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Tea Party T-Shirts This is a NO commission advertisement for the PatriotWebStores, 112 E. Hargett Street, Suite 201, Raleigh, NC 27601, (919) 832-2323. Just happened to click on a link to their Tea Party T-shirts that are on some of the conservative blogs and I thought the messages on some of the T-shirts offered for sale were pretty cool. Not offensive -- but witty and to the point. Thought I'd put a note here for anyone who is interested.
Has the national anti-tax “tea party” movement had an effect on American politics? More specifically, have the “tea party patriots” slowed down or derailed the aggressive big-government agenda of the Barack Obama administration? As measured by news coverage in the mainstream media, perhaps the quick answer is “not much.” The mandarin sentiment of the press was captured in a New York Times‘ report on the April 15 tax day protests:
Although organizers insisted they had created a nonpartisan grass-roots movement, others argued that these parties were more of the Astroturf variety.
And who can forget Janeane Garofalo’s attack from last April? Her comments came in an interview with Keith Olbermann:
[L]et’s be very honest about what this is about. It’s not about bashing Democrats, it’s not about taxes, they have no idea what the Boston tea party was about, they don’t know their history at all. This is about hating a black man in the White House. This is racism straight up. That is nothing but a bunch of teabagging rednecks. And there is no way around that.
Variants of that meme have been heard repeatedly since Rick Santelli delivered his rant on the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade back in February. While some have argued that the grassroots protests were not to be discounted, the more common view was articulated by David Weigel at the Washington Independent: “Tea Party Movement Loses Steam.”
Yet, here’s the thing: Actually, the tea parties have hardly lost steam. Indeed, the country witnessed some of the most substantial anti-Obama rallies at exactly the same time of Weigel’s writing. Tea partiers mounted two separate days of large demonstrations this month. On Independence Day, patriots from around the country took time away from family, friends, and food to attend anti-tax demonstrations. Turnout was substantial. In Tulare, California, 15,000 demonstrators attended a massive tea party rally in the Central Valley heartland. And in Texas, as Michelle Malkin reported, a truly phenomenal 37,000 protesters attended a “ten-gallon tea party” in Dallas. Protesters mobilized again on July 17th. According to Altlanta’s WXIA-TV, the “‘Tea Party Patriots,’ as they call themselves, staged 254 similar protests across the nation, 37 in Georgia.” Oh sure, none of these events reached “ten-gallon” proportions. But the opposition is increasingly focused. And with good turnout of upwards of 250 protesters at some events, the day’s activities were another big success for the movement.
But the July 17 demonstrations were noteworthy beyond their numbers. Protesters rallied against the Democratic “public option” health care reform that’s been dubbed “ObamaCare.” Event organizers held demonstrations at congressional offices, and thus real constituency pressure was brought to bear (in contrast to the earlier less-targeted attacks on the Obama administration as “socialist”). The response from Democratic officials ranged from unsympathetic to outright hostile. Most notoriously, staffers for Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill reportedly flipped protesters the bird while locking the doors, pulling the blinds, and calling the police. Indeed, demonstrators were ultimately forced off public property while rallying at the office of their representative to the United States Senate!
In Asheville, North Carolina, tea partiers received a chilly reception at the office of Congressman Heath Shuler. According to Silent Majority No More:
Our group called ahead well over a week in advance and requested that someone from Shuler’s office receive our petitions and comments. We were informed that they would not accept our petitions and that Shuler would not be there, but that someone would receive us.
We started the day outside Rep. Carolyn McCarthy’s office in Garden City. … We were joined by tenants and employees from that building! Security wanted us gone, and when we didn’t immediately comply they called the police.
In Orange County, California, protesters at the office of Democratic Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez also got the brushoff. According to the event’s organizer, “Loretta’s office was not too kind in letting us stand by the doors.” The group moved to a public sidewalk adjacent to the main entry. Soon enough, the facility’s office management showed up to demand the removal of demonstrators’ vehicles from the property. While isolated examples, these Democratic responses to the more recent, specifically-targeted protests are telling. According to one blogger, speaking of Senator McCaskill’s office, “their fear tells us a lot“:
Honestly, they called the cops on these people? What did they think, that a church’s ice cream social had got out early and now the participants were roaming the streets in a sugar and milk-fat induced frenzy seeking to drink the blood of leftists?
Now we know there are those who will oppose reform no matter what. … The opponents of health insurance reform would have us do nothing.
A deep analysis of polling data is beyond the scope of this essay. We do know that the president’s honeymoon has faded and independent voters are becoming increasingly disillusioned with the administration. As Marc Rotterman notes in a July 18 commentary: “Numerous polls reflect the growing skepticism of Obama’s programs.” And according to recent Gallup data on ideological trends, “Americans, by a 2-to-1 margin, say their political views in recent years have become more conservative rather than more liberal.” On top of this, there are reports that Obama backers have become frightened by the potential effects of large scale tea party events on local constituencies (see “Obama Donor and Supporter Forces Cancellation of Atlanta Tea Party“).
And such political fears are increasing justified. At the state level, we’ve seen the immediate political impact of anti-tax sentiment. On May 19, California voters handed Goveror Arnold Schwarzenegger a massive defeat by repudiating his planned $16 billion tax increase. And in a stunning development, the governor subsequently launched a major media advertising blitz that adopted virtually whole cloth the platform of the anti-tax movement. In the ad buy “Stand for California,” Schwarzenegger says he’ll balance the budget; refuse tax increases; and cut waste, fraud, and abuse. While the voters of California have spoken, it’d be hard to find a more powerful endorsement of the tea party movement than the program advanced in “Stand for California.”
So will the tea parties spark another nationwide tax revolt, a follow-up to California’s historic Proposition 13 of 1978? Actually, that prospect is not far-fetched. Demands to restore limited government are growing. According to a recent poll on the 2010 Texas Republican primary:
Eighty-two percent (82%) of the likely primary voters have a favorable opinion of the tea parties held around Texas. Just 7% believe the economic stimulus plan has helped the economy while 61% believe it has hurt. They oppose the health care plan working its way through Congress by an 83% to 12% margin.
While that poll measures GOP primary voters, according to Rasmussen last April, “51% View Tea Parties Favorably, Political Class Strongly Disagrees.”
We’ll need to see more itemized polling questions in future surveys to know for sure, but it’s clear that grassroots conservative activism is now a nationwide political movement. Organizers have smartly moved beyond the more wild antics of anti-socialist outrage to focus on specific issues — such as the Democrats’ disastrous ObamaCare — to rally popular opinion around good government advocacy and common sense. No doubt citizen protesters will continue to be harassed and smeared as “teabaggers,” but the heightening backlash to the movement is a sure sign that folks at the grassroots are having a genuine impact.
Donald Kent Douglas is an associate professor of Political Science teaching in Southern California.
(Source: Pajamas Media: Donald Douglas.)
OBAMA: ONE OF THE MOST RADICAL PRESIDENTS IN US HISTORY
The following is an article written by Diana Furchtgott-Roth on 29 Apr 2009. It is still relevant today as Obama has gotten WORSE. His excesses in appointing "czars" who are neither confirmed by the Congress nor subject to oversight by inspectors. Coverups, thuggery and bullying to get his way, placing his cronies in powerful positions. Obama is out-of-control.
President Obama’s first hundred days
In his first one hundred days, President Obama has shown himself to be one of the most radical U.S. presidents in history. He is harming America’s defenses by publishing memos on interrogation of detainees and threatening to prosecute lawyers who drafted supportive memos. He shakes hands with America’s enemies, such as Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, and sends mixed signals to its friends, such as Colombia’s President Uribe. (SITE NOTE: He has continued to insult our allies -- while rewarding our enemies. Now he's after the Honduras government and is trying to reinstall Zelaya who wanted to become President for Life with an illegal referendum.)
And, in the name of combating a recession, he is destroying the fundamental institutions of America’s free-market economy.
Not only would President Obama’s proposed programs move government spending to levels, in relation to the economy, unseen since the end of World War II, but his administration is increasingly involved in the minutiae of a new, unwise, industrial policy, such as how much firms can pay workers, and which banks are allowed to repay government loans, and which industries and companies deserve a government rescue package.
Under Obama’s proposed budget, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projects the government deficit to hit $1.2 trillion in 2019, or six percent of GDP, after “bottoming out”—if it does—at $658 billion in 2012, a level more than 40 percent above the highest deficit under the presidency of George W. Bush. By 2019, government spending would take up nearly a quarter of GDP, far higher than at the peak of Iraq war spending and the highest, excepting 2009 and 2010, since 1946.
Much has been written about President Obama’s plans for multi-year, growing expenditures on energy and health care. He has proposed to invest billions of dollars in wind, solar power, and other renewables, which now produce about 3 percent of U.S. energy, yet he neglects nuclear power, which produces 20 percent. He has suggested a substantial cap-and-trade energy tax, which would raise more than a trillion dollars over time, according to some estimates. And he wants a down payment of $634 billion for a universal health care plan whose details he has not yet confided to the public.
In addition, Obama is pushing for other programs which are both costly and naive. One of his priorities is high-speed passenger rail service, which was given a downpayment of $8 billion in economic stimulus funds and possibly $5 billion more in the budget. This proposal is, to put it charitably, poorly-designed. Real high-speed rail, with trains that travel 150 miles an hour and faster, can be found in Europe and Japan, but they have not stemmed the increasing use of road transportation. And these trains need their own, specially engineered rights-of-way, which would cost much more than $13 billion.
Some of Obama’s economic proposals appear to be aimed at placating labor unions, an important element in his political base, rather than encouraging economic recovery. In March, even before the swine flu scare, he signed legislation ending a program, opposed by the Teamsters union, allowing a small number of Mexican trucks to enter into the United States. Mexico is retaliating by imposing tariffs on almost 100 agricultural products, including wheat, beans, beef and rice, hurting American exporters.
In another concession to unions, the president has let the U.S. Labor Department end some disclosure requirements for union finances, originally put in place so that union members can learn how their dues are being spent.
Although Obama lauds transparency, the Labor Department has announced that it would not enforce the filing of the form that requires union officials to report conflicts of interest, such as whether they had personal relationships with firms doing union business. In addition, unions will no longer be required to disclose supplemental information about officers’ pensions and compensation.
Even as unions are allowed to reveal less about their finances, financial institutions that have taken government funds, some reluctantly and under Treasury Department duress, are subject to an unprecedented level of scrutiny as to their compensation of senior executives. Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and J.P. Morgan are being discouraged from repaying their Troubled Assets Relief Program funds, even though pay caps are interfering with retention of talented staff. A government pressuring banks to do something not required by law is engaged in extra-legal behavior.
The government’s treatment of executive compensation bonuses, standard in many industries, has also been capricious. Some executives working in banks that received TARP funds were paid their bonuses without complaints from Washington. Others, notably those working at AIG, were demonized both by the press and government.
For those who favor nationalization of the economy, or at least of big business, Obama’s first 100 days have been a roaring success. Others, however, pray that the economy can survive not only the recession but also the president’s prescriptions.
– Diana Furchtgott-Roth, former chief economist at the U.S. Department of Labor, is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute.
(Source: Reuters.)
Obama Raises Deficit Projections by $2 Trillion -- Hope and Change is really a New Era of Irresponsibility (Aug 2009) The Obama administration will raise its 10-year budget deficit projection to approximately $9 trillion from $7.108 trillion in a report next week, a senior administration official told Reuters on Friday.
The higher deficit figure, based on updated economic data, brings the White House budget office into line with outside estimates and gives further fuel to President Barack Obama's opponents, who say his spending plans are too expensive in light of budget shortfalls.
The White House took heat for sticking with its $7.108 trillion forecast earlier this year after the Congressional Budget Office forecast that deficits between 2010 and 2019 would total $9.1 trillion. (Source: Hot Air.)
By the way, unemployment was less than 6% under Bush for 83 of his 96 months in office
Obama Six-month Report Card
Debts: Obama vs. Bush
Job Losses Under Obama
Jobless Rate in 15 States
KNOW THY ENEMY...
INTERCEPTED - HCAN Health Care Protests Memo (Aug 2009) The following is a purported memo from the HCAN -- the front for the SEIU. (Healthcare for America Now (HCAN), front group for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).) The message was sent out by the American Independent Party through its America's Independent Tea Party Activists group. This letter from HCAN would be intended for the use of SEIU organizers at the grassroots level.
There is nothing in the message that I see as "radical" -- and simply stating a strategy to counter the grassroots movement. One may disagree with the message, but the strategy seems to be sound.
If you are attending any of the "townhall" or "tea party" events dealing with the National Health Care Plan, one should read over this document. On 6 Aug 2009, the SEIU were out in force (but outnumbered) at St. Louis MO and following these guidelines tried to stack the audience by allowing SEIU members in a side entrance while locking out protestors at the front door stating the building was full. Over 1500 showed up for the "townhall meeting" and angered because they were locked out.
In Tampa FL on 6 Aug 2009, the SEIU tried to follow these guidelines by providing "security" but made a mistake by punching one of the protestors in the face -- both SEIU and protestor were black. As expected, though the incident was captured on videotape, the "security" immediately stated that the protestors were liars. The SEIU assailant was arrested. The SEIU tried to turn the argument around stating that they were there to "protect America."
In Douglasville GA on 7 Aug 2009, Rep David Scott went into a rant when a member of the audience asked a question of his support for the Health Care Plan. He accused the individual of not being from his district and an agitator who did not ask for a meeting in his office. It turned out that the individual was a Doctor (urologist) from Scott's district and Scott has refused to schedule meetings on the Health Care. These guidelines are to be used for the SEIU to work together with the Member of Congress. One can expect massive hostility from the Members of Congress.
The only problem with this message's strategy is that so far, the numbers of individuals turning out to support Obama's plans have been outnumbered 10:1 -- and in some cases 40:1. Thus for the 150 Obama supporters that turned up in St Louis MO on 6 Aug, there was 1500 protestors. As far as "chants" to show the Obama supporter presence, they were simply overwhelmed by the numbers of protestors.
Unless something changes dramatically, the Obama minions are NOT showing up. The SEIU support has turned into a public relations nightmare for the union after its member attacked a BLACK conservative. As of 7 Aug, the MoveOn.org was trying to raise money to HIRE "paid activists" -- meaning that ACORN will be involved in the same way they bused paid demonstrators to the homes of AIG executives a while back.
From: Margarida Jorge
To: HCAN Field Partners
RE: HCAN—Responding to Right-Wing Attacks in the Field - August 4, 2009
Since early February, we've seen increasing numbers of militant right-wing activists attending public meetings across the country targeting Members of Congress and [Alleged] President Obama. Now in the August recess, the "tea-bagger" protesters and right-wing activists are showing up in larger numbers with a mission to be as disruptive as possible in the hopes of rattling Members of Congress and halting health care reform through pure spectacle and obstruction.
Our response is shaped by 3 things:
Ø Our targets are Members of Congress who must vote "yes" for this bill. Our targets are not the rightwing extremists.The targets of these attacks are Members of Congress. Those Members are also our targets. We need to use these attacks as opportunities to work with the Members in ways that build our relationship in the field and bring us together as allies in health care reform. Members may be more receptive to partnering with us if they know we will help them combat the opposition.
? Our core message is effective, and we should always come back to it.Our campaign plan has always anticipated opposition. No matter what the right-wingers bring up to distract the debate, we should always circle back to our key message. We are on the side of quality, affordable health care for everyone, and we are against turning over health care reform to the insurance companies and lobbyists who got us into this mess to begin with. We need to educate the press and the public that the protesters are aligned with the corporate lobbyists and insurance companies who are trying to stop reform.
? Our ability to put the extremists into perspective helps us frame our narrative.We should be prepared to respond to the other side, but we don't need to be reactive or feel pressure to answer their accusations point by point. Instead, we should treat them as agents of the insurance lobbyists who want to maintain the status quo. We can dismiss their radical rhetoric by circling back to the basic things that we know most people care about— affordability, access, and quality. In many cases, protestors will show up at events or meetings you don't organize but are participating in as an attendee or sponsor. You can still influence the outcome of these events or meetings, and it's important for HCAN organizers and leaders to be ready to encounter these protesters in order to make sure that our volunteers and activists respond appropriately as well as capitalize on opportunities to also move our message, work with Members, and educate the public.
Who are these people? The people who show up are far right-wing ideologues recruited by paid organizers. Much of this recruitment and organizing is funded by industry lobbyists and public relations firms to engage radical right-wing groups. Many of these groups are motivated by far right ideology in general - not by health care as an issue. They are held together by a common vision of the world that centers on defeating Obama and his agenda. We can expect to see anti-abortion groups, pro-gun groups, insurance company employees (mandated by employers to come out), militia groups, and antiimmigration groups.
What are their goals in turning out disruptive mobs? Their goal is to stop Obama, influence the media, and scare Members of Congress into thinking that there is more resistance to health care reform than really exists. The attendees are not reflective of the middle or average Republican Party member. Insurance industry lobbyists and public relations firms recruit mostly right-wing extremists who are willing to employ militant tactics in order to demonize Obama by tapping into fear and anger in the electorate. The fear comes from both aggressive communications tactics and rhetoric: anti-tax, anti-abortion, anti-immigration, and other themes that resonate with the farthest right wing of their party.
What is the strategy of the lobbyists and right-wingers who are orchestrating these protests? The most important thing to remember about this type of mobilization is that it is foremost a media strategy, not an organizing strategy. These angry mobs are not trying to persuade Members of Congress or the folks who are attending the event about their point of view.
2. Their goal is to disrupt the event as much as possible in order to:
1. Prevent our message from getting out.
2. Scare Members of Congress into silence and submission.
3. Paint a picture for the media that conveys widespread disapproval for health care reform in order to influence the narrative.
4. Create as much tension as possible at these events so that the average spectator is completely turned off and disengages totally from this issue.
What can we expect them to do? They will be loud: They will "Yell, stand up and shout out, and rattle" the Members of Congress. They will be disruptive and not follow the agenda. They won't wait for an opening to speak. They will just interrupt and shout from the minute the event opens until it ends.
They will paint a picture: They will carry a lot of signs. They will have gimmicks and props to get attention from the MOCs and from the media. They will look bigger than they are: They will spread out and distribute their signs widely. They will also get in front of any TV camera or press people in order to make sure the story that is reported is their story.
They will seek confrontation: The right-wing protesters will foster confrontation at every turn because that's what draws media and distracts the public. They will use any means to do this including abusive language, arrests, props, and physical violence. Be prepared.
How should we prepare to encounter the right wing protesters at MOC events?
1. Contact friendly MOCs and let them know you are coming to make sure our side is heard and that the event is positive. Provide constructive support for Members of Congress who are holding public events to promote health care reform by turning out constituents and anticipating problems ahead of time. Ask the Member's staff what would be most helpful and talk through a strategy for making sure the right messages don't get drowned out by chaotic protesters.
2. Inoculate your staff and your volunteers by telling them what to expect and what purpose lies behind the right-wing demonstrations. The more that the attendees know what to expect; the less startled they will be by the irrational tone and militancy of the protesters.
3. Bring more people than the other side has. Their side will be smaller but noisier. You must bring enough people to drown them out and to cover all our bases so as to marginalize their disruptive tactics. You don't want to get into a screaming match, but it must be obvious to everyone—including press—that you represent the majority.
4. Arrive earlier than the other side does. We need to stack our folks in the front to create a wall around the Member, and we need to stake out the best spots for visibility and signs. Reconnaissance on the venue and an understanding of the staging will be important here. Make sure you do your homework so you can position your folks most effectively.
5. Be more visible than the other side. Bring more signs and leaflets, and whenever possible, post your signs all over the place so that you visually out-perform the other side. Make sure you have people holding signs in every place where a TV camera is likely to be and that next to every right wing sign, there's one of your signs with your message.
6. Have a real plan for the media. Remember, this is a communications strategy that the right wing is using and our goal is to stop them from hijacking and changing the message and tone of these events. Assign 3-5 people to speak with the reporters who attend and make sure the reporters understand the scope and message of the event. If you let the media just report on what they see, they will invariably focus on the mayhem. That is a far juicer story than affordability and the public health insurance option.
3 Don't wait for the reporter to approach you.You must approach the reporters and be assertive in shaping the narrative that they write. Have someone assigned to greeting the media or checking in media as they arrive. That way you will know who they are and be able to work with them both during the event and afterwards. Also, plan to record both the events you attend and the events you organize. TV stations will use amateur footage to round out their stories, and the other side is recording and posting video online. We need to be able to give the press video of successful events too.
How should we interact/what do we say to the other side?
1. Do not debate on their "policy" points. Remember, they are seeking a platform to distort the truth about reform by making health care about abortion, rationing, euthanasia, etc. Rather than try to reply with the truth (which won't move them anyway) we should respond with our message and at every turn re-focus the agenda on communicating with the Member of Congress.
2. Interrupt them when they get disruptive and refocus the meeting: Line up a number of people who feel comfortable interrupting and prepare them with statements like: "Excuse me, I came today to listen to Representative XXX explain how this bill is going to make health care more affordable for me and my family. We're being gouged by insurance companies that just want to make more profits while we struggle to keep up with premiums and co-pays. Representative, how are you going to fix that?" "I'm retired and can't afford my prescription drugs because I'm on a fixed income. Representative, how is this bill going to affect me?" "I want to hear the Representative speak. He's the one voting on the bill. Representative, how will this bill help people who already have insurance at work?" "What I'm worried about is how we're going to keep the insurance companies from continuing to charge people more for being sick and keep them from taking away coverage when we need it most. What's the plan for that?"
3. Don't get into a shouting match with them. Instead, prep people on our side to keep raising the questions that we want answered. Repetition is the key. We need to arm our side with questions that play to the strength of our message and make sure we keep bringing them up over and over so that the press recognizes those central themes. We should also phrase those questions strategically to help move the message. "Over the last XX years, insurance company profits have risen XXX %; in this bill you would regulate insurance companies so that they can no longer deny people with pre-existing conditions and would have to play by fair rules. Isn't that right, Representative XX?" "Isn't it true that this bill would guarantee everyone a choice of public health insurance option that will lower cost overall in the system?"
4. Address the MOC directly with a positive message: Remember, these Members need cover and they are getting beaten up by right wing zealots in these meetings. We want to let the Member know that we appreciate his efforts to hear constituents and that we, the majority, agree with him.
5. We should demonstrate that we are the majority by chanting: When the other side gets too loud, we should shut them down with chants that counter their message like "Health Care Can't Wait!" and "Health Care Delayed is Health Care Denied" and prep people to chant at key points when the other side gets most disruptive.
6. Follow up with the Member one-on-one: This experience may have been trying for your MOC. Make sure that you thank him and that you let him know that the majority is with him. He needs to know that we will provide cover and support him at every turn for his leadership on this issue.
4 Organizing your own events with a Member of Congress One advantage to organizing your own Town Hall or public event with Members of Congress is that you will have much more control over the event and limit the other side's opportunities for disruption. Still, you should take precautions to make sure that you can keep meetings you organize under control. Here are some basic tips:
a. Talk to the Member of Congress ahead of time so that you agree on a format that is comfortable for the Member and that you can troubleshoot roles or concerns that the Member may have about the event. It is important to know how much time the Member will have, when he will arrive, what staff he's bringing, and how many questions he'll answer so that you can anticipate any issues that may arise and can plan your program appropriately.
b. Know who you are turning out to attend the event. Make sure you turn out a substantial number of people from your base and that everyone signs a sign in sheet upon entering the event. Give everyone name tags so they are easily identifiable. If you want to ensure greater control over turnout, you can ask attendees to rsvp or even issue tickets to the event and require presentation of the ticket at the entrance.
c. Choose a venue that is difficult for the opposition to access without being noticed. Get to your location early and make sure you set up the venue in a way that ensures that the attendees you want are at the front and that any protesters who come are sequestered as far as possible from the stage. Make sure that you have signs and visuals up and that you adequately understand the layout of your venue so that you know where the entrances are, where the press will be positioned, where your speakers will be, etc.
d. Select a strong moderator to move the agenda in a disciplined way. Make sure you select someone who is comfortable interrupting rowdy protesters, who can command the attention of the room, and who understands how to de-escalate tensions and re-direct people to the agenda.
e. Lay out goals for the meeting and establish ground rules for conduct in the meeting at the beginning of the event. Among these ground rules should be a protocol for asking questions. One way to do this is to ask people to submit questions ahead of time on cards, to permit only one question at a time, and to limit the topic of questions.
f. Plan for disturbances and assign marshals. Make sure that you assign marshals to take care of moving the crowd, keeping people organized and orderly, and acting as security should any need arise to ask noisy or disruptive protesters to leave. If you have cause to think that you will need more back-up, notify the police ahead of time.
g. Collect signs and leaflets that are not provided by you or your organization. Another way to limit protesters' ability to hijack your event is to confiscate signs or leaflets that they may bring into the venue from outside. The best way to do this is to make a blanket rule that no one can bring signs or leaflets and to advertise this fact as you do turn out in the weeks preceding the event. You can distribute your own signs in the event and offer them one as they enter if you choose to allow them to enter.
h. Assign people to greet the media and to stay close to reporters both as they enter and leave the event. It's important that you take away right-wingers opportunities to talk with reporters by making sure that your staff or leaders are in constant contact with the media who attend. You should set up a special table or area for the press to sit during the event and that area should be close t the stage and away from any areas of the venue where protesters may gather. Also make sure you have materials ready for the reporters so that they know the purpose and message of the event.
Here is video of an ObamaCare Organizer telling Pro-ObamaCare supporters how to shout down anyone at a Town Hall Meeting who begins to ask a question or make a statement opposing ObamaCare.
He tells them to stand up and start shouting "Health Care Now, Health Care Now" to silence the questioner. This was "recorded on August 31, 2009 outside Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) town hall meeting in Skokie, IL." For people who claim they are "not organized" but true grassroots activists, they look awfully "Astroturf" here to me. (Source: Freedom's Lighthouse.)
THE OBAMA MACHINE IS RUNNING SCARED...
Left-wing Media Attacks Health Care Protests (Aug 2009) Rachael Maddow engaged in a rant against the "thuggery" of the grassroots protests. Her remarks are ironic as Obama was telling his supporters to get out and "get in the faces" of those supporting the grassroots movement. We wonder where was Maddow when the Pink Coalition was denigrating our honored war dead. Where was she as the liberal left supported movies calling for the assassination of George Bush or the violent protests of the anti-war left? Then she goes on to blame the right-wing lobbyists who are manipulating these people. This is typical of the Obama hip-pocket journalists who think that all the protestors (Democrat, Independents and Republicans) are so weak-minded and uneducated that they can be manipulated by back-scene puppeteers. However, we wonder what is her take on the masses of lobbyists that have filled the Obama administration -- where exemptions became the rule and not the exception. Are these lobbyists now controlling the weak-minded Obama to do their bidding? Rachael Maddow talks about how the "thugs" (which she identifies as Republicans without proof) shout down Obama Healthplan supporters. Interesting as ACORN and Moveon supporters are doing the exact same thing to anti-Healthcare supporters (or at least trying to) -- and when their intimidation doesn't work (now that the anti-Obama protestors are aware of their tactics), these Obots call the protestors "racists."
There is only one problem with Maddow -- SHE'S A FREAKING LIAR. She's using manufactured "evidence" and maligning a Libertarian MacGuffie who have nothing to do with Freedom Works -- the Republican lobby. Maddow is typical of the "TV journalists" who are in the hip pocket of Obama and the far-left radical fringe -- and leftist sources like Think Progress. She offered as "proof" a memo of Bob MacGuffie of Fairfield, Conn., who once wrote a blog post on Tea Party Patriots, a site that is not funded or hosted by FreedomWorks. Maddow attempts to paint him as a professional, funded operative -- while in truth he is the typical grassroots activist like the rest of the movement -- independent and politically aware. "I guess they don't believe that people in America will stand up and fight," said MacGuffie. The memo in Maddow's piece was used out of context and did NOT include such phrases as: "Do not bring the signs into the hall if you want any chance to be picked for a question." "Don't carry on and make a scene, just short, intermittent shout-outs," which may sound familiar because the shout-out part was quoted without context.
When the "manufactured" outrage the Left is trying to demonize lines up so inconveniently with public polling, it's sometimes necessary to create evidence for the "manufactured" storyline.
Enter Think Progress, which unearthed this shocking, secret memo from the leader of a small grassroots conservative organization in Connecticut, which allegedly instructs members on "infiltrating town halls and harassing Democratic members of Congress."
Right Principles PAC was formed by Bob MacGuffie and four friends in 2008, and has taken in a whopping $5,017 and disbursed $1,777, according to its FEC filing. (SITE NOTE: Maddow implies that MacGuffie obtains large sums from the Republican lobby groups.)
"We're just trying to shake this state up and make a difference up here," MacGuffie told me during a telephone interview. He's surprised at his elevation to national rabble-rouser by the Left.
Right Principles has a Facebook group with 23 members and a Twitter account with five followers. MacGuffie describes himself as an "opponent of leftist thinking in America," and told me he's "never pulled a lever" for a Republican or Democrat on a federal level. Yet this Connecticut libertarian's influence over a national, orchestrated Republican health-care push-back is strong, indeed, if you listen to liberal pundits and the Democratic National Committee, who have crafted a nefarious web out of refutable evidence.
Think Progress highlighted his memo's directives to "'Yell,' 'Stand Up And Shout Out,' 'Rattle Him'," calling it a "right-wing harassment strategy against Dems." The blog falsely connected MacGuffie to the national conservative group FreedomWorks through the most tenuous of threads. The Think Progress link that purports to establish MacGuffie as a FreedomWorks "volunteer" leads to his one blog posting on a Tea Party website (on the free social networking site, ning.com). Think Progress calls Tea Party Patriots a "FreedomWorks website."
The problem is it's not a FreedomWorks site, according to FreedomWorks spokesman Adam Brandon. FreedomWorks is a "coalition partner" of TeaPartyPatriots.org, but does not fund the site in any way.
"There is no formal structural connection," Brandon told me. "Never has been. Never will be. We're just fellow travelers in the movement."
When I asked MacGuffie if he was a volunteer for FreedomWorks outside the specious evidence Think Progress cited, he said, "Absolutely not. You can Google all day; you won't find it. There is no formal connection. I don't know anyone from FreedomWorks." (Source: Weekly Standard.)
The White House came out and openly attacked the Drudge Report when it linked to a New Emperor's Clothes News (NEN) video montage of Obama in his own words showing that (1) the public option is a Trojan horse for a single-payor system; and (2) Obama is not honest. The White House launched a frontal attack that unfortunately backfired as other videos of "proof" of Obama's stance surfaced. Obama first tried ridicule -- and now it is an open fight for the "truth." Obama's forces are running scared of the growing opposition -- and the impotence of the masses of supporters that it thought it controlled. They have not come out in the numbers he expected to thwart the grassroots movement. Instead, the times that they met, the protestors outnumbered the Obots 10:1. The fight is on!!!
The reason the Democrats are making this a "Republican vs Democrat" issue rather than "Grassroots Americans (Republican, Democrat, and Independent) vs Democrats" is simple. Barack Obama, who is still far more personally popular than his policies,or his party, has negative approval ratings in the Rasmussen survey. Support of Obama's cornerstone programs are in jeapordy as his Democratic supporters switch sides on the issues -- though not parties. There appears to be a growing discomfort with one party rule, with too much change being pushed too quickly with rapidly growing deficits, and with so much of the American economy moving to government control. The Democratic advantage is slipping.
The Rasmussen survey now shows the GOP with its biggest lead of the year in the generic ballot: 43% to 38% over the Democrats. This result seems consistent with 14 point leads for the two Republican candidates in the two governors' races this November, in New Jersey and Virginia, states won by Barack Obama last year by 15%, and 7% respectively. Obama has campaigned in both states recently, and despite this, the lead for the GOP candidate in each race has grown.
While Obama won the national popular vote last year by 7.2%, the Democratic candidates won even bigger margins in Senate and House races, if all individual race totals are combined, which explains why they significantly expanded their majorities in both Houses of Congress. We are, in other words, seeing a sea change in political sentiment in just 9 months.
Various neutral observers such as Stuart Rothenberg now see a possibility for the GOP to gain Senate seats, as opposed to losing more seats next year (the GOP has far more open seats to defend than the Democrats, usually a big vulnerability). In the House, every national survey, now shows more vulnerable Democrats than Republicans.
This does not mean the GOP will regain control of the House next year (they need to gain a net of 40 seats to accomplish this), only that the momentum is clearly in a different direction than it was leading up to the 2006 and 2008 Congressional races. We are still 15 months away from the midterms and the economy could significantly improve, a health care reform bill may pass, that will earn the media seal of approval (not hard), and be sold successfully by the White House to the nation. (Source: American Thinker: Richard Baehr.)
The bottom line is that in the coming months, the Democrats will continue to try to portray the "Grassroots Movement" as Republican -- despite evidence to the contrary -- and switch away from ridicule into open attacking the "mobs" of protestors. The intent is to convince the public in general that the protestors are rabid hooligans -- instead of your nextdoor neighbor.
Michelle Malkin: Tea Party-bashers gone wild (Aug 2009) The activist Left can't stand competition. Last week in Long Island, NY, opponents of the Democrats' government health care takeover legislation outnumbered Obama supporters ten to one. The Tea Party activists toted American flags and signs that read "WE CAN'T AFFORD FREE HEALTH CARE" – prompting one foe to stalk into the peaceful crowd, gesticulate wildly, and shout unintelligible threats at the top of his lungs.
The same Democrat Masters of Astroturf who encouraged their followers to use "in your face" tactics during the campaign season now balk at vocal opposition from their fiscally conservative neighbors and co-workers. Obama's architects of Kabuki town halls have packed public forums with partisan plants. Now, they accuse opponents gathering at impromptu rallies against the massive health care takeover legislation (which no one has read) of orchestrating "manufactured anger.". (SITE NOTE: The best example of the "in your face" exercise was the intimidation by Black Panthers in Philadelphia with their billy clubs at the polling places on Nov 2008 Election Day. However, they were let off the hook after defaulting on judgement by Obama's Harvard classmate Tom Perrelli, now the #3 man at DOJ, who approved the dismissal of the case.)
Unaccustomed to pushback, the wealthy, astro-turfed ground troops for Obamacare – underwritten by unions, liberal philanthropists, the AARP, ACORN, and your tax dollars — have resorted to projection. As I've reported previously, the single-payer lobby boasts a $40 million budget and a stable of seasoned political operatives based at 1825 K Street in Washington, D.C. Now, that cabal is accusing the broad coalition of taxpayer activists, libertarians, independents, talk radio loyalists, bloggers, and first-time protesters against socialized medicine of being, yes, wealthy and astroturfed.
In a comical missive issued Tuesday afternoon, Democratic National Committee spokesman Brad Woodhouse complained: "The Republicans and their allied groups — desperate after losing two consecutive elections and every major policy fight on Capitol Hill — are inciting angry mobs of a small number of rabid right wing extremists funded by K Street Lobbyists to disrupt thoughtful discussions about the future of health care in America taking place in Congressional Districts across the country."
White House Robert Gibbs, apparently oblivious to the dozens of well-dressed and well-heeled former lobbyists and influence peddlers employed by his own boss, derided health care town hall protesters as the "Brooks Brothers brigade." Brooks Brothers was also the president's clothes designer of choice on Inauguration Day. He taunted: "I hope people will take a jaundiced eye to what is clearly the AstroTurf nature of so-called grass-roots lobbying." Meanwhile, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi dispatched a memo obtained by D.C.-based newspaper Human Events assuring Democrats of "close coordination" with faux grass-roots groups "including but not limited to HCAN, Families USA, AFSCME, SEIU, AARP, etc."
But never mind all that.
Some panicked congressional targets of the Tea Party movement have responded by shutting their offices, closing their blinds, and shooing pesky constituents off public property. The White House health czar's office is mustering up Internet snitches to report "inaccurate" blog posts and "casual conversations" from health care opponents. And liberal bloggers and cable yakkers are waging their own war on the Tea Party movement by redefining participatory democracy as "thuggery" and "hooliganism."
Talking Points Memo blogger Josh Marshall bemoaned a fiscal conservative activist's memo offering advice on how to "pack the hall..spread out" and challenge politician's early "to rattle him, get him off his prepared script and agenda." Horrors! "This amounts to a sort of civic vigilanteism," Marshall fretted. (SITE NOTE: Rachael Maddow claims Marshall works for a lobby and therefore, the whole grassroots movement must be controlled by Marshall or some sort of strange logic. As for me, I'd never heard of him before Maddow mentioned him.)
No, showing up at a congressional town hall and booing a talking points-programmed political hack isn't "civic vigilantism." Throwing rocks, pouring cement on train tracks, blocking military shipments, smashing windows, hurling paint, slashing tires, vandalizing businesses, and throwing shoes are vigilante acts.
That is what the anti-war, anti-free trade, anti-Bush mobsters did over the last eight years – and there wasn't a peep about those brute tactics from Obama's blogging pals now. (SITE NOTE: Michelle Malkin has a string of video clips of the leftists in action from taking over stages; blocking traffic; disrupting speakers; etc. at Michelle Malkin: Mob Rule.)
They sat quietly while Code Pink disrupted hearings on the Hill and harassed Marine recruiters. They looked the other way when ACORN illegally broke into homes and stormed foreclosure auctions. They gave their tacit approval to self-declared "bank terrorists" like Boston housing entitlement organizer Bruce Marks, who show up at the schools of bank executives' children and bullies them because of their parents' employment in the name of social justice.
Now, the taxpayers footing the bill for Obama's redistribution of health and wealth are silent no more – and the unhinged Left is beside itself. The "thoughtful" left-wing response to the Tea Party counterinsurgency can best be summed up by hysterical Hollywood actress Janeane Garafolo, who railed last week: "F**ng redneck d**chebaggery. Unmitigated d**chebaggery." It's not the town halls that have gone wild. It's the Tea Party-bashers who can't tolerate peaceful, open dissent. (Source: Michelle Malkin.)
And Then -- Big Brother Snitches (Aug 2009) This is something right out of George Orwell's 1984. If you see anybody publicly opposing President Obama's plan to implement a government-centric overhaul of the health care system, the White House wants you to report that person (or persons) ASAP. From the White House website:
There is a lot of disinformation about health insurance reform out there, spanning from control of personal finances to end of life care. These rumors often travel just below the surface via chain emails or through casual conversation. Since we can't keep track of all of them here at the White House, we're asking for your help. If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov.
Emphasis added. Of course, as we've seen in the health care debate to date, the term "disinformation" is used by the Obama White House as a catchall to describe any opposition to the President's push for single-payer, government-run health care — meaning the White House wants to be informed of any forwarded emails or blog posts or any "casual conversations" that could be taken as opposition to their health care overhaul plan.
The White House has, as yet, offered no explanation of what it is they plan to do with the tips on policy opposition they hope to receive from citizen informers.
Interestingly, as Jake Tapper pointed out on Twitter this morning, the title of that post on the White House is a quote from John Adams' 1770 "Argument in Defense of the Soldiers in the Boston Massacre Trials." (Source: Red State.)
UPDATE The White House has quietly disabled the email address it promoted for backers of the pro-abortion health care bills pending in Congress to tattle on opponents of the legislation. Without fanfare, the White House has disabled the email address and is asking people to visit the main web site instead. Following a huge negative public outcry, Obama administration officials have apparently taken down the flag@whitehouse.gov email address meant for "fishy" claims about the president's health care proposal. "The e-mail address you just sent a message to is no longer in service. We are now accepting your feedback about health insurance reform via http://www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck," the White House says now in any emails responding to notes sent to the address.
Obama Calls Out the SEIU (Aug 2009) The Service Employees International Union's $61 million investment in Barack Obama paid off with cabinet appointments, executive orders, key personnel slots, and legislative goodies. Now, the SEIU thugs are looking out for The Boss. In Tampa, Florida and St. Louis today, the Purple People turned out to give cover to members of Congress targeted by Tea Party activists and town hall protesters. For the first time, the town hall protests were marked by physical aggression. More on the St. Louis arrests of confrontational Obamacare activists here. (Just like Obama wanted: "In your face.") This is no coincidence. (See Aug 6 St Louis Obama Health Care Town Meeting). (Source: Michelle Malkin.)
Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today condemned the brutal beating of activist Kenneth Gladney in South St. Louis County, MO, at a town hall event sponsored by Congressman Russ Caranhan (D-MO) by SEIU members who Wilson said "appears to have been sent out purposely to intimidate the crowd and instigate violence." Wilson said that a Special Prosecutor would need to be called "to investigate the possibility of White House complicity in this union thuggery." The White House told representatives and senators 'punch back twice as hard' against opposition to Barack Obama's government-run health care initiative, and "clearly some of their followers took the message to heart," Wilson said.
According to Kenneth Gladney's attorney, David B. Brown, "Kenneth was attacked on the evening of August 6, 2009 at Rep. Russ Carnahan's town hall meeting in South St. Louis County. I was at the town hall meeting as well and witnessed the events leading up to the attack of Kenneth. Kenneth was approached by an SEIU representative as Kenneth was handing out 'Don't Tread on Me' flags to other conservatives."
The statement continued, "The SEIU representative demanded to know why a black man was handing out these flags. The SEIU member used a racial slur against Kenneth, then punched him in the face. Kenneth fell to the ground. Another SEIU member yelled racial epithets at Kenneth as he kicked him in the head and back. Kenneth was also brutally attacked by one other male SEIU member and an unidentified woman."
According to the statement, "The three men were clearly SEIU members, as they were wearing T-shirts with the SEIU logo."
"This sort of thuggish political violence is what one would expect in Mussolini's Italy by the Black Shirts," said Wilson, adding that, "This is pure fascist aggression. The SEIU is sending out goon squads to beat people up who disagree with ObamaCare. Only a Special Prosecutor can determine if it was done with the knowledge of the White House and Congressman Carnahan."
After watching the video, Wilson said, "The part where the attackers claimed they were attacked, when Mr. Gladney is clearly on his back, is straight out of the SEIU-ACORN playbook. They train their thugs well. Only, this time, they were caught." (Source: Atlas Shrugs.)
Later in a TV interview on Fox News with Kenneth Gladney and his lawyer, Gladney said: "Mr. Gladney stated that he arrived outside the building where the town hall meeting was taking place, and started distributing and/or selling flags which bear the famous slogan "Don't Tread on Me." He continued that "this guy...walked up to me and said...who in the blank is selling this blank here. And I said, sir, this is my merchandise, and....he was like, what kind of 'N' are you to be giving out this kind of stuff here? And he snatched the- the button board. And when he snatched the button board, I snatched it back from him, and that's when he proceeded to hit me in my face." He added that others joined in the beat-down." (Source: Newsbusters.)
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius held a brief conference call with SEIU members on 7 Aug. She hailed them as her "brothers and sisters" and urged them to show up at town hall meetings. In an attempt to reassure SEIU members that senior citizens would not suffer under Obamacare, Sebelius said "Saving lives saves dollars." Which might come as news to Zeke Emanuel. Sebelius thanked an SEIU member who showed up at the Tampa Bay melee and urged more to get involved. "Keep doing what you're doing."SEIU heavy Dennis Rivera then took over, taking calls from scripted SEIU members who read statements (one of which was painfully, barely coherent).Rivera closed by railing against the "radical fringe" of "right-wingers" and urged his "Purple Army" to fight "terrorist tactics." (Source: Michelle Malkin.)
The Obama forces are calling out the reinforcements to bolster their side. So far it has not worked. On 12 Aug, Michelle Malkin reported that the SEIU was advertising for paid organizers to mount the offensive over Health Care. It is apparent that the amateur efforts have not been effective as the PR from their confrontations have been a public relations disaster.
Union members pack Obama's town halls (17 Aug 2009)
Andrew Carillo and Melissa McCollister cheered loudly from near the back row of the Central High School gymnasium as President Obama stepped on stage to make his pitch for health care reform. The two organizers for the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 7 proudly wore their union T-shirts, and boisterously supported the president because of what they think his initiative will do for the 25,000 grocery stockers, meatpackers and warehouse workers that they represent. "We have to negotiate for health care every time a contract comes up," said Mr. Carillo, 24, a union employee. "Year after year, it just gets more and more expensive."
Members of the nation's labor unions have made up a hefty segment of the audiences that flocked to town halls Mr. Obama held in the past week, and they have played an even larger role in a nationwide campaign for an insurance overhaul. Financially, and with boots on the ground, unions have become the backbone of the president's effort. (SITE NOTE: At his Portsmouth Town Hall, Obama SEIU/ACORN forces used SIX buses. At his SIX buses of primarily SEIU supporters were bused in and illegally set up where the anti-Health Care protest was instead of where their permit was for. It is obvious that Obama is stacking the deck with SEIU inside the halls and using thuggery and intimidation outside the halls. Of course, the SEIU and other unions are avid supporters especially after Obama paid off the UAW with a lion's share of GM.)
Last week, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) was part of a group, largely funded by the pharmaceutical industry's lobby, that launched $12 million in television ads to support the president's health care push, and the coalition Americans for Stable Quality Care could spend tens of millions of dollars more this fall.
The AFL-CIO, the American Federation of Teachers and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees are among the partners in another group, Health Care for America Now, which has committed millions more dollars to advertising that is running now in a half-dozen states.
But money is only part of the equation; the most potent contribution from labor has been its people. Last month, opponents of the president's health care efforts began protesting, at times vociferously, as members of Congress convened town-hall meetings in their districts.
The Obama administration decried the opposition movement as a cynical, fake grass-roots campaign manufactured by the insurance industry to undermine his effort. To respond meant galvanizing a movement of his own. That began to take shape, at least visibly, when AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeney sent an Aug. 6 memo to union officers across the country to mobilize. "The question for us is: will we let them make health care 'Obama's Waterloo' or will we make it the next big step in our march to Turn Around America?" Mr. Sweeney wrote. "August will tell!" Mr. Sweeney's memo called on members to mobilize during Congress' August recess.
"We wanted them to show up at town halls both for members of Congress who are on the fence, but also for members who are supportive of reform," AFL-CIO spokeswoman Amaya Tune said. "We wanted them at the district offices, meeting with members of Congress and communicating with other union members to tell them what's involved in health care reform."
The union organization also began a rapid-response program for town-hall meetings, sending out e-mail alerts to members who live in ZIP codes near where town halls are planned, urging them to attend. Phone banks were set up for members to put out calls explaining why they think the president's initiative is needed.
Since the union pushback began more than a week ago, there have been scuffles between activists on both sides of the issue outside at least two town-hall meetings, in St. Louis and in Tampa, Fla. In the St. Louis meeting, widely circulated video footage shows conservative counterprotester Kenneth Gladney lying on the street surrounded by SEIU members. He later told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he sought hospital treatment.
Labor has much at stake in the health care debate unfolding in Washington, said Richard Berman, a food-industry lobbyist who has battled the unions on Capitol Hill. "SEIU is leading the charge for health care because they stand to make major gains in unionizing the entire system," Mr. Berman said. "They might try to inject some pro-union requirements into the bill." Unions may seek gains in other areas, too, including the potential to loosen labor department regulations, receive pension assistance and secure another increase in the minimum wage.
But perhaps the most powerful incentive for members to get out to town-hall events has been the desire to see political success for Mr. Obama, a candidate for whom they campaigned vigorously to elect last fall. Their mobilization behind the health care plan has been most visible at the president's town-hall events.
While the administration has billed as organic the response to the president's appearances in New Hampshire, Montana and Colorado, union members interviewed at the events described an extensive effort to recruit large numbers of the president's supporters to fill the audiences, and to line up opposite protesters attracting attention outside.
In New Hampshire, the air traffic controllers union handed out tickets to its members. The Massachusetts Nurses Association had members cheering the president outside the event with a banner unfurled. SEIU's Mark McCullough said his union had nothing to do with passing out tickets to Mr. Obama's town-hall events. But he said the organization pushed hard "to have members at the event itself and around to show their support for health care reform."
In Grand Junction, three of Mr. Carillo's union colleagues had seats on stage behind the president, while hundreds more rallied outside the high school, shuttled to the event on two large buses that the UFCW had hired. Also on stage were leaders from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW). In the audience were members of the Colorado Education Association, which represents the state's schoolteachers. That was how Jim Smyth, 48, obtained his ticket to the event, even though he said he has been too busy monitoring the start of the school year to pay close attention to the raging health care debate.
"Our biggest concern is to make sure we don't lose any of the benefits we have now, if there is a change," Mr. Smyth said. Troy Goodson, 55, and Larry Beard, 57, are electricians in Grand Junction who came to the Obama event to show the support of the IBEW Local 969. Both said they know how much is at stake in the health care debate. Mr. Goodson said he has triplets at home, and that the delivery costs alone would have left him underwater financially had he lacked adequate insurance. He said he's glad to see labor unions out in force, pushing for the president's plan. "The big corporations and the insurance industry, they're lobbying 24/7," Mr. Goodson said. "Someone has to fight against that." (Source: Washington Times.)
Obama Calls out his Minions (Aug 2009) Obama sent out a personal email to his minions stating that during the August break the supporters needed to make a promise to attend at least one meeting to support the National Health Care Plan. The White House told representatives and senators 'punch back twice as hard' against opposition to Barack Obama's government-run health care initiative. (SITE NOTE: Relying instead on union lackeys and thugs, President Obama's vaunted 13 million name email list and his grassroots community organizing group "Organizing for America have failed miserably to answer his call to assist him in passing his health care reform package. At most of the congressional town halls, protestors outnumber supporters of the package - usually by a considerable margin.)
Things were getting desparate as Nancy Pelosi said the protestors carried "swastikas" and were "hooligans" and "thugs." Actually, the sign was a "No swastika" sign that said, "No to Facism." The "hooligans" and "thugs" turned out to be Obama supporters from the SEIU.
Then the Obama media joined in. The Huffington Post showed a photo of protestor and claimed he was giving a Nazi salute. The Huffington Post stated: "In one image, a young man with a shirt that reads "Hitler Gave Great Speeches Too" is photographed making what looks like a Hitler salute. TalkLeft blogger Jeralyn Merritt interviewed the teen, who told her was 16 and hailed from former Gov. Sarah Palin's hometown of Wasilla, Alaska. The progressive website FireDogLake, has more" The only problem was that it was a cropped photo of a boy carrying a sign. A video clearly showed the boy was holding up a sign -- and it showed how the Huffington Post had debased its journalistic ethics by doing so. (Source: Atlas Shrugs.)
Barbara Boxer went on better and said the protestors wore Brooks Brothers suits -- which was laughable as the same day a widely publicized video showing a Tea Party supporter in cutoffs and baseball cap calling visiting Sen Hoyer in Utica a liar. The Obama mob had lost control of the meetings nationwide. The people were pissed -- and even the Dallas AARP meeting jumped on the people there and the AARP representatives left.
The Moveon.org stated: All across the country, right-wing extremists are disrupting congressional town-hall meetings with venomous attacks on President Obama's plans for health care and clean energy.
Last night in Tampa, Florida, a town hall meeting erupted into violence, with the police being called to break up fist fights and shoving matches. (SITE NOTE: The videos show the SEIU was the ones pushing ladies and old men around. Hmmm...who are the thugs?)
A Texas Democrat was shouted down by right-wing hecklers, many of whom admitted they didn't even live in his district. (SITE NOTE: Many Democratic US Senators and Representatives are attending meetings NOT in their districts to support locals politicians -- i.e. Sen Hoyer in Utica NY. And maybe its because the Democrats are NOT having meetings in their districts.)
One North Carolina representative announced he wouldn't be holding any town-hall meetings after his office began receiving death threats. (SITE NOTE: He wasn't holding meetings because he couldn't face his constituents,(
And in Maryland, protesters hung a Democratic congressman in effigy to oppose health-care reform. (SITE NOTE: Yep, just like the liberals did with Bush for eight years ... and his father before him.)
The Moveon.org stated it had a plan. "We've got a plan to fight back against these radical right-wingers. We've hired skilled grassroots organizers who are working with thousands of local volunteers to show Congress that ordinary Americans continue to support President Obama's agenda for change. And we're building new online tools to track events across the country and make sure MoveOn members turn out at each one." --- "YES, WE'RE CALLING IN ACORN, BUT ... OOPS ... WE HAVE TO PAY THEM. SO SEND MONEY!!!" (Source: Moveon.org email 7 Aug 2009)
This is going to be a wild time as the Obama forces schedule their "events." Rest assured, the protestors will be there if the events are publicized. When this started, the protestors were outmatching the Obots 10:1 in numbers but now the numbers are climbing to 40:1. The 1,500 people that showed up in St Louis is only the tip of the spear of the anger Americans (Republicans, Democrats and Independents) have with Obama's programs. Thus the Moveon.org is planning "rapid response" events -- ones that don't let the protestors have time to get organized. In addition, they are going to sponsor rigged (the same shill method Obama uses) for phone conferencing "town hall" meetings. Only they will pre-screen the callers -- like Obama.
"That's why we're launching our Heat Up Congress campaign so quickly to fight back, using new technology to implement rapid response town hall turnout, organizing personal phone calls from small business leaders and donors to their representatives, running new ads, and activating an energized network of on-the-ground organizers and volunteers." (Source: Moveon.org email 7 Aug 2009) We believe that they have underestimated the anger of the American people.
The desparation was getting so bad that the Obots were resorting to the "race card." As Clay Waters has noted, Paul Krugman alleges that racist motives are at the heart of the town hall protests against ObamaCare. On this evening's Hardball, Cynthia Tucker, a black reporter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, was willing to get specific, estimating that "45 to 65%" of the protesters are motivated by racism. (Source: Newsbusters.) (SITE NOTE: Why is it that since Obama has been elected, when things go against Obama his black supporters always play the race card? Anyone who is against the great Obama must be racist. Tucker video is here. As to Paul Krugman, a few black groups publicly condemned his statements of racist motives.)
They are even trying to get the "rally round the President" because of the wacko Healthcare protestors. On MSNBC 7 Aug, fill-in co-anchor Monica Novotny issued a dire warning about protests at health care town hall meetings: "The town hall confrontations are turning violent....Where is all of this heading? New fears for the safety of America's first African-American president." Notice to the allusion that there is a racist threat out there. In a later segment, co-anchor David Shuster interviewed Virginia Democratic Congressman Jim Moran and asked: "We know that threats to President Obama are up by like something 400% compared to the Bush administration. Is this putting our president in some sort of danger because of some wacko that will see this stuff and say, 'oh, yes, it's fascism and the way we dealt with Adolf Hitler was to try to kill him, so therefore, let's do this with our president.'" Congressman Moran responded to that outrageous scenario by remarking: "Well, you know, it only took – takes one person. It took one person to shoot Ronald Reagan, Jack Kennedy, and so on. But I think the Secret Service can be trusted to protect the President. But it does discredit those people who are using such extreme measures to achieve an objective which is really corporate profit." (Source: MRC.)
Whoa...the senior citizens are out to assassinate Obama!!! (Sarcasm dripping)
Some conservative blogs have posted videos of ACORN at some of the Health Care protests, but they have been very small in number. Even the highly orchestrated Nancy Pelosi event in Denver CO on 6 Aug could only muster 40 supporters to the 200 protestors (5:1). At most events they are outnumbered 10:1 or even 20:1. The point is that the minions of Obama that he called for are lacking at the protests. The ACORN people appear to be "paid volunteers" who have no knowledge of the debate. At Nancy Pelosi's event in Denver, a few non-English speaking day laborers were hired that didn't even know what was on the signs they carried. '
Some conservative blogs have accused the police of siding with ACORN/Obama Health Care supporters to prevent Health Care protestors from interacting with them and/or segregating them into different sections. On one side we see the police trying to prevent any violent confrontation -- but on the other we see the protestors being denied access to public property (side walk) and preventing people from talking. This may become an issue in coming weeks as the debate heats up -- especially with the Democrats seeming to be threatening to railroad the National Health Care Plan through when they return after recess -- regardless of what the constituents say.
In utter frustration with the poor turnouts of the "minions" -- the army Obama had during his campaign -- he has turned to trying to attract college kids with offers of pay AND college credit. President Obama's army of citizen volunteers is now actively recruiting college students in states across the country to "build support for President Obama's agenda" – and earn college credit while advocating for "change." (Source: WND.)
Members of Congress are increasingly turning to virtual townhall meetings--conducted by telephone--in an effort to reach more constituents while avoiding the potential that informational meetings might be disrupted by angry and persistent questioners or protesters. One advantage to these telephone townhalls is that the Member of Congress controls the audience and the questioning. With the mood of the country now against Obama's programs, the virtual town hall meetings may become standard this August break.
Palin weighs in as PRIVATE Citizen -- and Instant Impact (Aug 2009) Perhaps the cruelest slap is that former-Governor Sarah Palin FINALLY weighed in as a private citizen. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin called Obama's health plan "downright evil" Friday in her first online comments since leaving office, saying in a Facebookposting that he would create a "death panel" that would deny care to the neediest Americans. "Who will suffer the most when they ration care? The sick, the elderly, and the disabled, of course," the former vice Republican presidential candidate wrote on her Facebook page, which has nearly 700,000 supporters. (Source: abc news.)
Democratic Lawmakers Rethink Town Halls (Aug 2009) The health-care debate was supposed to play out at rallies and inside gymnasiums when lawmakers headed home for the August recess. But after a series of contentious town-hall meetings, some Democratic lawmakers are thinking twice about holding large public gatherings. Instead, they are opting for smaller sessions, holding meetings by phone or inviting constituents for one-on-one office hours. (SITE NOTE: There appears to be MORE REPUBLICAN Town Halls than Democratic as the lawmakers run for cover.)
Democrats have accused Republicans of manufacturing the opposition by organizing groups to attend the events and encouraging disruptive behavior. Republican organizers say the unrest reflects genuine anger about the proposed health-care changes. Dan Thompson of Canton, Mich., center, speaks out against health-care reform and yells at others during Democratic Rep. John Dingell's town-hall meeting in Romulus, Mich. this week. Contentious meetings across the country are forcing lawmakers to scale back gatherings to discuss the issue.
Val Butsicaris of Taylor, Mich., center, confronts U.S. Rep. John D. Dingell, D-Mich., over health care. (MSNBC)
Many lawmakers are now opting for smaller, more intimate meetings to hear from their constituents on issues such as health care, instead of town-hall meetings that have left them open to heckling and other distractions, health care reporter Janet Adamy discusses. "Democrats may think that attacking or ignoring this growing chorus of Americans is a smart strategy, but they are obviously forgetting that these concerned citizens are voters as well," said Paul Lindsay, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, the House GOP's campaign arm.
Rick Scott, who leads Conservatives for Patients' Rights, a group that has helped publicize the local meetings, said: "The polls reveal the real picture of what is happening across the country -- people are genuinely concerned, some are genuinely angry, and they are expressing themselves." The Senate on Friday headed home for a monthlong break after progress stalled on passing sweeping health-care legislation. House members, whose break started a week ago, have been hit with a flood of inquiries about the legislation since they arrived home.
Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D., Ariz.) on Thursday canceled her public schedule for the day after a "Chat with Ann" session at a Safeway grocery store in Holbrook, Ariz., turned rowdy. A video of the meeting showed a woman shouting, "You don't appreciate our frustration!" Ms. Kirkpatrick cut the session short after 15 minutes and headed to her car, trailed by a jeer of "What a nitwit!"
Rep. Tim Bishop (D., N.Y.) stopped holding town-hall meetings after a June event. Footage of the meeting showed participants screaming questions at Mr. Bishop, then repeatedly shouting him down when he tried to respond. At times, Mr. Bishop would begin to respond to a question and a participant would yell, "Answer the question!" At one point Mr. Bishop yelled back, "I'm trying to!" Police were summoned as several dozen protesters followed Mr. Bishop to his car. Now Mr. Bishop, who has held 100 town-hall meetings during his tenure, has just one scheduled for the August recess, and his office is wrestling with how to ensure it will be civil and orderly."I'm seeing the same clips everyone else is of these meetings that are turning into near-riots," said Jon Schneider, Mr. Bishop's district director. "Obviously we don't want that to happen." He added that the congressman is talking to voters in other ways.
In a Wednesday interview, Rep. Brian Baird (D., Wash.) had compared the people who generated that sort of disruption on a national scale with Nazi Brownshirts in Germany before World War II. On Friday, Baird emphasized that he wasn't calling his constituents Nazis; he was referring to people organizing national campaigns. "I didn't call any constituents Brownshirts. It's the activities of Web sites," Baird said. ... Baird said Friday that he was talking about people who make death threats, someone "who faxes a picture, 'Death to Marxists, foreign and domestic.' That happened to me today." Baird's office forwarded a copy of an image of President Obama that's already been circulated, showing him made over in the style of the Batman villain "The Joker." The fax to Baird featured two new wrinkles — a hammer-and-sickle symbol on Obama's forehead and the words, "Death to All Marxists! Foreign and Domestic!" under the photo. (Source: TDN.) (SITE NOTE: The "Joker" with communist logo has been appearing everywhere across the nation -- from New York to California. I guess it could be thought to be a death threat if you're a Marxist/Communist".)
Baird also said the raucous nature of recent meetings about health care caused him to steer away from the events, if only because they aren't productive when so many people are shouting. "I'm not a coward, but neither am I a fool," said Mr. Baird. "There is a real concern right now about this nationwide campaign of intimidation and disruption that I think is troubling," he said. "It's getting dangerous." (SITE NOTE: On 12 Aug, a week after saying he would not hold town hall meetings because of health care reform protest tactics he compared to Nazis Brownshirts, U.S. Rep. Brian Baird issued a statement expressing regret for his comments. "Frankly, I have had concerns about how we can have constructive dialogue and, unfortunately, in response to some of the things we've been seeing across the nation I have said some things myself that I regret," Baird said in a press release issued Wednesday. (Source: Columbian.) The reason was the firestorm of hate mail over outrage from constituents who did not appreciate being called "brownshirts.")
Several lawmakers said they aren't canceling large, public events that have already been planned. Some Democrats who have seen the sharpest attacks say that has made them more determined not to back away from public meetings. Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D., Texas), who was recently heckled over health care at a supermarket, said he would attend a veterans-center opening, a community-health event and a meeting with Austin public school teachers in coming days. "The apparent focus was to kind of create this impression that you could run me [and] supporters of this out of Dodge," he said. "That's not what is going to happen." (Source: WSJ.)
The Senate's second-ranking Democrat slammed recent town hall protests Sunday as organized disruptions of the democratic process. "We have these screaming groups on either side. That isn't helpful. Let's be honest about this. Town meetings are not bean bag, I've had hundreds of them and sometimes folks get upset. And that's part of America, part of our process," Sen. Dick Durbin told CNN's John King on "State of the Union." "But this is clearly being orchestrated and these folks have instructions. They come down from a Texas lobbyist in Washington…" he said. (Source: CNN.)
On 7 Aug Harry Reid stated that he would only do Town Halls by telephone. Not surprisingly, the mainstream media was mum. The most powerful man in the Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), announced on Friday that as a result of recent protests at town hall meetings he won't hold any such political gatherings during this month's Congressional recess. Instead, he will only do what's called "telephone town halls" where he and his staff have complete control over the questions being asked and who's asking them. (Source: Newsbusters.) (SITE NOTE: Democrats are now going to hold TELECONFERENCES -- Phone meetings -- to gain control of the content. They can prescreen the questions and cut people off if they get too vocal. However, these US Congressmen need to consider the next election -- because people are watching. However, for those Senators who have a while before they face election again, they may be counting on the constituents not remembering that long. What the protestors will do next is uncertain -- but some are saying that a town hall meeting WITHOUT the Representative -- though they would be invited publicly -- and then the taped meetings presented on YouTube to embarass the Congressmen who refuse to come out from cover. By 15 Aug, most Congressmen nationwide had gone to the teleconferencing method -- much to the dissatisfaction of their constituents on both sides of the issue. Ironically, those Congressmen who had pulled back from holding face-to-face meetings during the intial recess flare-up of discontent, claimed that they had been planning to use this method all along.)
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) told the Daily News they won't be sponsoring any town hall meetings on health care. Instead, they will be touring the state and soliciting opinions in more informal settings. Throughout the nation, the Democrats were ducking for cover as ANY town hall meeting was likely to turn into a heated exchange. When the Democratic Congressmen wouldn't hold town halls, tea party protests were held in lieu of the town halls. At the same time, Republican town halls were well-received as a general rule with Health care plan supporters in a minority at the meetings. But the media was NOT covering these town halls as there was no "story" there. The media was focused on the outrage at the Obama Health Care plan.
New Hampshire Congressional delegation had gone into hiding rather than hold themselves accountable for their support of ObamaCare. The New Hampshire media has finally discovered the same thing. The two leading newspapers in the Granite State — one liberal, the other conservative — blasted these elected officials for avoiding their constituents. The left-leaning Portsmouth Herald scoffs at the notion that telephone conference calls can replace face-to-face accountability. The more conservative New Hampshire Union-Leader questions the intestinal fortitude of the politicians-turned-fugitives.
Under Pressure on Health Care, White House Fights Back (Aug 2009) The White House on Monday (10 Aug) started a new Web site to fight questionable but potentially damaging charges that President Obama's proposed overhaul of the nation's health care system would inevitably lead to "socialized medicine," "rationed care" and even forced euthanasia for the elderly.But in introducing the Web site (Reality Check), White House officials were tacitly acknowledging a difficult reality: they are suddenly at risk of losing control of the public debate over a signature issue for Mr. Obama and are now playing defense in a way they have not since last year's campaign.
And Democratic Party officials enlisted in the fight by the White House acknowledged in interviews that the growing intensity of the opposition to the president's health care plans — within the last week likened on talk radio to something out of Hitler's Germany, lampooned by protesters at Congressional town-hall-style meetings and vilified in television commercials — had caught them off guard and forced them to begin an August counteroffensive.
In the process, the administration has had a harder time getting across the themes it wanted to strike in this period: that the current system is unsustainable and that Mr. Obama's plan holds concrete benefits for people who already have health insurance as well as for those who do not. (Source: NY Times.)
Democrats on 13 Aug mounted a broad counteroffensive against Republicans to try to reverse growing opposition to their health care plans and win back an electorate increasingly sympathetic to town-hall protesters. Americans for Stable Quality Care — which is funded by Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the American Medical Association and the Service Employees International Union, among others — Thursday also launched a massive $12 million ad campaign defending President Barack Obama's and other Democrats' efforts to reform the health care system. The White House and the Democratic National Committee sought to downplay the significance and scope of the protests.
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs on 13 Aug argued that despite extensive media coverage of the protests at some lawmakers' town halls, "I hate to break it to you: I don't think all the town halls are as you're seeing them on TV. ... While I appreciate that you all have decided that every town-hall meeting ends in pushing, shoving and yelling, I don't think many, well, I don't know how many town halls you all have been to. They're not completely indicative of what's going on in America." The DNC released a statement arguing that "outside the echo chamber of 24-hour cable news, Americans all across the country are attending town halls, holding coffee shop conversations and engaging in respectful, honest debates about the best way to achieve health insurance reform." The DNC release pointed to events in North Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, California, Indiana, Ohio, Washington state and other areas that have not featured the kind of ugly protests that have been the focus on national news reports.
Similarly, Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (Calif.) office Thursday afternoon released a similar "fact sheet" detailing events where no protests occurred. Democrats' counteroffensive appeared aimed at blunting the effect that the town halls appear to be having on the public's opinion of the health care plans. A USA Today/Gallup Poll released Thursday showed that 34 percent of respondents were more sympathetic to the protesters' views after having viewed coverage of the town-hall meetings. The poll also found that by a nearly 2-to-1 ratio — 35 percent to 16 percent — independents were becoming more sympathetic to the demonstrators. The poll of 1,000 adults, conducted Tuesday, had a margin of error of 4 points.
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee took aim at a handful of Senate Republicans whom, they argued, have shunned public forums in favor of more-controlled meetings with invited guests.
"Republicans presided over the huge rise in health care costs, and now they've gone into hiding when it comes to fixing the problem. Instead of meeting with constituents and offering their own plans for reforming health care, Republicans choose to meet behind closed doors with special interests and say no to everything President Obama proposes," DSCC Communications Director Eric Schultz said in a statement.
Several prominent Democrats have also eschewed town-hall forums this recess, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.), who is up for re-election next year. In the statement, the DSCC accused Republican Sens. Richard Burr (N.C.) and David Vitter (La.), as well as candidates Rep. Roy Blunt (Mo.) and Rep. Mark Kirk (Ill.) of either not holding town halls or participating in carefully orchestrated events that would minimize the likelihood of protests. All four are seeking re-election or election to the Senate next year.
The DNC also weighed in, circulating news reports that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has not yet read the House health care bill despite his harsh criticism of the legislation.
WYMT-TV in Hazard, Ky., first reported that during a meeting with constituents, McConnell said he had not read the entire bill but had read enough to decide he didn't support it. Bloggers quickly picked up on the story and highlighted repeated Republican complaints that Democrats were voting for health care legislation they had not read.
Senate Finance ranking member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) defended his criticism of "end-of-life" provisions included in the House bill, which he has warned could result in rationing of health care to the elderly and other segments of the population. On Wednesday, Grassley was asked at a public meeting about claims by former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) and others that the legislation would include a "death panel" and mandatory euthanasia provisions for the elderly. While not endorsing that interpretation of the bill, which has been debunked by outside analysts, Grassley did not dismiss it either, saying, "If you've got a government-run health care program and you have crowding out ... when you couple this with all of other fears people have and what they do in England, then you get the idea that somebody is going to decide grandma has lived too long." Democrats and others immediately pounced on the statement, arguing that it amounted to fear-mongering. But in a statement released by Grassley's office on Thursday, the Iowa Republican argued it was because of these kinds of fears that the Finance Committee has left an end-of-life provision out of its bill. "The bill passed by the House committees is so poorly cobbled together that it will have all kinds of unintended consequences, including making taxpayers fund health care subsidies for illegal immigrants," Grassley said. "On the end-of-life issue, there's a big difference between a simple educational campaign, as some advocates want, and the way the House committee-passed bill pays physicians to advise patients ... while at the same time creating a government-run program that is likely to lead to the rationing of care for everyone," he said. "We dropped end-of-life provisions from consideration entirely because of the way they could be misinterpreted and implemented incorrectly. Maybe others can defend a bill like the Pelosi bill that leaves major issues open to interpretation, but I can't." (Source: Rollcall.)
Anti-Health Care Protestors Finding Democratic Roadblocks to Town Halls (Aug 2009) Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., told Bill O'Reilly Wednesday night (12 Aug) that the demonstrations against government-run healthcare are a "real, grass-roots" expression of anger over socialized medicine. "I think it's been a mistake for anyone to say this has been a manufactured effort on the part of many of these folks shouting out," McCaskill said. 'This is real. It's grass roots. Now they're organizing, but that's what we do in America. People do it on the left. People do it on the right. Most of the people frankly in the middle don't and that's where I'm trying to stay focused." (Source: Newsmax.)
Americans who want to express their opinions on health care reform at town halls across the country are encountering a host of roadblocks, ranging from fake schedules to a demand that they show their driver's licenses or photo identification. Supporters of President Obama's plan say they are pushing back against opposition that is disruptive and designed to shut down debate. But opponents say the supporters' tactics are underhanded and designed to undermine democracy in action.
In Texas, Rep. Gene Green's office is requiring town hall attendees to present a photo ID that proves they live in his district. On his Web site, Green says "due to a coordinated effort to disrupt our town hall meetings, we will be restricting further attendance to residents ... and verifying residency by requiring photo identification." Green's spokeswoman, Brenda Arredondo, told FOXNews.com that the Democratic congressman enacted the policy after she and other staffers overheard attendees saying they were going to keep disrupting the town halls. After the policy went into effect at the fourth town hall Green hosted this month, she said eight out of 10 attendees were found not to be constituents. They were allowed to stay, she said, leading to the same outbursts seen at the other three. But they won't be allowed to attend the fifth one, she said. "Those people are welcome to call their members of Congress and voice their opinions," she said, adding that Green is trying to listen to his constituents.
She said the policy is not intended to block opponents of health care reform. "If you want to come yell and scream and are constituents, we obviously more than welcome your voice," she said. "It's not to silence anyone's voice from the district."
In Illinois, two Republican lawmakers sent a letter to Obama this week complaining that Democratic organizers scheduled meetings between them and their constituents without ever notifying them, misleading their constituents into going to town halls on the wrong day. Illinois Reps. Mark Kirk and Judy Biggert wrote that their constituents had apparently signed up for meetings to discuss health care reform with them after receiving an Aug. 9 e-mail from BarackObama.com urging them to do so. "However, the names of our constituents and the times they wished to visit were never communicated to us," the letter said. As a result, the lawmakers claimed more than 20 constituents came to their district offices on Monday. "When they learned neither the White House, the Democratic National Committee nor Organizing for America had passed their request to our offices, they were understandably confused and upset with the BarackObama.com e-mail they had received," they wrote. They urged the organizers not to keep them in the dark in the future. In response, Democratic National Committee Communications Director Brad Woodhouse issued a statement saying that the OFA members were not told to go to offices unannounced. "They are mischaracterizing this -- which is not surprising if you look at the falsehoods Republicans are spreading on this issue," he wrote. "OFA sent an e-mail to all its supporters asking them to sign up for drop bys with every House and Senate office -- Democrat and Republican -- to drop off a flyer in support of heath insurance reform." Woodhouse said the e-mail advised supporters that "they should call ahead to make sure the office was open and that if they wanted to do more than drop by the office they should schedule a meeting on their own." (SITE NOTE: The leftwing Democrat front group blasted out an email to its supporters, goading them to show up at an Austin event that allegedly featured Texas Senators Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn. Both are Republicans. But a quick fact check revealed that neither senator had ever been scheduled to show up at the event, which didn't actually exist. MoveOn was evidently trying to set the senators up for a now-show, which the front group would then use to distract from the Democrats' own tricky townhall behavior. It didn't work. We caught them and called them out. But we wonder, did the Democrats nationally or here in Texas put MoveOn up to this? Other Democrat front groups have been advertising on the web site craigslist.com to hire paid pro-ObamaCare activists, hinting again at broader astroturfing and dirty trick strategies.)
Health Care for America Now (HCAN), a coalition group organizing support for Obama's proposal, e-mailed a four-page memo to activists across the country on how to provide "cover" to lawmakers at the town halls. The group, whose members include ACORN, the Service Employees International Union and the National Council of La Raza, urged activists to contact lawmakers before the town halls to plan ways to preempt opposition. "Ask the member's staff what would be most helpful and talk through a strategy for making sure the right messages don't get drowned out by chaotic protesters," field director Margarida Jorge wrote. "Address the [member of Congress] directly with a positive message: Remember, these members need cover and they are getting beaten up by right wing zealots in these meetings." Jacki Schechner, a spokeswoman for HCAN, told FOXNews.com that the group sent the memo after many of its 120 field organizers in 44 states encountered screaming and shouting at the town halls. "Not that the opposition caught anyone off guard," she said. "The level of screaming and shouting and lack of intelligent discourse caught people off guard." Schechner noted that the memo does not emphasize any one tactic, but rather coordination with lawmakers to facilitate the town hall. She rejected the notion that the memo is designed to undermine democracy. "We would love to have more conversation," she said. "What undermines democracy is the screaming and yelling and not allowing people to talk. "There's a very important detail being lost here. There are details of health care not being explained because no one can get a word in edgewise," she said, adding that the town halls are intended for lawmakers to explain those details. "That legitimate conversation is not happening because there's such an angry din of noise." Schechner said the memo has already helping lawmakers like Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, who was rushed by protesters at earlier town halls where one held a sign showing Doggett with devil's horns. But now the town halls are more orderly, she said. (Source: Fox News.)
The latest scheme is to announce Town Hall meetings to SUPPORTERS ONLY first through select email lists -- and then make the announcement to the general public on short notice, normally within an hour of the scheduled time. Rep Wiener (D-TX) attempted this method on 13 Aug and was surprised when 30 people showed up -- 25 of them anti-Health Care. His general public announcement was made on short notice and failed to stop the protests. The anti-Health care groups have posted a recommendation to its memberships to sign up for the pro-Health care mailing lists so that they can offset this new tactic.
Polls Show Americans Support Town Hall Outrage (Aug 2009) Americans say the noisy protesters at town hall meetings are expressing authentic outrage. Some 52 percent think it is real outrage by concerned citizens -- significantly more than the 29 percent who think the protesters are fake mobs planned by lobbyists and other opposition groups. More than a third of Democrats (34 percent), most Republicans (74 percent) and nearly half of independents (49 percent) think the meetings are an expression of real anger.
And what about the Obama administration's request for people to send emails with information they see about health reform that seems fishy? A 57-percent majority disapproves of the White House asking people to do this.
Fifty-three percent think the horror stories they hear about what happens in government-run health care systems in other countries could happen here under the proposed plans, and if they were seriously ill an overwhelming 88-percent majority says they would rather receive medical care in the United States than in Canada. That includes large majorities of Democrats (86 percent), Republicans (92 percent) and independents (88 percent). (Source: Fox News.)
In the latest Rassmusen survey ranking the two major parties in by Issue, Republicans are trusted more than Democrats in eight out of the ten issues measured (one issue is a tie). And for the first time ever, voters have more trust in the Republicans on health care Issues The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that voters favor the GOP on the issue 44% to 41%.
By 15 Aug there were rumblings of retreat on the Health Care plan. The White House appeared to have taken a step back from establishing one giant public health care option, and announced that it would support some version of the Health Co-ops proposed in one version of the senate bill. The President's lackeys were out on the Sunday News Shows, like children whose noses were bloodied in a school yard brawl claiming he wasn't hurt, the White House is backing away from the public option while suggesting it was never that important to the POTUS: Some Democrats were saying that the "public option" was dead. The White House was giving hints to Democrats on recess to not defend the public option so hard. However, the conservative pundits were warning to NOT let down one's guard. The House and Senate may return after recess and pass the bill without the public option -- and then return it to the bill in conference. There was NO trust of the Democrats in power who have repeatedly used underhanded tricks on the Stimulus, Omnibus 2009, GIVE Act, etc. to get their way.
Citizens are speaking truth to power. Aren't Democrats supposed to like that? (Aug 2009) 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. They are urgently concerned about a government health care takeover and speak for a huge, largely leaderless sector of the nation. To hear Democratic leaders denounce them, though, you'd think that evil behemoths like Big Pharma are pulling these protesters' strings. Whoops! The inconvenient truth is that on ObamaCare, Big Pharma and other fat cats are lining up on the Democrats' side.
Obama won drugmakers' support by cutting a deal with them. Under the proposed system, Big Pharma expects to reap millions in profits from new government health care subsidies. In return, its leaders have agreed to spend $150 million on a TV ad drive promoting ObamaCare -- a sum larger than John McCain laid out for advertising in his entire campaign, according to news reports.
It's odd, too, to hear Democrats denounce grass-roots organizing as sinister. Their allies wrote the book on "netroots," and groups such as the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) and MoveOn.org helped put Obama and friends over the top in the 2008 elections. These organizations have eye-popping budgets and Washington offices, while town hall protesters pass on e-mails to their neighbors from their kitchens after work.
The greatest irony, of course, is that Barack Obama -- our health care reformer-in-chief -- rose to America's highest office by using skills he mastered as a "community organizer."
Obama cut his political teeth on Chicago's gritty South Side, where he focused on mobilizing black churches as a path to power. He learned the ropes from lieutenants of the legendary Saul Alinsky, a Marxist street agitator whose 1971 "Rules for Radicals" laid out how to mobilize people by fueling their anger and building on their self-interest. Alinsky preached ruthless power politics, including "direct action." He once reportedly advised opponents of George H.W. Bush to dress as Klan members and wave signs supporting him at a rally.
Obama has written and taught about community organizing, and he has served on foundation boards that support it. Announcing his presidential bid, he said the "best education" he had received was not at Columbia University or Harvard Law School, but in Chicago. When Obama was elected to the U.S. Senate, Michelle Obama told a reporter, "Barack is not a politician first and foremost. He's a community activist exploring the viability of politics to make change."
So don't mourn for an administration that may seem to be reeling from town hall setbacks. Obama's minions are busy with some "community organizing" of their own. Obama knows, as an aide has reportedly threatened, how to "punch back twice as hard" when opponents challenge him. His administration is moving to overwhelm town hall protesters with its own troops, assisted by a carpet-bombing media campaign financed with Big Pharma's big money.
(Source: Star Tribune: Katherine Kersten.)
Democratic Plans Remain to Ram the Health Care Bill Through (Aug 2009) The message is becoming clear. The Democrats are going to try to force the Health Care Plan down the people's throats whether they like it or not because "it is good for them." In other words, the constituent protests outnumbering the supporters 10:1 is being treated as irrelevant. It has now become strictly a partisan issue -- not an issue of health care. The Democrats by and large have all gone into hiding refusing to meet with their constituents because they know the outcomes. As of 15 Aug the only Democratic Congressman meetings seem to be scheduled for union halls and union headquarters. Rep. Eric Massa (D-N.Y.) addressed an intimate group of Netroots activists during their annual Netroots Nation gathering in Pittsburgh this weekend. Mr. Massa reiterated his support for a single-payer health care bill. He discussed the risks he takes for wanting to support such a measure in his "right-wing Republican district."
(SITE NOTE: According to Swing State Project, Mr. Massa won his 2008 race by 2 percentage points. The district's voting pattern index (PVI) is a Republican +5 seat. The National Republican Congressional Committee has the upstate New York congressman in their sights for 2010 along with 69 other House Democrats as reported by Politico. The Netroots Nation gathering was a Democratic sponsored effort to thwart the conservative movement -- but the Right Online conference was held at the same time across town to nullify its message. )
MASSA: I'm not going to vote for 3200 as it's currently written. Step one, I will vote for a single payer option or a bill that does have a medicare coupled public option, which we don't have right now. If my town hall meetings turn into the same media frenzies and ridiculousness, because every time that happens we lose. We lose another three million people in America. They see that happening and negate us.
PARTICIPANT: It changes America.
MASSA: Every time that occurs. So what happens in my town hall meetings frankly is important, because I am in one of the most right wing Republican districts in the country, and I'm not asking you guys to go back to wherever and send people to me. This is a generic statement of what can I do? Well that's one thing we can do.
PARTICIPANT: So if we got your meetings to sixty forty, you'd vote…and there was single payer in a bill you would vote for it?
MASSA: Oh absolutely I would vote for single payer.
PARTICIPANT: If there was sixty forty sentiment in the room?
MASSA: Listen, I tell every audience I'm in favor of single payer.
PARTICIPANT: If there was eighty twenty in the room?
MASSA: If there was a single payer bill?
PARTICIPANT: And there was a single payer….
MASSA: I will vote for the single payer bill.
PARTICIPANT: Even if it meant you were being voted out of office?
MASSA: I will vote adamantly against the interests of my district if I actually think what I am doing is going to be helpful.
(inaudible participants' comments regarding the "interests" of the district statement from Mr. Massa)
Massa: I will vote against their opinion if I actually believe it will help them. (Source: Washington Times.)
Another golden nugget mined by the Wash Times from Eric Massa's panderfest at Nutroots Nation. The money bit comes at around 38 seconds in. Despite all the other leftist demagoguery of the past three weeks — "brown shirts" and "political terrorists" and "un-Americans" and "evil-mongers" — this is the first time someone's seriously suggested a criminal element to the sort of rhetorical grenade-tossing Grassley engaged in. It's no absent-minded choice of words, either: Note the repeated references to "enemies" that precedes it, a fine insight into how his bloggy constituents tend to view the right. (Source: Hot Air.)
On 17 Aug the White House stated that Secretary of Health Sebelius "misspoke" and that the White House was still fully behind the "public option." The reason was that the perception that the White House had backed away from the public plan has roiled many prominent Democrats, who took to their blogs, and to Twitter, to protest. An administration official said on 17 Aug that Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius "misspoke" when she told CNN this morning (17 Aug) that a government run health insurance option "is not an essential part" of reform. The White House did not intend to change its messaging and that Sebelius simply meant to echo the president, who has acknowledged that the public option is a tough sell in the Senate and is, at the same time, a must-pass for House Democrats, and is not, in the president's view, the most important element of the reform package.
Americans For Prosperity (AFP): Conservatives Take a Page From Left's Online Playbook (Aug 2009) A group of Republicans, looking to recoup the party's clout, is borrowing a page from liberal Democrats by beefing up Internet efforts to energize the grass roots.
The conservative Americans for Prosperity has further embraced Internet activism to energize its 700,000 members and point them to dozens of town-hall meetings with lawmakers over the past weeks, leaving Democrats on the defensive on a signature issue: overhauling health care.
Americans for Prosperity held their conference Right Online here last weekend. It centered on ramping up the use of Facebook, Twitter and other online megaphones to rally conservative opposition to what they consider ultra-liberal policies -- strategies popularized by organizations such as MoveOn.org and President Barack Obama's 2008 campaign. That's a shift, these activists say, from recent years of GOP strategy, where the shaping of the party's message has been largely top-down, with the message coming from party leaders. Now, the message is bubbling up more from groups of online activists. "People are saying we're not hearing encouraging or inspiring messages from our leaders in Washington," said Erik Telford, Americans for Prosperity's director of online strategy. "We need to rebuild from the ground up."
Timothy Phillips, the 45-year-old GOP strategist from South Carolina who leads the six-year-old organization, said his group was only one of many that are urging members to speak out against liberal policies. He said they help channel discontent with Mr. Obama's agenda. When it comes to health care, Mr. Phillips outlined a straightforward strategy: Americans for Prosperity looked at every town hall scheduled by lawmakers across the country. It flagged the group's members within 100 miles of each event, and enlisted local representatives in each area, instead of "some nameless, faceless bureaucrat in Washington," to contact supporters, Mr. Phillips said. "We have three things: passion, news-talk radio and now online presence. Those three things are building our movement," Mr. Phillips said.
While largely unnoticed compared with large-scale liberal operations, Americans for Prosperity gained some prominence in 2004 when it criticized earmark abuses.
It targeted Republicans and Democrats alike, singling out Rep. Jerry Lewis (R., Calif.) and former Sen. Trent Lott (R., Miss.), among other members of Congress. Some of its earlier activism included rallying opposition to the country's dependence on foreign oil and organizing so-called tea parties, events attacking Mr. Obama's tax policies. The group held its first Right Online conference last year in Austin, Texas.
The group was formed in the split of conservative Citizens for a Sound Economy, with one faction establishing FreedomWorks, led by former House Speaker Dick Armey, and the other, Americans for Prosperity. Both are driving the opposition to the proposed health-care overhaul. Some of the group's funding comes from David H. Koch, co-owner of oil-and-gas company Koch Industries Inc., whose net worth is estimated at around $20 billion. Americans for Prosperity said it received $14.5 million in contributions in 2008.
The online, viral strategy is somewhat new for conservative organizing. Republicans fell behind on Internet activism while out-of-power Democrats surged ahead on the technology during President George W. Bush's administration, Mr. Telford said. Mr. Telford, a 25-year-old who joined the group after getting his master's degree in political management at George Washington University in 2006, gets much of the credit for forging ahead on plans to derail Mr. Obama's agenda. After the stimulus spending and health-care plans surfaced, Mr. Telford said the group entered "crisis-management-response mode."
In addition to urging members to write letters to their congressional representatives, Americans for Prosperity plans to advise members on other types of activism such as carpooling to polling locations and educating members on lawmakers' policies -- strategies partially adopted from MoveOn.org and the Obama campaign. "When I saw what they were doing a few years ago I thought, 'They're building a sense of community, those sons of a gun,'" Mr. Phillips said.
Conservatives acknowledge that while they have gained ground, they still lag behind their liberal counterparts. That was evident here when about 2,000 Democrats gathered last weekend in the glistening David L. Lawrence Convention Center for the Netroots Nation convention, where one discussion included adapting national strategies to help win local elections. Republicans gathered in the Sheraton hotel across town, where 600 people went over basics such as "Social Networking 101: Twitter & Facebook." They are also studying the Democrats' missteps to help strengthen their operation. "We can thank the Democrats to a degree for ironing out the kinks in what works and what doesn't work," said Erick Erickson, who runs the popular Redstate.com blog.
"I think if we had $1,000 for every time the conservatives claim to have started the right-wing MoveOn we'd have as much money as their billionaire donors," said Ilyse Hogue, MoveOn's director of political advocacy and communications. She added that their rank-and-file members are out of touch with mainstream America. Americans for Prosperity caught a big upcurrent early in the Obama administration with the stimulus bill, which passed in February. It launched a Web site, NoStimulus.com, and a petition posted there garnered 500,000 signatures -- 100,000 in a single day. (Source: WSJ.)
White House Panics: More Conservatives than Liberals in U.S. (Aug 2009) Self-identified conservatives outnumber self-identified liberals in all 50 states of the union, according to the Gallup Poll. At the same time, more Americans nationwide are saying this year that they are conservative than have made that claim in any of the last four years. In 2009, 40% percent of respondents in Gallup surveys that have interviewed more than 160,000 Americans have said that they are either "conservative" (31%) or "very conservative" (9%). That is the highest percentage in any year since 2004. Only 21% have told Gallup they are liberal, including 16% who say they are "liberal" and 5% who say they are "very liberal." Thirty-five percent of Americans say they are moderate. (SITE NOTE: Amazingly polls have been saying this since right after Obama was elected. The conservative analysis of this is that many conservatives simply did NOT like either of the candidates (Obama and McCain) and stayed home. Thus Obama won by default.)
During Republican President George W. Bush's second term, the number of self-identified conservatives as measured by Gallup dropped, riding at a low of 37% as recently as last year. According to new data released by Gallup on Friday, conservatives outnumber liberals in all 50 states--including President Obama's home state of Illinois--even though Democrats have a significant advantage over Republicans in party identification in 30 states.
"In fact, while all 50 states are, to some degree, more conservative than liberal (with the conservative advantage ranging from 1 to 34 points), Gallup's 2009 party ID results indicate that Democrats have significant party ID advantages in 30 states and Republicans in only 4," said an analysis of the survey results published by Gallup.
"Despite the Democratic Party's political strength-- seen in its majority representation in Congress and in state houses across the country--more Americans consider themselves conservative than liberal," said Gallup's analysis. "While Gallup polling has found this to be true at the national level over many years, and spanning recent Republican as well as Democratic presidential administrations, the present analysis confirms that the pattern also largely holds at the state level," said Gallup. "Conservatives outnumber liberals by statistically significant margins in 47 of the 50 states, with the two groups statistically tied in Hawaii, Vermont, and Massachusetts."
Massachusetts, Vermont and Hawaii are the most liberal states, even though conservatives marginally outrank liberals even there. In Massachusetts, according to Gallup, 30% say they are conservative and 29% say they are liberal, a difference that falls within the margin of error for the state. In Vermont, 29% say they are conservative and 28% say they are liberal, which also falls within the survey's margin of error for the state. In Hawaii, 29% say they are conservative and 24% say they are liberal, which falls within the margin of error for that state.
In one non-state jurisdiction covered by the survey, liberals did outnumber conservatives. That was Washington, D.C., where 37% said they were liberal, 35% said they were moderate and 23% said they were conservative. Even in New York and New ersey, conservatives outnumber liberals by 6 percentage points, according to Gallup. In those states, 32% say they are conservative and 26% say they are liberal. In Connecticut, conservatives outnumber liberals by 7 points, 31% to 24%. Alabama is the state that comes closest to a conservative majority. In that state, according to Gallup, 49% say they are conservative and 15% say they are liberal. In President Obama's home state of Illinois, conservatives outnumber liberals, 35% to 23%.
Gallup's results were derived from interviewing 160,236 American adults between Jan. 2, 2009 and June 30, 2009. Even though conservatives outnumber liberals in all 50 states, in 21 of these states self-identified moderates outnumber conservatives, and in 4 states the percentage saying they are conservative and the percentage saying they are moderate is exactly the same. The two states with the highest percentage of self-identified moderates are Hawaii and Rhode Island, where 43% say they are moderate. (SITE NOTE: This is where many conservatives stand in classifying themselves "moderate conservatives" (such as myself and Collin Powell). These people who support many of the social issues of the liberals, but lean towards the right's core values of small government and free enterprise with minimal government interference.) (Source: CNSNews.) (SITE NOTE: Gallup Poll by state is linked HERE.)
Panic in full force: MoveOn.org Starts Spreading Disinformation and Dems say Protestors using "Fascist Tactics" ... HUH??? (Aug 2009) The Democrats were getting desparate as the polls, the outrage over the National Health Plan spread -- and though the majority of the Main Stream Media refused to call Obama to task for his deliberate misstatements ("if I say a lie enough times, people will believe it's true"), enough of the media finally started to call him on it. In addtion, the outrage of the people made good news and all Obama's efforts are starting to backfire. He called for his minions and none showed up -- except for the ACORN folks who were paid and bussed in. The Union showed up in force, but so far the media has NOT reported the technique of rigging the "Town Hall" meetings...but they will after enough emails deluge their papers.
But the real fault of Obama's Health Care Plan is that there is NOT one plan. Jonah Goldberg wrote: "One of the reasons the term "Obama-care" has become a journalistic convention is that there is no bill. You can't talk about Obama's actual healthcare plan because there isn't one. There are a bunch of competing bills, proposals, ideas swirling around the halls of Congress like flotsam in a sewer. As even Robert Reich, Clinton's Labor secretary, recently conceded, the failure to put forward a concrete proposal allows opponents to pick from a menu of scary ideas and possibilities, all of which can be labeled Obama-care." (LA Times.) But if Obama pushes this point, then it bites him in the tushes as to why did he want to pass this plan BEFORE the August Recess. Then the answer comes that the REAL plan was to be forged in the dark recesses of Congress behind closed doors -- the evil that people condemn of how the Stimulus, 2009 Omnibus, GIVE Act, etc. were accomplished. Obama is exposed.
As far as the Obama supporters, the change has been from soliciting donations to "continue the fight" to direct solicitations to call Congressmen. The desparation is that their "appearance" of a majority is slipping away. Polls indicate more conservatives than liberals. Their campaigns to orchestrate large turnouts by supporters were a failure as they were outmatched 10:1 at most rallies. Then they tried to rig the meetings -- and slowly...ever so slowly...the media is starting to see that they were being suckered into "kabuki theatre." As of mid-August, ALL the Democratic meetings are stacking the deck. Now they want Obama supporters to deluge their Congressmen -- but it's too late. Reports are that Congressional internet connections are swamped -- mostly by Health Care protestors voicing their discontent.
Have you read the stories this week declaring the public health insurance option dead? Well, it's not.
The public option has the support of 83% of the American people,1 and enough progressives in the House to block any bill without it.2,3 And contrary to what you may have read, the White House has said repeatedly their position hasn't changed.4,5
But there is real danger in the Senate, where conservatives have stepped up efforts to kill the public option.
Can you call Senators Daniel Akaka and Dan Inouye right away? Tell them that you, along with the majority of Americans, strongly support a public health insurance option—it's the heart of real reform. (Source: Email from MoveOn.org on 19 Aug 2009.)
The major problem with the message if the FREAKIN LIE that "the public option has 83% support of the American people." And according to a brand-new NBC News poll, 47% of Americans — a plurality — oppose the public plan, versus 43% who support it. That's a shift from last month's NBC/WSJ poll, when 46% said they backed it and 44% were opposed. Another problem with the MoveOn message is the references to support its message.
Reference (1) states The article by Bernie Horn goes on for half the article about the credentials of the CONSERVATIVE organization that put out the poll and then quotes the poll. Unfortunately, there is NOTHING in the data to support his conclusion. It is the same basic data that all other polls state...People like their medicare/medicaid medical plans, etc. which is "public health care." There is NOTHING about the implication that they like Obama's NATIONAL Health Care Plan that will DESTROY Medicare and Medicaid. ("1. "New Poll Shows Tremendous Support for Public Health Care Option," Blog for Our Future, June 15, 2009. http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51510&id=16878-15341691-WD1hYAx&t=2 )
Reference (2) is from Fire Dog Lake Blog interpreting a Politico article to mean: "House leadership official" says that liberals will get a kabuki vote on a public plan when the health care bill goes through the House the first time, but when it comes out of conference without one, they'll fall into line." In other words, even if the whole country hates the Obama National Health Plan, the fix is in. It will pass. (2. "60 Members of Congress Say 'No Public Plan, No Conference,'" Firedoglake, August 17, 2009. http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51764&id=16878-15341691-WD1hYAx&t=3)
Reference (3) is an article that Rep Weiner says what everyone knows: "Without a public option, the National Health Care Plan will not fly." This means the Democrats will NOT support Obama's plan without it. Go back to Reference (2) and read about the fix being in -- meaning there's nothing to worry about. (3. "Weiner says health plan without public option won't fly," The Examiner, August 17, 2009.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51765&id=16878-15341691-WD1hYAx&t=4 )
IMPORTANT: BEWARE OF DEMOCRATS NEXT MOVE Given hardening Republican opposition to congressional health care proposals, Democrats now say they see little chance for the minority's cooperation in approving any overhaul, and are increasingly focused on drawing support for a final plan from within their own ranks. The Dems may try to use "reconcilliation" to cut off Senate fillibuster attempts and go it alone. But the Hot Air possessed some questions: "Why cut the GOP out of negotiations only to settle for some watered-down alternative like co-ops? If you're going to kick the minority party out of the room and anger half the country, you might as well make the bill as syrupy sweet to your own side as possible. And if that means having to take a precedent-setting step as draconian as reconciliation to deal with Blue Dogs like Ben Nelson who might not accept a public option, hey. Besides, Grassley and Jon Kyl all but told the Democrats today that they won't vote for the final bill regardless of what's in it, in which case it's pointless for The One to keep making concessions. He might as well get the bill he wants, paint the GOP as "the party of no", and hope that the inevitable ill effects of his program don't appear before the midterms. Which they probably won't." (Source: Hot Air.)
[S]uch a change could alter the dynamic of talks surrounding health care legislation, and even change the substance of a final bill. With no need to negotiate with Republicans, Democrats might be better able to move more quickly, relying on their large majorities in both houses. Democratic senators might feel more empowered, for example, to define the authority of the nonprofit insurance cooperatives that are emerging as an alternative to a public insurance plan…
Administration officials, who maintain that Republicans are badly mischaracterizing the legislation that has emerged from three House committees and the Senate health committee, said they had hoped to achieve some level of bipartisan support. But they are becoming increasingly convinced that they will instead have to navigate the complicated politics among varying Democratic factions.
The officials said the White House hoped to make the case to the American people that it was Republicans who had abandoned the effort at bipartisanship. Republicans countered by saying that they simply opposed the legislation and that the public outcry had validated their view and solidified their opposition.
One senior administration official said the sense within the White House was that Republicans, in an effort to undermine President Obama and Congressional Democrats, had made a political calculation to oppose any health care legislation. (Source: NY Times.)
Reference (4), (5), (6) is the White House "smoke screen" where the White House flip-flops on every "answer" and says nothing. All items dealing with the National Health Plan from the White House must be viewed as pure Machiavellian propaganda. Just mention Gibbs and the National Health Plan and I simply stop listening because of all the proven falsehoods (that the MSM refuses to call him on) that he spews. (4. "White House Issues Q&A on Health Plan," The Wall Street Journal, August 17, 2009. http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51770&id=16878-15341691-WD1hYAx&t=5
5. "White House Insists 'Nothing Has Changed' on Public Health Insurance Option," ABC News, August 17, 2009. http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51768&id=16878-15341691-WD1hYAx&t=6 6. "White House Issues Q&A on Health Plan," The Wall Street Journal, August 17, 2009. http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51770&id=16878-15341691-WD1hYAx&t=7 )
Reference (7) tells the protestors to be "peaceful" and actually is how the Democrats "stack the deck" by having a meeting with "a few hundred invited guests of the debaters and local health care organizations." In other words, NO PROTESTORS INVITED!!! ONLY SUPPORTERS ALLOWED!!! This is how Obama attempts to silence the "mob." However, to be truthful, the majority of the meetings with Congressmen -- especially REPUBLICAN -- have been peaceful and as such NOT covered by the media. Only the vocal meetings with DEMOCRATS have been reported on. (7. "Joint health care reform debate remains peaceful in Dallas," Dallas Morning News, August 18, 2009. http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51772&id=16878-15341691-WD1hYAx&t=8)
Reference (8) talks of a coop plan that no one really is enthused about on either the Democratic or Republican side -- and one wonders why they included it in their message. Oh, yeah, we need to have citations that nobody reads. (8. "Alternate Plan as Health Option Muddies Debate," The New York Times, August 17, 2009. http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51773&id=16878-15341691-WD1hYAx&t=9)
Reference (9) is an article of Rep. Jared Polis meeting SMALL groups (hundreds) urging public option, while he shuns the opinions of the LARGE groups (thousands) of anti-Health Care Plan groups. Polis used latest strategy of sending out notices to DEMOCRATS, but only making his PUBLIC announcements of the meeting an hour before his meeting start. Nothing really new to hear and Democrats play politics to try to build their phony case that their constituents support the Health Care Plan. (SITE NOTE: We wonder what they are going to do to explain away the 9-12 protests that are about to explode across the U.S. as ALL groups join together to protest Obama. The first results of their strategy will be in the next Nov 2009 elections where REPUBLICANS are looking like a landslide victory -- and the 2010 elections are not even here yet.) (9. "Hundreds urge Polis to keep fighting for 'public option,'" KDVR, August 17, 2009. http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51771&id=16878-15341691-WD1hYAx&t=10 )
The protestors have long been claiming that Obama was by definition a "Facist." A "facist" is one that believes in the melding of big government and business...the end to the free enterprise system. The protestors point out as PROOF -- GM (Government Motors) with its UAW payoff, Chrysler, banks, etc. That he accomplished this in six months means that the entire Democratic party is implicated in this disaster. However, in the latest debate over the Health Care Plan never in a million years would I ever have expected the Democrats to call the Conservatives "fascist." Yes, they have tried to call them "thugs" -- mobs -- nazis (with racist connotations) -- terrorists -- and all the rest. But never "fascist" because conservatives are free enterprise folks.
Frustration Mounts: Dem Rep Says Town Hall Protesters Using "Fascist Tactics" The Netroots Nation convention this past weekend offered the progressive political community a chance to catch its breath, reassess and regroup during what has become a highly escalated health care debate. But over a four-day period in Pittsburgh, the predominant refrain was one of regret. As in: how the heck did we find ourselves in this position?
Opponents of the president's agenda for health care legislation have largely outmaneuvered the proponents. In Congress, the Democratic caucus is fractured enough to delay a bill's consideration. In the public opinion arena, the White House has watched confidence in its ability to handle the issue drop. But the most telling development has been in the grassroots. While it was once widely assumed that the President would draft his 13-million-strong campaign apparatus to health care reform's cause, so far it has been conservative groups that have dominated the dialogue.
All of which has left members of Congress feeling hamstrung and deeply frustrated.
"It is fascist. It is a fascist tactic," Rep. Jerry Nadler, (D-N.Y.) said of the approach of conservative town hall protesters. "That's exactly what they did in Weimar, Germany. Let me put it this way. It is a fascist tactic not to disagree with you, or to say you are an idiot or whatever, but to try to shut you up. That's what I mean. That's a fascist tactic." "What are your choices if you are confronted with this?" Nadler added, in an interview with the Huffington Post. "There are three choices. One, you can ignore it and surrender to it. Two, you can call the cops in advance and all you are going to get then is a big story. Three, you can call in your own muscle people and then you have Weimar, Germany with rival street gangs fighting it out. And none of those are acceptable choices. Do you really want rival gangs in [these forums]? That is how democracy breaks down." (SITE NOTE: What makes this comment laughable is the supposed "fascist tactics" is being used by DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSMENT AND OBAMA in their Town Hall meetings as they stack the deck with SEIU/ACORN/Union members and lock protestors out of the meetings. This scandal is just unfolding -- and news sources are just starting to catch on that they were duped and suckered to report on "kabuki theater" all staged for their benefit.)
Nevertheless, calling in your own muscle is exactly what Democrats are doing in some cases. Weeks before Netroots Nation, two major labor organizations -- the AFL-CIO and SEIU -- began dispatching members to town halls as an effort to counter-balance the largely unfavorable crowds. The groups were subsequently accused of escalating rhetoric and inciting violence. But the strategy, officials say, is only going to get more intense.
"Their whole purpose was to stop debate, was to spread lies, create fear, and hope that they could stop what the country really needs and wants and is demanding," said Richard Trumka, the Treasury-Secretary of ALF-CIO. "So us trying to stop them or balancing or preventing them from being aggressive disruptive forces is a service to democracy."
In private, Democratic strategists say labor's involvement is a big relief but may be too little too late. They warned that a critical moment in the health care reform debate may have passed. As of now, the frame is set in which a voluntary public plan for insurance coverage is seen as a vast government takeover of the private sector. The public plan was supposed to be the compromise progressives made from pushing for a single payer system. (Source: Huffington Post.)
President Obama's advisers acknowledged Tuesday (18 Aug) that they were unprepared for the intraparty rift that occurred over the fate of a proposed public health insurance program, a firestorm that has left the White House searching for a way to reclaim the initiative on the president's top legislative priority. Previously Obama had stated that he would NOT sign any bill that did NOT include the public option. However, his current stance has infuriated the left because Obama is backing away from his promise of the public option in the National Health Care. Instead Obama has switched to a "whether" this or that position and backing off his hard-line on the public option. He even has sent out his various advisors and cabinet members to state that the public option was NOT that important in the first place. Then he stated that it has always been important -- and he is waffling all over the place. His White House spokespeople refuse to admit that Obama ever said he would not sign legislation without the public option.
Media coverage of Obama has taken a sudden sour turn over the past few days – especially from the more unapologetically leftist crowd – since the president hinted over the weekend that the so-called "public option" could be scrapped from his health care reform plans. "How did we get here?" objected MSNBC host Rachel Maddow. "How did we get to the foretold 'death' of the public option? ... We got here through a collapse of political ambition." "The Democrats are too scared of their own shadow to use the majority the American people elected them to in November to actually pass something they said they favored." (Source: WND.) (SITE NOTE: Yes, you heard it right. Maddow is going to use the idea that "we won so we can do whatever we want" reasoning to push for the public option. Maddow doesn't read the latest poll numbers that Obama's popularity is waning and more and more are turning to the conservative slant. The left does NOT have a majority...and if they push it, they will win the battle, but lose big time in 2010.)
Administration officials insisted that they have not shied away from their support for a public option to compete with private insurance companies, an idea they said Obama still prefers to see in a final bill. But at a time when the president had hoped to be selling middle-class voters on how insurance reforms would benefit them, the White House instead finds itself mired in a Democratic Party feud over an issue it never intended to spotlight. ... The president has maneuvered gingerly around the issue of a public plan, largely maintaining that he prefers to include the public option in a new insurance marketplace. He often argues that competition from a government plan -- without high executive salaries and the need to post profits -- could keep big insurance companies "honest." (Source: Washington Post.)
The Obama strategy from mid-August forward is to NOT talk to the protestors, but rather orchestrate events to only talk to supporters. Some smell victory and are proclaiming that the idea of the federal government operating another health-insurance business to compete with Blue Cross/Blue Shield and hundreds of other private plans has crashed and burned -- the victim of a massive grassroots protest movement and deepening fears and divisions among Democratic lawmakers. We think it is still too early. Given hardening Republican opposition to congressional health care proposals, Democrats now say they see little chance for the minority's cooperation in approving any overhaul, and are increasingly focused on drawing support for a final plan from within their own ranks. Most REPUBLICAN Congressmen will tell some form of health care will be passed -- and they are on the front lines. What we're seeing as of 19 Aug 2009 is the Obama forces backing up and regrouping...not necessarily in retreat. The intraparty conflicts may be healed over with politics -- you scratch my back and I'll approve your pork project. Everything is in flux.
White House Prepares to Go it Alone (Aug 2009) On 19 Aug White House officials said they had been forced to take the step by Republicans, amid an increasingly bitter debate over the plans. The Obama administration appears set on taking the politically dangerous route of painting Republicans as health care obstructionists, despite polling showing widespread concern among Americans. Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff, told The New York Times that the Republican leadership "has made a strategic decision that defeating President Obama's health care proposal is more important for their political goals than solving the health insurance problems that Americans face every day". Republicans respond that they are simply opposing the trillion-dollar Democratic-drafted legislation and that the wider public concern underlines the validity of their stance.
His shift in tactics reflects the political reality that there is little prospect of agreement between Democrats and Republicans on the issue of health care reform, which has triggered angry protests at public meetings across the country. There are signs that any further movement to accommodate Republicans could lead to a split in his own party that would imperil reform. Recent hints at abandoning an optional government-sponsored insurance plan have been met with fury on the Left, which is accusing Mr Obama of relinquishing his principles.
Mr Obama's Democrats do have the advantage of holding solid majorities in the House of Representatives and Senate. The party's 60 to 40 advantage in the Senate, however, is offset by the absence of Robert Byrd of West Virginia, 91, and Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, 77, who are both seriously ill and unable to vote. Democrats have to muster 60 votes to resist a Republican filibuster. This means they need to woo at least two from a tiny band of moderate Republicans while at the same time preventing any conservative Democrats from defecting. (SITE NOTE: On 20 Aug it was reported that Senator Kennedy is requesting that state legislators change the law just for him. He would like the governor to appoint a temporary replacement upon his death. As the law current stands, his senate seat would remain vacant until a special election be held. This election would not occur until at least 145-160 days, if not longer, after his death. But Kennedy has expressed his desire to have the state of Massachusetts have full representation during that time frame. Obviously the time frame would likely overlap when Congress votes on health care reform. I wonder if the Governor of Massachusetts will see fit to quickly change the law to make sure the Democrats have every vote possible when health care comes up?)
The White House is furious with Sen Chuck Grassley, who had been leading a group of Republicans trying to broker a compromise bill, after he refused to reject the claims that there were "death panels" included in a draft bill. Democrats have removed the controversial clause about voluntary consultations to discuss "end-of-life" care, but the political damage had already been done. The White House is now advocating the establishment of non-profit insurance co-operatives as an alternative to a public insurance plan. Republicans, however, rejected the idea as a sleight of hand. "Republicans are not going to support a trillion-dollar bill," said Sen Jon Kyl of Arizona. (Source: Telegraph UK.)
President Obama took to the conservative airwaves Thursday (20 Aug) to charge that Republican leaders are engaged in a vast right-wing conspiracy to kill health care reform in order to repeat the 1994 mid-term takeover of Congress, which followed the defeat of President Clinton's reform plan. "I think early on, a decision was made by the Republican leadership that said, 'Look, let's not give him a victory, maybe we can have a replay of 1993, '94, when Clinton came in, he failed on health care and then we won in the mid-term elections and we got the majority. And I think there are some folks who are taking a page out that playbook," the president said. Appearing on the Michael Smerconish radio show, Mr. Obama said he would "love to have more Republicans engaged and involved in this process," but he vowed to win the battle, with or without support from the minority party in Congress. (Source: Washington Times.)
New Rx for Health Plan: Split Bill (Aug 2009) The White House and Senate Democratic leaders, seeing little chance of bipartisan support for their health-care overhaul, are considering a strategy shift that would break the legislation into two parts and pass the most expensive provisions solely with Democratic votes. The idea is the latest effort by Democrats to escape the morass caused by delays in Congress, as well as voter discontent crystallized in angry town-hall meetings. Polls suggest the overhaul plans are losing public support, giving Republicans less incentive to go along.
Greeley, Colo., citizens line up to attend a health-care town-hall meeting with Rep. Betsy Markey, (D., Colo.), on Wednesday. Rep. Markey had planned to speak to small groups, but so many people turned out that she ultimately had to hold a meeting in a college auditorium. Audience members, both for and against health-care reform, calmly questioned her on the issues. Democrats hope a split-the-bill plan would speed up a vote and help President Barack Obama meet his goal of getting a final measure by year's end. Senators on the Finance Committee are pushing ahead with talks on a bipartisan bill. Democratic leaders say they hope those talks succeed but increasingly are preparing for the possibility that they do not. Most legislation in the Senate requires 60 votes to overcome a filibuster, but certain budget-related measures can pass with 51 votes through a parliamentary maneuver called reconciliation.
In recent days, Democratic leaders have concluded they can pack more of their health overhaul plans under this procedure, congressional aides said. They might even be able to include a public insurance plan to compete with private insurers, a key demand of the party's liberal wing, but that remains uncertain. Other parts of the Democratic plan would be put to a separate vote in the Senate, including most of the insurance regulations that have been central to Mr. Obama's health-care message. That bill would likely set new rules for insurers, such as requiring they accept anyone, regardless of pre-existing medical conditions. This portion of the health-care overhaul has already drawn some Republican support and wouldn't involve new spending, leading Democratic leaders to believe they could clear the 60-vote hurdle.
Senate Democrats are considering a radical approach to passing the health-care bill by splitting it into two parts. White House correspondent Jonathan Weisman explains how the strategy would work. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is the key decision-maker on whether to use the tactic, but several congressional aides said White House officials are being kept abreast of the talks. "We will not make a decision to pursue reconciliation until we have exhausted efforts to produce a bipartisan bill," said Jim Manley, a spokesman for Mr. Reid. "However, patience is not unlimited, and we are determined to get something done this year by any legislative means necessary."
Privately, those involved in the talks now say there is a 60% chance the split-bill tactic will be used. Mr. Obama is huddling with aides next week, and Senate leaders are likely to review their options when Congress reconvenes after Labor Day. The likelihood of a strategy shift has grown after the negative response of Republicans to overtures of compromise. On Sunday, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said a public plan, strongly opposed by Republicans, wasn't the "essential element" of a comprehensive bill. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs continued to insist Wednesday that Ms. Sebelius didn't mean to signal the White House was abandoning the public plan. A senior Democratic congressional leadership aide said weekend statements were calculated to test Republican responses.
Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona said Tuesday nonprofit insurance cooperatives, which centrist Democrats have suggested as an alternative to a public plan, were nothing but a "Trojan horse" that would lead to excessive government control of health care. "It's fair to say the steam is going out of these bipartisan negotiations," the Democratic aide said.
House committees have passed bills that include a public option and new programs that would make insurance available to most Americans who lack it. If the Senate passes its own bill, the two chambers must hash out a compromise that could go to the president for signing. The public option could be the biggest point of contention between House and Senate. Senate Finance Committee members working on a bipartisan bill are scheduled to talk Thursday on a conference call. "The Finance Committee is on track to reach a bipartisan agreement on comprehensive health-care reform that can pass the Senate," Sen. Max Baucus (D., Mont.), chairman of the Finance Committee, said in a statement. But other senators noted privately that several factors are working against any deal. Many Democrats now believe it's a long shot. Mr. Baucus has set a deadline of Sept. 15 to reach agreement. Several softer deadlines have already come and gone without a deal. One Republican senator, Orrin Hatch of Utah, has dropped out of the talks. The remaining Republicans have suggested they would only support something that had the backing of many GOP colleagues.
Still, the three Republicans negotiating with Sen. Baucus said Wednesday they believed a deal could be reached. "I'm hopeful," Sen. Olympia Snowe (R., Maine) said. "It's not without challenges, because of the complexity and the costs associated with it. We recognize that. And that's why it has consumed the amount of time that it has." Sen. Mike Enzi (R., Wyo.) said the Democrats would be making a mistake by forging ahead on their own. "We need to get a bill that 75 or 80 senators can support," he said. "If the Democrats choose to shut out Republicans and moderate Democrats, their plan will fail because the American people will have no confidence in it."
Democrats also must deal with intraparty differences. They can't agree whether a public-insurance option is essential, as liberals say, a "preferred option" -- the White House stance -- or a bad idea, as some on the Finance Committee believe. If a deal is not reached by mid-September, Mr. Baucus plans to present a bill that is likely to have little if any Republican support. At that point, Democrats will have to decide whether to proceed under the reconciliation process, which allows legislation to pass with a filibuster-proof 51 votes. The idea of using reconciliation angers even such moderate Republicans as Ms. Snowe. "At a time when we need to bolster the public's confidence in whatever we do with health care, I don't think the reconciliation process will serve the purpose of providing affordable health security for all Americans," she said. (Source: WSJ.)
PRELUDE PROTESTS ON OBAMA'S PROGRAMS
THE FOLLOWING LISTS ARE NOT COMPLETE LISTS OF ALL EVENTS. THOUSANDS OF SMALL TOWN HALLS, PROTESTS, TEA PARTIES ARE NOT LISTED. ONLY NATIONALLY REGISTERED OR NEWSWORTHY EVENTS ARE POSTED. THE GRASSROOTS MOVEMENT HAS BECOME TOO HUGE TO CATALOGUE.
THIS SITE PROVIDES COMMENTARY, AS WELL AS PHOTOGRAPHIC AND VIDEO PROOF, OF WHAT IS REALLY HAPPENING NATIONWIDE. OBAMA'S LIES WILL NOT LET STOP THE TRUTH FROM SHINING THROUGH.
MESQUITE Tea Party (NV): -Tuesday, July 14, 2009 12:00 PM Mesquite City Hall 11 W. Mesquite Blvd. Rick Crain (organizer) 702-521-4665 (organizer phone)
TITUS Tea Party (FL): -- August 4, 2009 Titusville Tea Party Titusville Florida tea party protest at Court House
TBA TBA
OBAMACARE FREEDOM TEA PARTY (NATIONWIDE): -- July 17, 2009 Simultaneous Health Care Freedom Tea Parties from Coast to Coast. Sponsored by American for Prosperity and Local Tea Party. The July 17th Tea Party Patriots Health Care Freedom Tea Parties will be held at local congressoinal and senatorial district offices around the country to express our opposition to government run healthcare. Our goal is to have a Tea Party outside of each local district office in every state in the country. The list of offices for your state is below. Please select which office you can attend. In instances where the Represenative or Senator has agreed to vote against government run healthcare, we will carry signs thanking them for their support in addition to signs opposing government run healthcare. -- Pajama TV Interview on National Tea Party with Amy Kramer of Tea Party Patriots: VIDEO: Nationwide Tea Party. .
NEWPORT BEACH CA: American flags and cheering as passing drivers honked their horns, roughly a dozen protesters gathered on the sidewalk outside U.S. Rep. John Campbell's district office in Newport Beach on Friday to protest the Obama administration's ideas on health-care reform. Corona del Mar resident Lydia Sharp held up a sign that said "Thank you John Campbell." The congressman has voiced opposition to a $1.5-trillion plan backed by House Democrats to create a national health-care system, supported in part by tax increases to employers and the wealthiest 1.2% of American homes. "I'm here because I don't want to be part of the silent majority anymore," Sharp said. Gathered on Newport Center Drive Friday morning, the group attracted honks and waves of support from some passing motorists. One man pulled over and tried to give the protesters money, while a man in another car leaned out the window and shouted obscenities. Sponsored by the conservative grass-roots organization the Tea Party Patriots, the Newport Beach demonstration was part of a nationwide day of protest at congressional offices. Newport Coast resident Richard Huberman, who attended the protest, said he was for health-care reform, just not the Democratic vision, which would require billions in federal subsidies to help lower-income households. A retired orthopedic surgeon, Huberman said he's still too young for Medicare benefits, so ends up paying $1,600 a month for private health insurance coverage for him and his wife. "It's the only time I've ever wished I was older," he said. The protesters were greeted at Campbell's office by the congressman's district director, Lou Penrose, who brought them a plate of doughnuts. "I think it's great they're out here — engaged people are the best thing for any discussion," Penrose said. "It's wonderful for both sides and Democrats can see this issue isn't a slam-dunk for them." (Source: Daily Pilot.)
ATLANTA GA: So I went walking at lunch today, about noon time, and low and behold, I came across a tea party in progress in front of the Equitable building
on Peachtree Street in downtown Atlanta. Is it a coincidence that this is where Rep. John Lewis's office is located? Hmmmmm, I think not.
There were maybe 30 or so folks walking with signs ranging from: 'Fair Tax' to 'No Socialized Medicine' to 'Get Us Out Of The UN'.
INDIANAPOLIS IN: Nice, I feel the same way, and I protested in Indianapolis (Bayh-up for election next year, Lugar-RINO Party)!
ST LOUIS MO: Local Tea Party patriots held an anti-Obama Care protest at Senator Claire "ACORN" McCaskill's district offices on Delmar Boulevard today. The protest was organized by Americans for Prosperity and the St. Louis Tea Party Coalition. A staff member opened the door for the police and said they were being threatened. The staff member took some notes from a few protesters while the police were there and said she'd pass them on to Senator McCaskill.
NEWARK NJ: A number of members of the Tea Party movement attempted, on short notice, to organize Anti-ObamaCare protests at local Senate/Rep offices today between 12-1 PM. I've just returned from beautiful downtown Newark, NJ where, along with 30 or so others, we protested in front of the office building housing our resident dolts, Menendez and Lautenberg. The turn-out was actually better than I expected given the last minute nature of the effort. What surprised me was the number of "honkers" in support; especially the people driving trucks. Kudos too for the number of police and EMTs hitting the horns as well. Have to admit, given the number of people actually reading our signs while stopped at the light, I felt like we were providing more info than the nightly news (admittedly that doesn't take much).
LONG ISLAND NY: Americans nationwide rose-up and said NO MORE to the threat of the Hussein-Obama 'Health-Care" insanity. Each destination should have been a point-of-interest to everyone who cares about freedom but, as usual, "everyone" doesn't seem to include the MSM. (Even so, the citizens made sure there was coverage!) Groups such as the Gathering of Eagles-NY, Individuals United For Freedom, Conservative Society For Action (CSA-1776) and Amac (Assoc of Mature American Citizens) came out on a gorgeous Friday. Groups such as the Gathering of Eagles-NY, Individuals United For Freedom, Conservative Society For Action (CSA-1776) and Amac (Assoc of Mature American Citizens) came out on a gorgeous Friday. And there was one awesome sign after another: They were "Mad as Hell and not going to take it anymore!" "No More Taxes" Tea Parties. Taxed Enough Already. The Right to Bear Arms and Immigration? Come to America but come here LEGALLY. Protect our Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Assembly. ENOUGH with with the threat of the 'un-fairness doctrine and demand the RIGHT to CHOOSE and pay for our OWN health insurance! Stop the Madness! Get angry! DO something! Don't just think about it let's FIRE the tyrants sitting in Congress!
The Patriots started out at Rep. Carolyn McCarthy's office in Garden City. And then even more Patriots gathered at Chuckie Schumer's office in Melville. Of course, in each location the respectful assembly of Patriots were told they had to leave by worried Security…Starting with the Security in Roosevelt Mall as we unloaded our cars across from McCarthy's office…Security at McCarthy's really, REALLY thought he was going to make the Patriots leave….But, the Patriots were 'permitted' to stay (guess the Police have heard of the First Amendment thingy) There was an easy delivery of a letter that demands a NO vote for the 'health' care plans of BHO and company to the office of Rep. Carolyn McCarthy. There was an easy delivery of a letter that demands a NO vote for the 'health' care plans of BHO and company to the office of Rep. Carolyn McCarthy. John Dorsey of Individuals United For Freedom on the way to Rep McCarthy's office: After that, things were a bit more complicated at Chuckie Schumer's…In Melville, only two of the patriots were 'permitted' to go to THEIR own Senator's office to deliver a petition (but without any cameras.) No freedom of press at Chuckie's office. The crowd had grown to approximately 300 at this point and from Schumer's office they moved on to the next ELECTED official; a short walk for the Patriots to Kristin Gillibrand's office (also in Melville). Those elected seem to have FORGOTTEN that they work for US. We pay their salaries and WE are DEMANDING accountability to the PEOPLE. The crowd was spirited as their petition that everyone had signed was read…It was a great day for America! But, MSM is not going to report on the power of the American citizen. No Way. No How! More on that subject in an excerpt from Bill O'Reilly, "… sneaky media stuff is harming America, and it must be unmasked. ,,, FYI: After Gillabrand there were two more Tea Party visits on the agenda for Rep. Steve Israel and Rep. Tim Bishop but, unfortunately, we were not able to continue with the caravan. (Source: Silent Majority.)
Long Island NY (Chuckie Shumer's Office in Melville)
Long Island NY (Chuckie Shumer's Office in Melville)
Long Island NY (Chuckie Shumer's Office in Melville)
Long Island NY (McCarthy's Office in Gillabrand)
Long Island NY (McCarthy's Office in Gillabrand)
Cleveland OH
OKLAHOMA CITY OK: We also did one in front of James Inhofe’s office in OKC. Had about 25-30 and we only had one thumbs down (1 and one half hours) and one old geezer said we were nutz. I spoke with him, while he was at the red light and asked him “Why”. He spouted about people with no health care and I explained that everyone has health care, they are the University Hospitals and Free Clinics that I pay for out of my house taxes. He pshawed me and I kindly stated that I would rather be nutz, than stupid. He sped off. Had a cop go by who did the “whoop, whoop” on his siren, then he blasted his horn. We got a semi to blow his big old air horn for us. We made a lot of noise.
PHILADELPHIA - DOYLESTOWN - JENKINTOWN PA: Waving signs against "socialized health care" and the cap and trade energy bill that "will kill small business," about three dozen people protested the proposed legislation in front of Congressman Patrick Murphy's Doylestown office Friday. "This is Obama's shock and awe," Marybeth Hanson said of President Barack Obama's prized plans for reform. "Throw stuff at the American people fast and hard before they can react." But react they did Friday as conservatives across the country showed up simultaneously at House and Senate offices to oppose the sweeping proposals for energy and health care and the ever-growing annual deficit and national debt. "We hope to bring attention to our elected officials how concerned we are with them trying to pass these bills at lightning speed," said Mariann Davies, who organized the Bucks County Tea Party. "They're not thinking about the consequences of what all this spending will do to us." Davies, of Buckingham, said about 40 people rallied outside Sen. Arlen Specter's Philadelphia office where bus loads of tourists honked their horns in support. About 20 people showed up in front of Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz's Jenkintown office, according to spokeswoman Rachel Magnuson. In front of Murphy's office on Main Street in Doylestown, Christine Duminiak of Bensalem, a certified grief recovery specialist, said "If I handled my affairs the way the government did I'd be bankrupt. They're being so irresponsible." Irene Lennon, a retired Warminster resident, said "I don't agree with any of this at all. If we don't speak out nothing gets accomplished." ... (Source: Phillyburbs.)
DALLAS TX: Local MoveOn.org members had penciled in on today’s schedule a protest in front of Senator John Cornyn’s Spring Valley Road office, during which they had hoped to pressure the senator to support President Barack Obama’s public health care legislation. But when Paula Anderson, a MoveOn.org member and spokeswoman, showed up at 11:30 a.m., she found another contingent had beat her to the proverbial punch: A large number of Dallas Tea Party members were already set up, voicing their opposition to the proposal.
Anderson was stunned: “We really did not expect them to show up.” She estimated the crowd at about 130. “From our perspective we took names of everyone there, and we had about 30 people,” she told Unfair Park. “And I would assume they maybe had 100.” As it turned out, according to Jessica Sandlin, Cornyn’s Texas press secretary, Tea Party-hearties also showed up to health-care legislation rallies in Austin and in San Antonio; after the jump, you’ll find a statement from the senator concerning the day’s events.
Meanwhile, the person who organized the opposition in Dallas, one Q Coleman, a Tea Party member, estimated the crowd swelled to at least 200. “The vast majority of people here didn’t want this,” Coleman said. “We beat them 10 to 1. … We all agree that health care needs reform. We’re just opposed to the government taking it over.” (Source: Dallas Observer.) (SEE Michael Openshaw for photos.)
CHARLOTTESVILLE VA: More than sixty concerned United States citizens and residents of Virginia's 5th Congressional District gathered in the parking lot immediately outside Democrat Congressman Tom Perriello's Charlottesville office today. Organized by Bill Hay and the Jefferson Area Tea Party, the rally's purpose was to allow attendees a forum in which to express their concerns over the prospect of nationalized/socialized medicine directly to Congressman Perriello (who chose not to attend), or in close proximity to his office. While respectful in tone and content, citizen upon citizen passionately articulated apprehension over the potential negative impacts of socialized "health care" on their families, their businesses, their finances, and their own personal health. ... Approximately forty minutes into the event, Charlottesville police were called to the parking lot area. Unconfirmed reports from the scene tie at least one of the complaining phone calls directly to Congressman Tom Perriello's office staff. While the attending police officers (professionally and politely) compelled the gathered crowd to disperse, rally attendees grumbled at the prospect of their own congressman's office terminating their first amendment, free speech protest. A protest that was peaceful and non-invasive in contrast to prior leftist assaults on the office of former 5th District Congressman, Virgil Goode.
(Source: Shilling Show blog.)
Charlottesville VA
BILOXI FREEDOM TEA PARTY (MS): -- July 18, 2009 UPDATE Harrison County Supervisor, Connie Rocko, encouraged the crowd to 'get passionate', to get others involved, to ensure that everyone we know is registered to vote. She spoke of her father's service in WWII and her husband's service in Vietnam. She also bragged about her kids who worked their way through college with no grants. One is an electrical engineer, one a nurse and I couldn't hear what her baby is majorng in. State Senator, Billy Hewes spoke about the need to trim the size of the Federal government, gave an update in efforts for a state voter ID law and the need for all levels of government to live within their means. The amazing thing about these 2 pols is, they spoke for no more than 5 minutes each, but said and made more sense more than most pols make in a career. The regular folks are the stars of any of these events. It is their voice and their views that are most important. After all, politicians are politicians who are after votes. So here is a random selection of regular folks expressing their God Given right of free speech. Multi talented local reporter Al Showers is both cameraman and reporter. Our local press has been very fair in their reporting. I'm sure if they weren't, they'd catch hell. Thanks to all who attended and to all made this possible. Citizen Liberty primary organizers. Mississippi Chapter of Resistnet Also represented were the Oath Keepers
Getting ready for the crowds. The Biloxi Town Green is all set and ready for the folks to express their views about the 0bama administration. It is hard to judge the attendance since there was a constant flow of people into and out of the event. Drivers on Highway 90 (bottom of image) were encouraged to "Honk for Liberty". There was a constant din of honks and thumbs up.
CLEVELAND "TOWN HALL MEETING" (GRASSROOTS RALLY) (OH): -- July 23, 2009 The Grassroots Rally Team of Ohio Northeast Ohio FIRE Team Northeast Ohio Alliance of Conservative Organizations We have confirmed that President Obama will be conducting a "Town Hall" meeting on "Healthcare Reform" at Shaker Heights High School, 15911 Aldersyde Dr. in Cleveland on Thursday, July 23 at 2 PM. The doors open at 12:15. While demonstrations have not traditionally been a thing conservatives do, this event provides a significant opportunity to voice our concerns with the direction our government has taken since January and in particular, voice our opposition to socialized medicine. We encourage all those ready, willing and able to participate in a demonstration outside Shaker Heights High School to voice their opposition. Sign ideas are available on our website at http://mcfan.org/Demonstrationsigns.aspx. Please be sure to review our suggested protocol for demonstrations, also at http://mcfan.org/Demonstrationsigns.aspx. Those who wish to be part of the audience can register at http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/Shaker-Heights-Town-Hall-7-23-09/ for the "lottery" from which the audience will be selected. This must be done by 3 pm Tuesday. We encourage people to try to become part of the audience so that Obama has a "fair and balanced" audience. For those of you who have never been part of a Presidential audience before, please be advised that you will not be "selected" unless and until the Secret Service determines that you are unlikely to be a threat to the President's life. The Secret Service screening should not be a problem to any of us, but we thought we should mention it just because some of us feel a little "exposed" by being active and vocal patriots. We are excited by this "unprecedented" opportunity to have our voices heard nationwide. Join us if you can. Jim & Lisa Woods Medina County Friends And Neighbors http://www.ohiofan.org (SITE NOTE: Obama has been criticized by the media for staking the audience with "shills" -- preselected questioners who also happen to work as his volunteers. Obama has used these "open" town hall meetings, but in truth the audience is prescreened or tickets are handed out to supporters of Obama. The main stream media has not challenged Obama on this -- and only objected when Obama tried the same trick during the Press Corps briefing to the outrage of the White House Press Corps. This town meeting follows a much publicized Wednesday (22 Jul) national news conference shown by all broadcasters except Fox News. The President will be trying to sell his National Health Care Plan.)
WESTFIELD Tea Party (MA): -- July 24, 2009 The western Mass 912 project will be hosting a tea party at the rotary in Westfield Massachusetts. All are welcome, bring signs, flags and a friend.
DOUGLAS "MEETING" AT SAFEWAY (AZ): -- July 28, 2009 -- Meeting with constituents at Safeway store. Southern Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords stated that "yelling and screaming was counterproductive." Later she would claim that someone dropped a gun and she notified the police "fearing for her life." (SITE NOTE: Guess she doesn't realize she's representing Arizona where licensed conceal and carry is legal.)
UPDATE Reports are coming in that Congressmen and Senators on Capitol Hill are so afraid of the ire of their constituents back home that they are canceling town hall meetings right and left:
Screaming constituents, protesters dragged out by the cops, congressmen fearful for their safety — welcome to the new town-hall-style meeting, the once-staid forum that is rapidly turning into a house of horrors for members of Congress.
On the eve of the August recess, members are reporting meetings that have gone terribly awry, marked by angry, sign-carrying mobs and disruptive behavior. In at least one case, a congressman has stopped holding town hall events because the situation has spiraled so far out of control.
This is actually very good news, my friends. The Founders of this Republic often said that government should fear the people, and not the other way around.
Now that it is clear we have gotten their attention with our sheer outrage over their planned government takeover of healthcare, their cockeyed scheme to ruin the American economy with 'cap and trade,' and their asinine trillion-dollar bailouts of fat cats on Wall Street, the Congress vermin seem to wish to crawl back back behind the walls rather than face their constituents who put them in office.
Here's more:
"I had felt they would be pointless," Rep. Tim Bishop (D-N.Y.) told POLITICO, referring to his recent decision to suspend the events in his Long Island district. "There is no point in meeting with my constituents and [to] listen to them and have them listen to you if what is basically an unruly mob prevents you from having an intelligent conversation."
In Bishop's case, his decision came on the heels of a June 22 event he held in Setauket, N.Y., in which protesters dominated the meeting by shouting criticisms at the congressman for his positions on energy policy, health care and the bailout of the auto industry.
Within an hour of the disruption, police were called in to escort the 59-year-old Democrat — who has held more than 100 town hall meetings since he was elected in 2002 — to his car safely.
It seems to be the same all over the country. At a health care town hall event in Syracuse, N.Y., in July, police were called in to restore order, and at least one heckler was taken away by local police. Close to 100 sign-carrying protesters greeted Rep. Allen Boyd, D-Fla., at a late June community college small-business development forum in Panama City, Fla. Last week, Danville, Va., anti-tax tea party activists claimed they were "refused an opportunity" to ask Rep. Thomas Perriello, D-Va., a question at a town hall event and instructed by a plainclothes police officer to leave the property after they attempted to hold up protest signs.
The biggest source of protests are the health-care bill, the $787 billion economic stimulus package and the cap-and-trade legislation. They're also angry about Barack Obama's refusal to release his birth certificate to prove he is a "natural born citizen" and constitutionally eligible to serve in the White House.
Congressional Democrats are anticipating things will only get worse this month when Congress in recess. On Tuesday, Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., who handles incumbent retention duties for House Democrats in addition to chairing the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, met with freshman members to discuss their plans for the month-long August recess.
Some are planning to do their local constituent work by telephone conference calls rather than in-person meetings. Some Democrats are blaming Republicans and lobbyists for stirring up the hornet's nest. Brian Smoot, who served as political director at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, warned Republicans about engaging in these kinds of ambushes. "It's a risk that they align themselves with such a small minority in the party ... They risk alienating moderates," he said. (Source: WND.)
There are reports of seniors being "escorted" out of Sen Feinstein's LA office. Throughout the nation, staffers in the Congressmen's offices are calling the police rather than receive the complaints of the constituents. In some cases, the police agree with the protestors rights to gather and in others, the police disperse the crowds. These and similar reports as Congressmen are refusing to meet people who are upset over their voting record for the National Health Plan and other bills. The people are speaking out and the Congressmen don't want to listen. (Source: Columbia Examiner
HICKSVILLE Tea Party (NY): -- July 30, 2009 On a warm Thursday evening in Hicksville,NY on July 30, 2009… 300-400 PATRIOTS assembled:Free Speech is still alive and thriving! Some of the groups who participated are Individuals United for Freedom,Gathering of Eagles, Conservative Society for Action, Campaign for Liberty, 912 Groups, Long Island Tea Party Coalition, Rockville Center Tea Party and many others… (See Silent Majority for more videos and photos.)
VIDEO: March and protestors on street
COLUMBUS Tea Party (OH): -- August 1, 2009 At the Ohio State House. Here is video on a "Tea Party Movement" that has erupted in Ohio to voice their opposition to what they believe is going wrong in this country. The "Ohio Liberty Council" organized a rally this past Saturday with 8-10,000 people in attendance. One of the key organizers talked with Greta Van Susteren about the movement. When asked how he got invovled, he said: "I read the Constitution." More rallies are planned in the days ahead. (Tea Party.)
AUSTIN "TOWN HALL MEETING" (TX): -- August 1, 2009 Democrat Rep. Lloyd Doggett went home to Austin, Texas, and heard from his constituents about the planned government health care takeover. The protest was at a meeting by Doggett with his constituents that turned into a noisy protest.
PROTEST OBAMA HEALTH CARE AT PHILADELPHIA "TOWN HALL MEETING" (PA): -- August 2, 2009 UPDATE Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Sen. Arlen Specter got a preview Sunday of the tough sell lawmakers will face over health care as audience members booed and jeered them during a town hall meeting in Philadelphia. Among those at odds with the officials touting the $1 trillion, 10-year plan was a woman who earned loud applause when she said she doesn't want Washington interfering with her health care choices.
While supporters offered courteous applause to the officials, Sebelius didn't earn any fans when she said that if lawmakers say they don't understand the legislation voters should urge them to go back and read it. Specter was shouted down when he said that lawmakers divide up the bills into sections and have their staffs read portions because, "We have to make judgments very fast." He then said he will have read the Senate bill before he votes on it, which Sebelius pointed out hasn't been written yet. "The Senate bill isn't written so don't boo the senator for not reading a bill that isn't written," she said.
...The anger is just a sample of the reaction lawmakers are bracing for as they try to sell the massive plan wending its way through Congress. The House Energy and Commerce Committee passed its version -- one of five in Congress - late Friday before the House broke for the August recess. (Source: Fox News.) (NOTE: Supposedly a 1,000 attended the town hall meeting. Better videos at Andrew Monaghan blog.)
COLUMBUS Town Hall Meeting (OH): -- August 3, 2009 Representative Steve Driehaus (D-OH) held a town hall on health care reform. While Driehaus campaigned as a fiscal conservative, a so-called "blue dog", he voted for the Stimulus bill as well as Cap-and-Trade. Driehaus was booed, laughed at and mocked by grassroots activists at his town hall event on Monday.
MERRICK (LONG ISLAND) Tea Party (NY): -- August 3, 2009 Ah Long Island, New York in the summer. Gorgeous. So treat yourself to a little tea on Monday, August 3rd, at 5pm at the Merrick Long Island Railroad train station in Merrick. A group of Long Islanders are hosting it. They are tired of what's being shoved down our throats, beginning with TARP, Stimulus, and now this outrageous obamacare, Cap and Trade and all the rest of the bloodsucking, freedom crushing proposals he wants to change our great country with.
UPDATE A Dozen or so Obamabots tried to crash a Tea Party of a few hundred Patriots! “Why are you trying to intimidate these people?” The question took me by surprise as I looked at the guy with the video camera. “Hunh? What people?” I asked. Then I looked around and saw a few dopes wearing Obama/Biden T shirts and holding signs. I had to laugh. “Heh, I didn’t even know they were there!” Later I took some photos of them, or tried to, most held their signs over their faces. Too ashamed, I guess, to have their identities associated with their continued moronic faith in their messiah. Too few, too ignorant and too lobotomized to be a serious opposition. They quickly sidled away after retreating down and across the street from the Patriots. But then the real fun began! Pamela Geller of Atlas Shrugs came as a guest speaker and lit up the crowd! (See Atlas Shrugs for photos.)
UTICA "TOWNHALL MEETING" (NY): -- August 3, 2009 UPDATE Townhall Meeting about high speed rail in New York district of Democratic Rep. Michael Arcuri who announced 5 million investment in New York. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) has been one of the latest targets of the Tea Party crowd. During a stop today in the upstate New York district of Democratic Rep. Michael Arcuri, Hoyer was loudly interrupted by a group calling itself the Fort Stanwix Tea Party "Patriots" (quotation marks theirs, oddly enough): "You're lying to me," said "Patriots" ringleader Don Jeror -- who previously organized the area Tea Party back in April, interestingly -- interrupting Hoyer. "Just because I don't have sophisticated language, I can recognize a liar when I see one." Don Jeror also declared: "Why would you guys try to stuff a health care bill down our throats in three to four weeks, when the President took six months to pick a dog for his kids?!"
VIDEO: New York Townhall Meeting: The College Politico has an answer in this clip from Rep Steny Hoyer's (D-MD) attempt to pontificate to a hostile and casually-attired crowd. The older voters in this row wear shorts, t-shirts, and apparently Democratic Party registration cards:
GREENBAY "LISTENING MEETING" (TX): -- August 4, 2009 Congressman Steve Kagan gets an earfull from strong opposition to Healthcare Plan. Hundreds turned away because the library was packed. Kagan has other listening sessions scheduled in the area.
TUSCON Tea Party (AZ): -- August 4, 2009 - Social Security Forum The Medicare and Social Security Administrations have been warning us that the government is running out of funds to pay for these services. At the same time, our government is not even addressing this important issue. The Tucson Tea Party will be sponsoring an event on August 4th at 6:00 in the evening, at the Windmill Inn Conference Center at the corner of Campbell and River Road in Tucson. We will be hearing from a Regional Representative of the Social Security Administration, who will present the facts about Medicare and Social Security and how you need to prepare for your future. Any one of voting age is invited to attend. http://www.tucsonteaparty.org/?p=231
LITTLE ROCK "TOWN HALL MEETING" (AR): -- August 5, 2009 - UPDATE An unruly Little Rock crowd heckled and shouted at two Arkansas Democratic congressmen Wednesday (5 Aug 2009), accusing them of supporting a government-backed health plan that would take away Americans' personal choice and freedom. At one point, U.S. Rep. Mike Ross sat with his head in his hands while the crowd shouted. He and fellow Democratic Rep. Vic Snyder told audience members at a forum at Arkansas Children's Hospital that they wouldn't support a completely government-run, single-payer health insurance plan. "But that's what Obama wants!" an audience member shouted, leading to more heckling. Ross, who represents south Arkansas, sits on the Energy and Commerce Committee and has led his fellow Blue Dog Democrats in delaying a vote on the health care overhaul until at least September. Ross is chairman of the Blue Dogs' health care task force.
The Blue Dogs—a group of mostly Southern, fiscally conservative Democrats—have not committed to supporting or opposing the bill yet. A deal reached last week calls for exempting more small businesses from a requirement to offer coverage, cutting subsidies to help people buy health insurance and making any government-sponsored insurance plan negotiate payment rates with medical providers. Lawmakers across the country are encountering growing public doubts about President Barack Obama's push to remake the system for providing medical care, evident in polls that find confidence in Obama's handling of the issue has fallen since January. Concerns are growing about government-run health plans, a growing federal deficit, and the impact on small businesses and end-of-life provisions. "I've said this several times but let me see if I can make it a little more clear," Ross said. "I don't represent Speaker (Nancy) Pelosi or President Obama or (House Finance Committee Chairman) Barney Frank. I represent the people of Arkansas and I'm not voting for any bill that forces any one plan on anyone, period."
Many audience members cheered loudly when Ross said he wouldn't back anything that would provide federal funding for abortions or pay for health insurance for illegal immigrants. But some were skeptical about the intentions of President Obama and Democrats in Congress. Colleen Shoemaker of Bauxite apologized to the congressmen for being "out of line" and heckling them during the forum. She said the government was taking away Americans' rights. "At this point in my life I have never seen my America turn into what it has turned into," she said. "And I don't think that representatives and senators are going to be able to (pass a plan that preserves personal freedom). I'm scared."
Though much of the crowd opposed Obama's plan, there were a few supporters. "I'm a huge Obama fan," college student Jacob Kauffman told the crowd, which responded with a smattering of applause and a few chants of "Get a job." Kauffman continued, "I was at mad at (Ross and Snyder) for not standing up for stronger health care reform. But after seeing this crowd tonight, I'm pleased with seeing what you have done. I've rather have you two overlook my health care plan than any private insurance bureaucrat any day." (Source: Breitbart.)
DENVER Obama Care Tea Party (CO): -- August 6, 2009 - UPDATE The Democrat party that funneled billions in the stimulus package to ACORN community organizers to organize, protest and agitate, this same party is now livid that private citizens attend townhall meetings. These protesters told me that they pay their own way and question what the government is attempting to do to their health care. “When asked by a reporter whether the protests at various town-hall meetings represented legitimate grassroots opposition or were manufactured “AstroTurf” stunts, Nancy Pelosi replied, ‘I think they’re AstroTurf. You be the judge. They’re carrying swastikas and symbols like that to a town meeting on health care.’” - Jonah Goldberg Commonly at the tea parties and anti-big government protests hammers and sickles are used to protest democrat policies. The Democrat Party doesn’t seem to have a problem with wall to wall hammers and sickles and has never complained publicly. Maybe they think it’s a compliment? I find that interesting and very telling. ... I don’t see swastikas or Brooks Brothers suits, but a few American flags and a lot of hand made, home made signs. ... “The DNC has put out an ad claiming that the ‘right-wing extremist base” is out to “destroy” Barack Obama, so it has unleashed “angry mobs . . . mob activity straight from the playbook of high-level Republican political operatives. They have no plan for moving our country forward, so they’ve called out the mob.’ ”
The DNC ad points to a memo written by an activist named Bob MacGuffie as proof that Republican political ops are pulling the strings. It turns out that MacGuffie, a decent-seeming fellow, is a rank amateur whose Right Principles PAC has collected a mere $5,017 and disbursed the staggering sum of $1,777, and has 23 members on Facebook and five followers on Twitter, according to The Weekly Standard’s Mary Katharine Ham.” – J. Goldberg ... “The reason for the panic is simple. Obama and the Democrats feel entitled to have their way on health care. This sense of entitlement is understandable. They won the election and control everything. The problem is that Americans don’t like what they’ve heard about the plan, and Obama is incapable of selling, or unwilling to sell, it on the merits (perhaps because he knows the plan will lead to the single-payer system he has long sought but now denies wanting). That’s why Obama spends most of his time either attacking critics or denouncing the status quo.” – J. Goldberg ... (Source: Looking at the Left.) I HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU VISIT THIS SITE BY EL MARCO FOR OTHER PHOTOS AND COMMENTARY. EXCELLENT!!!)
This was the scene when I arrived at Stout Street Clinic in downtown Denver. Nancy Pelosi is to pay a visit to the clinic within the hour. About 200 people opposed to Obama’s healthcare agenda braved the mile high Denver sun and high temperatures to show their opposition. Their signs indicate that they are well aware that they have been vilified and targeted in an Oval Office astroturfing campaign designed to discredit their opposition.
First let’s look at the messages and faces of these hardy dissenters. Take a close look so you can compare them to the community organizers who will soon enter the scene and harass them. These citizens have been described by the Democratic National Committee in an ad as “angry mobs organized by desperate Republicans and their well funded allies.” (SITE NOTE: The young man in the white T-shirt was subject to journalistic ethics violation when the Huffington Post cropped his photo as he held up his sign and claimed he was giving a "Heil Hitler" salute.)
“Meanwhile, Sen. Barbara Boxer insists the protests have to be fake because the protesters are too “well-dressed.” Likewise, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs says this is all “manufactured anger” because the protesters — he calls them the “Brooks Brothers Brigade” — are too tastefully appointed to be authentic protesters. Apparently only filthy hippies can petition government.” - Jonah Goldberg
“Simply put: This administration believes it knows best. It feels it is the only legitimate beneficiary of “people power.” It thinks it has a monopoly on democratic organizing. And it is terrified that it will be hobbled if it loses this fight. So, it just stands to reason that anyone who stands in the way must be a fraud, a puppet, a goon — or even a Nazi.” – J Goldberg
After I was on the scene for about 15 minutes I got a call from one of my location scouts. “Hey, you gotta come down by the alley here. A bunch of Obama people just showed up.”
I walked over to the far corner of the clinic and sure enough, freshly minted Obama supporters had arrived on the scene. (SITE NOTE: Notice the girl in the center with the dark brown dress. She epitomizes the Obama supporter strategy to insert themselves into the photos of the media. In the following photos of El Marco, she forced her way to the front to get into the shots, but it took El Marco a bit before he realized what she was doing. By the way, the two Chicanos on the far left with signs can NOT speak English -- and when asked in Spanish if they knew what their signs said, they claimed ignorance. The day labor pickup point is around the corner. Thus El Marco suspected that they were illegal aliens "hired" to become Obama supporters.)
Here it happened again so that while my subject, on the left, had his sign at chest level, he had to step back and lift it up after the astrozoids blocked my view.
Typically, the media fawned over the left wing Turffers. Their numbers are now reaching their peak, which I estimate at 20 % of the total crowd. For 200 tea partiers, there were about 40 Democrat party astroturfese. (SITE NOTE: Notice the girl in the brown dress. She had been in some other shots by El Marco of the protestors and now has returned to the supporters' corner.)
Note the wire lawn sign hardware left over from Obama's Presidential campaign. These people were organized by the ArapaHope Community Team (A.C.T.) An email circulated the day before by the local Democrat Party urged activists to come out to this event, and another one later that same day, claimed that "rich special interests" would be bussing "Teabaggers" there. Teabaggers is an obscure homocentric term that has been made a household word by the Democrat party. Tea Party participants are people who identify with that patriotic tax revolt of 1773. The Democrats' reference to them as "Teabaggers" is a horribly crude example of how the left coarsens our public discourse. "I hope that our work together on the Obama campaign was only the beginning. I want to say that we will continue to be a force to be reckoned with – and carve a niche within the politics of our community to make way for our collective voices to be heard." – Donna Galassi of A.C.T. (community organizer)
Here is an organizer from Organizing for America, which is the successor organization to Obama for America, which was Obama's campaign organization. The organizer is demonstrating the use of a bullhorn to a man who appears totally unfamiliar with its use. For a grassroots campaign, this sure is organized! I thought this a very interesting scene. Here's a real live "community organizer" in action. He's organizing this guy and he's going to send him out to shout down people who are dissenting from the Democrat Party line. The fellow seemed reluctant and as it turns out after a few minutes the organizer retrieved his bullhorn and started using it himself. (SITE NOTE: The methods they used were to move in BEHIND the protestors and use the bullhorn to blast their messages through the protestors. In this way, they used the protestors numbers to make it appear that there are an equal number of supporters in place -- and also to irritate the protestors -- hopefully to some violent act. After a while one of the supporters simply used her sign to block the horn of the organizer blasting in her ears. That was as violent as it got.)
The Denver Post caption described it like this: “A supporter of health care reform, left, who did not want to give her name, pushes forward to rip a sign out of Kris McLay’s hands outside the Stout Street Clinic visited by Nancy Pelosi.” (THE DENVER POST | RJ SANGOSTI)
WOODSTOCK Where's Joe Today? (CT): -- Thursday, August 6, 2009 6:30pm - Woodstock , Connecticut Woodstock Academy 57 Academy Road Jen (organizer) 1-555-555-5555 (organizer phone) Come join us in a healthy discussion on the health care reform bill, with your represenative Joe Courtney. This is an open event, put out by the Woodstock DTC...let's join them!
TAMPA BAY (YBOR CITY) "TOWN HALL MEETING" (FL): -- August 6, 2009 - UPDATE Take that mass vitriol on display in Ybor City on Thursday, when more than 1,000 people — many of them chanting protesters — essentially shut down what had been planned as a discussion/pep rally for President Barack Obama's health care proposals. One person sees liberal activists and union thugs locking the doors on hundreds of average citizens trying to speak out. Another sees unhinged right-wing zealots trying to shut down open discussion. ... "Most elected officials are risk-averse,'' Sayfie noted. "Most do not want to participate in a raucous meeting of any kind, and they would much rather participate in something that is scripted and planned." Which is why the kind of pandemonium presided over Thursday night by U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Tampa, and state Rep. Betty Reed, D-Tampa, is likely to become rarer and rarer. ... "It's a lynch-mob mentality out there. There is an ugliness to it," U.S. Rep. Brian Baird, D-Washington, told the Olympian in explaining why, after holding more than 300 town hall meetings in the past decade, he would hold none on health care. ... As much as Democratic leaders try to cast the protests as events manufactured by political groups or the Republican Party, it's clear that, when 1,500 people show up in Ybor City on a weeknight, there is plenty of grass roots anger boiling about the health care plan and perception of expanding government. Those sentiments are being encouraged by conservative radio hosts, bloggers and Web sites urging people to attend town halls. A group called Conservatives for Patients' Rights lists congressional town hall events across the country. , a former member of Congress, said after watching coverage of the Tampa event. "Even in 1994 when we had the tax bill under debate, there was a lot of anger, but at the meeting you could still have dialogue and have some back and forth."
Bitter divisions over reforming America's health care system exploded Thursday night in Tampa amid cat calls, jeering and shoving at a town hall meeting.
"Tyranny! Tyranny! Tyranny!" dozens of people shouted as U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Tampa, struggled to talk about health insurance reforms under consideration in Washington, D.C. "There is more consensus than there is disagreement when you get right down to it,'' Castor offered, immediately drowned out by groans and boos. She pressed on, mostly unheard among screams from the audience estimated by Tampa police to be about 1,500.
"Tell the truth! Tell the truth!" "Read the bill!" "Forty-million illegals! Forty million illegals!" The spectacle at the Children's Board in Ybor City sounded more like a wrestling cage match than a panel discussion on national policy, and it was just the latest example of a health care meeting disrupted by livid protesters. Similar scenes are likely to be repeated across the country as lawmakers head to their home districts for the summer recess. Thursday's forum/near riot was sponsored by state Rep. Betty Reed, D-Tampa, and the Service Employees International Union, who apparently had hoped to hold something of a pep rally for President Barack Obama's health care reform proposal. (Source: Tampa Bay.com.) (SITE NOTE: Obama has called on the SEIU to provide the "muscle" to make the townhall meetings more friendly toward his message -- versus the protestors. It backfired. In addition, the Moveon.org was raising funds for "paid organizers" on 7 Aug 2009 -- meaning that ACORN will be involved.)
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The video shows how members of Organizing for America -- the new iteration of the presidential candidate's campaign group Obama for America -- passed out pro-healthcare reform signs and leaflets before Rep. Kathy Castor's (D-Fla.) now infamous town hall meeting in Tampa, Florida, last Thursday.
Also distributing information were members of SEIU.
HIAWASSEE Meeting and Rally (GA): -- Thursday, August 6, 2009 6:00 e-mail for any additional details Towns County Civic /Senior Center off Main Street Hwy.76 across parkinglot from Towns County Court House N J Davis (organizer) e-mail (organizer phone) http://northgapatriots.ning.com/ 3 speakers to explain the foundation and focus of the TEA Party, FreedomWorks and 912 Project. Come join us at the Towns County Civic/Senior center across the parking lot from the Towns County Court House.(Just off the town square).6:00 PM. For a meeting and Rally. Speakers representing the 912 Project,TEA Party and FreedomWorks will be explaining the different organizations-focus and foundation. Updates on legislation and action needed.Informational handouts.Information on trip to Washington in Sept. Come join is a mass effort to save our country,freedom and liberties. Directions: Traveling W on Hwy.76 turn Left at Redlight (Town Square) go to stop sign. Turn Left.Take first Right that takes you in front of the library and the parking lot. Traveling East on Hwy. 76 turn Right at light and follow direction above. For further information please e-mail: teapartytownscounty@live.com UPDATE WOW!!! OVER FLOW CROWD IN HIAWASSEE,GA AUGUST 6th
SEYMOUR Flash Counter Protest to OFA (IN): -- Thursday, August 6, 2009 12:00-1:00 PM Seymour, Indiana Seymour City Hall 301 N. Chestnut Jeremy Sallee (organizer) 812-344-4270 (organizer phone) www.wethepeopleindiana.org this from the OFA Website: Support Affordable Health Care (Health Care Organizing Event) On Friday, July 31st, Congressman Hill stood with Hoosier families and voted for affordable health care in committee. Join us at City Hall as we show our support for affordable health care and Rep. Hill's vote! Thursday, August 6 from 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM Host: Andrew Katz Contact Phone: 812.431.1717 Location: Seymour City Hall (Seymour, IN) 301 N. Chestnut Seymour, IN 47274 PLEASE pass this onto other patriots as well!
ST LOUIS "TOWN HALL MEETING" (MO): -- August 6, 2009 - UPDATE Over 1,000 St. Louis Tea Party Taxpayers showed up at the Russ Carnahan town hall meeting in South St. Louis tonight. They were Locked Out! But... The Carnahan staff was sneaking in SEIU members in the side door marked "handicapped." When two SEIU members attempted to get in the same side door marked "handicapped" the crowd went nuts and blocked them at the door. More... Inside the gym they roped off two sections. One was for the tea party taxpayers and quickly filled up when they opened the doors at 6:00 PM. The other section was marked "reserved" and this section was saved for the union members. The rest of the crowd was locked out! UNREAL! The line outside went clear around the front of the building at 6:20 PM- 40 minutes before the start of the meeting. They had already locked the doors.
Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today condemned the brutal beating of activist Kenneth Gladney in South St. Louis County, MO, at a town hall event sponsored by Congressman Russ Caranhan (D-MO) by SEIU members who Wilson said "appears to have been sent out purposely to intimidate the crowd and instigate violence." Wilson said that a Special Prosecutor would need to be called "to investigate the possibility of White House complicity in this union thuggery." The White House told representatives and senators 'punch back twice as hard' against opposition to Barack Obama's government-run health care initiative, and "clearly some of their followers took the message to heart," Wilson said.
According to Kenneth Gladney's attorney, David B. Brown, "Kenneth was attacked on the evening of August 6, 2009 at Rep. Russ Carnahan's town hall meeting in South St. Louis County. I was at the town hall meeting as well and witnessed the events leading up to the attack of Kenneth. Kenneth was approached by an SEIU representative as Kenneth was handing out 'Don't Tread on Me' flags to other conservatives."
The statement continued, "The SEIU representative demanded to know why a black man was handing out these flags. The SEIU member used a racial slur against Kenneth, then punched him in the face. Kenneth fell to the ground. Another SEIU member yelled racial epithets at Kenneth as he kicked him in the head and back. Kenneth was also brutally attacked by one other male SEIU member and an unidentified woman."
According to the statement, "The three men were clearly SEIU members, as they were wearing T-shirts with the SEIU logo."
"This sort of thuggish political violence is what one would expect in Mussolini's Italy by the Black Shirts," said Wilson, adding that, "This is pure fascist aggression. The SEIU is sending out goon squads to beat people up who disagree with ObamaCare. Only a Special Prosecutor can determine if it was done with the knowledge of the White House and Congressman Carnahan."
After watching the video, Wilson said, "The part where the attackers claimed they were attacked, when Mr. Gladney is clearly on his back, is straight out of the SEIU-ACORN playbook. They train their thugs well. Only, this time, they were caught." (Source: Atlas Shrugs.)
At the attack, a woman filming the incident had her camera shoved into her face by another woman identified to be with the SEIU. No injuries occurred, but the "attack" was caught on videotape. (Source: Gateway Pundit.)
Later in a TV interview on Fox News with Kenneth Gladney and his lawyer, Gladney said: "Mr. Gladney stated that he arrived outside the building where the town hall meeting was taking place, and started distributing and/or selling flags which bear the famous slogan "Don't Tread on Me." He continued that "this guy...walked up to me and said...who in the blank is selling this blank here. And I said, sir, this is my merchandise, and....he was like, what kind of 'N' are you to be giving out this kind of stuff here? And he snatched the- the button board. And when he snatched the button board, I snatched it back from him, and that's when he proceeded to hit me in my face." He added that others joined in the beat-down." (Source: Newsbusters.)
SARATOGA SPRINGS Congressman Murphy Town Halls (NY): -- Thursday, August 6, 2009 9:30 am Empire State College One Union Ave Mary Ziegler (organizer) 518-269-9183 (organizer phone) We will be organizing a group to ask Scott Murphy the tough questions, including why he voted for Cap and Trade. We'll also let him know our absolute opposition to the current healthcare legislation. He needs to be reminded that he represents his consitutents and NOT Pelosi.
BOILING SPRINGS "TOWN HALL MEETING" (SC): -- August 6, 2009 - UPDATE Boiling Springs in South Carolina -- population 4,500 -- was true to its name on Thursday (6 Aug), giving U.S. Representative Bob Inglis a taste of rising anger among conservative voters toward President Barack Obama's reform plan. "There is no way, shape or form we need to have a national healthcare system. No! Nothing! None! It's got to stop now," said one man who addressed the audience of 300 people to sustained applause. (Source: Reuters.)
The plans seek to provide coverage to nearly 46 million uninsured Americans and bring down healthcare costs. Conservatives say they will lead to a nationalized healthcare system where government, rather than doctors, will make medical decisions. They say the plans will end up costing them more and boost the federal deficit. With lawmakers gone from Washington for a month and much of the plans still to be drafted, the rancorous battle has spread to usually staid, relaxed town hall meetings. A chorus of people in the audience heckled, shouted down and interrupted Inglis, a Republican, even as he tried to explain why he opposed the plans put forward by Obama, a Democrat who became president six months ago. In Boiling Springs, Inglis was repeatedly interrupted when he said government could in some cases play a positive role in people's lives -- a sign that conservative anger could potentially threaten some Republicans as well as Democrats. A few people waved pink slips to suggest he should lose his job and a banner read: "Inglis loves big government." Aides praised Inglis for standing his ground. The lawmaker later told Reuters the mood at one town hall meeting did not reflect the entire district."Fear is driving people to the extremes," he said. "Tonight we had people that are very fearful about President Obama and very distrustful of him as a person and his agenda." (Source: AP.)
TUCSON OBAMA CARE RALLY (AZ): -- August 7, 2009 -- UPDATE Southern Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords has a new loyal following — but not the one she probably hoped for when she ran for office in 2006. Conservative activists, opposed to the Democrats' health care proposals, are jumping at the chance to confront the second-term Democrat and vent their frustrations. But for now Giffords is not interested in engaging with people her staff says are using "manipulation" and "racism" to spread their message. "Yelling and screaming is counterproductive," she told the Sierra Vista Herald at a Congress on Your Corner event last week. There, one visitor dropped a gun at the meet n' greet held in a Douglas Safeway, her staff says. That has aides, who called police to the event, concerned for her safety. "We have never felt the need before to notify law enforcement when we hold these events," said spokesman C.J. Karamargin. Such activists are showing-up at Democratic events coast to coast, including a recent one held by Northern Arizona congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick. But the leader of the Tucson movement, Trent Humphries, a former legislative candidate, says Giffords is lying. He says his followers have no intention of hurting her. And they're not racists, he said. "Nobody is threatening Gabby," Humphries said. "But she does need to get in front of her constituents and answer to her constituents." Her staff says she's done that. Before this organized movement against Democrats started, Giffords held a health care town hall early this summer that drew more than 1,000 people. And just this month she held a tele-town hall, with 5,000 invited guests from her district on the line. The more important point? What Giffords actually decides to do if there's a vote on health care reform. Despite Humphries claims that Giffords supports the Democratic reforms, she's stopped short of saying that much. It's that vote which could determine whether this frantic crowd — or angry health care reformers in her own party — are the ones following this Blue Dog around T-town. (Source: Arizona Star.)
BOULDER Congress on Your Corner @ Vic's Coffee (CO): -- Friday, August 7, 2009 8:00am-9:30am Vic's Coffee 2680 Broadway Street Michelle Orwick (organizer) 303-424-4621 (organizer phone) Meet and Greet with Congressman Jared Polis, representing the 2nd District of Colorado UPDATE U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, D-Boulder, was swarmed by people Friday morning when he dropped by the Vic's coffee shop in north Boulder, expecting a friendly chat with a couple dozen constituents. But the event, the first of a series of meetings dubbed "Congress on Your Corner," drew hundreds of people, many with health care issues on their minds. Normally 12-14 people show up (max 30), but he was overwhelmed by how many showed up.
MARDELA SPRINGS "TOWN HALL MEETING" (MD): -- August 7, 2009 - UPDATE As he entered the auditorium of the Mardela Middle and High School on Tuesday, a surprised Frank Kratovil waded through a sea of constituents. The first-term Democratic congressman had been told by aides that maybe two or three dozen residents would attend the “Congress in Your Corner” town-hall event in this Eastern Shore town of about 360 people. Instead, more than 250 people showed up. The crowd repeatedly burst into wild cheering, but not for Mr. Kratovil. The cheers were for residents who gave the congressman a piece of their mind over what’s happening in Washington. ... Mr. McCain won Maryland’s First Congressional District by 18 percentage points last year; Mr. Kratovil, a county prosecutor, defeated his Republican opponent by fewer than 3,000 votes out of 360,000 cast to become the first Democrat to win the seat in 18 years. He describes himself as a Blue Dog and is considered vulnerable in next year’s election. Mr. Kratovil is an attractive, polished, likable guy, but his seeming support for President Barack Obama’s health-care proposals and his vote for cap-and-trade legislation put him out of step with many constituents. “You don’t get it,” one told him after he argued that increasing government’s role in health care would be a good thing if only Congress crafts the legislation language properly. “We don’t want it. We don’t want your help.” ... The meeting was contentious, though civilized. Those at the meeting politely allowed Mr. Kratovil to make his points before responding, and the audience applauded when he noted that he voted against various spending bills, including the president’s budget. Many questioners thanked him for having the courage to show up. (Source: WSJ.)
DOUGLASVILLE "TOWN HALL MEETING" (GA): -- August 7, 2009 -- UPDATE US Rep David Scott (D-GA 13) loses it in a town meeting over road construction after it was opened up for questions. Dr. Brian Hill, a urologist, asks a question about Obama Health Care and Scott went on a "rant" about the doctor not being one of his constituents (he is from his district); out ot hijack the meeting (video indicates the Doctor was asking the question of where he stood on the Healthcare plan very calmly and respectfully AFTER it was opened for questoins); accusing the doctor of being a Republican (The doctor is a Democrat); and ranting on about scheduling a meeting at his office and accusing the doctor of "a lack of decency" for not requesting a meeting (the doctor had attempted to schedule meetings but was told there would be none so he came to this townhall meeting). (See 11 TV for video of TV news item.) The Democrat congressmen are starting to lose it nationwide.
We were at a David Scott (D) town Hall meeting about a highway project in Douglasville. We intended to take the floor and ask him questions on his Health Care position as well as other things, and videotape it. While bringing our cameras into the venue I was stopped by an Acorn type and told that I couldn’t bring my camera. I ignored him. He went over to a cop, a radio call was made, I was approached by Douglasville police chief Chris Womack who threatened me with arrest if I took it in. He also asked for the camera. I refused to give it to him, and told him “I will be using it outside and there is no law against that”, he ratcheted up the attempt to intimidate me at that point, asking for ID. I had nothing to hide. Roger “Screaming Eagle” covertly caught the end of the exchange on his own video.
Throughout the townhall, free speech was shut down. If anyone asked an off-topic (non-highway 92) question, they were cut off and police and security immediately surrounded them. There were plenty of video cameras in there, but we were singled out. You could also say that we were an obvious minority there. BTW, it was obvious most of the other cops didn’t agree with the chief’s behaviour
(Source: Pat Dollard blog.)
OXON HILL OBAMA CARE PROTEST (MD): -- August 7, 2009 - UPDATE There were no angry mobs or Nazi SS symbols at a health care town hall in Maryland’s heavily Democratic 4th Congressional district on Thursday night, but the member of Congress in the spotlight did face some tough questioning from small but vocal crew of administration critics in the audience. Rep. Donna Edwards, a Democrat who was re-elected in November with nearly 86 percent of the vote in her heavily African-American district, earned a round of applause at the beginning of her town hall forum when she said she would not tolerate any rude behavior. “You have to be respectful,” Edwards said. “Because I don’t know what’s been going in every place else around the country. But I know that that is not the 4th Congressional district of Maryland.” She rejected the “hyperbole” and “noise” from health care opponents and told critics in the audience that while the health care system may appear to be in good shape in wealthier communities, “it is broken for millions of Americans.” During an hour-long question-and-answer session at a public library, Edwards denied that people would be fined for choosing not to purchase health insurance; pledged that undocumented workers will not be covered under a government plan; and said the health care plan will not hurt the majority of the country’s small businesses. The mostly Democratic crowd shook their heads and muttered to each other when skeptics of the President raised doubts about his health care agenda. The conservatives in the crowd did the same when supporters of the President offered their opinions. But no one was shouted down. (Source: Political Ticker.)
NORTH CAROLINA OBAMA CARE PROTEST (NC): -- August 7, 2009 - UPDATE Approximately 700 people in front of Congressman Brad Miller's office who refused to meet with the group or even small groups.
WILLIAMSPORT Tea Party (PA): -- August 7, 2009 http://forum.pafoa.org/lycoming-84/67461-dont-tread-me-tea-party-august-7th.html
DALLAS (AARP "LISTENING SESSION" (TX): -- August 7, 2009 -- UPDATE This was supposed to be a "Listening Session" -- but in truth, it was intended to be a one-way feed...at least that is what the AARP thought. Only trouble was the people were pissed that AARP supported the Obama Healthcare Plan -- though the AARP rep said that it did NOT support any plan. In the end, the AARP simply left -- and the members continued. Watch the senior citizen "hooligans" and "civic vigilantes" in Dallas question a condescending AARP representative about Obamacare. Dues-paying members are speaking up about the organization's sellout of its members — and the AARP brass is not happy. One protestor stated, "Do you work for us or do we work for you?" AARP walked out.
The American Family Association wrote on 7 Aug: "Senior citizens who went to a meeting sponsored by AARP were left to themselves after the AARP hostess walked out. The seniors were trying to get answers concerning ObamaCare and why AARP would support a government controlled health system that many believe would lead to euthanasia and rationing of health care. Watch the video. Why would AARP, the nation's largest seniors group, supposedly working for the elderly, support an ObamaCare bill? Here is what Dick Morris, former advisor to President Clinton, said: "The interest groups that usually speak up for the elderly, particularly AARP, are in Obama's pocket, hoping to profit from his program by becoming one of its vendors. Just as they backed Bush's prescription drug plan because they anticipated profiting from it, so they are now helping Obama gut the medical care of their constituents." Like the National Education Association, AARP has been taken over by liberals. With millions of members, AARP is using its clout to push ObamaCare on the elderly, even if it includes euthanasia. AARP supported homosexual marriage by opposing Prop 8 in California." (SITE NOTE: It recommended AARP members check out the American Seniors Association (ASA) is an alternative we suggest you check out. AFA does not officially endorse ASA, but simply offers it as an alternative to AARP. We think you'll be pleased with what you see.
OCONTO FALLS "TOWN HALL" MEETING (WI): -- August 7, 2009 - UPDATE Around a thousand miles northwest of Boiling Springs -- in Oconto Falls, Wisconsin -- the mood was different. Vic Bast, 86, a World War Two fighter pilot and retired school principal, attended a meeting with Democratic Congressman Steve Kagen. "I'm a veteran, so I have good healthcare. But my daughter has just retired and she has to pay $1,000 a month in premiums," Bast said. "Healthcare costs are getting out of control. I don't know if this bill will pass, but something must be done."
"We are engaged in the most critical debate in our country in this century," Kagen told Reuters after meeting around 50 constituents in the dairy farming community of around 2,800. "We don't have an option, we have to reform or this country will go broke," he said, but added: "People in my district are afraid of what they don't know, which is why I'm here." Kagen's district tends to vote Republican and he is the target of radio advertisements attacking his policies in an attempt to undermine support for his reelection bid in 2010
(Source: AP.)
HUNTSVILLE Health Care Bill lit drop! Tea Party (AL): -- August 8, 2009 - Huntsville, Alabama Saturday, August 8, 2009 11:00am Trinity United Methodist Church 607 Airport Rd Christie Carden (organizer) 256-603-9676 (organizer phone) www.huntsvilleteaparty.com Meeting to distribute mass amounts of HR 3200 informational fliers, along with copies of the U.S. Constitution!.. Join with us to stand for our freedoms and inform our community! This is the 3rd consecutive week we've done this, and we have had a very positive response. We go door to door in pairs and are very polite and respectful.
GLENDALE Arizona "Code Blue-Round 2" For Health Care Freedom Tea Party (AZ): -- August 8, 2009 - Glendale, Arizona Saturday, August 8, 2009 9:00 am Trent Franks' Glendale Office 7121 West Bell Road, Suite 200 Arizona Tea Party (organizer) 602-214-2334 (organizer phone) http://arizonateaparty.com Arizonans are "Asking for Answers from our Representatives". We are coming together at 11 Congressional Offices & the AARP Arizona State Office to promote Health Care Reform - Not - Government Takeover of Health Care. Bring blue balloons, dress in blue and bring signs to show your support. Arizona Groups coming together - Tea Party Patriots, Smart Girl Politics, Americans for Prosperity, 9-12 Project Arizona and Arizona Tea Party. Visit http://ArizonaTeaParty.com for detailed information.
NAVARRE Tax Tea Party (FL): -- Saturday, August 8, 2009 9 am 12 pm Navarre, Florida Navarre Park Julie Martinez (organizer) please email (organizer phone) TBP *TBP- To Be Posted I would love to have help with this. I am going to the the basic preliminaries to get it started. If you live in Navarre, please spread the word that there will be a Tax Tea Party rally on August 8, 2009. AND I would like to have a barbeque on Navarre Beach Park: There will also be one on September 11. 2009 Memorial-TTP Event Navarre, Florida Friday, September 11, 2009 6-10pm Navarre Park Navarre Parkway, across from FBNT/ Waffle House Julie Martinez (organizer) please email (organizer phone)
GOLD CANYON Neighborhood Walk (AZ): -- Gold Canyon, Arizona Thursday, August 27, 2009 TBA Gold Canyon 9742 E. Del Monte AV Lucia (organizer) 480-600-5363 (organizer phone) The more the merrier! Invite all your friends.
MESA Arizona "Code Blue-Round 2" For Health Care Freedom Tea Party (AZ): -- Saturday, August 8, 2009 Mesa, Arizona 9:00 am Jeff Flake's Mesa Office 1640 South Stapley, Suite 215 Arizona Tea Party (organizer) 602-214-2334 (organizer phone) http://arizonateaparty.com Arizonans are "Asking for Answers from our Representatives". We are coming together at 11 Congressional Offices & the AARP Arizona State Office to promote Health Care Reform - Not - Government Takeover of Health Care. Bring blue balloons, dress in blue and bring signs to show your support. Arizona Groups coming together - Tea Party Patriots, Smart Girl Politics, Americans for Prosperity, 9-12 Project Arizona and Arizona Tea Party. Visit http://ArizonaTeaParty.com for detailed information.
PHOENIX Arizona "Code Blue-Round 2" For Health Care Freedom Tea Party (AZ): -- Saturday, August 8, 2009 Phoenix, Arizona 9:00 am John McCain's Phoenix Office 5353 N. 16th Street Arizona Tea Party (organizer) 602-214-2334 (organizer phone) http://arizonateaparty.com Arizonans are "Asking for Answers from our Representatives". We are coming together at 11 Congressional Offices & the AARP Arizona State Office to promote Health Care Reform - Not - Government Takeover of Health Care. Bring blue balloons, dress in blue and bring signs to show your support. Arizona Groups coming together - Tea Party Patriots, Smart Girl Politics, Americans for Prosperity, 9-12 Project Arizona and Arizona Tea Party. Visit http://ArizonaTeaParty.com for detailed information.
PHOENIX Arizona "Code Blue-Round 2" For Health Care Freedom Tea Party (AZ): -- Saturday, August 8, 2009 9:00 am Jon Kyl's Phoenix Office 2200 East Camelback, Suite 120 Arizona Tea Party (organizer) 602-214-2334 (organizer phone) http://arizonateaparty.com Arizonans are "Asking for Answers from our Representatives". We are coming together at 11 Congressional Offices & the AARP Arizona State Office to promote Health Care Reform - Not - Government Takeover of Health Care. Bring blue balloons, dress in blue and bring signs to show your support. Arizona Groups coming together - Tea Party Patriots, Smart Girl Politics, Americans for Prosperity, 9-12 Project Arizona and Arizona Tea Party. Visit http://ArizonaTeaParty.com for detailed information.
PHOENIX Arizona "Code Blue-Round 2" For Health Care Freedom Tea Party (AZ): --Saturday, August 8, 2009 9:00 am John Shadegg's Phoenix Office 2400 E. Arizona Biltmore Circle, Suite 1290 Arizona Tea Party (organizer) 602-214-2334 (organizer phone) http://arizonateaparty.com Arizonans are "Asking for Answers from our Representatives". We are coming together at 11 Congressional Offices & the AARP Arizona State Office to promote Health Care Reform - Not - Government Takeover of Health Care. Bring blue balloons, dress in blue and bring signs to show your support. Arizona Groups coming together - Tea Party Patriots, Smart Girl Politics, Americans for Prosperity, 9-12 Project Arizona and Arizona Tea Party. Visit http://ArizonaTeaParty.com for detailed information.
PHOENIX Arizona "Code Blue-Round 2" For Health Care Freedom Tea Party (AZ): -- Saturday, August 8, 2009 9:00 am Ed Pastor's Phoenix Office 411 North Central Avenue, Suite 150 Arizona Tea Party (organizer) 602-214-2334 (organizer phone) http://arizonateaparty.com Arizonans are "Asking for Answers from our Representatives". We are coming together at 11 Congressional Offices & the AARP Arizona State Office to promote Health Care Reform - Not - Government Takeover of Health Care. Bring blue balloons, dress in blue and bring signs to show your support. Arizona Groups coming together - Tea Party Patriots, Smart Girl Politics, Americans for Prosperity, 9-12 Project Arizona and Arizona Tea Party. Visit http://ArizonaTeaParty.com for detailed information.
PHOENIX Arizona "Code Blue-Round 2" For Health Care Freedom Tea Party (AZ): -- Saturday, August 8, 2009 9:00 am AARP - Arizona State Office 201 E. Washington Street Arizona Tea Party (organizer) 602-214-2334 (organizer phone) http://arizonateaparty.com Arizonans are "Asking for Answers from our Representatives". We are coming together at 11 Congressional Offices & the AARP Arizona State Office to promote Health Care Reform - Not - Government Takeover of Health Care. Bring blue balloons, dress in blue and bring signs to show your support. Arizona Groups coming together - Tea Party Patriots, Smart Girl Politics, Americans for Prosperity, 9-12 Project Arizona and Arizona Tea Party. Visit http://ArizonaTeaParty.com for detailed information.
PHOENIX ARIZONA (AARP PROTEST) Tea Party (AZ): -- August 8, 2009 - Protest at AARP office
Tom Jenney Arizona Director Americans for Prosperity (Arizona Federation of Taxpayers) www.aztaxpayers.org tjenney@afphq.org (602) 478-0146
http://www.americansforprosperity.org/072809-az-health-care-tea-parties-august-8th-sign-now
PRESCOTT Arizona "Code Blue-Round 2" For Health Care Freedom Tea Party (AZ): -- Saturday, August 8, 2009 9:00 am Ann Kirkpatrick's Prescott Office 240 S. Montezuma Street #101 Arizona Tea Party (organizer) 602-214-2334 (organizer phone) http://arizonateaparty.com Arizonans are "Asking for Answers from our Representatives". We are coming together at 11 Congressional Offices & the AARP Arizona State Office to promote Health Care Reform - Not - Government Takeover of Health Care. Bring blue balloons, dress in blue and bring signs to show your support. Arizona Groups coming together - Tea Party Patriots, Smart Girl Politics, Americans for Prosperity, 9-12 Project Arizona and Arizona Tea Party. Visit http://ArizonaTeaParty.com for detailed information.
SCOTTSDALE Arizona "Code Blue-Round 2" For Health Care Freedom Tea Party (AZ): -- Saturday, August 8, 2009 9:00 am Harry Mitchell's Scottsdale Office 7201 E. Camelback Road, Suite 335 Arizona Tea Party (organizer) 602-214-2334 (organizer phone) http://arizonateaparty.com Arizonans are "Asking for Answers from our Representatives". We are coming together at 11 Congressional Offices & the AARP Arizona State Office to promote Health Care Reform - Not - Government Takeover of Health Care. Bring blue balloons, dress in blue and bring signs to show your support. Arizona Groups coming together - Tea Party Patriots, Smart Girl Politics, Americans for Prosperity, 9-12 Project Arizona and Arizona Tea Party. Visit http://ArizonaTeaParty.com for detailed information.
SIERRA VISTA Arizona "Code Blue-Round 2" For Health Care Freedom Tea Party (AZ): -- Saturday, August 8, 2009 9:00 am Gabrielle Giffords' Sierra Vista Office 77 Calle Portal, Suite B-160 Arizona Tea Party (organizer) 602-214-2334 (organizer phone) http://arizonateaparty.com Arizonans are "Asking for Answers from our Representatives". We are coming together at 11 Congressional Offices & the AARP Arizona State Office to promote Health Care Reform - Not - Government Takeover of Health Care. Bring blue balloons, dress in blue and bring signs to show your support. Arizona Groups coming together - Tea Party Patriots, Smart Girl Politics, Americans for Prosperity, 9-12 Project Arizona and Arizona Tea Party. Visit http://ArizonaTeaParty.com for detailed information.
TUCSON Arizona "Code Blue-Round 2" For Health Care Freedom Tea Party (AZ): -- Saturday, August 8, 2009 9:00 am Gabrielle Giffords' Tucson Office 1661 North Swan, Suite 112 Arizona Tea Party (organizer) 602-214-2334 (organizer phone) http://arizonateaparty.com Arizonans are "Asking for Answers from our Representatives". We are coming together at 11 Congressional Offices & the AARP Arizona State Office to promote Health Care Reform - Not - Government Takeover of Health Care. Bring blue balloons, dress in blue and bring signs to show your support. Arizona Groups coming together - Tea Party Patriots, Smart Girl Politics, Americans for Prosperity, 9-12 Project Arizona and Arizona Tea Party. Visit http://ArizonaTeaParty.com for detailed information.
TUCSON Arizona "Code Blue-Round 2" For Health Care Freedom Tea Party (AZ): -- Saturday, August 8, 2009 9:00 am Raul Grijalva's Tucson Office 810 E. 22nd Street, Suite 102 Arizona Tea Party (organizer) 602-214-2334 (organizer phone) http://arizonateaparty.com Arizonans are "Asking for Answers from our Representatives". We are coming together at 11 Congressional Offices & the AARP Arizona State Office to promote Health Care Reform - Not - Government Takeover of Health Care. Bring blue balloons, dress in blue and bring signs to show your support. Arizona Groups coming together - Tea Party Patriots, Smart Girl Politics, Americans for Prosperity, 9-12 Project Arizona and Arizona Tea Party. Visit http://ArizonaTeaParty.com for detailed information.
BRIGHTON "INFORMAL CHAT" (CO): -- August 8, 2009 - Democratic Rep. Ed Perlmutter was at a grocery store in Brighton, Colo., on Saturday for informal chats with constituents. Some people protested the proposed health care overhaul and likened it to socialism. (Source: NY Times.)
DOVER Silent No More Rally (DE): -- Saturday, August 8, 2009 2 pm - 6 pm Dover, Delaware Legislative Mall Legislative Ave. Chris Shirey (organizer) 302 875-5489 (organizer phone)
http://www.delawareteaparty.org/ I would like to invite you to the Silent No More Rally on Saturday, August 8, 2009 at Legislative Mall in Dover from 2 - 6 pm. We are inviting all of the conservative groups in Delaware to join us. We are looking for speakers, future candidates and possibly music. We are asking each group to provide information on their groups. This will be a great way for us to get to know each other and to prepare for the upcoming year. I will post more information as we get it. Please let me know if you have any suggestions or contributions you can make to this event. Please invite all of your friends, family and neighbors.
DES MOINES "TOWN HALL" MEETING (IA): -- August 8, 2009 - UPDATE At a meeting in Des Moines, Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa, was interrupted several times by people in the audience shouting criticism and questions, even though he said he didn't expect Iowans to take part in what he called ''scare tactics, misinformation and obstruction.'' ''As we have seen in recent days, opponents are pulling out all stops to kill the reform effort. This is a shame,'' Harkin said. But his words didn't stop some in the estimated crowd of 200 from disrupting the meeting, where uniformed police officers were present. Des Moines police said no one was arrested. At one point, a man from the audience yelled: ''This is not health reform, this is control, control over our lives.'' Harkin responded to one man shouting criticisms by saying, ''As I said, there is a nationally coordinated effort to disrupt these meetings.'' The man responded that no one had sent him to the meeting. Similar exchanges have recently taken place at town halls nationwide, as Democratic lawmakers return home for the August recess to rally support for President Barack Obama's top domestic priority -- revamping a costly health care system that leaves millions without insurance. (Source: NY Times.)
IDAHO FALLS The Great American Tea Party (ID): -- Saturday, August 8, 2009 10-2pm Idaho Falls, Idaho Idaho Falls Green Belt Duck Races Greenbelt/Duck Races Andi Elliott (organizer) 208-662-5808 (organizer phone) www.idahofallsteaparty.com We will have a booth set up to distribute information and answer questions. And our "Liberty Tree" will be there. Also, we'll have a Declaration of Independence to sign.
CHELMSFORD "TOWNHALL MEETING" (MA): -- August 8, 2009 - UPDATE US Rep. Tsongas meeting on Obama health care proposal in Chelmsford, Mass Aug. 8, 2009. Rep. Tsongas stated the abortion would not be covered under the proposed plan because of the Hyde Amendment prohibiting the use of public funds for the procedure. She also stated that illegal aliens would not be covered. Many reports on the proposed plan say otherwise. US Rep. Tsongas (Massachusetts) meeting on Obama health care proposal in Chelmsford, Mass Aug. 8, 2009. Rep. Tsongas stated the abortion would not be covered under the proposed plan because of the Hyde Amendment prohibiting the use of public funds for the procedure. She also stated that illegal aliens would not be covered. Many reports on the proposed plan say otherwise. 800 people showed up for the meeting but only 400 were allowed in the hall. (Source: Free Republic.)
ST LOUIS SEIU Protest Over "Thuggery" (MO): -- August 8, 2009 - UPDATE Protest held at the Headquarters of the SEIU in St Louis MO. St. Louis Tea Party Patriots ask the ACORN-SEIU Union-- "Don't Tread On Me!" Gadsen Girls, talk radio host Dana Loesch (left) and Critical Care RN Stephanie Rubach "begged the SEIU thugs not to beat them". Sadly, the ACLU and the NAACP did not send representatives to the rally. ...After all, Kenneth is a black conservative. A few hundred protesters showed up outside the SEIU headquarters in St. Louis to condemn the SEIU racist union violence. (Source: Gateway Pundit.)
Although he was too weak to speak after his beating on Thursday, black conservative Kenneth Gladney attended the event. Kenneth was beaten, kicked and called racist names by Russ Carnahan's SEIU supporters after a town hall meeting on Thursday (6 Aug).
HUNTINGTON Hands Off Heath Care Tea Party (NY): -- Saturday, August 8, 2009 11 AM - 2 PM - Huntington, NY Huntington, New York Corner of Route 110 & Jericho Corner of Route 110 & Jericho Grace (organizer) 631-748-0694 (organizer phone) www.csa-1776.org Location Conservative Society For Action - Hands off Heath Care Tea Party When: Saturday, August 8, 2009 Time: 11 AM - 2 PM Where: Corner of Route 110 & Jericho Turnpike, Huntington, NY How to find us "Look for the crowd with the signs and the red shirts!" We only have 30 more days to stop the destruction of our heath care system. This very high traffic area will give our cause a lot of visibility. If you park at the Walt Whitman Mall along Route 110 on the Lord & Taylor end of the mall it is just a short walk to the corner of Route 110 & Jericho Turnpike. There is also parking on W. Albany St. and Fridays parking lot 1 block down. Bring "Hands Off Heath Care" theme signs! Look for the red shirts - Bring your signs and be heard! Last time we received a very good welcoming from the passer buys We will bring handouts on the health care bill! We must pass them out by the hundreds! http://maps.google.co... Let's show Washington that we mean business and that we won't stand for the destruction of the Free Enterprise System for heath care, energy, auto production or financial services. Hope you can make it!
KINDERHOOK Congressman Scott Murphy Town Hall (NY): -- Saturday, August 8, 2009 11:00 Kinderhook, New York Hannaford Parking Lot Kinderhook Mary Ziegler (organizer) 518-269-9183 (organizer phone) We are holding Congressman Scott murphy's feet to the fire. Why did he vote for Cap and Trade?? Will he promise to reject any healthcare bill that introduces a government-run option?? Lets remind him that he represents his constituents and NOT Nancy Pelosi! UPDATE The following is an article by David Hass:
I went to a town hall meeting held by my Congressman Scott Murphy (D) yesterday. Here's my report.
I found out about the meeting by searching Congressman Murphy's website.
The notice was put up less than 24 hours before the meeting.
I got to the meeting an hour early. Organizers were already there writing their pro health care reform posters. They brought about 40 people, mostly very nice elderly Democrats who must be on call for such things. TV camera crews were setting up, people were milling around.
I was standing talking to an elderly man when a large MoveOn organizer came up to me and asked me why I was there. I explained that I wanted to see a real town hall meeting to see what really goes on. He asked me my position on Obamacare. I declined to answer saying I'm in support of anything that will make America a better country. He started lecturing me on the talking points of Obamacare but I refused to engage. Then he smiled and said nice to meet you and walked away. I felt that I had been targeted.
There were only a handful of "real" people there. Local people who had somehow heard about this meeting like I had. They sat off to the side until the meeting started.
When the Congressman arrived we all formed a circle around him. The zombies had their signs up and made sure they were always in the line of view of the TV cameras. After a short speech, where Murphy said he supported revised versions of the HR 3200 bill which will have amendments added to make sure we can all keep our existing coverage, he asked people to get in line to ask questions.
The MoveOn organizer of the event rushed over to get near the front of the line. I guess he knew that only 5 or 6 people would end up asking questions.
Two of the six questioners were MoveOn people, who asked setup questions on other topics to kill the time available for real questioners.
It quickly became clear, based on the applause and the cheers, that all of the non-zombies oppose HR 3200, while the zombies applauded whenever the Congressman stated views that supported the bill.
One woman asked if there was any language in HR 3200 discussing tort reform. The answer was no. She replied that there needs to be since lottery sized malpractice judgments are a significant cost factor in health care costs. She received lots of applause from the locals, and frowns from the zombies.
Another local asked how the government which has made such a mess of it's own finances can possibly run health care better than private companies. Another round of applause from the locals. Mish mash doublespeak answer from the Congressman.
After the meeting, a local woman, who by then figured out which side of the debate I was on, came up to me and said that a zombie called her a fascist.
I somehow attracted the attention of the TV crews so they came up and interviewed me. I had three cameras in my face. A new experience for me.
I stated that the government has said that Medicare is going to run out of money in 7 years, we have a $12.1 national debt, we're going to have a $1.8 trillion budget deficit this year, and the government is going to spend another trillion dollars on national health care and this is going to somehow save us money? I also complained to the cameras about all the strangers who had been brought here carrying pro ObamaCare posters.
I watched the evening news reports and our meeting was covered on 3 channels. One news channel was disappointed because "no sparks flew at town meeting". I was not on TV but I did get a sentence in the text report on one channel where I was paraphrased "I have concerns about too much government intervention in the economy". The TV reports showed the Congressman speaking to the polite crowd, with only pro ObamaCare posters visible (none of the locals made signs). They showed one woman's comment "based on what I saw, most of the people there support health care reform". She was a MoveOn zombie.
So, the news coverage did not accurately reflect what really happened:
- announce the meeting within a day of the event
- only announce the meeting on the Congressman's website
- have emails sent out to supporter's and their zombies asking them to come
- make signs and stand in full view of the camera
- intimidate anybody there who you think might present an opposing view before the meeting starts
- get your people to be interviewed with pro-Obamacare views
- watch as positive press coverage happens.
People who oppose ObamaCare better get started soon. The Democrats are playing a very clever game and are now seriously working the system.
Hey, they got Obama elected, they probably can get ObamaCare passed too. (Source: American Thinker: David Hass.)
MEMPHIS Town Hall Meeting (TN): -- Memphis, Tennessee Saturday, August 8, 2009 10am/12pm Bridges 477 North 5th Street Jim Tomasik (organizer) 827-0120 (organizer phone) Representative Steve Cohen is the most liberal Congressman from the state of Tennessee...he is the one who said "Pontius Pilate was a governor and Jesus Christ was a community organizer" in reference to Sarah Palin and Barack Obama...He also voted for the Unconstitutional Hate Crimes Act of 2009 which gives special rights to special groups of Americans...AND ON AND ON.......... The tension over pending health care reform legislation boiled over at other meetings Saturday. Hundreds of people crowded into a meeting in Memphis hosted by Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn. The forum was scheduled to address constituents' concerns about Social Security and veterans' benefits, but it quickly turned into a shouting match over health care reform. (Source: NY Times.) UPDATE James Klemis, an interventional cardiologist who practices in Memphis, was at a lake house on a Saturday earlier this month when he got a text message from a friend about a health care town meeting that evening. He jumped in his car and drove 45 minutes to an inner-city auditorium. There he met up with 15 of his doctor colleagues, who all showed up to give their congressman, Steve Cohen, an earful.
"It's a very poorly crafted plan that's being rushed through," Klemis says, who spoke out against what he called socialized medicine at the event.
Doctors like Klemis are organizing against ObamaCare all over the country. Yet it's without the support of the biggest national doctors lobby, the American Medical Association. Within two days of the House passing its health bill through the Energy and Commerce Committee in late July, the AMA gave the President a rare bit of good news by endorsing the bill. It was a shock to many of the group's 250,000 doctor members. The bill contains a vigorous new public health plan for people under the age of 65. The Lewin Group, a research organization owned by UnitedHealth ( UNH - news - people ), estimates that the legislation would cause somewhere between 34 million and 85 million people to go from having private to government insurance and would pay doctors on average 14% less than private HMOs. This weekend, there were reports that the White House is floating the idea of reform without a public plan, though all the bills that have made it through committee contain one. (Source: Forbes.)
RIVERTON Explanatory Meeting (WY): -- Saturday, August 8, 2009 10:00am Trail Head Riverton, Wyoming Resturaunt 831 N. Federal Blvd David Kellett (organizer) 307-754-4354 (organizer phone) http://www.wyoming912coalition.org August 8th, 2009 at 10:00am in Riverton, WY we will meet at the Trail Head Restaurant located at 831 N. Federal Blvd. to discuss the reasons for the fundraisers and The 9/12 Gathering
DOVER Tea Party (9-12 Delaware Tea Party) (DE): -- August 9, 2009 - UPDATE Well, I am back from participating in the MOB! (gee sure seemed like VERY friendly folks to me) Two Senators and our sole Representative were ABSENT!
In fact - While the group was gathered, Our Representative Michael Castle R DE (HAHAHA not even trying to be a RINO) announced that he will NOT be holding any town hall meetings out of 'Safety Concerns'. Turnout - Unknown (my guestimate 1,000+) BUT there were 750 there who signed the 9-12 Delaware Patriots (Refer to Glenn Beck's 9-12 Patriots) who signed on to the principles in a giant scroll. After only 2 hours, they had to stop, they had run out of space, people were even signing on the back. Those with broadband can see it at: http://www.pixiesites.com/9-12delawarepatriots.avi Among the speakers was a Physician who made some excellent points. For example - When comparing our current system to the socialized systems, look at the CURE RATE - We far exceed their performance. She pointed out that the electronic medical records are a farce. She suggersted that it was much much better to just have you carry a card in your wallet, the Doctor could then just swipe it and you could put it back in your wallet - under YOUR control! She also read us a statement from the Medical Association of Delaware AGAINST 0bamacare. Just from looking and listening, I can tell you that the feelings run deep against what is happening in Government locally as well as Nationally! If the politicians think they can just barricade themselves in their bunkers and this will all pass, I think they are mistaken. The sentiment is that 'If they won't come to us, we will take our message TO THEM'. They cannot hide - WE THE PEOPLE will not let that happen - Not in OUR Country! (Source: Free Republic.)
WILSON Tea Party (NC): -- August 9, 2009 - sponsored by Americans for Prosperity and Patients First...it was held in Wilson, NC and as you can see we had a good crowd with NO mobs or nazi's signs...
ORLANDO Counter Demonstration - OBAMACORN ALERT (FL): -- Sunday, August 9, 2009 10:00am - 4:00pm Orlando, Florida Lake Eola E Central Blvd Cheryl (organizer) 321-228-5849 (organizer phone) http://www.meetup.com/Let-s-Take-Back-Our-Country/calendar/11018424/ Time To Act! No way we allow a pro government health care event to take place in our backyard without representing our position. Obama-sponsored event at Lake Eola next Sunday, Aug 9: Organizing for America is compiling a list of supporters to show Sen. Nelson and Rep. Kosmas that the people of Central Florida support govt run health care! It's from 10:00AM til 4:00PM...all day WE MUST BE THERE WITH OUR FLAGS to show Sen. Nelson and Rep. Kosmas that we do NOT support the HR3200 BILL!!!!!!! TAKE FLAGS AND SIGNS IT MUST BE HUGE!
MIDDLETON roadside rallies and more (NJ): -- Sunday, August 9, 2009 11AM Middletown, NJ , New Jersey rt 36 in Hazlet NJ next to Dunkin Donuts rt 36 and Poole ave in Hazlet Barbara Gonzalez (organizer) 732-872-0709 (organizer phone) If anyone is part of my email group, here is my schedule: Just wanted to adjust the schedule. I know some of you on this list have other meetings, etc., but this is what I have on my agenda: 8/9 and 8/16 - Hazlet roadside rally 11AM (if its a rainy day there's no use in being on the road) 8/22 - Pallone protest in Long Branch at noon 504 Broadway 8/25 - Pallone town hall in Red Bank at municipal blg 90 Monmouth st 7PM 8/26 - Rush Holt town hall in Middletown at Church St Arts Center 7PM Of course there is the 9/12 DC march. Thanks Patriots, Barbara
APPLE VALLEY Every Monday Tea Party (CA): -- Monday, August 10, 2009 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm Apple Valley, CA Apple Valley & Bear Valley Rds. Maxwell Britton (organizer) 323-308-9609 (organizer phone) Every Monday from 5 pm to 6 pm at the NE corner of Apple Valley & Bear Valley Rds. in Apple Valley, CA. Bring your signs and your patriotism! Stop out of control government spending. Stop incurring debt for future generations. Stop government controlled health care. Stop the imposition of a carbon tax. Stop government run media. Stop the insanity. Hold your representatives accountable. Make your voice heard, join us!
SAN JOSE Representative Zoe Lofgren Town Hall (CA): -- Monday, August 10, 2009 7:00PM San Jose, California Almaden Community Center Almaden Community Center, 6445 Camden Avenue, San Jose 95120 Silicon Valley Tea Party (organizer) TBD (organizer phone)http://siliconvalleyteaparty.com Zoe Lofgren Town Hall (D-CA) District 16 UPDATE I just returned from Zoe Lofgren's Townhall meeting. (Calif Dist. 16) It was held in the Almaden Community Center generally an upper middle class neighborhood. I have to give her guts for showing up. Initially they only allowed 200 people in the room and locked the doors on about 150 people left out in the hall. The San Jose police were in a bit of a quandry as to what to do but eventually just as the meeting started they let us in for SRO in the back. The crowd was 95% anti big government healthcare. (I think the other 5% were afraid to talk) The audience knew the bill better than Ms. Lofgren and became vocal everytime she tried to mask what was in the bill. All of the right questions were asked with her being accused of being a liar or imcompetent as the crowd followup. Best question of the night award goes to a young lady who asked how in the world Ms. Lofgren expected the Feds to run health care when Tenn., Mass., and Hawaii have all failed. Got a standing ovation. The 2 hour meeting lasted about 45 minutes when a lady finally walked to the front of the room and slammed the whole bill down on the table for Zoe to look at as she did not seem to be aware of what was in it. Ending the meeting here was OK as everything that needed to be said was said. She was escorted out the back of the hall by SJPD to chants of VOTE NO! by the 450 people there. (Source: Free Republic.)
CLARKSTON Hank Johnson Healthcare Townhall (GA): -- Monday, August 10, 2009 7:00pm - 9:00 pm Clarkston, Georgia Georgia Perimeter College Clarkston Campus - Cole Auditorium/ Fine Arts Center 555 North Indian Creek Drive Julianne Thompson (organizer) 404-798-4663 (organizer phone) You don't have to be in his district to attend Scheduled Panelists include: U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson Moderator: DeKalb Commissioner Larry Johnson Michael Young, Grady Hospital CEO Dr. Sandra Ford, District Health Director for DeKalb County Dr. Arthur Kellermann, Emory University Congressman Johnson and his staff will update the status of health care proposals. A panel of health care professionals and advocates will discuss reform. The final hour and a half will be open to the public for questions and comments. DIRECTIONS: Georgia Perimeter College 's Cole Auditorium and Fine Arts Center is at the corner of North Indian Creek Drive and Memorial College Avenue in Clarkston. Driving south on I-285, take the East Ponce de Leon exit toward Clarkston, exit 40 -- turn left. At North Indian Creek, turn right and take it to Memorial College Ave ; take a left. The Cole Fine Arts Center is on your right. Driving north on I-285, take a right at the Memorial Drive exit, exit 41. Turn left on Rockbridge Road, right on North Indian Creek Drive and a right on Memorial College Ave. The Cole Fine Arts Center is on your right. UPDATE We joined thousands of Georgians for this Health Care Town Hall. It was incredible! Great to see a "mob" of patriotic Americans ready to have their voices heard...if only they could get inside! (SITE NOTE: No numbers but minimum a 1000 people in line easily as seen in the video.)
PONTIAC Health Care Town Hall (IL): -- Monday, August 10, 2009 Pontiac City Hall
Pontiac, IL 61764 Start Time: 7:00 PM End Time: 8:00 PM In attendance, Rep. Timothy Johnson H (REP) District 15
TOWSON Sen Ben Cardin (D) Townhall (MD): --Monday, August 10, 2009 7 PM - 8 PM Kaplan Concert Hall, Towson University Center for the Arts corner of Cross Campus and Osler Drives Brett Wilson (organizer) 301.964.4970 (organizer phone) Please come out and participate in Sen. Carden's town hall event. His office has refused to release the list of guest's who will be in attendance, however, Baltimore has a violent ACORN faction that has committed criminal acts in the past. Nevertheless, we need to exercise our First Amendment rights. UPDATE Restrictions imposed on protesters at Md. town hall @ 3:19 pm by Jordan Fabian Protesters planning on attending Sen. Ben Cardin's (D-Md.) town hall meeting on Monday at Towson University will not be able to bring signs into the meeting and will be restricted to sidewalks away from the building. "Towson University will not allow that at any of their facilities," Cardin spokeswoman Susan Sullam said. "This is a town hall meeting. It's not a rally and it is not a protest." Sullam told the Towson Times that 1,600 people have indicated they will attend the event... (Source: The Hill.)
(Towson Maryland) - Nearly 2,000 Show Up to 500 seat Town Hall meeting in Maryland After the office of Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin admitted to receiving over 1,600 RSVP's for its health care Town Hall, they must have been surprised at the more than 2,000 citizens that showed up according to witnesses and University Police. An urgent request to the AFL-CIO for forces to "counter" those opposed to healthcare was able to result in the a large group of supporters in line hours before the doors opened but was not able to counter the voices of those locked out of the meeting. Sign carrying protesters both for and against the health care bill took up positions on both sides of the road in front of the event with a core group of about 50 supporters being opposed by nearly 300. The supporters were approximately 15 red shirt wearing "Progressives of Maryland" and another group of about 15 yellow shirt wearing union members. The remainder of the group was made up of aging hippie types and young college students. (Note: My estimates of 300 vs 50 on the outside were of those actually carrying signs. There were many more simply standing on the side of the conservatives cheering them on who did not bring signs to the event because they had hoped to actually get into the building and signs were not permitted inside the building. There were many black protesters on the conservative side including a republican candidate for a Maryland office. One black man called Obamacare an "abomination " as he was interviewed by Fox news (The horned rimmed glass reporter-Orielly's guy?)
For Maryland, an extremely liberal state, the turnout was amazing for the conservative movement. They countered the typical 2-4-6-8 cheers of the union members (read from script sheets) with "All we are saying, is pay your own bills" sung to the tune of the Beatles "All we are saying is give peace a chance" while the crowd swayed back and forth. Other good repeated chants were:
Astroturfers! Astroturfers!
(When pre-made signs were being handed out by the union members. They also handed out mini-American flags that were quickly abandoned which led to cheers of "What happen to the flags? Did they burn your hands?"
USA for Us! Canada for You!
Pay your bills!
Just say No!
Thats not a hybrid! (When one of the few supporters of the liberals honked from a huge SUV. Most people driving by were honking and waving to the conservatives)
Shave your legs! (You had to see the other side to understand-lol)
"Sha na na na-Sha na na na-Hey Hey Hey-Goodbye!" (When each group of supports left. Each group seemed to come together and leave together.
The union chant of "What do we want-HEALTHCARE! When do we want it-NOW!" was countered by yelling "Our Money" just after they chanted "What do we want?!"-LOL
Supporters dwindled down to about 5 at 9pm with at least 100 still on the opposition side. At one point the 100 cheered for the remaining 5 for showing such determination after their union friend left. (The Union members leaving brought chants of "No Overtime! No Overtime!"
Twenty minutes into my two-hour wait to get a seat at Senator Ben Cardin’s town hall event, I started keeping a “Nazi tally” by counting references I overheard to Adolf Hitler, Germany, or the Nazi Party. Besides the usual suspects, the Lyndon LaRouche brigade was out in full force handing out fliers and pamphlets likening Obama to a new Hitler (although the real problem is the Jews, if you ask them, so I’m not sure why they don’t welcome that). It was a common theme, and not just amongst the anti-Semites: “This is exactly how Nazi Germany began!” was a standard echo heard in line.
After a couple of arguments with Christian fundamentalists who accused me of not really being on their side because I’m a godless libertarian-type, the lines funneled in. “Welcome to an exercise in democracy, son,” a guard told me. Indeed. By way of contrast, while standing in line to question Cardin, I spotted an eleven-year-old boy being told by an older woman that “this isn’t what democracy is about.”
The town halls are exactly what you’re seeing on television. The crowds are overwhelmingly conservative — and I mean Glenn Beck conservative, not David Frum conservative. I’m talking angry, ready-to-roll conservative, not rational, let’s-discuss-philosophy conservative. I can’t think of any more appropriate word than ‘redneck’ to describe most of the crowd. Literally every person who took more than ten seconds to preface his question was shouted down by “Ask your question!” by an array of overfed hicks. They were also prone to shout “You work for us!” and “You just don’t get it!” at Cardin, as if Cardin should be expected to represent the ideals of the 9/12 Project or something.
A reporter for The Hill interviewed me afterward, asking me about the tone of the locals. I apologized for their behavior, of course, but hastened to assure her that she should not neglect the rational, capitalist case against “universal health care.” That same theme tied into the question I asked Senator Cardin. “My question cuts to the philosophical root of the issue,” I said. “Strip away the histrionics of the crowd, the specific provisions of the individual bills, and what you’re left with is a question of its philosophical core. So I want to know: in your political philosophy, how do you determine what a right is? And more importantly, how do you determine what a non-right is?” The crowd clapped, though not as enthusiastically as they did for those filled with anger. Cardin’s response was typical political mush about how he believes in corporate responsibility and good government. Okay, whatever. I tried to follow up, but the microphone — understandably — had been turned off.
After the town hall ended, an obese women in a plain white t-shirt attracted the attention of about a dozen reporters. Practically in hysterics, she explained that her liver was thrashed and that under Obama’s plan, she’d be killed off as an unproductive member of society. The woman was bawling her eyes out, the reporters taking in every tear. Nobody wanted to talk about the issues. They wanted their narrative. And they got it.
Cardin himself is useless; if there’s a bigger nonentity in the Senate, I can’t think of one. Every last one of his answers were pathetically canned, although someone managed to squeeze out support for investigating tort reform from him (don’t hold your breath). But nobody left the town hall knowing anything more than they did when they arrived. On the other hand, though, nobody actually showed up to learn anything about the bill. I’m not sure who’s more responsible for the pointlessness of the event: the audience or Ben Cardin.
All in all, I’d have to say that I learned something today: what we need is not health care reform. What we really need is education reform. (Source: New Majority: Alex Knepper.)
Sen McCaskill Townhall (MO): -- Monday, August 10, 2009 -- UPDATE Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill holding a Town Hall Meeting today on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University where she was asked by a woman what she thought about comments by Nancy Pelosi that anti-ObamaCare Protesters are "Nazis, or un-American." The woman also referred to the current administration as the "tyrannical Obama Administration." McCaskill said she disagrees with comments made by some Democrats that anti-ObamaCare anger has been "manufactured," but she said she disagreed with the Obama Administration being characterized as "tyrannical." She did not elaborate. McCaskill also responded to a question about why Congress is not willing to use whatever Health Care Public Option may be adopted by saying she is committed to the fact that Congress should use whatever options are made available to the public at large. (Source: Freedom's Lighthouse.) The atmosphere was highly charged. One woman was ejected and a man arrested after the man tore up the lady's sign. (SITE NOTE: The liberal blogs claimed racism was involved. However, Sen McCaskill stated that what happened was three women came in after about two hours with signs -- even though there were specific instructions NOT to bring signs. She stated the crowd acted negatively towards the signs and one man over-reacted in tearing up the sign. That the sign bore the picture of Rosa Parks, civil rights legend, was incidental. She believed it was anger over the sign's presence -- not the sign's content -- that created the incident.)
MOORESVILLE Health Care Town Hall (NC): -- Monday, August 10, 2009 Mooresville Town Hall
Mooresville, NC 28655 Monday, August 10, 2009 Start Time: 6:00 PM End Time: In attendance, Rep. Patrick McHenry H (REP) District 10 UPDATE Standing on the reception desk in the lobby of the Mooresville Town Commissioners Chambers on Monday evening, Congressman Patrick McHenry told a crowd that he was overwhelmed by the turnout for the town hall meeting. "This is, by far, the largest town hall I've ever had," McHenry told the 150 or so people packed in the lobby. "When I scheduled these meetings I didn't realized I was the only member of Congress in North Carolina holding them." McHenry, a Republican whose 10th District includes about one-third of Iredell County, was addressing only about one-tenth of the people who actually showed up to see him.
Another 361 people (the maximum allowed by the fire codes) were already waiting inside the commission chambers for him. And another 1,000 or so people, waiting in a line that ran down Main Street, didn't even make it into the building. And most of them had come to voice grievances about the much ballyhooed and highly controversial health care plan, endorsed by President Barack Obama, that has been debated in Congress for the past month. "I know everyone is concerned about health care," McHenry said. "And I'm really skeptical about what Washington is doing concerning health care."A question then came from the audience, "What's the game plan for slowing this down?" To which McHenry answered, "You." Then he added, "I've been fighting this thing from the get-go. I've been reading it — it's 1,600 pages long so it's taking some time — to make sure there are no bridges to nowhere in it." Another cry came: "It's full of them."
Rob Stidd, the former chairman of the Iredell Democratic Party, knew he was in enemy territory when he spoke up in favor of perhaps the most controversial aspect of the health care plan: the so-called public option, which would allow people to purchase health care policies from the government.
"I want to fix health care," Stidd said. "And part of fixing it includes the public option. I've been fighting with these insurance companies for years and I know that we have to fundamentally change health care." McHenry said he was "for fixing health care, not breaking it more." He later said on the matter, "The government takeover of health care begins with the public option."
Once inside the chambers, McHenry spoke briefly on other issues, like the stimulus plan (which he voted against) and the emissions control plan most often referred to as cap and trade (which he said was misguided).
Then it was back to health care. McHenry actually had a raw copy of the 1,600-page document — about 10 inches thick — and slammed it down at one point. McHenry then took questions from the audience — about 50 of them — two-thirds of which dealt with health care. John Moorefield of Statesville said illegal immigration was at the heart of the health care woes. "Solve the problems at the border and you solve the health care problems," he said.
Steve Bennett asked, concerning health care, "What is the hidden agenda?" "Control," McHenry answered. "More government control." Bennett later wielded a copy of conservative commentator Glen Beck's book, "Common Sense," and the crowd applauded. But the loudest applause came following the comments of Arlene Reilly, who said she first voted for Dwight Eisenhower. "I'm very upset with the president of the United States going across the ocean to other countries and putting our country down," Reilly said. "I've never heard another president speak about the United States in such a denigrating way."
Following the applause, McHenry said, "There's your consensus."
McHenry plans to hold town hall meetings in all 10 counties in the 10th District. Meetings this week will be in Catawba (tonight), Lincoln (Wednesday) and Caldwell (Thursday). The congressman encouraged all those from Iredell who could not get in Monday to see him at another location (Source: Statesville.com.)
NORTH ARLINGTON Health Care Listening Session (NJ): -- Monday, August 10, 2009 Borough Hall North Arlington, NJ 7031 Monday, August 10, 2009 Start Time: 1:00 PM End Time: 3:00 PM In attendance, Rep. Steven Rothman H (DEM) District 9
ELMWOOD PARK Health Care Listening Session (NJ) : -- Monday, August 10, 2009 Start Time: 7:00 AM End Time: 9:00 PM Borough Hall Elmwood Park, NJ 7407 In attendance, Rep. Steven Rothman H (DEM) District 9
McMINNVILLE Health Care Town Hall (OR): -- Monday, August 10, 2009 McMinnville Police Station McMinnville, OR 97128 Monday, August 10, 2009 Start Time: 5:00 PM End Time: 6:00 PM In attendance, Rep. David Wu H (DEM) District 1 UPDATE Monday August 10th saw Oregon and Oregonians truly leading the Nation by example with the outstanding good grace of her citizens. GOP Candidate for Congress Stephan A. Brodhead joined a crowd that at its height saw an estimated 1000 people engaging their first amendment rights of free speech, peaceful assembly and the right to redress their grievances with their representative in Congress. ... Over the afternoon while introducing himself to people hungry for real representation in DC, he also raised 81.59$ for the McMinnville Police Department from the people waiting outside. Chief Ron Nobel accepted the donations with surprise and grace. The people out on the sidewalk donated with the sole intent of thanking the McMinnville Police for facilitating such a successful Town Hall. Their message was definitely heard! Chief Noble was happy to report that there were no issues of Public Safety, and that the Town Hall was a complete success for McMinnville and for Oregon. Chief Nobel pointed out one of the very real the roles of the police, which is in reality to help enable the community to engage their rights to free speech in a peaceful and productive manner. Without a doubt, the McMinnville Police Department succeeded under his leadership. When asked by the Department what they should do with the money, Brodhead replied, “Give it to your little league baseball team!”, this is just the people giving back to those who protect all our rights. This Town Hall was strikingly different than many seen across the Nation. There was no violence, the 120 or so citizens who were able to fit in the stations limited capacity conference room, got to opportunity to speak their minds. There may have been impassioned discussion, but in the end, everyone agreed on one thing, we are all Americans, regardless of party, and we have to find common ground. Though by unofficial count, Republicans outnumbered Democrats on that sunny sidewalk by 2 to 1, it was clear to see that everyone was being treated as an American, not as an enemy. (Source: Examiner.)
ARLINGTON Tea Party (TX): -- August 10, 2009 http://www.meetup.com/we-surround-them-arlington-texas/calendar/10938536/ and https://mail.google.com/mail/?zx=smp6egn0f8o2&shva=1#inbox/122d9c0165597835
GREEN LAKE Health Care Town Hall (WI): -- Monday, August 10, 2009
Start Time: 9:30 AM End Time: 10:30 AM Caestecker Public Library Green Lake, WI 54941 In attendance, Rep. Thomas Petri H (REP) District 6
HORICON Health Care Town Hall (WI): -- Monday, August 10, 2009 Start Time: 2:30 PM End Time: 3:30 PM City Hall Horicon, WI 53032 In attendance, Rep. Thomas Petri H (REP) District 6
HOLBROOK Town Hall Meeting (CA): -- Tuesday, August 11, 2009 UPDATE Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D., Ariz.) on Thursday canceled her public schedule for the day after a "Chat with Ann" session at a Safeway grocery store in Holbrook, Ariz., turned rowdy. A video of the meeting showed a woman shouting, "You don't appreciate our frustration!" Ms. Kirkpatrick cut the session short after 15 minutes and headed to her car, trailed by a jeer of "What a nitwit!" Lineberry noted that people from all over Navajo and Apache counties attended the event and it became obvious there would not be enough time for Kirkpatrick to meet with everyone who attended. "Suggestions were made from the crowd that the event could be moved outside or it could be changed to a 'town hall' style meeting in order for everyone to get their common questions answered. Those suggestions were dismissed and Rep. Kirkpatrick tried to continue the discussion with individuals at the table while the crowd strained to hear the questions and answers," Lineberry said. "After about five minutes, one of the people asked a question aloud about requiring members of Congress to fall under the same health care as being considered for the rest of us. At this point, Rep. Kirkpatrick got up from the table and left without further comment, to rousing applause from the audience. "As I left, there were still people coming to Safeway looking for the meeting and becoming disappointed that she had left," Lineberry added. "She tried to control it by going just one-on-one with the folks who where there. We were all upset with this format," Steven Slaton of Winslow said. ... Joseph City resident Eli Blake, first vice chair of the Navajo County Democrat Party, said he saw something different. "This is what I observed. She set up a table, attempted to meet people coming in and out. The first couple of people talked, then the crowd showed up. They were not interested in the answers she was trying to give them. They started to shout her down and it got to the point she grew so frustrated she left. There was no point in her staying," Blake said. Sheriff K.C. Clark, who stressed that he was there to deliver chairs and a table at the congresswomen's request and not to provide security, agreed with Blake. ... In a statement e-mailed to The Independent, Kirkpatrick said she was "disappointed that the event was disrupted by a small but vocal group." ,,, She said she scheduled Thursday's "Chat With Ann" to give "folks a chance to share their thoughts with me about what is happening in Washington, including critical issues like health insurance reform and getting our economy back on track." She added, "These 'chats' are meant to give people a chance to let me know what they need and what's important to them, and today's disruptions meant that a lot of folks did not get that chance." She said her goal is to "bring the thoughts and common-sense ideals of rural Arizona back to Washington, and talking with people at these public events is critical to achieving that goal." (Source: White Mountain Independent.)
DIAMOND SPRINGS Tea Party Town Hall Meeting (CA): -- Tuesday, August 11, 2009 7P.M. - ? 3734 China Garden Rd. Diamond Springs, Ca. 95619 Contact Info: Tom Mc Caffrey tbmccaffrey@sbcglobal.net This meeting space may change from meeting to meeting. Call above number for confirmation.
ALHAMBRA Town Hall Meeting (CA): -- Tuesday, August 11, 2009 UPDATE Hundreds showed up to a town hall discussion on health care Tuesday night, but by the crowd's own admission, few came to learn more about the federal health-care legislation. The first two questions received long sustained shouts and cheers, but the response to the third question was notably quieter. Schiff then urged the crowd to feel free to speak up. "I'd tell you not to be shy, but that's not really an issue," said Schiff to a crowd punctuated by signs. The purpose of the meeting was for Schiff to receive questions on the legislation, but with a lively crowd, it was often tough to hear the answers. The event, which was scheduled for the Alhambra Civic Center, was moved to the street outside to accommodate the swarms of people. More than an hour before the town hall began, hundreds had gathered to rally for their causes. Attendees on both sides stood face to face trying to out-chant each other. A local anti-tax group, Pasadena Patriots, rallied members, as did the local Republican party. And the Organizing for America group, the one-time campaign for President Barack Obama, also turned out supporters, as did several union and immigration groups. During much of the time when Schiff and others spoke, there was yelling from crowd, with individuals calling Schiff a liar and demanding he be recalled. Supporters, meanwhile, repeatedly yelled at the opposition to quiet down. The panel Schiff assembled included a representative from Kaiser Permanente, a consumer advocate, and representatives from smaller health-care groups. All professed some level of support for a public health care option. Most questions addressed to the panel had to do with the plan's cost, privacy issues related to computerized records, and the government's ability to run health care. Opposition to the plan centered on concerns the public option would lead to a government takeover of all health care, and the cost of the plan would fall on those who already have insurance. (Source: Pasadena Star.)
WILLIMANTIC Mini-Tea Party (CT): -- Tuesday, August 11, 2009 4:30pm - 6:00pm Willimantic, Connecticut Corner of Main St. and Jackson Main Street (Route 66) and Jackson Lisa (organizer) 1-555-555-5555 (organizer phone) Every Tuesday afternoon we will be outside protesting the issues at hand. If you can only come for 1/2 hour, please join us. Bring a sign and your voice, invite a friend or family member to join you and walk with us! Come join us in our weekly mini-tea party. Show your support for fiscal responsibility, limited government and free markets. Help us to make people aware of the issues at hand.
HUDSON "TOWNHALL MEETING" (MA): -- Tuesday, August 11, 2009 - Niki Tsongas is holding another town hall. Tomorrow August 11, 2009 at the Hudson High School. The event runs from 5pm to 7pm. The address for the Hudson High School is: Hudson High School, 69 Brigham Street. 5:00-7:00 PM. UPDATE Went to the Rep Niki Tsongas (D-MA) Town Hall on health care. Surprised by presence of Lyndon LaRouche wackos handing out literature, holding up banners and singing (!) in front of the meeting place. Inside one of the stealth LaRouche crowd asked a question about the Nazi tactics of the Obama administration. Do these guys show up everywhere else? I thought LaRouche was neutered a long time ago... Rest of crowd was older liberal Massachusettts hippies calling for single-payer health care, a few people who got on the question line to drool over Tsongas and tell her how proud they were of her (to mild, scattered clapping). Quite a few people who said they did not like the bill. Tsongas talked and talked and talked - even when it was clear she had no real answer to the question. And in many cases, this is no crime. The bill is over 1000 pages long of dense legalese - if anyone claimed that they *did* understand it all, they would be lying. Yet Tsongas would not admit that she could not answer all the questions, she just plowed ahead with platitudes until moving on to the next question. She "misrepresented the facts" in several cases and skirted around some issues with technicalities. Yes, there is one line in the bill that says that illegals don't get benefits, but there is nothing on how this would be enforced, or how citizenship would be verified, or how it would be paid for. Everyone knows that if a bill does not have a line that says that a particular thing will be paid for by such-and-such, whatever it is just won't happen. So Tsongas plays fast and loose with the facts. It was clear that her mind was made up a long time ago, and that these town halls are just PR for her. Sadly, no one is slated to oppose her in 2010. (Source: Free Republic.)
SILVER SPRING First Informational Meeting (MD): -- Tuesday, August 11, 2009 7:30 PM Silver Spring, Maryland Members House Residence Sam Hale (organizer) 301-509-1437 (organizer phone) marylandsocietyofpatriots.blogspot.com This is our first meeting where we'll be planning our protests/town-halls for the month of August. It will be held at a residence so in order to get the exact locations you'll have to contact marylandpatriots@gmail.com. All patriots are welcome!
HILLSBORO Townhall Meeting (MO): -- Tuesday, August 11, 2009 Barack Obama's pal Claire "ACORN" McCaskill held a town hall meeting today in Hillsboro, Missouri. At one point she started lecturing the crowd and asked, "You don't trust me?"
The crowd gave her an overwhelming response..... "No!" Dana Loesch has a report from the meeting. A local far left former Green Party candidate was kicked out of the meeting for starting trouble.
HICKORY CITY Health Care Town Hall (NC): -- Tuesday, August 11, 2009 Hickory City Hall
Hickory, NC 28601Tuesday, August 11, 2009 Start Time: 6:00 PM End Time: In attendance, Rep. Patrick McHenry H (REP) District 10 (IL): -- Monday, August 10, 2009
YORK Health Care Mobile Office Hours (NE): -- Tuesday, August 11, 2009 Courthouse
York, NE 68467 Tuesday, August 11, 2009 Start Time: 10:30 AM End Time: 12:30 PM In attendance, Rep. Adrian Smith H (REP) District 3
PORTSMOUTH TOWN HALL (PRESIDENT OBAMA) (NH): -- Tuesday, August 11, 2009 Obama was scheduled to appear on Tuesday in Portsmouth, N.H. at 1 p.m., at an event expected to draw roughly 1,800 participants. His goal this week, advisers said, is to address the concerns of people who already have health care and to illustrate how those people would benefit from adjustments to the current system. (Source: Washington Post.) The Town Hall is by INVITATION ONLY. Thus the audience was pre-screened.
UPDATE Ahead of his own town hall Tuesday, President Barack Obama sought to distance himself from charges by Democratic congressional leaders that boisterous health care dissent is "un-American," with his spokesman saying that the protests are a part of American life. Yet Obama could be in for similar disruptions as he takes the health care road-show to Portsmouth, N.H., where both sides are gearing up for a vigorous session. (Source: Politico.) As for the Obama supporters, they were BUSSED IN. (See video at Supporters Bussed in prior to being briefed on what to expect at the Townhall meeting. An example of hypocrisy for condemning the "mob" for being organized.)
This is another screened and shilled photo ops to play to the Health Care supporters -- and create the image in the media that despite the polls and protestors outnumbering supporters, large numbers support the plan. White House claims that questions had not been pre-screened, it was obvious to protestors that it was. On CSPAN it was obvious that the audience were mostly vocal supporters to cheer. Missing were the raucous dissenters seen at other Townhall meetings. As expected inside, questions were respectful, but outside two sides ended up in a shouting match over differing views.
As expected, the President drew cheers, but no opposing views. President Obama took the stage in Portsmouth, N.H., Tuesday in the hopes of turning around a health care debate that has spun out of Democrats' comfort zone.President Obama took the stage in Portsmouth, N.H., Tuesday in the hopes of turning around a health care debate that has spun out of Democrats' comfort zone. But inside the high school where the town hall-style event was held, questions sidestepped the sharpest criticisms of the president's health reform plans. Emotions were calm next to the heated exchanges at town hall sessions in other cities, or even outside the school. ... He spoke for almost 20 minutes before questions. After several friendly questions, he urged people with tougher ones to step up. "I don't want people thinking I just have a bunch of plants" in the audience, Obama said. After two more mildly skeptical questions, Obama ended the town hall. He took nine questions in total. (Source: IBD.) (SITE NOTE: As to plants in the audience, well, there were plants.)
According to Newsmax, Obama in Full Retreat on Healthcare Public Option. "People say, 'How can a private company compete against the government?' And my answer," the president said at Tuesday's town hall meeting, "is that . . . if the public option has to be self-sustaining, meaning taxpayers aren't subsidizing it . . . then I think private insurers should be able to compete." With those words, Obama appeared to tacitly concede that the current healthcare proposals on the table can't withstand a growing tide of public opposition. (Source: Newsmax.)
As expected, the shills were present. Boston Globe reports: A girl from Malden asked President Obama a question at Tuesday's town hall meeting in New Hampshire about the signs outside "saying mean things" about his health care proposal. Eleven-year-old Julia Hall asked: "How do kids know what is true, and why do people want a new system that can -- that help more of us?'' The question opened the door for the president to respond to what he called an "underlying fear'' among the public "that people somehow won't get the care they need.'' The girl later told the Globe that picking the president's brain was "incredible." "It was like a once in a lifetime experience," she said. Julia's mother was an early Obama supporter in Massachusetts during the presidential election, so she had previously met First Lady Michelle Obama, the Obama daughters Sasha and Malia, and Vice President Joe Biden. (Source: Real Clear Politics.) (Article contains video news coverage of the event.)
Also as expected, Obama made his common statements that fail the "fact check" scrutiny. For example, Obama promises reform won't increase the deficit: "First of all, I said I won't sign a bill that adds to the deficit or the national debt. OK? So this will have to be paid for." Fact: The Congressional Budget Office has estimated the cost of healthcare at more than $1 trillion over 10 years. The proposals made to reduce that cost – such as raising taxes on those earning more than $250,000 per year – have yet to make the bill deficit-neutral. The CBO estimates it will increase the deficit by $239 billion over the next decade. But even if Obama and congressional Democrats find a way to bridge that gap, the real cost of the current proposals comes after year 10. Based on CBO estimates that the net new costs of the program will increase by 8 percent per year, the Wall Street Journal estimates that by 2020, red ink generated by current proposals will tally over $188 billion – per year. The Journal adds, "As for the spending, when has a new entitlement ever come in under budget?" (See Newsmax article for the breakdown.)
Jim Geraghty notes that Obama told the crowd at his town-hall in New Hampshire: "I have not said that I am a supporter of a single-payer system." Geraghty states, "How does he think he can get away with that when this YouTube exists?" This refers to his 2003 statements caught on video on YouTube. (Source:Weekly Standard.)
At the prefabricated Town Hall in New Hampshire today, President Obama suggested that the Obamacare legislation for which he’s pushing has been endorsed by the American Association of Retired Person. “We have the AARP on board because they know this is a good deal for our seniors,” the president said. At another point he said: “Well, first of all, another myth that we've been hearing about is this notion that somehow we're going to be cutting your Medicare benefits. We are not. AARP would not be endorsing a bill if it was undermining Medicare, okay?” This is not the first time that the President and his team has made this claim, and the AARP has been content to let the Democrats say this while insisting to complaining members that they have not endorsed the plan. The AARP must have been feeling the intense heat of its members because today the group finally called the President out publicly for calling their cooperation and endorsement. The AARP put out a message that stated: “AARP has been working with Democrats and Republicans to fix our broken health care system. “While the President was correct that AARP will not endorse a health care reform bill that would reduce Medicare benefits, indications that we have endorsed any of the major health care reform bills currently under consideration in Congress are inaccurate." It stated it only supported specific provisions of the plan. (SITE NOTE: Whether this will be enough to stop the hemoraghing of the AARP after a membership revolt in Dallas and Phoenix where AARP meeting holders simply walked out. Other senior citizen organizations are starting campaigns to attract members away from the AARP. The announcement that the new CEO of the AARP (due to takeover in Apr 2010) will be a well-qualified man -- but because he is black along with charges that the "liberals" had ursurped the AARP leadership, there is a lot of negative perceptions that have to be overcome. This message seems much TOO LATE -- and they should have listened to their membership before it reached the revolt stage.)
PALISADES PARK Health Care Listening Session (NJ): -- Tuesday, August 11, 2009 Municipal Complex Palisades Park, NJ 7650 Tuesday, August 11, 2009 Start Time: 7:00 AM End Time: 9:00 PM In attendance, Rep. Steven Rothman H (DEM) District 9
WALLINGTON Health Care Listening Session (NJ): -- Tuesday, August 11, 2009 Senior Center
Wallington, NJ 7057 Tuesday, August 11, 2009 Start Time: 1:00 PM End Time: 3:00 PM In attendance, Rep. Steven Rothman H (DEM) District 9
NORWICH Booth at: Chenango County Fair (NY): -- Tuesday, August 11, 2009 5pm.-10pm. Norwich, New York Exhibition Hall Bldg. Fair Grounds on E.Main St. Charlie Resseguie (organizer) 607-336-2280 (organizer phone) www.tea.centralny.net Our group had a very great 4th. of July rally! We are having a booth at the Fair in Chenango County and we will be there in the united force our group has and we will be giving helium filled balloons to the kiddies and very informative flyers to the rest of the attenders We plan on showing the two videos by the actor who depicted Thomas Payne...very thought provoking! The Tea Party Movement is alive and florishing here in central N.Y state!! and we are growing in number and zeal.
PORTLAND Health Care Town Hall (OR): -- Tuesday, August 11, 2009 Good Samaritan Hospital
Portland, OR 97210 Tuesday, August 11, 2009 Start Time: 12:00 PM End Time: 1:00 PM In attendance, Rep. David Wu H (DEM) District 1 UPDATE Upon arriving at the Wu Town Hall in downtown Portland it was obvious that the Union Mobsters were dutifully doing their $40/hr jobs. There were 87 seats available and since I only got there an hour early those seats were covered w/union astroturf. That was fine since that is what was expected and so I came to film the DNC activities outside and the obvious choreography that was taking place to expose it, which is what I did. To think that in the most liberal city in Oregon could only attract 2-300 libs says how forced they are to support DeathCare. I had gone down there w/a question to ax, but figured I wouldn’t get that opportunity due to union thugs and was right. My question was: Congressman Wu, since your side is continually vilifying the Insurance Industry why should us Patriots turn over our Doctors and Hospitals to a massively corrupt congress?? He would have given the usual Texas two step how we had to do something even if it is wrong since the crisis is so bad. Even if I got in and axed my question, then I wouldn’t have gotten nearly what I got on my camera outside. ... (Source: Brayin Candy.)
LEBANON Specter Health Care Town Hall Meeting (PA): -- Tuesday, August 11, 2009 -- UPDATE Numbers unknown, but those in opposition outnumber those in support. They got up before dawn in large numbers with angry signs and American flag T-shirts, and many were seething with frustration at issues that went far beyond overhauling health care. More than 1,000 people showed up here Tuesday morning in this largely Republican town in central Pennsylvania for a town hall meeting with Senator Arlen Specter, though the auditorium could seat only 250. (Source: NY Times.)
Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) fired back Tuesday at a raucous town hall audience that booed and jeered him for more than an hour. Specter immediately tried to temper the rough crowd, which started booing him before the question-and-answer session even began, with the blunt warning: “If you want to stay in here, we’re not going to tolerate any demonstrations or booing. So, it’s up to you." ... Trying to regain control, Specter pleaded with the crowd “to figure out some way to have an orderly procedure.” And he tried to respond to the protester. “When he says that I’m tramping on constitutional rights, I have to disagree with him,” said the senator, who switched from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party this year. “I’m encouraging constitutional rights. I’m encouraging constitutional rights by coming to Lebanon [Pa.] to talk to my constituents. I could be somewhere else. I don’t get [any] extra pay. I don’t have any requirement to be here.”
But Specter’s assertion that he was not required to attend the town hall was not received so well. “You work for us!” shouted several members of the crowd. “You work for us!” (Source: Politico.)
HOUSTON Town Hall Meeting (TX): -- Tuesday, August 11, 2009 UPDATE I just wanted to make sure that you guys were aware of a little bit of a controversy here in our own little corner of the world in Houston that has been making it's way around the net. You may have seen on the news last night the rudeness of Shelia Jackson Lee taking a phone call as a citizen was asking a question at her townhall on healthcare, but that's not the controversy. On Aug. 11th our own Houston Chronicle displayed a picture of Shelia Jackson Lee hugging a woman who had asked a question at the townhall as well, but her question was in full support of the health care bill. The woman was identified as "Dr. Roxana Mayer, a pediatric primary care physician." Turns out, she isn't a doctor at all though. She had identified herself to the Chonicle that way though. Patterico, a lawyer and LA blogger smelled something fishy, found her on MySpace, saw that she was clearly not a doctor, and e-mailed her to ask her to make sure. She did e-mail back and admit to the lie. It seems she was also an Obama delegate (actually true), which she also told the Chronicle, but the reporter failed to mention that little fact about her. So, here we have someone asking a question, giving favor in support of the health care bill, posing as a doctor to give more credibility to her support. When in reality she was an Obama delegate and NOT a doctor. After the plants at Obama's townhalls, and now this, it's beyond amusing and ironic that the Democrats accuse the Tea Parties of being "manufactured." You guys are shameless. (Source: Texas Sparkle.)
Roxana Mayer is NOT a doctor. Later the Houston Chronicle changed the caption (deleting her title as doctor), but left the photo in the article.)
GRASS VALLEY T-Shirts at the County Fair (CA): -- Wednesday, August 12, 2009 Grass Valley, California All Day Nevada County Fair Grounds 11228 McCourtney Road Jessi Boucher (organizer) (530) 913-6336 (organizer phone) Tea Partiers wear your Tea Party Patriot T-Shirts to the Fair. This is only supposed to be a silent statement to show our numbers. No rally-type event is planned. Questions or ideas? Feel free to email me. We will be having an informational booth at one of the largest county fairs in California. The fair will run from 8/12/09 through 8/16/09, 10:00 am through 11:00 pm. Informational brochures and literature will be handed out. We will have bumper stickers and lapel pins available for a $5.00 donation to help defer the costs of the event.
SAN JOSE Health care Town Hall (CA): -- Wednesday, August 12, 2009 UPDATE A Democratic Congresswoman admitted to her California constituents gathered at a town-hall meeting what the Obama administration has tried desperately to keep quiet: the health care reform bill covers abortions. "We know that over 90 percent of abortions are purely elective, not medically necessary. Why is this being covered when abortion is not clearly health care," Ignacio Reyes, a local pro-life advocate, asked Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Cali.) at a San Jose town-hall meeting. As the applause for Reyes subsided, Lofgren, who represents California's 16th Congressional District, responded that the proposed Congressional reforms included "a basic benefit plan developed by health professionals." "Abortion will be covered as a benefit by one or more of the healthcare plans available to Americans, and I think it should be," said Logren, eliciting jeers and protests from the crowd.
Although abortion groups, such as Planned Parenthood Federation of America and NARAL Pro-Choice America, continue to claim the existence of an abortion mandate is a "myth," the Associated Press instead confirmed that H.R. 3200 - the only version accessible to the general public out of five other bills on health-care reform - includes abortion coverage under the Capps Amendment.
The Capps Amendment explicitly mandates that the public health insurance option - which aims to provide for 46 million Americans who now lack coverage - will cover abortions through federal funding not restricted by the Hyde amendment. The Hyde amendment, which must be renewed on an annual basis, only prohibits federal funding going to the Department of Health and Human Services (HSS) from paying for abortion. But as the AP report confirmed, that leaves open other streams of federal funding, which under the health bill (HR 3200) could be used to subsidize abortion.
Although the Capps provision forbids the proposed "Health Benefits Advisory Committee" from mandating abortion-coverage as an essential service in the "Health Insurance Exchange," it does mandate that every U.S. region have at least one abortion-covering private insurance plan. It also mandates one non-abortion-covering private insurance plan for every region.
The amendment goes on to require taxpayer subsidies in the form of "affordability credits" to flow to insurance plans that include abortion, but then demands insurers guarantee the "affordability credits" do not subsidize abortion procedures, as if somehow money loses its fungible nature. Family Research Council first brought attention to the abortion mandate attached to HR 3200 in a provocative ad in which an elderly man finds out he is denied a surgical procedure, while the government plan covers abortions. (Source: Life Site News.)
Footage of Logren's town-hall meeting (complete with subtitles) was recorded and posted to the internet by David Schmidt, a young pro-life videographer and founder of the website "Issues and Justice".
NORWICH Mini-Tea Party (CT): -- Wednesday, August 12, 2009 3:30p - 6:00p Norwich, Connecticut Rep Joe Courtney Norwich Office Water ST Mike (organizer) 555-555-5555 (organizer phone) Every Wednesday afternoon we will be outside protesting the issues at hand. If you can only come for 1/2 hour, please join us. Bring a sign and your voice, invite a friend or family member to join you and walk with us! Come join us in our weekly mini-tea party. Show your support for fiscal responsibility, limited government and free markets. Help us to make people aware of the issues at hand.
NAPERVILLE Town Hall Meeting (CT): -- Wednesday, August 12, 2009 CLOSED TO CAMERAS UPDATE Tempers are boiling over at town hall meetings across the country. Rowdy crowds are making it clear how they feel about health care reform. Those angry exchanges are taking place here, too. CBS 2 Political Editor Mike Flannery saw it today - but you never will. A press release invited CBS 2 to a forum in Naperville Wednesday afternoon. When we got there, though, we discovered that our cameras were not allowed in. Electronic recording devices of any kind were strictly prohibited inside the Naperville hotel ballroom where two suburban members of Congress were about to discuss health care reform.
Our microphone and camera were allowed in for a few moments before the meeting began. But then we were given the old heave-ho. Someone outside the meeting said he wanted to hear about health care, but he wasn't allowed in. "We had pre-registrations, and we filled up the room," said John Schmitt, Naperville Chamber of Commerce. There were heated exchanges inside. North Shore Rep. Mark Kirk and DuPage County Rep. Judy Biggert were interrupted several times by small business owner Mark Garrity, who shouted, "Tell the truth!" "We don't really want to listen to them obfuscate about it and tell lies," said Mark Garrity, Downers Grove, Democrat. Sue Burtnette of Woodridge was not happy with what she heard at the meeting. "Because they did not address the uninsured the way it is today," Burtnette said. "It's a crime. There are millions of us baby boomers that are unemployed, trying desperately to find work, but we cannot afford insurance."
Afterwards, some told us they were glad that cameras were excluded. "There were people in there, obviously, with different agendas that already were fairly disruptive to the proceedings," said Patrice Bertheau, Naperville, Republican. "And, if the cameras were present, I think it would've been even worse." "I hate to hear that they say, well, we're lying. Their way is the only right way. And that's not true," said Judy Biggert. "We had supporters and opponents of the president's bill here, and argument is OK in the United States of America," Mark Kirk said. "As one commentator said, politics is wrestling in suits, and so, just get used to it." We called several local members of Congress. Few are doing the town halls their colleagues in other states are doing, open to cameras and all-comers. (Source: CBS2.)
CNN PADUCAH Health Care Town Hall (KY): -- Wednesday, August 12, 2009 UPDATE The CNN Express stops in Paducah, Kentucky, to talk with Americans about their feelings on health care reform. == Paducah, Kentucky a place where folks send "Black Hurricane" emails and part of a county that gave John McCain and Sarah Palin 61.9% of the vote in the 2008 Presidential election was visited by Ali Velshi and the CNN Express. CNN seems to be trying to get a feel as to how regular folks feel about Health Care Reform. So when the CNN Express bus pulled up in Paducah, what do you think happened? Well it was pretty uneventful in the beginning. The CNN Express didn't let anyone know where they going to be and when they going to be there. Smart move because this eliminated the junk going on at some of the so called Town Hall Meetings.Ali Velshi and his crew went right to work interviewing folks and as folks began to gather around the CNN Express, Mike Watt a free lance photographer suggested to Ali Velshi that he Ali Velshi hold a Town Hall Meeting right there on Paducah's Riverfront. Ali Velshi ran with that and a impromptu Town Hall Meeting was set up. The CNN Express crew wired folks up with wireless mikes, brought chairs out of the CNN Express bus and set up the impromptu Town Hall Meeting inside a gazebo right there on Paducah's River Front. CNN Express interviewed Richard Dillon, Heather Ryan and me. They may or may not have it in the air later today.
(Source: Hillbilly Report.) (SITE NOTE: The CNN Express was originally used to cover the Obama Presidential campaign and now is being recycled.)
CLARKESVILLE Health Care Town Hall (GA): -- Wednesday, August 12, 2009 UPDATE U.S. Rep. Paul Broun, R-Athens, walked into a North Georgia Technical College auditorium Tuesday evening to a standing ovation, holding three thick white binders.
"Folks, this is Obamacare," he said, holding the binders over his head. "Let me start this by telling you what I think of this bill and Obamacare," he said, and slammed the binders on the ground. With that, Broun set the tone for a town hall meeting on health care reform. The Democrats' proposal is too expensive and will threaten millions of Georgians' jobs and lives, he said. "This is a stinking, rotten fish, and they don't want you to smell it, and they want to shove it down your throat and make you eat it before you smell how rotten and stinky it is," he said. At another point, Broun, who last year made national news by comparing Obama to Hitler, called Cuba's former dictator Fidel Castro and leftist Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Obama's "good buddy." He also spoke of a "socialistic elite" - Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid - who might use a pandemic disease or natural disaster as an excuse to declare martial law."They're trying to develop an environment where they can take over," he said. "We've seen that historically."
Many speakers in the senior-heavy audience honed in on a clause in the health care proposal that would require insurers to cover end-of-life counseling sessions to help healthy patients decide beforehand what types of treatments they want to keep them alive if they are about to die. "(Obama) is going to let the old folks die, and I don't like that at all," Oconee County resident Gene Aycock said. Young people who get sick would get preference over the elderly under the Democrats' plan, said Broun, a medical doctor who made house calls in the Athens area before taking office in 2007. "Eventually, mama will be lying in bed until she gets pneumonia and dies," he said. Citing a study by the Lewin Group, a consulting firm owned by the insurance company UnitedHealth Group, Broun said 114 million Americans will be forced off their employers' insurance plans and onto a competing government-run plan because small businesses will not be able to pay for the mandated insurance. The Democrats' plan would be a precursor to a single-payer system, he said. "They want to take away your insurance and dictate what kind of health care you're going to get," he said. A federal health care program for veterans and senior citizens' Medicare Advantage benefits also are at risk, he said. Broun proposed an alternative to the Democrats' plan that includes allowing groups of people like University of Georgia graduates or Rotary Club members to band together to cut insurance costs, restricting malpractice lawsuits, expanding health savings accounts, offering Medicaid recipients a choice of private plans, making all health care expenses tax-deductible and expanding state insurance programs for people with pre-existing conditions. "We can lower the cost of health care markedly by giving people more options and letting the market work," he said. At some town hall meetings around the country during Congress' annual August recess, conservative protesters have clashed with Democrats and disrupted events. However, at Broun's Tuesday hearing, the crowd of 500 or so clearly was almost unanimously on Broun's side and relatively peaceful. One woman attempted to ask a critical question about covering the uninsured while Broun was speaking, and Habersham County sheriff's deputies briefly removed her from the room before allowing her back inside. When she rambled for a few seconds during the designated question-and-answer period, Broun politely asked her to respect the people waiting to speak, but members of the audience shouted, "Cut her mike." Attendance Tuesday was well short of the estimated 1,500 to 2,000 who came out to a similar meeting Broun hosted Monday in Evans, but enough people showed up that he split the group into two sessions. About 400 people packed into the 250-seat auditorium for the first meeting, and 150 stuck around for the second. Broun assured the crowds he will vote against the Democrats' plan no matter what. He urged them to contact friends and relatives in other states to tell conservative Blue Dog Democrats to do the same. An earlier version of this story contained an incorrect transcription that made it appear Broun spoke negatively about President Obama; he was referring to the administration's health care proposal.
(Source: Athens Herald Banner.)
HAGERSTOWN Health Care Town Hall (MD): -- Wednesday, August 12, 2009 A town hall meeting on health care scheduled for Wednesday afternoon in Hagerstown is expected to be crowded and possibly contentious. Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) is holding the event at Hagerstown Community College's Kepler Theater at 1 p.m. People are being advised to line up at 11 a.m. Maryland Senator Ben Cardin had to shout through the majority of a town hall meeting on 10 Aug at Towson University near Baltimore. UPDATE Four hundred fifty Maryland residents and a lot of anger filled the Hagerstown Community College theater Wednesday afternoon for Sen. Ben Cardin’s third town hall on health reform. The Maryland Democrat’s 75-minute town hall, held in a conservative stronghold in the state, was peppered with boos, jeers and catcalls, though a minority of attendees who support health reform efforts made it a bit calmer than past events in Laurel and Towson. Officials estimated up to 600 citizens, most of whom appeared to be opposed to healthcare reform, lined up outside the theater. Some audience members said they arrived as early as 8:30 a.m. Cardin remained nonplussed throughout the forum, even as constituents sometimes screamed at him, drowning out his explanations. The senator stayed an extra 15 minutes and took several extra questions, but appeared to win over few listeners. Most of the 23 questions from the audience were hostile, with questioners most angered over the cost of health reform, the role of the government, whether illegal immigrants would be offered insurance and whether tort reform would be included. “Washington has buried my family in debt,” yelled one audience member in a typical question. “How are we supposed to have any faith in you or the administration with our healthcare?” “This government has lost faith and trust. You all are not getting it,” screamed another woman. Town halls across the country continued to make headlines and fill chatter on the cable news networks on Wednesday. Democrats charge the protests are orchestrated, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Monday called those disrupting the town halls “un-American.” Those expressing outrage at the events say they are acting spontaneously, and that they are upset with runaway government spending. At the Cardin town hall on Wednesday, one of the loudest and angriest questioners, Cindy Maguire, a retired nurse from Hagerstown, told The Hill she became “unglued” because she’s passionate about the issue. “I give a lot of credit to Sen. Cardin — I really, really do. He knew this would be a hostile group,” Maguire said. “I came a little unglued because I’m very passionate. But a lot of us conservatives are displaying justified anger because we feel our country is being taken in a wrong direction.” Cardin repeatedly stressed that differences over health reform can be distilled into basic differences over the role of the government and whether the private insurance industry should be allowed to operate without regulation or competition. “There’s going to be a fundamental difference here on the responsibility of government,” he said. “I think government needs to provide protections so that the system can work … I understand some of you have already made up your minds, and I certainly respect your right to express your views. But I come to a different conclusion. I’ve been to Baltimore and I’ve seen some healthy babies that wouldn’t be here without prenatal care provided by the government. We just disagree on that point.”
Cardin also repeatedly emphasized that there is no formal healthcare bill before the Senate. He said he was open to tort reform and insisted that illegal immigrants aren’t included in reform efforts and that reform would be fully funded. As he has at past forums, Cardin laid out the Democratic case for health reform based on the “cost of inaction.” The senator noted that health costs increased by 78 percent between 2001 and 2008, and that last year $2.4 trillion was spent without covering 47 million Americans, including 760,000 Marylanders — raising costs on those who have insurance.
Health reform supporters were numerous in the audience, but not nearly as loud as opponents. After the event, supporters told reporters they were frustrated with the behavior of critics. “I thought it was very distressing and extremely rude, because I was here to learn about the bill,” said Carol Austin, a Hagerstown antique dealer. “I came here at eight-thirty in the morning and I was in the second row, and I had a hard time hearing him. I think he was very brave to deal with it." Louise Dawson, 77, also of Hagerstown, said she worries that her husband’s insurance from his years as a rail company employee will be jeopardized under the Democratic-led health efforts. “If the government is allowed to have a plan, we won’t be able to have our own options,” she said. “This forum was what I expected, because we have more opponents than supporters.” Outside the college theater, those who couldn’t get in were just as opinionated.
Gwen Hall, 56, of Damascus, Md., a former editor of a medical newsletter, stood in the rain with a small, white sign that said, “Support Health Reform.” She said she was surprised at the amount of anger at Wednesday’s event. “There isn’t a lot of information out there about what it is yet, so I don’t know what people are so upset about,” she said. “I just came basically to show my support for moving forward on reform. From the news, I’ve seen that the other side is coming out, so I wanted to come out too.” Amy Taylor, 28, an antique business owner from Hagerstown, also held a sign outside the theater: “Stop ObamaCare.” “I have a lot of issues with the cost and how we’re going to pay for it, and whether it’s going to take away our choices,” she said. “If people didn’t start stepping up and taking notice of this, it would have already been passed and it would have been last month’s news.” Signs weren’t allowed inside the theater, but dotted the landscape outside, as far as the exit into downtown Hagerstown from Interstate 70. Signs read “No Socialized Medicine,” “No To ObamaCare,” and “Don’t Take Away My Health Care.” At the entrance to the college, one man stood with a small, handwritten cardboard sign that read, “Death To Obama.” (Source: The Hill.)
LINCOLNTON Health Care Town Hall (NC): -- Wednesday, August 12, 2009 James Warren Lincoln County Citizens Ctr Lincolnton, NC 28092 Wednesday, August 12, 2009 Start Time: 6:00 PM End Time: In attendance, Rep. Patrick McHenry H (REP) District 10
ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS Health Care Listening Session (NJ): -- Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Municipal Complex Englewood Cliffs, NJ 7632 Wednesday, August 12, 2009 Start Time: 1:00 PM End Time: 3:00 PM In attendance, Rep. Steven Rothman H (DEM) District 9
RUTHERFORD Health Care Listening Session (NJ): -- Wednesday, August 12, 2009 Borough Hall
Rutherford, NJ 7070 Wednesday, August 12, 2009 Start Time: 7:00 AM End Time: 9:00 PM In attendance, Rep. Steven Rothman H (DEM) District 9
FRESH MEADOWS (QUEENS) Health Care Town Hall (NY): -- Wednesday, August 12, 2009 Wednesday night one local congressman facing a crowd of protestors tried to keep CBS 2 HD (NY) cameras out. The forum was one viewers almost didn't see, after Congressman Anthony Weiner's staffers said the meeting was not open to our cameras. Finally Weiner allowed the cameras in. (Source: CBS2.) (See article for video.) Wiener denounced rowdy protestors. News crew believed Weiner trying to avoid bad publicity because of the protests. Small crowd present that appeared very orderly.
COLUMBUS Health Care Town Hall (OH): -- Wednesday, August 12, 2009 UPDATE Verbal sparks flew at U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown’s forum on overhauling the health care system. The forum, lasting nearly two hours, was held on Wednesday, Aug. 12, in Columbus at Ohio State University’s Biomedical Research Tower. Mike Neutzling, 56, a nurse at the Ohio State University Medical Center, blasted plans by President Barack Obama, Brown, D-Ohio, and others to overhaul the system. He said 80 percent of Americans are satisfied with he health care they have now. Neutzling said “the whole concept of limited government is being tossed out the window.” The nation’s founders “understood that when you have unlimited government you have unlimited tyranny,” he said. Jeff Davidson, 58, a retired accountant from Dublin, strongly disagreed, urging Brown and Obama to come up with a plan to provides coverage for uninsured Americans. “I want you to raise my taxes,” said Davidson. “I can afford it.” The current system is “immoral,” he said. Brown for the most part succeeded in keeping the discussion civil and interrupted several times to silence hecklers on both sides of the issue. “This has been very helpful,” he said to the 150 people in the center. Hundreds more were in overflow rooms, according to event officials. Brown set the tone for the forum with a blast at the current system. “…Americans are paying more and more for their insurance and getting less and less,” said Brown, the son of a physician. After the session, he told reporters he didn’t think the discussion was one-sided. “If it was stacked, I’m not sure which way it was stacked,” said Brown. (Source: Dayton Daily News.)
In the aftermath of Sen. Sherrod Brown's appearance on health-care reform Wednesday at Ohio State University, a number of people complained that Brown made little effort to advise area residents he would be there talking about the nation's hottest topic. That apparently was not a problem for supporters of Brown, who had ample notice that the senator would hold a roundtable discussion on health care. The day before the event, Democratic organizations were urging people to show up and support "one of our greatest advocates for health-care reform." That prompted complaints that Brown wanted to pack the event with supporters in an effort to avoid a confrontation on health care. No way, says Brown's staff. Meghan Dubyak, a Brown spokeswoman, said the event was posted on the senator's Web site "before the event, either the day before or early that morning." She pointed out that nearly 500 people showed up, forcing Brown's staff to find larger rooms to accommodate the crowd. "The senator stayed for a full hour and one-half answering questions," Dubyak said. "As anyone who was there could see, the crowd was diverse in opinion." But a trail of e-mails and phone calls suggests that Democratic organizations had a heads-up about the event that everyday people did not have. At 1:31 p.m. on Tuesday, Brian Rothenberg, executive director of ProgressOhio, an independent organization closely linked to the Democratic Party, sent an e-mail urging backers of President Barack Obama's health-care changes to show up.
"We need you to hold a sign in support of health-care reform, be positive and smile for the cameras," Rothenberg wrote. He said a number of different groups supporting health care -- including the Service Employees International Union -- would be there. At 1:49 p.m. Tuesday, Brown's staff sent a media advisory about the event. When asked about the event Tuesday, Dubyak said space would be limited. A Dispatch reporter called Brown's staff Tuesday night and said she could not find the event posted on the senator's Web site. The staffer first insisted it was there and then said it would soon be posted.
The Dispatch and local radio and TV then noted the event would be held the next day. That apparently prompted some of the hundreds of people to show up.
(Source: Dispatch.)
COLUMBUS Health Care Town Hall (OH): -- Wednesday, August 12, 2009 UPDATE Usually a meeting called by your local congressperson only draws a few loyal constituents, but on Wednesday, Rep. Marcia Fudge became the latest Democrat to face friends and foes over President Barack Obama's health care reform plan. Hoping there would be strength in numbers, Democrats packed the Ford Auditorium at Case Western Reserve University to show their support for Fudge and the president's plan. But opponents made their presence known during a meeting that was billed as a state of the district address. "We have been trying to fix health care for more than 60 years. And we are going to fix it," Fudge said. With that, Fudge dropped all pretenses that this was a state of the district meeting and took on the topic of health care reform. She also made it clear right off the bat that disruptions would not be allowed. Anyone who attempted to engage Fudge before the question-and-answer period was quickly shown the door. Case Western Reserve University police said two opponents of reform were ejected for being disorderly. Fudge made sure critics knew where she stood. "This is still my meeting," she said. (Source: News5.)
GRANTS PASS Health Care Town Hall (OR): -- Wednesday, August 12, 2009 Health care town hall meeting in Grants Pass, OR, August 12, 2009, Anne Basker Auditorium. Peter DeFazio D-OR, 4th Congressional District. UPDATE The auditorium was filled to capacity by the time I arrived at about 5:00 P.M. for the announced 5:15 P.M. town hall meeting. The auditorium has a capacity of around 200/250. The crowd outside numbered in the 300 to 400 range. They were peaceful and respectful. Some chanting: "No Obama health care," and similar things. Small group of SEIU and professional gov't types tried to chant pro Obamacare slogans, but were drowned out. The numbers outside were about 10 to 1 against the current Obama/Pelosi proposals. Reports from anyone who was able to get it would be appreciated. It was pretty easy to see who was who, just look at the signs: hand-made were against, professionally produced were for. It does make the charge of "astroturfing" look pretty ridiculous. The astroturf, like the SEIU teeshirts, looked union made. (Source: Free Republic.)
STATE COLLEGE Specter Health Care Town Hall Meeting (PA): -- Wednesday, August 12, 2009 8am to 10am State College State College, Pennsylvania The Penn Stater, President's Hall 4 215 Innovation Boulevard State College, PA 16803-6603 Greg (organizer) (814) 234-3912 (organizer phone) (We Surround Them.) Senator Specter is coming to State College to promote nationalized health care. I guess he wants a piece of us. Well, let's give it to him!
COLVILLE Health Care Town Hall Meeting (WA): -- Wednesday, August 12, 2009 UPDATE Some Eastern Washington residents at a pair of town hall meetings Wednesday said they don’t trust the government to run their health care in the future. Others said they don’t trust the big insurance companies to run it now. Some told Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers they were afraid they might lose services if Congress passes a historic health care reform plan. Others said they were angry about the services they can’t have or the drugs they can’t get under their current plans. Like at meetings across the country, health care reform sparked strong emotions at two afternoon events attended by McMorris Rodgers in Colville. Unlike some meetings – where members of Congress have been shouted down or threatened – McMorris Rodgers’ crowds were mostly polite and respectful. They didn’t let her off easy, though. The three-term Republican congresswoman was asked about her own government medical insurance and whether she’s taken campaign contributions from pharmaceutical companies. “Why can’t all of us have the same insurance plan you have?” was the first question she fielded at her noon event at Colville City Park in front of about 100 people. ... As a member of a House committee reviewing the health care reform package, McMorris Rodgers voted against the proposal in committee. She said she has serious concerns about some provisions, including mandates for many employers to offer health insurance and for individuals to buy insurance. She doesn't support provisions for a government-run plan that competes with private insurance plans. Some people attending the events cheered any criticism of the government, while others defended the cost and quality of government-run medical services. (Source: Spokesman.)
EVERETT Health Care Town Hall Meeting (WA): -- Wednesday, August 12, 2009 Congressman Rick Larsen and Everett's Memorial Stadium saying again "till he's blue in the face" that no one will be forced into the Healthcare plan.
FREMONT Giffords Cancels Town Hall -- Opponent Holds Town Hall in Place (AZ): -- Thursday, August 13, 2009 NEW TWIST Gabrielle Giffords (D) - AZ was scheduled to hold an event at the American Legion Post #66 in Green Valley/Sahuarita, Arizona. She canceled, so Jesse Kelly, who is running for her seat in Congress, held a town hall in her place. Blogger stated, "What a pleasant change of pace to watch a video of a town hall meeting where the citizens were treated with respect and there was an honest effort to inform people about what is actually IN the bill because the speaker had actually been reading it." (Source: Free Republic.)
Gabrielle Giffords and Jesse Kelly were to debate the Health Care bill on 18 Aug.
CORTE MADERA Barbara Boxer Book Signing Protests (CA): -- Thursday, August 13, 2009 Just heard a report on-air from THE MOB protesting Barbara Boxer in Marin County, CA. She's signing her book? (can't even imagine the drivel) at a bookstore in Corte Madera. According to on-scene report, anti-Boxer outnumber pro-Boxer 5 to 1. Best handwritten sign: She has time to write a book, but not read the bill. (Source: Free Republic.)
PUTNAM Mini-Tea Party (CT): -- Thursday, August 13, 2009 12 noon - 1pm Putnam, Connecticut Putnam Kennedy Drive Mary (organizer) 1-555-555-5555 (organizer phone) Come join us in our weekly mini-tea party, exercise your first amendment rights! Take a stand with us to petition to our government for fiscal responsibilities, limited government, and freemarkets. Help us to make Rep Courteny hear us!
SUWANEE Health Care Constituent Outreach (GA): -- Thursday, August 13, 2009 Suwanee Library
Suwanee, GA 30024 Thursday, August 13, 2009 Start Time: 5:00 PM End Time: 7:00 PM In attendance, Rep. John Linder H (REP) District 7
WINDER Health Care Constituent Outreach (GA): -- Thursday, August 13, 2009 Piedmont Regional Library Winder, GA 30017 Thursday, August 13, 2009 Start Time: 10:00 AM End Time: 12:00 PM In attendance, Rep. John Linder H (REP) District 7
COTTONWOOD FALLS Health Care County Tour Stop (KS): -- Thursday, August 13, 2009 TBD
Cottonwood Falls, KS Thursday, August 13, 2009 Start Time: 4:30 PM End Time: 5:30 PM In attendance, Rep. Jerry Moran H (REP) District 1
HILLSBORO Health Care County Tour Stop (KS): -- Thursday, August 13, 2009 Tabor College
Hillsboro, KS 67063 Thursday, August 13, 2009 Start Time: 2:30 PM End Time: 3:30 PM In attendance, Rep. Jerry Moran H (REP) District 1
McPHERSON Health Care County Tour Stop (KS): -- Thursday, August 13, 2009 Chamber of Commerce McPherson, KS 67460 Thursday, August 13, 2009 Start Time: 1:00 PM End Time: 2:00 PM In attendance, Rep. Jerry Moran H (REP) District 1
LENOIR Health Care Town Hall (NC): -- Thursday, August 13, 2009 Lenoir Library Lenoir, NC 28645 Thursday, August 13, 2009 Start Time: 6:00 PM End Time: In attendance, Rep. Patrick McHenry H (REP) District 10
AUBURN Health Care Town Hall (ME): -- Thursday, August 13, 2009 Your local MoveOn Council is organizing an important event tomorrow in Auburn—can you be there? We're taking action at events like these because this is a make-or-break moment—right-wing extremists are crashing political events around the country and trying to dominate the public debate over President Obama's agenda. We can't let that happen in Auburn. Local MoveOn members are making sure Sen. Olympia Snowe knows that we're counting on her to support health care reform with a real public health insurance option that will help expand coverage and bring down costs for all of us. The event is on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2009, at 12:00 PM in Auburn. ... Location: Senator Snowe's Office - 2 Great Falls Plaza, Auburn Here's the description provided by the event host: At noon, we will meet at 2 Great Falls Plaza in Auburn and pass out flyers encouraging people to contact Senator Snowe and let her know that she needs to support a strong Public Option. We will meet in the lobby of the building at noon. I will bring all the flyers. I will have two large signs, making it easy to find me! Sen. Snowe needs to hear from her local constituents. Right-wingers are doing everything they can to hijack the debate—they're even using fraudulent tactics, like bringing people who don't live in the district to town halls.1 That's why we're organizing "Real Voices for Change"—an ambitious campaign to show that the overwhelming majority of Americans continue to support Obama's plans for change. We have numbers on our side, but Sen. Snowe won't know it unless we all show up. Coming to this event is a timely and easy way to make sure thoughtful constituents are heard in the public debate over health care.
HACKENSACK Health Care Listening Session (NJ): -- Thursday, August 13, 2009 City Hall
Hackensack, NJ 7601 Thursday, August 13, 2009 Start Time: 7:00 PM End Time: 9:00 PM In attendance, Rep. Steven Rothman H (DEM) District 9
SECAUCUS Health Care Listening Session (NJ): -- Thursday, August 13, 2009 Municipal Complex
Secaucus, NJ 7094 Thursday, August 13, 2009 Start Time: 1:00 PM End Time: 3:00 PM In attendance, Rep. Steven Rothman H (DEM) District 9
HICKSVILLE Health Care Listening Session (NY): -- Thursday, August 13, 2009 Tim Bishop (D, NY-01) is having something called a “health care reform rally” on Thursday, at (of all things) SEIU’s Hicksville NY offices (1199 Duffy Ave, starts at 1 PM).
NEW TRICK: DON'T BUS IN THE UNION TO STACK THE MEETING ... HOLD THE MEETING AT UNION HEADQUARTERS.
SEASIDE Health Care Town Hall (OR): -- Thursday, August 13, 2009 Seaside Public Library
Seaside, OR 97138 Thursday, August 13, 2009 Start Time: 4:00 PM End Time: 5:00 PM In attendance, Rep. David Wu H (DEM) District 1
KITTANNING Health Care Town Hall (OR): -- Thursday, August 13, 2009 UPDATE Sen. Arlen Specter took questions from attendants at a town hall meeting in Kittanning on Thursday. Nearly 2,000 people waited in line, but only 200 were allowed inside the meeting room at the Belmont Complex. Specter again defended his decision to support Pres. Obama's health care reform. He insisted that people will be allowed to keep their existing health care plans and people with pre-existing conditions will be able to get coverage. However, the majority of the 200 gathered in the meeting room questioned the quality and cost of the government's proposed health care reform, saying that it will increase costs and limit services. Before the meeting officially began, Specter told the crowd that time was limited, and he would only be fielding 30 questions, which drew a negative response from some of those in attendance. Recent town hall meetings have ended with people shouting at lawmakers over health care reform, and Specter has been on the receiving end of some of that anger. Residents of Kittanning were already squaring off while waiting for Specter to arrive at the Belmont Complex. Some people were in line as early as 6 a.m. to make sure they get a seat in the front row. And all morning, before Specter's arrival, people debated the health care issue with one another. Many of the early arrivals supported Specter and government health care reform. They were wearing stickers that say "Health Care Can't Wait." However, there were also some waiting in line that strongly oppose the plan. Someone put up signs in the parking lot that say, "No, You Can't. No Government Health Care," and "Don't Tread On Me. Vote No, Mr. Specter." "I think that everybody deserves health care," said Michelle Boyle, who supports the reform. "The America that I was brought up to believe in is the land of opportunity, and I see too many people not having many opportunities because they lack health care." "There is health care for all," said Trish Hamel, who is against the reform. "There might not be health insurance for all. There's not government health care for all, but the latest polls say 80 percent in this country that are illegal Americans, 83 percent of them are satisfied with their health care, and I don't see any reason why we need to make changes to health care" In recent weeks, Specter has faced some very heated and angry criticism at similar town hall meetings. However, Specter said he is willing to listen to anyone who shows up to voice an opinion. (Source: WPXI.)
SITE NOTE: Just as the Democrats were complaining that there were people from outside the district showing up at their town halls nationwide -- this meetting had two bus loads of ACORN people bused in. The ACORN people said they were bused in from the inner city to ensure "fairness" in the issues being heard. Again we get back to they were NOTconstituents. The Democrats are stacking the deck -- while complaining that the opposition do not belong in the meeting. In addition, protesters relate that the SEIU union people were at the site from 6 am -- in a event that was scheduled for entry on a "first-come, first served" basis. A blogger wrote, "...Acorn supplied 2 bus full of protestors, but they arrived too late to be admitted into the meeting. Many of us here in Western PA were privy to the automated calls and emails telling supporters to arrive at 1pm (for a 3pm town hall!!!) We all showed up and 11-noon and beat them to the punch. BTW the acorn buses pulled into the parking lot precisely at 1pm." (Source: Hot Air Pundit.)
OAKFIELD Health Care Town Hall (WI): -- Thursday, August 13, 2009 Community Center
Oakfield, WI 53065 Thursday, August 13, 2009 Start Time: 9:00 AM End Time: 10:00 AM In attendance, Rep. Thomas Petri H (REP) District 6
WATERTOWN Health Care Town Hall (WI): -- Thursday, August 13, 2009 Municipal Building
Watertown, WI 53094 Thursday, August 13, 2009 Start Time: 3:30 PM End Time: 4:30 PM In attendance, Rep. Thomas Petri H (REP) District 6
ARKADELPHIA HEALTHCARE TOWN HALL (AR): -- Friday, August 14, 2009 UPDATE At a separate town-hall meeting half a continent away, a Democratic lawmaker crucial to the legislative effort got an earful from voters worried that any government insurance program would only make the health-care system worse.Both events underscored the difficulties Mr. Obama faces in winning public support -- and how the national debate unfolding this month may be making his task tougher. "Don't stand up there and say we will be able to keep our insurance plan," one woman told Arkansas Democratic Rep. Mike Ross, a key figure who has helped stall the health debate in the House. Her comment drew cheers from the crowd of 700. Mr. Ross seemed lukewarm about a public-option alternative to private health plans, an element that many Democrats consider crucial to any health-care overhaul. He said it was "50-50 at best whether it will be included in the final bill." But he told the crowd that if a public plan was included, "it won't be forced on anyone." I"I'm not here to defend the public option," Mr. Ross told the audience. "I'm not even sure I support the public option. That's why I'm here listening....I'm not doing this for your all's entertainment. I really do appreciate your comments." (Source: WSJ.)
VIDEO: CNN: Here is video of Blue Dog Arkansas Democrat Mike Ross receiving a standing ovation at a Town Hall Meeting because he said he "stood up to President Obama and Nancy Pelosi" and won a delay on voting on the Health Care Reform legislation until at least September.Ross was mostly applauded by the crowd for delaying action on the bill. He advocated letting people speak, even shout if they want to, because "this is America."
SACRAMENTO AUG 14TH NATIONWIDE HEALTHCARE PROTEST (CA): -- Friday, August 14, 2009 12:00pm - 2:00pm Sacramento, California District Congressional Office (Matsui & Boxers) 501 I Street James Moore (organizer) 916-599-6199 (organizer phone) You know the drill! Join us at noon to protest our local lawmakers who support H.R. 3200! Bring your letters, petitions, and questions as we will file into the offices in pairs to deliver our message directly to staff. WE NEED TO BRING THE HEAT IN AUGUST! JOIN US TO HELP STOP THE AGGRESSIVE SOCIALIST TAKEOVER OF OUR HEALTHCARE!
SAN FRANCISCO Health Care Protest/MockTown Hall (CA): -- Friday, August 14, 2009 1:00 pm until 5:00 pm San Francisco, California Justin Herman Plaza One Market Street, Embarcadero Plaza Sally Zelikovsky (organizer) 415-453-0955 (organizer phone) www.bayareapatriots.com ALERT: CHANGE OF LOCATION!!!! Due to a scheduling conflict and permit issues, the Aug. 14th protest has been relocated to the Justin Herman Plaza (across from the Ferry Building). It will accommodate our larger crowd, provide greater visibility and easier transportation options for all (BART, Ferry, Muni, Parking). I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Please spread the word about this change. AUGUST 14TH SAN FRANCISCO TEA PARTY HEALTHCARE PROTEST!!! WHEN: Friday, August 14th TIME: 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Show up and leave when you want/can. WHERE: Meet at Justin Herman Plaza in San Francisco. Directions, parking, maps are all available at http://www.embarcaderocenter.com/ec/about/directions.html#maps. For additional parking: http://www.parkingquest.com/~kenq/cgi-bin/i.cgi?L=n18r01&B=FN Healthcare professionals, please wear your uniforms and lab coats, etc. The People will have the opportunity to speak for a few minutes with the Bullhorn. Keep it pithy and on point and keep your cool! WHAT TO BRING: Your signs and a red T-shirt. Feel free to wear your own red T –shirt but it would be awesome if you wore our Bay Area Patriots T-shirt. You can view it on www.bayareapatriots.com. UPDATE For those wondering just how strong the sentiment being expressed at Tea Parties and town hall meetings is growing throughout the nation, consider that about 1,000 people turned out to demonstrate against ObamaCare Friday in one of the most liberal cities in America...San Francisco. That's right, a Tea Party in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-Cal.) own district. Speakers included KSFO's Brian Sussman, and California Republican Party Vice Chairman Thomas Del Beccaro. Also in attendance, and speaking to the crowd without a microphone due to problems with the sound system, was NewsBusters' own Noel Sheppard (video embedded below the fold, Sheppard appears at 7:10 (Source: Newsbusters.)
MERRILLVILLE Health Care Reform Protest (IN): -- Merrillville, Indiana Friday, August 14, 2009 12 p.m./1 p.m. Office of Rep. Peter Visclosky 7895 Broadway NWIPatriots Bonnie (organizer) 2197591988 (organizer phone) Grilling Rep. Peter Visclosky http://www.nwipatriots.com/event_details.php?event=11 We are joining the national Tea Party movement in keeping the pressure on our elected representatives to vote against government-run health care.
BELGRADE (BOZEMAN) TOWN HALL (PRESIDENT OBAMA) (MT): -- Friday, August 14, 2009 On Friday, he will hold a town hall meeting in Bozeman, Mont., to discuss the plight of people dropped from their health insurance plans because of an illness. (Source: Washington Post.) --- UPDATE Protesters plan to turn out in force when President Barack Obama brings his health care town hall tour to Montana on Friday and puts a conservative suburb of Bozeman at the center of the issue for a day. Organizers expect as many as 500 people at a rally outside the Gallatin Field Airport hangar in Belgrade where Obama will hold the event. Patients First said the protest is intended to show leaders the public is not happy with the expensive reform proposals. The group is affiliated with the Americans for Prosperity activists who came together during the "Tea Party" anti-big-government protests. Obama was expected to focus on a provision of the reform plan that would prevent insurance companies from dropping or limiting insurance coverage for those who become seriously ill. ... Observers said they would be surprised if protesters created big problems. ... The president chose to hold his town hall in Belgrade, a conservative suburb of Bozeman in a county he barely carried, instead of playing it safe by visiting a Democratic stronghold like Butte. (Source: Newsmax.)
On Friday’s broadcast network evening newscasts, the CBS Evening News uniquely noted that Democrats in Montana had "orchestrated" a friendly environment for President Obama at a Montana town hall event as many Democrats arrived early to secure tickets. After CBS correspondent Chip Reid filed a report in which he relayed that "this crowd was on [Obama's] side," and that "the questions were mostly softballs," Reid brought up "orchestration" as one of the reasons for a friendly crowd: "So why wasn't there more anger in here? For one thing, after accusing Republicans of orchestrating their protests, Democrats did some orchestrating of their own, getting in line early in large numbers and snatching up most of the tickets." On the NBC Nightly News, substitute anchor Ann Curry led with Obama's town hall appearance: The President was to squarely take on the anger we’ve seen in recent weeks over health care reform, flying to a town hall in a conservative part of Montana. The audience, we were told, was not pre-screened. But the meeting was more like a campaign rally than a debate over health care. The President even getting a standing ovation. (Source: Newsbusters.)
Out among the grasshoppers on an empty field southeast of Gallatin Field Airport, America's health-care reform debate played out loudly Friday as people chanted dueling slogans and hoisted signs with competing messages. While 1,300 people heard President Barack Obama at a town hall meeting in an airport hangar, a crowd at least that large spent hours on the grassy expanse voicing their opinions at impromptu rallies. It was loud and raucous at times, with a brief shoving match between supporters and critics of Obama and the Democrats' health-care reform proposals. The Tea Party group of Bozeman accused health-care reform supporters of taking the space they had paid a fee to reserve. "I think the amount of passion out here is a testament to the strength of our democracy," said Robert Struckman of Missoula, spokesman for the Service Employees International Union, which favors health care reform. "How awesome is it with all these people with such sharply different views are out here." On the other side, Jerry Able of Bozeman raised a sign with a skeleton dangling from it that he said symbolizes someone dying while waiting to see a doctor under Obama's health care proposal. "This is a great event," Able said. "It's a free-speech matter. They have a right to be here. We have a right to be here. They're passionate. I'm passionate." At times, groups with opposing groups took turns yelling chants at each other. "Hey, hey! Ho, ho! The status quo has got to go!" shouted backers of health-care reform. "Hey, hey! Ho, ho! The Chicago thug has got to go," fired back critics of Obama, who lived in Chicago. Under the din, however, at least a few earnest conversations over heath care took place between people of strongly opposing viewpoints. "I had conversations with several gentlemen who might be characterized as the other side," said Teresa Jacobs of Missoula, who said she favors significant health care reform. "All of us wanted to reform health care," Jacobs said. "They wanted tort reform first. I want public option first." She said she agreed with them that abortions should not be covered under health care reform. On the other side, Able said he had some good conversations with people who had opposing views. He said it was encouraging to see the strong views expressed by all sides in the debate over health care reform. These conversations, however, appeared to the exception. At one point, a number of people from both sides stood a few feet apart, yelling slogans back and forth at each other and waving their signs. A rainstorm broke it up. Earlier, a water-tanker firefighting vehicle, brought in by the Bozeman Tea Party, made use of the loudspeakers on the top of the truck. "Welcome to the second American revolution," said Henry Kriegel of the Bozeman Tea Party. "Welcome Tea Party. Welcome freedom fighters. We will not be bullied by these fools." Later, the group used the loudspeakers to air conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh's radio show and drown out some chanting by the pro-Obama, pro-health-care reform supporters. Even later, the group played live radio coverage of Obama's speech, with the crowd around the truck booing at times when Obama spoke. Even some of the supporters of Obama and health-care reform listened in. Meanwhile, Anna Gustina, who heads Organizing for America, Obama's political organization in Montana, called it "a great day" for the group. She said the group worked with the SEIU and Montana AFL-CIO to charter five buses to bring workers from Billings, Great Falls and Missoula to support the president's health care reform efforts. On the other side, the Patients' First bus, sponsored by Americans for Prosperity, featured a giant red hand symbolically trying to stop health-care reform, brought some people out. "We don't want any program that puts bureaucrats between patients and doctors," said Jake Eaton, who heads the Montana chapter of the group. Meanwhile, Linda Kenoyer of Livingston spoke out for Montanans for Single Payer. "We're trying to get a message out that there is a third way besides support for Obama's plan, which we see as a gift to the private insurance companies," she said. "We're here for health reform. We're here to stand for a Medicare for all system. We think a single-payer program is the only program that is affordable, fair and effective." (Source: Missoulian.)
Obama's Healthcare Credibility 'Shot,' Critics Say
Pundits are warning that a fact-challenged President Barack Obama is hurting his own credibility and further confusing the healthcare debate, after yet another litany of misstatements and dubious assertions during Friday's town hall meeting in Belgrade, Mont. Obama continues to portray himself as a myth-buster keeping the healthcare debate honest. Yet he repeated several of the same inaccuracies that various sources corrected him on after his town hall meeting Tuesday in New Hampshire.
After that event, the AARP issued a statement refuting Obama's claim the organization had endorsed his healthcare reform plan. The AARP has not endorsed any healthcare reform proposal. It has endorsed Obama's initiative to reduce the cost of prescription medications. An AARP spokesman told Newsmax on Friday that the organization has no complaints about Obama's characterization in Montana of its positions.
On other topics, Obama did not fare as well, however. His strategy of reiterating talking points that already had been debunked or challenged drew heat from analysts who fault tactics they say are long on presidential charisma but sometimes short on credibility. "Apparently he's more committed to 'selling' his plan than telling the truth," lamented Heritage Foundation spokesman Jim Weidman. "Clever might have worked on less important issues, at least if the president had taken more care to maintain his credibility, which he has badly shot on healthcare," commentator Andy McCarthy fired off on a National Review blog.
The Montana crowd – which unlike the one in New Hampshire reportedly was not hand-picked by the White House – appeared no less Obama-friendly. "Something's a little fishy here," Jim Walters, eastern coordinator for Resistnet, a grass-roots organization affiliated with the Grassfire.org Alliance, told Newsmax prior to the event. "They weren't supposed to start handing out tickets until 9 o'clock. I had people up here at 8, and the tickets were already gone." Walters estimated 1,000 people were gathered outside the airport near Bozeman, Mont., where the event was held. Walters told Newsmax that union members who arrived via bus from Chicago had initiated an altercation with town hall protesters. He said he saw police making several arrests. "I don't understand that," Walters said of the union response. "We're here to have peaceful rallies."
During the town hall meeting, Obama did field one tough question from a man who sells insurance for a living. He asked why the president is scapegoating an insurance industry that has generally cooperated with the administration's healthcare reform initiatives. Obama denied that he is trying to "vilify" the insurance companies, said some insurance companies are lobbying against reform, and otherwise avoided a detailed answer as to why he views lambasting insurance companies as the way to sell healthcare reform.
Media pundits billed the town hall meeting as perhaps the most important one of Obama's presidency, given that poll numbers show support for the president's healthcare proposals sinking fast. The Rasmussen Reports organization now reports that only 42 percent of voters support the president's proposals – a drop of 5 points in just two weeks. And for the first time in about two years, voters tell pollsters they trust Republicans more than Democrats to manage healthcare reform.
Obama quickly piled up errata that also plagued his previous town hall session on healthcare reform. Examples:
The president promised no policyholder will lose his or her current coverage. But a study commissioned by the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank concluded that more than 88 million individuals would have to shift to a new plan, if the current proposals on the table are adopted. Other estimates issued by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the Urban Institute estimate the number will be lower, but still in the millions. Obama has admitted he can't control whether employers drop their current plan in favor of one that's cheaper. (It should be noted that most of these estimates assume a government-subsidized public option for insurance, however, which Obama now states he does not favor.)
Obama said his plan to require insurance companies to cover preventative medicine would reduce Americans' healthcare expenditures. As laudable as preventative medicine may be, the CBO has concluded it will actually increase the costs of medical care due to the large number of preventative tests needs to screen for diseases that the vast majority of people will not develop.
Obama stated that there are 46 million uninsured Americans, a number very much in dispute. It includes undocumented workers without insurance, workers temporarily without coverage, and people eligible for Medicare who simply haven't needed it yet, but who can obtain it at a moment's notice.
Obama again stated that a combination of savings, and a tax surcharge on those earning more than $250,000 annually, would make healthcare reform deficit-neutral. Conservative think tanks dispute that. But even if the statement were accurate, it doesn't account for a subsequent budget shortfall that would reach over $188 billion per year by 2020, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Obama maintains that "any discussion" of the public-option has always assumed it would not be government-subsidized. In fact, he says any suggestion to the contrary is a distortion. But during the campaign, Obama stated that he personally favors a single-payer system that would be paid for by the government. Until Obama recently redefined the term "public option," it was broadly understood to refer to a health-insurance option financed by the government. Moreover, even Obama's "non-subsidized" public-option would cost taxpayers hundreds of millions – if not billions – in startup costs and creation of a bureaucratic infrastructure.
What's behind the administration's strategy of repeating as indisputable facts a litany of assertions that have been widely challenged? Rich Noyes, director of research for the conservative Media Research Center, tells Newsmax that the administration is betting the mainstream media will continue echoing its talking points, without giving them the same sharp perusal they direct toward factual assertions from conservatives. "We've seen fact-check after fact-check on NBC, ABC, and CBS, trying to debunk the conservative talking points," Noyes says. "And yet there's been no equal effort to scrutinize the claims put forth by Congress or the president, which is a very unbalanced playing field." Noyes states Obama is trying to cast himself in a role similar to the fact-checkers employed by the networks, to give voters "the impression it is Obama and the fact-checkers versus a bunch of liars on the right." That strategy assumes however that the mainstream media – which is rapidly losing audience to the Internet and other new media – remains sufficiently dominant to swing the debate in Obama's favor. "That's their bet," Noyes says. "But one aspect that should concern the left is that as they debunk conservative criticism of the bill, they're also giving those criticisms more prominence. And that may drive people to seek out information on the Internet, and educate themselves. "It may have the boomerang effect of getting people more familiar with the facts than they otherwise would be, to the point where people may not come to the conclusion the network reporters and the White house want," Noyes says.
Everett Wilkinson, a leader and spokesman for Tea Party Patriots, the organization that has helped coordinate the grassroots response to town hall meetings hosted by members of Congress, says Obama's reiteration of contested talking points indicates his primary focus is not on public opinion.
"The Obama administration is one of the best ever at getting their message out," Wilkinson tells Newsmax, "but you notice he continues to have a problem with getting the facts right. He continues to push his agenda, without worrying about the facts. That's because they really don't care about the facts. They just care about their agenda." Wilkinson emphasizes that the Tea Party Patriots' movement transcends party lines. And despite efforts to paint town hall protesters as violent extremists, corporate lackeys, or GOP operatives, voters identify with them and sympathize with their concerns, he says.
"The administration is losing independent voters in leaps and bounds," Wilkinson says. "It's staggering the number of independents they're losing because they're pushing an agenda that the people don't want."
Polls indicate another frequent Obama assertion – that cuts to Medicare spending will be fully offset by cost savings – is failing to find resonance with seniors. The Gallup organization recently reported: "Seniors are the least likely of all age groups in the U.S. to say that healthcare reform will benefit their personal healthcare situation. "By a margin of 36 percent to 12 percent, adults 65 and older are more likely to believe healthcare reform will reduce rather than expand their access to healthcare. And by 39 percent to 20 percent, they are more likely to say their own medical care will worsen rather than improve." Ironically, Noyes says, Democrats may have only themselves and their friends in the media to blame for seniors' resistance to anything that even appears to cut Medicare funding.
"The Democrats and the media, for the last 15 years, cast any cut in Medicare, or Social Security for that matter, as an assault on old people," Noyes says. "Now they're the ones who want to cut Medicare, and they're trying to suggest it's just a painless cut due to cost reductions. "And people are not buying it, because they laid the ground work that any reduction in funds is a reduction in care," Noyes says. (Source: Newsmax.)
The following is a blog report of what REALLY happened at the protests away from the Belgrade airport. The conservatives had legally obtained a permit for their location to protest. The SEIU was to protest at ANOTHER location, but instead they arrived by bus at the conservatives protest location at the far end of the field. The police was overwhelmed and allowed the SEIU to remain. Immediately the SEIU took over the location and the arriving conservatives were forced to move to another location because it was apparent the SEIU WANTED A CONFRONTATION. One SEIU supporter was arrested. This was pre-planned by the Obama camp to CONTROL the media and news. As the news leaks out, the pattern is becoming obvious.
From a commenter on this blog who was at the Town Hall meeting orchestrated by the Obama camp on August 14, 2009:
“NEWS FROM MONTANA
“Things are not always what they seem”.
Hello All,
By now you have probably heard that President Obama came to Montana last
Friday. However, there are many things that the major news has not
covered. I feel that since Joe and I live here and we were at the airport
on Friday I should share some facts with you. Whatever you decide to do
with the information is up to you. If you chose to share this email with
others I do ask that you DELETE my email address before you forward this
on.
On Wednesday, August 5th it was announced locally that the President
would be coming here. There are many groups here that are against his
healthcare and huge spending so those groups began talking and deciding
on what they were going to do. The White House would not release ANY
details other than the date.
On about Tuesday Joe found out that they would be holding the “Town Hall”
at the airport. (This is only because Joe knows EVERYONE at the airport)
Our airport is actually located outside of Belgrade (tiny town) in a very
remote location. Nothing is around there. They chose to use a hangar that
is the most remotely located hangar. You could not pick a more remote
location, and you can not get to it easily. It is totally secluded from
the public.
FYI: We have many areas in Belgrade and Bozeman which could have held a
large amount of folks with sufficient parking. (gymnasiums/auditoriums).
All of which have chairs and tables, and would not have to be SHIPPED
IN!! $$$$$
During the week, cargo by the TONS was being shipped in constantly.
Airport employees could not believe how it just kept coming. Though it
was our President coming several expressed how excessive it was,
especially during a recession. $$$$$
Late Tuesday/early Wednesday the 12th, they said that tickets would be
handed out on Thursday 9am at two locations and the president would be
arriving around 12:30 Friday.
Thursday morning about 600 tickets were passed out. However, 1500 were
printed at a Local printing shop per White House request. Hmmmm……900
tickets just DISAPPEARED.
This same morning someone called into the radio from the local UPS branch
and said that THOUSANDS of Dollars of Lobster were shipped in for Obama.
Montana has some of the best beef in the nation!!! And it would have been
really wonderful to help out the local economy. Anyone heard of the
Recession?? Just think…with all of the traveling the White House is
doing. $$$$$ One can only imagine what else we are paying for.
On Friday Joe and I got out to the airport about 10:45am. The groups that
wanted to protest Obama’s spending and healthcare had gotten a permit to
protest and that area was roped off. But that was not to be. A large bus
carrying SEIU (Service Employees International Union) members drove up
onto the area (illegal)and unloaded right there. It was quite a commotion
and there were specifically 2 SEIU men trying to make trouble and start a
fight. Police did get involved and arrested the one man but they said
they did not have the manpower to remove the SEIU crowd.
The SEIU crowd was very organized and young. About 99% were under the age
of 30 and they were not locals! They had bullhorns and PROFESSIONALLY
made signs. Some even wore preprinted T-shirts. Oh, and Planned
Parenthood folks were with them…..professing abortion rights with their
T-shirts and preprinted signs. (BTW, all these folks did have a permit to
protest in ANOTHER area)
Those against healthcare/spending moved away from the SEIU crowd to avoid
confrontation. They were orderly and respectful. Even though SEIU kept
coming over and walking through, continuing to be very intimidating and
aggressive at the direction of the one SEIU man.
So we had Montana folks from ALL OVER the state with their homemade signs
and their DOGS with homemade signs. We had cowboys, nurses, doctors you
name it. There was even a guy from Texas who had been driving through. He
found out about the occasion, went to the store, made a sign, and came to
protest.
If you are wondering about the press…..Well, all of the major networks
were over by that remote hangar I mentioned. They were conveniently
parked on the other side of the buildings FAR away. None of these crowds
were even visible to them. I have my doubts that they knew anything about
the crowds.
We did have some local news media around us from this state and Idaho.
Speaking of the local media…they were invited. However, all questions
were to be turned into the White House in advance of the event. Wouldn’t
want anyone to have to think off the top of their head.
It was very obvious that it was meant to be totally controlled by the
White House. Everything was orchestrated down to the last detail to make
it appear that Montana is just crazy for Obama and government healthcare.
Even those people that talked about their insurance woes……..the White
House called our local HRDC (Human Resource and Development Committee)
and asked for names. Then the White House asked those folks to come.
Smoke and mirrors…EVERYTHING was staged!!!!!!!!!!!
I am very dismayed about what I learned about our current White House.
The amount of control and manipulation was unbelievable. I felt I was not
living in the United States of America, more like the USSR!! I was
physically nauseous. Joe and I have been around when Presidents or Heads
of State visit. It has NEVER been like this. I am truly very frightened
for our country. America needs your prayers and your voices. If you care
about our country please get involved. Know the issues. And let Congress
hear your voices again and again!! If they are willing to put forth so
much effort to BULLY a small town one can only imagine what is going on
in Washington DC. Scary!!”
Thanks to commenter Carlyle for this great report. (Source: Citizen Wells.)
FAIRVIEW Health Care Listening Session (NJ): -- Friday, August 14, 2009 Borough Hall
Fairview, NJ 7022 Friday, August 14, 2009 Start Time: 1:00 PM End Time: 3:00 PM In attendance, Rep. Steven Rothman H (DEM) District 9
TETERBORO Health Care Listening Session (NJ): -- Friday, August 14, 2009 Borough Hall
Teterboro, NJ 7608 Friday, August 14, 2009 Start Time: 10:00 AM End Time: 12:00 PM In attendance, Rep. Steven Rothman H (DEM) District 9
ST HELENS Health Care Town Hall (OR): -- Friday, August 14, 2009 Columbia Learning Center
St. Helens, OR 97051 Friday, August 14, 2009 Start Time: 4:00 PM End Time: 5:00 PM In attendance, Rep. David Wu H (DEM) District 1
TRI-COUNTY Tea Party (OH): -- Friday, August 14, 2009 6:00 P.M. tri-county-teaparty Boardman (route 7), Ohio frederick dodge 7871 Market street Faye and Frederick Haiss (organizer) 330 870 8374 (organizer phone) www.columbianacountyteaparty.com we started the firstone 500 came the last one a new day in Hanoverton over 1500 came to this small town july 3
PENDLETON Town Hall Meeting (OR): -- Friday, August 14, 2009 6:00 - 9:00PM Vert Auditorium, by City Hall 500 SW Dorion Greta Murphy (organizer) 541-278-3425 (organizer phone) wtpc-uc-or.org Agenda: Health Care Reform Bill HR3200
ADAMS Health Care Town Hall (WI): -- Friday, August 14, 2009 Municipal Building Adams, WI 53910 Friday, August 14, 2009 Start Time: 10:00 AM End Time: 11:00 AM In attendance, Rep. Thomas Petri H (REP) District 6
MONTELLO Health Care Town Hall (WI): -- Friday, August 14, 2009 Marquette County Courthouse
Montello, WI 53949 Friday, August 14, 2009 Start Time: 3:00 PM End Time: 4:00 PM In attendance, Rep. Thomas Petri H (REP) District 6
WILD ROSE Health Care Town Hall (WI): -- Friday, August 14, 2009 Community Center Wild Rose, WI 54984 Friday, August 14, 2009 Start Time: 1:00 PM End Time: 2:00 PM In attendance, Rep. Thomas Petri H (REP) District 6
ALBANY Rep Sanford Bishop Protest (GA): -- Friday, August 14, 2009 12 pm -1 pm Albany, Georgia Albany Office 235 Roosevelt Avenue Albany Towers, Suite 114 Donna Driskell (organizer) (229) 881-0717 (organizer phone) Join us in telling Mr. Bishop that we do NOT want our government taking over our healthcare system and that cap and trade doesn't work and will dramatically increase our taxes. Congressman Sanford Bishop Town Hall Albany, Georgia Thursday, August 20, 2009 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Albany State University, ACAD Auditorium 504 College Drive Julianne Thompson (organizer) 404-798-4663 (organizer phone) Washington, D.C. – Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02) announced today that he will hold a series of town hall meetings to discuss the very important issue of health care reform. "Following the August District Work Period, the House will consider H.R. 3200, America's Affordable Health Choices Act, which seeks to reform our broken health care system," Bishop said. "On an issue as important as this, the Members of Congress must be given ample time to review the bill closely and to hear the concerns of their constituents. All of you will play an important role in the future of health care, and I encourage you to attend one of these town hall events and let your voices be heard." UPDATE Opponents to proposed health care reform legislation targeted U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop's Albany office Friday, chanting and carrying signs decrying what they say is the Democrats' effort to get their "foot in the door" toward converting the country to socialism. Bishop, who was not at the office Friday, is set to speak at a planned town hall meeting at Albany State University 4 p.m.-6 p.m. Thursday. Bearing signs and mock "ObamaCare" insurance cards, the crowd of nearly a 100 demonstrators chanted "silent no more," near the sidewalk in front of Albany Towers just after noon Friday.
(Source: Albany Herald.)
FREMONT Representative Pete Stark Town Hall (CA): -- Saturday, August 15, 2009 9:00 AM Fremont, California Fremont Senior Center Fremont Senior Center, 40086 Paseo Padre Pkwy. Silicon Valley Tea Party (organizer) TBD (organizer phone) http://siliconvalleyteaparty.com Pete Stark Town Hall (D-CA) District 13 UPDATE I attended a Congressman Pete Stark town hall meeting today (8/15/09). It was everything I thought it would be….and that ain’t good. I arrived well over an hour before the event and there was already a line. The people in front of me actually counted the numbers of people ahead of us and there were only 72. This is important because when I entered the hall I was given a number that might be “randomly” called. That number was not 72, it was 97. Since the hall only held a couple of hundred that raised some suspicions that the event would be stacked and the questions rigged. Although I estimate that only about one third of the assemblage were pro-Obama they were working closely with the congressman’s staff and were well organized and rehearsed. There were many Obama T-shirts with stick-on badges identifying themselves as pro-healthcare reform. There was significant signage, plenty of hand-outs and probing sessions in which “friendlies” in the crowd were sought out and coached. Once inside the hall the pro-Obama crowd had a seating strategy. They dominated the front rows, the back rows and had representation in every row. When the Q & A began the reason became clear. They had been coached to politely engage any dissenters and ask them to be quiet or sit down, at least at first. They became louder and more directly confrontational when they were dismissed or ignored. They nearly all had matching Healthcare Reform Now - Thank you signs that they would hold up and waive in unison to either show their support for a pro healthcare reform question or answer or to mask any questions or reactions they thought unacceptable. Stark did not loose his cool like he is prone to and lacked spunk. I suspect that may be in part due to his health. At 78 years old he appeared to have early stage emphysema or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. He wheezed and gulped for air frequently. He might also realize that a politician never really wins a fight with a majority of his constituents. He was able to maintain a smug, condescending grin through most of the session. The questions were heavily against the plan, many better prepared than others. When a question had really hit home or had aroused the anti healthcare crowd he conveniently found some numbers to call that were friendly to him. One person in the crowd with a better vantage point accused him of pulling some numbers out of his pocket. (I think I know where the missing numbers mentioned above went.) One was the obligatory laid-off single mother with a child that was denied healthcare because of a lack of insurance who really didn’t have a question. Another was an out of work union electrician with a similar story. None really got any complete or direct answer from Stark and no minds were changed, but one thing is clear; Stark has never seen vocal opposition like this and seniors a key constituency if his is mad as hell. With the economy in the condition it is and Toyota’s announcement of the closing of the NUMMI factory in his district the out of work union workers are turning on him fast. (Source: Free Republic.)
SAN JOSE Say Hello To Barbara Boxer Tea Party Style (CA): -- Saturday, August 15, 2009 12:30 PM San Jose, California Barnes & Noble 3600 Stevens Creek Blvd, San Jose Silicon Valley Tea Party (organizer) TBD (organizer phone) http://siliconvalleyteaparty.com Say Hello to Senator Barbara Boxer Tea Party Style —Saturday August 15, 2009 On Saturday August 15, Senator Barbara Boxer will be at Barnes & Noble in San Jose for a book signing. What? She has time to travel around to shill her book but not to meet with her constituents! Well, think again. Come out and ask her why, with the economy in shambles and a healthcare reform bill that will ruining the very fabric of our country, she has time for a book signing but not to meet with her constituents? Date: Saturday August 15 Time: 1:00 PM Location: Barnes & Noble, 3600 Stevens Creek Blvd, San Jose UPDATE Marin got a small dose of the health care protests on Wednesday evening when U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer made an appearance at Corte Madera's Book Passage to promote her newest work of fiction, Blind Trust. Holding hand-made signs, about two dozen protesters lined the entrance to the Book Passage's parking lot. "She should be doing town hall meetings with her constituents instead of book tours," said Pam Silleman who was waving at cars and carrying a sign that read "Born Free but Taxed to Death." Silleman--coordinator of the Napa Tea Party--was polite, unlike the screaming hordes who've been in the news lately. But the sentiments were the same, nonetheless-- "I feel like we've lost our voice, said Silleman, "I feel like this is another attempt to take over our health care." Meanwhile, another dozen or so supporters, stood just in front of the store entrance holding signs which read-- "Health Care 4 All" and "I Want The Same Health Care As Congress." Just about 7 p.m., the diminutive Senator arrived to thunderous applause to take the podium. Marin, after all, is where she got her start in politics as a County Supervisor in the mid-70s and it remains a bastion of strong support for the liberal lawmaker. Juliette Anthony who was clapping enthusiastically, was clad head-to-toe in Barbara Boxer regalia; a "Barbara Boxer for Senate" T-shirt, Boxer political buttons and a pair of Boxer campaign shorts. "I've been a supporter of hers for years," said Anthony. No one doubted that. Boxer spent a moment acknowledging the naysayers outside the store but insisted she was here to talk about Blind Trust. ... As she moved to the question and answer period, someone shouted "Vote for Peace!" before they were ushered away by security personnel. Most of the Q and A time was reserved for questions specifically about her book, but Boxer did take a few general questions from the audience. Not surprisingly, all of them--with the exception of a single rambling 9/11 conspiracy wing-nut--were about the health care debate. The only prickly moment occurred when the Senator pointedly requested that one audience member not point at her while she asked her question. At the conclusion of the book event and just before getting ready to sign the books, Boxer remarked that she knew that challenges lay ahead, and writing the book gave her inspiration for that challenge- "I am not afraid of them," said the Senator, "It's good that I wrote the book--because I'm ready for hard times--and Ellen could handle it!...There is one reason I'm here--the fight for the families and people of California!" Senator Boxer may face a lot of challenges but one thing seemed easy this evening. She sold all her books.
(Source: More Marin.)
ALAMEDA Health Care Town Hall Meeting (CA): -- Saturday, August 15, 2009
Alameda City Hall Alameda, CA 94501 Saturday, August 15, 2009 Start Time: 12:00 PM End Time: In attendance, Rep. Fortney Stark H (DEM) District 13
FREMONT Health Care Town Hall Meeting (CA): -- Saturday, August 15, 2009 Fremont Senior Center Fremont, CA 94538 Saturday, August 15, 2009 Start Time: 9:00 AM End Time: In attendance, Rep. Fortney Stark H (DEM) District 13
SAN LEANDRO Health Care Town Hall Meeting (CA): -- Saturday, August 15, 2009 San Leandro City Hall San Leandro, CA 94577 Saturday, August 15, 2009 Start Time: 10:30 AM End Time: In attendance, Rep. Fortney Stark H (DEM) District 13
GRAND JUNCTION TOWN HALL (PRESIDENT OBAMA) (CO): -- Saturday, August 15, 2009 On Saturday, in Grand Junction, Colo., Obama will raise the subject of high out-of-pocket costs, such as co-payments and deductibles. (Source: Washington Post.) -- UPDATE Blogger commented: He is going to be in Grand Junction, Colorado, doing a town hall on health care tomorrow. Grand Junction has about 51,000 residents. It is a FIVE hour drive from Denver It is an EIGHT hour train ride from Denver It is about a $300 flight on a puddle jumper round trip. There are 2.5 MILLION people in Denver It would appear to me that he really doesn't want anyone to show up at his town hall meeting. Otherwise, he would hold it in Denver where the people are, where people can get to him easily and quickly. "They" say that it is a trip to honor the national parks. And just for the record.....the best known national park in the world - Rocky Mountain National Park - is about a n hour north of Denver. Do you recognize any national parks in Grand Junction??? No! Because there are NO National Parks in Grand Junction!!! === UPDATE Four thousand conservatives crowded into Lincoln Park this morning to protest president Obama's health care plan. A rally they say is fueled by an opposition to a government hands on approach. They believe a health care reform is needed-- just not what President Obama is bring to the table. They compared the president's plan to the current health care system of Canada. A health care program that protesters say has led Canadians to the U.S. to seek medical help. And that is why they believe this reform could hurt American's in the long run. Today's rally hoped in the end to send a message to President Obama to stop his pursuit to reform. And in doing so-- hope the Senate will back a reform that is geared towards what the people. (Source: KJCT8.) -- Blogger: 1600 at the town hall meeting and 4000 at the the park to protest this reckless healthcare bill should indicate the dissatisfaction that so many, many Americans feel.
HOMESTEAD Tea'd Off Venting - Congressional Recess (FL): -- Saturday, August 15, 2009 10am to 1pm Homestead-Florida City, Florida Corner of 344th and US 1 Corner of SW 344th ST(Palm Dr) & US 1 De` Plant/Teri Ruiz (organizer) 305-790-0331 (organizer phone) Please Bring Your: Signs of Disagreement Towards Government Spending / Healthcare / Ideas for the Government / CONGRESS Focused Signs, American Flags, and American Patriotism! We will be meeting at corner of SW 344th ST and US 1. Facebook: Page can be found by search - Homestead Tea Party w/ picture of 'Sidewalk Ends'
ATLANTA Health Care Rally (GA): -- Saturday, August 15, 2009 1PM to 4PM Atlanta, Georgia Centennial Olympic Park - Downtown Atlanta 265 Park Ave West N.W. Allen Hardage (organizer) 678-977-0896 (organizer phone) http://americastownhall.us/ UPDATE An estimated 4,000 opponents of universal health care gathered Saturday afternoon in downtown Atlanta's Centennial Olympic Park, many of whom had homemade signs, clapped, cheered and chanted as speaker after speaker took the stage. Speakers included Secretary of State Karen Handel, State Sen. Eric Johnson (R-Savannah) and Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine. "With my help, we will keep government's hands off your health care," Oxendine told the crowd. Hundreds of supporters of both sides of health care reform engaged in a lively debate Saturday in Jonesboro. (Source: AJC.) -- A few thousand people gathered Saturday in downtown Atlanta’s Centennial Olympic Park to protest a health care overhaul led by the president and other Democratic leaders. The event, sponsored by the conservative Americans for Prosperity Foundation, was hosted by FreedomWorks chairman and former House Majority Leader Dick Armey and conservative talk radio hosts Joel Aaron and Herman Cain. “What we have today is an assault on liberty that is larger than anything we have ever seen,” Armey said, eliciting loud cheers from the crowd. As a congressman from Texas, Armey opposed health care reform efforts by the Clinton administration. According to news reports, he resigned from the lobbying firm DLA Piper this week because the firm’s drug company clients complained about his efforts against the president’s health care overhaul. ... (Source: Daily Citizen.)
JONESBORO District 13 Health Fair in Georgia Rep. David Scott (GA): -- Saturday, August 15, 2009 Mundy's Mill High School Jonesboro, GA 30238 Saturday, August 15, 2009 Start Time: 10:00 AM End Time: 2:00 PM In attendance, Rep. David Scott H Randy Jordan (organizer) 770 560 6243 (organizer phone) www.cobblocalteaparty.ning.com Protest against government run healthcare. This is a great opportunity to show up in force to demonstrate to the Georgia 13th distric that conservative values are alive and well. To let Rep. David Scott, Democrat know that we are united against his re-election and that we are a voice that will not be silenced. (DEM) District 13 UPDATE Rep. David Scott fielded dozens of questions from about 600 who showed up at Mundy's Mill High School. The event began at about 10:30 a.m. and Scott answered questions for more than two hours. Although there were no major disruptions, both sides of the issue were clearly passionate about their views. At times some audience members tried to shout down each other. And at other times questions or comments were answered with rounds of boos or chants of "Yes we can." Scott handled the crowd well however, and the crowd began to thin as the Centennial Park event drew near. ... Scott held his town hall meeting at Mundy's Mill High School in Jonesboro. The meeting was added to an already planned health fair. Before the forum, the congressman said the town hall meeting will allow his constituents to ask questions about health care reform. He said he is hoping to bring calm discussion to the sometimes raucous national health care debate. Scott said he has requested security from the Clayton County police and the sheriff's department. "This chaos is trying to drown the debate," he said. "This is not what America needs as we're about to go off the cliff economically because of the high cost of health insurance." (Source: AJC.)
CHICAGO Health Care Town Hall (IL): -- Saturday, August 15, 2009 Columbus Park Chicago, IL 60604 Saturday, August 15, 2009 Start Time: 1:00 PM End Time: In attendance, Rep. Danny Davis H (DEM) District 7
HOUSTON American Majority Candidate and Activist Training (TX): -- Saturday, August 15, 2009 8:30-5:30 Houston, Texas HEP Bookstore 11665 Fuqua STE A-100 Drew Ryan (organizer) 540)-338-1251 (organizer phone) www.americanmajority.org As conservatives, we need to learn how to organize our communities and become community activitists! This training will teach you how to do this. We are also offering candidate training. Check our the webpage to register!
ROANOKE Tea Party Organizational Meeting (VA): -- Saturday, August 15, 2009 1:00 pm till ? Roanoke, Virginia Roanoke Civic Center Downtown Roanoke Christy Bowles (organizer) 540-314-4703 (organizer phone) www.roanoketeaparty.com We will be planning on how we are going to impact our region starting here and starting now! Come and get involved-here's your opportunity to ACT!
EVERETT Freedom Fest by Snoco Liberty Action Committee (WA): -- Sunday, August 16, 2009 2 -8 pm Everett, Washington Normanna Hall 2725 Oakes Jane Citizen (organizer) n/a (organizer phone)http://www.renewliberty.com Please see the website for a full flyer of the event put on by the Snoco LAC.
PHOENIX Obama VFW Conference (AZ): -- Monday, August 17, 2009 A speech before the nation's largest organization of combat veterans is a summertime tradition for presidents. Obama spoke to the group last year as a presidential candidate.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs has said that Obama will discuss the United States' responsibilities to maintain the world's finest military. Gibbs also says Obama will speak about the nation's responsibility to the men and women of the armed services when they return home from combat. UPDATE Obama's remarks are as expected: Transcript.
Obama criticized the "defense establishment" and Congress for creating "exotic projects" that he says drains the defense budget. Obama assured veterans that he will see to it they are taken care of, and said their health care would diminish at all under his plans for Health Care Reform. Obama received polite, but what I would characterize as muted applause from the veterans during his appearance there. (SITE NOTE: As expected, Obama said he would send the troops in only on good intelligence and a "clear mission" (rather empty words when he has increased troops in Afghanistan, but told them not to kill any civilians in their attacks). He promised them all the support they required to get the job done (sshhh...budget cuts to pay for his social programs.)/ Obama promised the veterans that they would not lose any health care benefits under the Health Care Plan -- but we wonder how many believed him after he had earlier tried to get Veterans to pay for war-related surgery through their private insurance in his term and created a fire-storm of criticism. If he wanted to ax it then -- do you think we're fools to believe you only a few months later?)
Protesters and proponents of health care reform square off in downtown Phoenix with President Obama making a visit to the Veterans of Foreign Wars Convention convention Monday, Aug. 17, 2009.
Darryl Webb, Tribune
Protesters and proponents of health care reform square off in downtown Phoenix with President Obama making a visit to the Veterans of Foreign Wars Convention convention Monday, Aug. 17, 2009.
Darryl Webb, Tribune
The blare of megaphones rose with the sun in downtown Phoenix Monday as more than 1,000 protestors from all over the political spectrum called for President Barack Obama to take action on myriad issues. The largest crowds swelled at Washington and Third streets, just outside the Phoenix Convention Center, where the president began delivering his speech shortly after 10 a.m. at the national Veterans of Foreign Wars convention. The crowds got louder as the president’s arrival neared, and tempers flared as people with different views passed each other on the streets.
Most dominant among the crowds, of course, are critics and supporters of the current health care reform proposal. Dave Armstrong, of Surprise, wasn’t subtle about his thoughts as he stood at the corner of Adams and Third streets, holding a sign that read “Obama health care call 1-800-Death.” The White House’s shift to consider a removal of the government-operated healthcare option on Sunday didn’t assuage Armstrong and his fellow protestors’ concerns. “He’s minimizing it to get it in,” Howard Seith, who stood beside Armstrong, said of the health care reforms. “Once he gets it in, he’ll piecemeal (the public option) back in over two or three years.” While these protestors don’t trust Obama, Seith and Armstrong said, they hold Republican lawmakers in low esteem, as well. Government’s involvement in health care is like trying to treat patients with leeches, “it eventually kills the patient,” Armstrong said. On the other side, Obama supporters appeared energetic about the president as well as his proposed reforms. And already, verbal sparring between groups has begun. Supporters could be heard shouting: “Hope not fear.” They were answered by “Kill the bill.” When an older man walked through a crowd of Democratic supporters and made a derogatory comment about health care, the president’s supporters shouted at him: “Then get rid of your Medicare card.” Steve Hamma, 55, a Navy veteran of the Vietnam conflict, stood with hundreds of supporters, holding a sign: “Veterans for Obama.” “I wanted to show our president, who I consider the best president of my lifetime, my support,” he said. “I supported him on our stimulus package and I support him on his health care plan. If he can’t do it, I don’t think it’s going to be done in my lifetime. “I believe as an American if you put in a day’s work, you are a part of this country and a part of this system. You deserve health care,” Hamma continued. “I don’t care if you are a janitor or a maid, if you work, you are a part of the system.” Karen Bayless Feldman, of Phoenix, said she came out to see Obama because he was so close to her home and she supports his healthcare plan. Three years ago her son, now 11, had a brain tumor removed. Her concern is one day he would be denied health coverage. “I always knew that, but I didn’t think of it until he was sick … he still has epilepsy because of it. He has a condition that needs constant treatment.” Critics of the plan, however, were out in force, as well. Nicole Woods, 37, of Mesa, sitting with a large crowd a few blocks west of the conference center held up a sign: “Choice is a right. Healthcare is not.” “Choice is a right. I don’t believe the direction the country is going is right,” she said. “We don’t want government in our healthcare. I’m not an angry mobster. I’m an American. I’m exercising my American rights.” Shelby Yates, 20, of Peoria, said: “We don’t believe the government should be part of the healthcare system. They aren’t good at running systems. Medicare and Social Security aren’t doing so well. Yates was with Scott Goss, 18, also of Peoria. Goss was carrying a sign that read: “Where will the Canadians go, eh?”
Meanwhile, other forms of protest were attempting to draw attention from the downtown crowds: A moving truck driving around the area had pictures of aborted fetuses and the president’s picture. At least two protesters openly carried guns at their side while joining the crowds outside the convention center. (SITE NOTE: The individuals carried rifles carried on slings and broke no laws as Arizona is an open-carry state. The media at first thought they could use it as a racist slant, but unfortunately one of the gentleman (dressed in a white shirt and tie) with an AR-15 slung over his shoulder was AFRICAN-AMERICAN. In NONE of the media shows did they ever admit that it was a 2nd Amendment protest as Obama has been deemed by the NRA as the WORST ANTI-GUN President in History. The Secret Service Donovan was aware of the people and stated that there was NO threat or risk -- that they were 2nd Amendment protestors and away from the venue. The venue in and around the building is federal territory when the President speaks.)
Jim Sawyer, a combat photographer with the Air Force in the Korean War, shook his head at the general protest scene. “Every time the president comes to this, people have something to say,” said the VFW member from Maine who was planning to attend the president’s address. “The minute he is gone, this will be gone.” Another veteran, Clifford James, 81, sat near the convention center having breakfast. He said he agrees with the protestors who are against the public health care option. “They’ve got every right and I agree with them. Freedom of speech and freedom of assembly, that’s what we are fighting for,” said James, who did not plan to attend the president’s address but would be going to the VFW conference. “I didn’t vote for him. I respect the office, but I don’t respect the man in the office.” (Source: East Valley Tribune.)
ORLANDO Town Hall Meeting (FL): -- Monday, August 17, 2009 Rep Alan Grayson (D-FL) will hold a town hall meeting on health care in Orlando Monday night. In a release sent exactly 24 hours before the town hall meeting, the freshman Democrat's office says Grayson "intends for and expects this event to be a respectful and productive session." The meeting will be at 7:45 p.m. Monday at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 606 Union Hall at 820 Virginia Drive. NEW TRICK: DON'T BUS THE UNION IN ... USE THE UNION HALL WITH UNION MEMBERS. -- THEN A NEW TWIST: GIVE 90 PRE-SELECTED TICKETS TO DEMOCRATS VS 30 PEOPLE LET IN AT THE DOOR -- AND 1500 GET TURNED AWAY. A JOKE!!! A union member tells WDBO it is not involved in the town hall meeting, but will have 4 members manning the microphones. The member says Grayson contacted them about reserving the facility. The hall has a capacity of 125 people. (Source: Jammie blog.) == Blogger wrote: I was in the room. There were 126 seats. 95 were filled with pre-selected Dems. Only 31 "real people." Why does he have to stack the deck against his constituants. Why didn't the Sentinel reporter know that 95 of the 126 were
