The Town Hall Mob.
The image that the town hall protesters have of themselves probably couldn't be any further from the truth as Paul Krugman eloquently points out.
There’s a famous Norman Rockwell painting titled “Freedom of Speech,” depicting an idealized American town meeting. The painting, part of a series illustrating F.D.R.’s “Four Freedoms,” shows an ordinary citizen expressing an unpopular opinion. His neighbors obviously don’t like what he’s saying, but they’re letting him speak his mind.But these people have been encouraged by Malkin and the other right wing loons to imagine that what they are doing is actually taking part in a great American democratic tradition.
That’s a far cry from what has been happening at recent town halls, where angry protesters — some of them, with no apparent sense of irony, shouting “This is America!” — have been drowning out, and in some cases threatening, members of Congress trying to talk about health reform.
Nor do the people making so much noise even seem to know much about the subject over which they are protesting.
There was a telling incident at a town hall held by Representative Gene Green, D-Tex. An activist turned to his fellow attendees and asked if they “oppose any form of socialized or government-run health care.” Nearly all did. Then Representative Green asked how many of those present were on Medicare. Almost half raised their hands.If they don't even know that Medicare is a government run programme then we are dealing with some seriously misinformed people here. This is the Malkin brigade in all their stupidity. These are the people who Peggy Noonan feels should be given an effective veto over public policy.
You couldn't make this stuff up.
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No one ever lost a nickel underestimating the American public.
-- H.L. Mencken
Unfortunately ... too true.
It’s funny we hear Republicans say that they do not want “faceless bureaucrats” making medical decisions but they have no problem with “private sector” “faceless bureaucrats” daily declining medical coverage and financially ruining good hard working people. And who says that the “private sector” is always right, do we forget failures like Long-Term Capital, WorldCom, Global Crossing, Enron, Tyco, AIG and Lehman Brothers. Of course the federal government will destroy heathcare by getting involved, Oh but wait, Medicare and Medicaid and our military men and women and the Senate and Congress get the best heathcare in the world, and oh, that’s right, its run by our federal government. I can understand why some may think that the federal government will fail, if you look at the past eight years as a current history, with failures like the financial meltdown and Katrina but the facts is they can and if we support them they will succeed.
How does shouting down to stop the conversation of the healthcare debate at town hall meetings, endears them to anyone. Especially when the organizations that are telling them where to go and what to do and say are Republicans political operatives, not real grassroots. How does shouting someone down or chasing them out like a lynch mob advanced the debate, it does not. So I think the American people will see through all of this and know, like the teabagger, the birthers, these lynch mobs types are just the same, people who have to resort to these tactics because they have no leadership to articulate what they real want. It’s easy to pickup a bus load of people who hate, and that’s all I been seeing, they hate and can’t debate. Too bad.
Cecilieaux, Sadly that quote is far too bloody accurate.
Paul,
I notice that William Kristol got himself tied up over this during his most recent visit to the Daily Show. He admitted that the military enjoyed the best medical treatment available and that it was government run, but eventually found himself stating that the American people didn't deserve it. It was a pitiful display.
And the Repubuglithugs are changing what is wrong with universal healthcare with each day that passes. I notice that Palin sees it as an attempt to kill Trig and that others claim it is going to be used as a way to bring in euthanasia for the elderely. They are now officially scraping the bottom of the barrel.
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