After it was revealed that the rightwing groups behind the anti-Obama tea parties were distributing instructions to their members on how to best disrupt town hall meetings with tactics such as:
- Artificially Inflate Your Numbers: "Spread out in the hall and try to be in the front half. The objective is to put the Rep on the defensive with your questions and follow-up. The Rep should be made to feel that a majority, and if not, a significant portion of at least the audience, opposes the socialist agenda of Washington."
- Be Disruptive Early And Often: "You need to rock-the-boat early in the Rep’s presentation, Watch for an opportunity to yell out and challenge the Rep’s statements early."
- Try To "Rattle Him," Not Have An Intelligent Debate: "The goal is to rattle him, get him off his prepared script and agenda. If he says something outrageous, stand up and shout out and sit right back down. Look for these opportunities before he even takes questions."
... one would think that any American who believes in democracy would denounce that kind of distortion and intimidation. Which of course means that House Minority Leader John Boehner is embracing it.
From Boehner's government website:
Back home for the August recess, rank-and-file Democratic Members of the House are facing a backlash from their constituents, who are already fed up with Washington’s job-killing agenda and don’t support Democrats’ government takeover of health care. According to polls from WSJ/NBC News, National Public Radio, and Pew, more Americans now oppose the Democrats’ government-run health plan than support it because it will raise costs, destroy jobs, and put bureaucrats in charge of decisions that only patients and doctors should make – as a new web video from House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) warned today.
In Texas, over the weekend, Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) faced "an angry reception" according to the Austin American Statesman [...]
The American people support real health care reform – a plan that reduces costs and expands access to quality care. The Democrats’ proposals do neither. Unless Democratic leaders agree to work with Republicans on a bipartisan plan that achieves real reform that Americans are seeking, it will be a long, hot August for Democrats in Congress.
That's democracy, Republican-style -- reminiscent of "either your name or your brains will be on this contract," isn't it?
And here is Doggett's response to that "angry reception":
This mob, sent by the local Republican and Libertarian parties, did not come just to be heard, but to deny others the right to be heard. And this appears to be part of a coordinated, nationwide effort. What could be more appropriate for the "party of no" than having its stalwarts drowning out the voices of their neighbors by screaming "just say no!"
All the Republican's have left to defeat meaningful health care reform is intimidation and noise. Well, that and the Blue Dogs.