOYA!! (Get Off Your Asses!)
Thanks, mrln. Last night I went to my first OFA meeting, and they changed my mind about going ballistic. They said -- which I secretly knew already -- that for us to physically fight back is just what those wingnuts want. They, like any other fascist movement around the world, need martyrs (for a good example, see Horst Wessel).
The answer, as you state it so well, is for our side to organize and contact our representatives and senators -- numerous times, so they'll get the picture clearly -- and work like hell between now and then to combat the mindless zombies of the right.
--The F-Man
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