In the week since the House began its break, several town hall-style meetings have been disrupted by demonstrators. These episodes have drawn widespread media attention, and Republicans have seized on them as well as polls showing a decline in support for Obama and his agenda as evidence that public support is lacking for his signature legislation. St. Louis Post Dispatch
When I read about the town hall meetings across the country getting out of hand last week, my first reaction was what’s going on? Why are people coming out of a Tampa health care town hall meeting looking like they just left an unruly club “let out” where the police had to be called to the scene? —>
Adults can’t sit down and act civilized to actually discuss an issue anymore?
An overflow crowd outside of a forum on aging in St. Louis led to confrontations and arrests. Link here.
On Friday, a Democratic lawmaker from Washington received a faxed death threat a day after he described angry town hall demonstrators as “a lynch mob.” Rep. Brian Baird of Washington, who supports President Barack Obama’s push to overhaul the health care system, said that he also received threatening phone calls. He canceled the rest of the town halls he’d scheduled during Congress’ August recess.
A few Democratic congressional offices also have received threats connected to the health care debate. The U.S. Capitol Police has advised all of them to cancel their town halls.
“President Obama underestimated the free-fall the nation had already taken in partisan hostility when he talked about bringing change to Washington,” said Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., who supports reform. “It has gotten worse. There is something at play here that is indescribable.” Miami Herald
How did this issue get so volatile so quickly? And why are the protesters soooangry? They just want to be angry, I thought. Just like the Tea Party protests, it’s more than just health care – they’re just angry at the administration and want people to know they’re mad as hell and aren’t taking this mess anymore!
But the more I thought about, it, the clearer it became. For those who don’t really want a debate on health care reform because they don’t want reform at all, this is genius. Because now instead of discussing the proposed plan (you can read what’s on the table so far here) and how it could be altered to become more effective, the discussion is on the disruptions and the protesters.
The Glenn Becks and Rush Limbaugh’s have got people up in arms calling Obama aracist, a Nazi, and a socialist. For now at least, the discussion Obama tried to spark on health care has become muddled and he is now on the defensive. So now he has to somehow combat the image that his administration and health care reform doesn’t equal this —>
Or this –>
Obama came out urging Congress to get something done and make a change in health care. But when you’re trying to make a drastic change in an industry like health care, you’ve got to come hard and correct because the insurance and pharmaceutical industry doesn’t play. It’d be fun if this could be resolved with a red jacket and the love of dance like in a Michael Jackson music video, but alas, it cannot. You can’t just go around all willy nilly talking about making change in health care if you’re threatening to mess with the insurance and pharmaceutical industry’s money.
For the majority of everyday people who are so vehemently opposed to any type of reform, what’s remarkable is that the current health care system isn’t in their favor at all. It’s a system that runs on profit for the gain of the insurance and pharmaceutical companies. For some, the talk on health care is about treating people and getting people able to go to the doctor, but for those in charge of the pharmaceutical and insurance industry it’s about the bottom line and the dollar bill. They don’t want reform because the current system is lining their pockets just fine.
What do you think about the debate? About the protests, death threats and violence? About Obama’s efforts so far regarding health care? Do you think the Legislature will be able to pass any type of reform?
Article by Ebonie
Ebonie, based out of Atlanta, is the author of the blog, WhatLooksLikeCrazy [whatlookslikecrazy.wordpress.com]. She’s a recent journalism grad, and WLLC is a mix of opinion and reported stories about the black community, politics, music, and current events.
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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
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 (honestly where can they go with a pre-condition). 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 AKA “screamers” 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.
@Paul, “So I think the American people will see through all of this and know, like the teabagger, the birthers, these lynch mobs types AKA “screamers” are just the same, people who have to resort to these tactics because they have no leadership to articulate what they real want.” <–I think a lot of Americans can see through the screamers, but there will still be some who will be incited by all of this. And who will believe there are death panels coming to kill their kids and grandmas, and that Obama's a Nazi socialist trying to turn the United States into Canada.
America makes my head hurt.
@Paul: “So I think the American people will see through all of this and know, like the teabagger, the birthers, these lynch mobs types AKA “screamers” are just the same, people who have to resort to these tactics because they have no leadership to articulate what they real want.” <–I think a lot of Americans can see through the screamers, but there will still be some who will be incited by all of this. And who will believe there are death panels coming to kill their kids and grandmas, and that Obama's a Nazi socialist trying to turn the United States into Canada.
@Amadeo: Mine too…
Ebonie: It is very American to want to help our fellow countryman. I believe in my government especially our men and women in our military, firefighters and police. You, not so much. Lets face it the previous administration did nothing (except start two wars of choice that are bankrupting our country with all the “war profiteering” contracts to Halliburton) well you and I will just have to agree to not agree. I did not believe any of the Republican rhetoric before the last election and I do not believe them now. I do not believe that your sentiments are in line with the majority, but your comments, funny stuff.
@Paul, I would agree to disagree, except for the fact that I think you misread my comments. What exactly was it that led you to believe that I don’t believe in the government, firefighters or police? And in addition, what led you to believe that I was promoting Republican rhetoric in my comments? All I said was that IMO, I’m not sure that the majority of Americans can see through what the screamers are trying to do… I’m a bit lost on where the disconnect occurred between the article I wrote, the comments I wrote, and your asserting that I don’t believe in the government.
I think the protesters are being spoonfed propaganda by medical and insurance lobbyists who are using scare tactics (such as “death panels”) to create brainwashed puppets who work in their favor, but are too stupid to realize that they’re being manipulated like marionettes.
My bad, sorry it was your last comment “Obama’s a Nazi socialist trying to turn the United States into Canada.” But I see now that I misread it. Sorry, my mistake, thanks for pointing it out to me. Cheers