Posted on 08/22/2009 8:43:32 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Protesters and citizens asking angry questions have flooded the “town halls” where congressional representatives have tried to sell President Obama’s health care reform agenda to the American people.
The protesters have stolen the show, with 69 percent of Americans telling pollsters they are following the story closely. Town-hall-goers — some raucous — are probing costs, are raising questions about government encroachment on private life, and are deploring the fact that few legislators seem to have read the 1,000-page health care reform bill. Democrats have often had trouble answering credibly.
The protesters are having an impact. Last week, the administration_appeared to pull back on the “public option” as a centerpiece of Obama’s reform agenda.
I thought folks on the left loved protesters—the rowdier, the better. Liberals are fond of reminding us that free speech is sacred, and that dissent — “speaking truth to power” —is a patriotic duty. Remember the 2008 Republican National Convention? The ACLU of Minnesota went to court to win a parade permit that would have allowed thousands of protesters, including anarchists who had vowed to shut down the convention, to encircle St. Paul’s Xcel Energy Center, where delegates convened.
Today’s town hall protesters get no such respectful treatment. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has branded them “evil-mongers.” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer have labeled them “un-American.” Left-wing_journalists have mocked them as buffoons, extremists and crazies.
Most significantly, some Democratic leaders have charged that town hall protesters are not ordinary citizens speaking from the heart, as they appear to be. Instead, they are puppets, part of an “ugly campaign” — in Pelosi’s and Hoyer’s words — orchestrated by shadowy special interests.
If you know_town-hall-goers, as I do, you know that most learned about the meetings from friends, through e-mails or on talk_radio.(continued)
(Excerpt) Read more at kerstenblog.startribune.com ...
Yeah, Pelosi’s a “fan of disrupters” only when they are of the Left like FDR, and Obama wants you to “get in their faces” only when you’re an ACORN/SEIU thug - selective freedom of expression for sure.....
I like to "pretend" I'm having a cell phone call during "those" times.
Oh wait. Been there done that. Thank you Shelia Jackson Lee!
Pelosi didn’t just call town hall protestors “un-American.” She called us NAZIS. That b!tch needs to be taken down next election.
The Left only likes emotion when it’s in response to a) the poor, b) the chilrun, c) apologizing to other countries or d) ranting about Bush or Cheney.
The problem for Dims is that there will be much more of this by normal people who are much angrier than they have ever been. People have had enough of being ignored and insulted by the political class and are in a mood to inflict some serious political harm.
Yes, watching the Democrats in their town hall meetings it's apparent that these arrogant bastards seem to be living on a different planet than the rest of us.
I remember the Days of Rage at the Chicago Dem National convention in ‘68 when the media portrayed Jerry Rubin and Abbie Hoffmann as heroes. I remember a made for TV movie from that era which stood up for the right of pro Nazi skinheads to march thru Skokie IL with a Jewish area having many Holocaust survivors.
People are sick of seeing laws changed for political expediency. Ted Kennedy’s replacement, for one example. The Dems cannot even wait until the man gives up the ghost before they try to weasel thru a change of law to get one of their insider cronies in his seat - It’s pathetic.
On Wednesday, September 2, Ortiz will have a conference call from Washington with us peons here in his fiefdom. We who are working to unseat Ortiz have other plans. Two hours before the conference call, James Duerr, Ortiz' only delcared opponent for the Texas 27th congressional district in 2010, will have a real townhall meeting at the Ortiz center. At the end of the meeting everyone is invited to stay to listen in on the conference call with Ortiz.
Good for y'all!
If they can't "organize" as efficiently as those of you who turn out because you're passionate about this debate, then...stick a fork in 'em...they're done!
BTW, I went to David Wu's Town Hall meeting in McMinnville, OR. There was room for 126 people, but when the doors opened, 40% of those seats were filled. The people with the professional signs outside were not vocal at all. (Craig's List hires) Those of us outside were "enthusiastic", to say the least!
But in this case, we have the tables turned. We will control the venue. The Duerr campaign is renting the venue (that just happens to be named for the incumbent congressman). If we can get most of the people who turned out today to come to the Ortiz center on September 2 and bring some other friends along, we’ll fill the space.
On the other hand, all those SEIU and ACORN counter-protesters are certainly coming of their own accord. /s
Yea YOU, and your people!
Give ‘em hell!
We had one of the TV stations cover our event today. I’m hoping to have even more stations covering next the townhall. I did notice the TV pictures were zoomed in rather close. It was rather difficult to determine the proportions of protesters and counter-protesters from the coverage. I’ll post some pictures in a thread tomorrow if I can find my USB memory card reader. I took lots of high resolution pictures at 12 megapixels. I think I got some good pictures of our Republican candidate.
The counter-protesters at our event on Saturday had lots of professionally printed signs with the same slogans. Only a few made their own signs.
You are not worthy!(/s)
bump
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.