Here's this from Bob McCarty Writes:
“Rep Doggett met with constituents outside a grocery store in south Austin regarding the health care bill. Apparently the event was mostly advertised in liberal leaning local publications. He did not bring a megaphone, so hearing what he had to say was difficult. When he started making the move to leave, the crowd erupted chanting “Just say no!” His worker got the car ready to shuttle him away but the crowd surrounded it and it took a while for him to get out of the parking lot. The whole time, the “Just say no!” chant continued. It probably won’t matter – from his facial expression, body language, and what was heard to come out of his mouth, he’s for the the health care bill in its present form and has no openness to change on that.”Also, check CBS News, "Rally Interrupts Dem Rep.'s Health Care Town Hall."
Note how the left is in full panic mode, e.g., at Think Progress, "Angry Right Harasses Rep. Lloyd Doggett With Anti-Health Care Chants," and "Durbin Responds to Lobbyist-Run Efforts to Harass Town Halls …"
But as Phillip Klein indicates:
The liberal effort to discredit American citizens who are expressing their views on an issue of vital importance is completely without merit, but it is instructive. It tells us that liberals know that despite their tremendous advantages in terms of resources and power in Washington, they are losing the health care messaging war. It’s becoming clear that Americans are not ready for a government takeover of the health care system, and they aren’t going to sit by idly while Democrats ram it down their throats.More at Memeorandum. And, Ed Morrissey, "Three Videos Show Why ObamaCare is in Trouble."
Addendum:
Local O.C. organizers are preparing a protest against Representative Loretta Sanchez tomorrow morning - and lobbyists are not organizing the event! Here's the information (get there early):
Aug 4 Tuesday 8am-9:30am, Newport Beach: Breakfast with Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez! Balboa Bay Club 1221 West Coast Hwy., Newport BeachAlso, here's the Merriam-Webster entry for "dogging" (I'd never heard of Urban Dictionary's version before, so I wanted to be clear).
Special Guests: Members of Congress to be announced! Suggested contribution: Individual Tickets $100 Table of 8 $1000 Individual Sponsor $2400 PAC Sponsor $5000 Please RSVP to Kelly Martinez at 714-832-4431 or kmartinez@loretta.org.
I love how expressing opposing opinions at a town hall meeting-- the entire point of which is to be a public forum for the open expression of ideas-- turns you into a "thug" or somebody engaging in "harassment". I'm just glad the left has finally dropped the pious free speech and tolerance act. Let the American public see how liberals really feel about tolerating opposing opinions.
ReplyDeleteWe the People can say "no" all we like, but congress critters like UpChuck Schumer are running around threatening to use some obscure budgetary procedure to cram ObamaCare down our throats no matter what.
ReplyDeleteThis needs to be watched carefully, as the socialists are now running things in DC, and they really aren't all that interested in what we think.
-Dave
This is off-topic, but just wanted to link to a rebuttal I made to something you wrote at PJ Media:
ReplyDeleteShorter Donald Douglas: Obama Sux!
As for this post, Lloyd Doggett is my Congressman and the only voice I have in Congress. He's a moderate liberal in a fairly liberal district and will most assuredly ignore these idiots shouting at him. And if he didn't, he wouldn't be representing the wishes of his constituents. In other words, his support for healthcare reform is pro-democracy, because he's doing what the majority of his district wants.
Conversely, these people shouting at him are trying to stifle debate. If they want to ask questions, that's fine. But their entire intent is to shutdown debate; denying other people the ability to ask questions. I can assure you that I never supported people who heckled Bush and others, and think any conservative who supports these shouting protesters is an anti-democratic jerk. You guys can pretend to support freedom, but when you support people who stifle debate and harrass our representatives, the truth of your anti-liberty stance becomes clear.
America is not a shoutocracy and democracy is NOT about mob rule. Sorry guys, but if voters pick more Dems than Repubs, Dems win. It's that simple.
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ReplyDeleteSorry, Biobrain, but when the answers to the questions are based on falsehoods like the "47 million uninsured" that includes illegals and millions with means who CHOOSE not to purchase insurance, the civil discourse of the Q&A session is counterproductive to the public interest.
ReplyDeleteWe've tried civility ... and all that has done is let the intellectually dishonest frame the debate, giving their lies (and yes, unlike Mr. Bush re Iraq, these ARE lies) the unmerited respect of civil repetition.
From what I see, even though Dems won, a majority of Americans still do NOT support Obamacare as it is being presented by your Rep and his political allies.
Support for the personality of Mr. Obama ... and disgust over the past shortcomings of the Congress when in GOP hands ... is not translating into support for the policies of Mr. Obama and his Congress.
Your Rep and his allies AREN'T listening to the people here ... because they think they know what's best ... and they also know they only have a short window to try and implement it before the people catch on and slam that window shut.
That's why the rush ... even to the point of skipping the step of actually reading the bill, if they had been able to move it faster.
I don't think this would be happening, even with a Dem majority, were it not for the Congressional seniority pecking-order that puts Pelosi and her aging fellow-travelers in a position to try and realize their dreams of establishing Woodstock Nation before they have to move from the scene.
That respect for seniority leads to UNEQUAL representation, thanks to the senior members' ability to set the agenda that results.
When the relativists that dominate this nation forsake their relativism and replace it with intellectual honesty, those Q&A sessions won't need to be disrupted with strident expressions of the truth.
Until then ... to protect the public interest ... GAME ON!
Rich - So what you're saying is that the only way to combat what you see as falsehoods is to shutdown the debate and allow no one to speak. How democratic of you.
ReplyDeleteBut of course, Doggett has already said he's going to ignore the people trying to shutdown the debate, saying
"I am more committed than ever to win approval of legislation to offer more individual choice to access affordable health care. An effective public plan is essential to achieve that goal."
And of course he has to do that if he wants to keep his seat. If he bowed to the wishes of the shouting bozos, he'd get booted from office next year. And we'd probably end up with an even MORE liberal congressman representing us. You guys should be happy to have a moderate-liberal representing Austin and not a hardcore liberal. I personally like Doggett, but the lefties here don't. I'm seriously baffled at what the shouters were trying to accomplish by harrassing him. Try to scare the moderates if you must, but Doggett's district is too liberal for you to have any success. And I'm damn proud to be in it.
And speaking of which, are you guys even aware that most hard-left liberals HATE Pelosi and want her replaced with a real liberal? I'm not one of those and think she's adequate, but find it hilarious that you guys are so hardcore right that you imagine she's a hard-liberal. And btw, Speaker of the House isn't a seniority-based position. The Dems in Congress gave her the job because they think she's the right person for the job.
Oh, and I LOVE how you guys are still trying to frame the war in Iraq. Look, you got duped, dude. You got lied to about the threat in Iraq and now libs like me get to rub it in your face every damn day. We were right and you were wrong. And you can either blame the people who lied to you, or you can continue to blame us for being right. Looks like you've decided to keep living in the past. Typical.
Biobrainless ... yeah, I just love having those purple fingers, electing a budding rights-respecting government rubbed in my face ... unfazed by the much lower levels of violence Iraq is now experiencing.
ReplyDeleteMethinks that it is you, who are being proven wrong. Democracy did take root there ... the export of terror with government support has ceased ... and Saddam is no longer around to re-constitute his WMD programs as the Duelfer Report concluded was his intent ... something you critics either didn't anticipate in your calculus of the threat, or didn't care about -- making your judgment at least as suspect as you see Mr. Bush's!
And until I see a first-term Congresscritter elected Speaker, I find it hard to believe that seniority doesn't matter for the position ... the seniority pecking order permeates Congress, leading to unequal representation between districts. That, for one thing, is a powerful disincentive to throwing out dysfunctional Congresscritters.
As for the townhalls, my earlier comments stand ... continued civility in the face of intellectual dishonesty -- especially that covered with a veneer of erudite discussion that makes the dishonesty look "thoughtful" -- is not in the public interest.
BTW, here's the first step to restore civility: the Congresscritter needs to SIT DOWN AND LISTEN, instead of asserting himself as our "better" simply because he holds the office.
The second step is for the 'Critter to assert some intellectual honesty ... but that's the hard part, being that would mean the statist policies advocated by Leftists like you would not withstand that process.
And I have some advice for you and your Congresscritter ... ram these statist policies down the throats of the American people, and you shouldn't be surprised what you end up being covered with as they open their mouths and "reject" them.
In fact, the first signs of such political indigestion are what we are discussing here.
Oh, and one other thing Biobrainless ... if y'all are so interested in debate, then why does Mr. Obama and others insist on submitting questions in advance at these events?
ReplyDeleteThat is an EXCELLENT way to "edit out" anything/anyone you don't want the people to hear ... and cover those whom you do want to hear with more of that "thoughtful" veneeer.
As Reliapundit said on another thread, it's amazing how much more CONSERVATIVE these events are, when questions aren't pre-screened.
And Biobrainless, it looks like your fellow-travelers aren't as interested in civil discourse as you say we all should be.
ReplyDeleteY'all have taught us well ... so GAME ON!
The REAL truth about Astroturf.
ReplyDeleteIt's the democrats, NOT the other side that are FAKE. Mann, what HYPOCRITES.
See here...Democrats EXPOSED...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJlmQs3-4M4&annotation_id=annotation_598979&feature=iv
UNBELIEVABLE!
Its time the american people wake up and say hell no, and Im not going to get this shoved down my throat. Lib's take note on free speech, it works both ways. The party in power now seems more like the brown shirts of Hitlers time of 1939. Funny how progre(SS)ive's are more like the SS of germany tyring to keep those who disent quiet.
ReplyDeleteThe party in power now seems more like the brown shirts of Hitlers time of 1939.
ReplyDeleteYes, Americaisdying. Conservatives surrounded my congressman's car, refusing to let him leave, while chanting at him; simply for supporting a plan that a large majority of his constituents want and WE'RE the brown shirts. Do you guys have ANY self-awareness?
Sorry to say it, but sometimes, democracy means you get things shoved down your throat. I didn't like having the Iraq War shoved down my throat, but I never supported having anyone shout at the congressmen who supported it.