We know that the insurance industry is behind part of the manufactured outrage at townmeetings--and have the talking points to prove it. But they could be more subtle when they send their staffers out to protest. My Left Nutmeg found this guy at a recent townhall with Rep. Chris Murphy.
And Michael Steele says don't blame Republicans for the protests, though as Think Progress points out, "Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX) has said that the time for polite town halls is “over,” and House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) has said that Democrats will have a “very, very hot summer.” State Republican Parties have also joined in."
That's just some very random, very prominent Republicans who aren't responsible at all for the very same people that they say are the grassroots just having their voices heard. Like Heather Blish, who is “just a mom from a few blocks away” and “not affiliated with any political party.” That political party she's not affiliated with surely didn't send out any talking points telling people who were unaffiliated with it that they shouldn't admit to being affiliated with it when asked by reporters. Luckily, there are some good reporters.
When interviewed by the local NBC affiliate, Blish insisted she was not a member of the Republican Party. “I left the party,” she said. Blish’s statements, however, are distortions. From NBC’s report:
Her LinkedIn page shows something different. She was the vice chair of the Republican Party of Kewaunee County until last year. She worked on the John Gard campaign, who ran unsuccessfully against Kagen last year. And it says she’s a part of the Republican Party for Kagen’s district, as well as the Republican Party of Wisconsin, and the Republican National Committee.
Sam Stein thinks that maybe "she - like other protesters at these events - are there because of political reasons not policy disagreements." Yeah, maybe.
But these are just concerned, mainstream, regular people. Like the guy here, who (at 0:55) is just "regular" "not fringe" people, and only happens to work for a pharmaceutical company.