Today I was at a rally to thank a local Congressmen for his support of the public option. Some Tea-Baggers came to shout us down as our people tried to share their health care stories.
Some on our side tired of the dueling bullhorns and noise without clear content, so in a moment when the Tea-Baggers were out of breath, a woman on our side took the bullhorn and challenged the Tea-Baggers to a debate, promising we would quietly give them 5 minutes to make their case if they did the same for us.
Their response?
Rather than debate, they resumed chanting, "Kill the bill! Kill the bill!" They were terrified of an honest debate, so they did the adult version of sticking fingers in their ears and yelling, "LA LA LA I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" (The Tea-Bagger with the bullhorn, in fact, wore ear plugs the entire time.)
After all these months, the Tea-Baggers have not come up with any real reasons to oppose health care, just soundbites. "Socialism!" "Obama sucks!" And that's about it.
I'm sure none of this is news to readers here. But it amazes me how their aggression and passion is so far out of proportion to their thought or interest in exchanging thoughts.