Thursday, August 06, 2009
"Well-dressed prep school gangsters"
Fellow hawk Iowahawk has a must-read post satirizing the perception that anyone voicing their opposition to the various health care reform bills at town hall meetings is "astroturfing" at the direction of the RNC and/or insurance companies, but anyone supporting the bills is just making their individual voices heard (notwithstanding the top-down directive from President Obama to show such support). The Soviet writing style is clever:
"Greetings citizen! By now you may have heard scattered rumors of state and party officials encountering reactionary resistors at local health care reform information programs. Do not be alarmed, for our 5-year plan for citizen health proceeds without delay. Remain stalwart! The truth can be told at last, that these so-called "protests" are merely the desperate rear flank mob actions of dead-end bandits and saboteurs in the pay of enemy insurance agents.Funny, I seriously just placed an order not ten days ago from the very nice Sperry website (there is a sale on, so it is worth checking out). I received a new pair of Santa Cruz thong sandals; of course, I have a well-worn salt-encrusted pair of the old original Topsiders that still work well when I'm on a boat. Don't let the fact that Sperry is owned by Stride-Rite bother you at all, you'll feel like a prep-school gangster anyway, and can ignore the more down-market affiliated brands.
"Pay them no heed, for these outside agitators in no way represent any threat to our great patriotic push forward for increased citizen heathfulness! These well-dressed prep school gangsters of reaction seek only to frighten and demoralize and intimidate you, with their confusing "facts" and hob-nailed Sperry Topsiders."
Barbara "Call Me Senator, Not Ma'am" Boxer (D-CA, or Pluto) thinks the people showing up at town hall meeting are too well-dressed to be sincere, and that it reminds her of the orchestrated protests during the 2000 Florida recount. So, dress down, you elitist snobs!
This calls for some ZZ Top:
I think that anyone who shows up at a town hall or any political rally, left or right, has demonstrated that they have some emotional skin in the game (unless they are just outright mercenaries and are receiving a direct per diem or cash payments). Questioning the genuineness of people who show up to talk to their elected representatives seems rather silly.
UPDATE: I should add that I don't personally care for the shout-down technique at public gatherings. It is objectionable on university campuses when students do it to protest a particular invited guest speaker, and perhaps it is even worse when employed at a local town hall meeting.
13 Comments:
By 
silvermine, at
Thu Aug 06, 01:29:00 PM:
Indeed. I wish more people picked up debating tips from Benjamin Franklin. Man, did he know how to persuade.
By 
JPMcT, at
Thu Aug 06, 01:43:00 PM:
This little campaign by the DNC would have been unthinkable as little as 10 years ago.
Note that there has been NO media documentation of "official, paid protestors"...the media is just passing on the talking point without analysis, rebuttal or investigation.
Where are the on-site interviews of attendees? Where is the offical interview with RNC chaiman Steele?
Such an official statement by a politcal party about the civic rights of regular citizens would have been political suicide...until now.
Why do they have nothing to fear? Is this all a done deal? Their internal polling can't look much better than all the other polls.
What's going on?
By , at
Thu Aug 06, 02:01:00 PM:
I for one hope Obama and his thugs continue to demonize and intimidate the dissenters. Can you say gasoline on fire.
By Billy Bob Corncob, at
Thu Aug 06, 02:38:00 PM:
I thought the idea of a democracy is that you can say whatever you want, for any reason. Your humanity we disrespect if we try to attack your reasons for standing up. It is that you say it and (though some might dispute if it involved bribery) what you say that matters - nothing else.
Nothing else.
Including if you wear Topsiders; or the RNC (Russian National Commisariat) sponsored your speech.
By , at
Thu Aug 06, 02:40:00 PM:
Apparently the Union has been called upon to oppose the protesters.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/06/unions-to-take-on-conserv_n_252720.html
By , at
Thu Aug 06, 02:45:00 PM:
While I would generally agree that it's not respectful to shout at the Senator, I would offer that many have difficulty with public speaking. Witness our Presidents, who can't hold a thought without a teleprompter, or go offscript.
Perhaps some of these people have to get angry, or fight to express what's troubling them? To dressing for the Town Halls, I think it's entirely appropriate to wear nice clothing.
Obama's little game of demonize the opposition is going to blow up on him, and no matter how shrilly he and his operatives whine, they will not change the hearts and minds of the huge majority who do NOT want this new government program.
This is 1984 meets Adolf. What's next, ACORN and Black Panthers trying to intimidate people from their right of free speech? A little community organizing by the opposition never hurt anyone, did it Mr. President?
By , at
Thu Aug 06, 03:26:00 PM:
The Kenyan will name an Enemies Czar who will record the names of those who oppose. This Czar will also command the Brown Shirts, a group of folks organized and trained to protect the free speech of these fragile democrat congressmen and any other government poobahs whose mendacity might offend rubes and hicks.
My sign/bumper sticker suggestion: "ObamaCare: If It Ain't Good Enough For My Congressman Or My Mailman, It Ain't Good Enough For Me!!"
By , at
Thu Aug 06, 04:05:00 PM:
Some links for readers enjoyment: If it's all about the Democrat accusations of "astroturfing" a term I've previously only seen associated with David Axelrod, then Mary Katharine Ham has fisked it. Iowahawk is funny, but the Stalinist side of Obamanationionalism is a little weird, as Byron York says today. If you want to go further, to Pelosi's accusations that protestors are swastika carrying mobs, then I can really recommend Don Surber who boils today with righteous indignation at the spectacle of elected officials insulting regular Americans for daring to speak up to their elected politicians.
By , at
Thu Aug 06, 07:47:00 PM:
One reason for the shouting is that many are ANGRY over the arrogance of OUR ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES informing us that they support a thousand page bill that they haven't read, and that even though are ignorant of the bill, we should take their word that we should support it. The Democrats are applying faith to politics.
It is also a little ironic that the POTUS told his acolytes last year to "get in their faces," yet the Democrats are upset when the same tactics are applied to them.
At the same time, we must recognize that such anger is often self-defeating. OTOH, when well-behaved elderly constituents got arrested in LA in the offices of their Senator, anger is not unjustified. It is a difficult path we walk.
By Roy Lofquist, at
Thu Aug 06, 10:10:00 PM:
Destroyer,
Whilst reading this post I came across the word "thong". Of course it was followed by "sandals" but an image flashed. I like you and read all your posts but "thong" was ?.
To the substance. One of Alinsky's rules is "use their own rules against them". In this case they demand reasonable debate but it is futile. You'll not change their mind one wit no matter what you say. It's a dog and pony show. When logic is futile only intimidation works.
You have to make them make a choice - who is my master? I am certainly not advocating incivility or more. I am saying that a lusty "BULLSHIT" is the only language they will understand.
Regards,
Roy
By , at
Fri Aug 07, 05:59:00 AM:
Seems like it's happening Roy, and others. Tampa apparently errupted last night.
Now ... all it takes is a few democrat plants, angry PAID panthers, ACORNers, Dem schills, etc. to 'get in the face' of those opposed, and presto, you have a chanting, screaming melee.
The outcome, I believe, is that it just emphasizes that people are so freaking fed-up with all of this force-feeding of "what's good for them" that they're finally organizing to the point of making their voices heard.
The Elderly are joined by a much broader constituency that does not want this anymore than they want social security impacted. Think about the long-term consequences on the vote. Think about the question raised about who is 'uninsured': Illegals, tax cheats and/or decent wages earner who are cash basis payers and/or young enough that they want a new F150 over health insurance (making 50K+ a year), medicare/medicaid eligible folk who're too selfish to enroll/pay, the 'poor defenseless children' (of people who could breed but not feed) who're eligible in every state for free clinic care, etc.
I have health care professionals in my family. It's certainly not the lucrative path that the media makes it out to be, and it carries high liability. If this is so great, I'd like to hear how we keep people in the profession when their caseload increases, and the income drops. And I'd really like to hear that our exaulted elected royalty believes in it enough to enter it.
We really do live in a representative republic. High time people starting behaving that way, and demanding their voice be heard over the 'party' line of the 'representative'.
And J.H. Christ ... read the homework assignment people, even if it's 1000 pages, take notes, and explain to us why it's full of Easter Eggs for lawyers, insurers, special interests. It's your job.
By Roy Lofquist, at
Fri Aug 07, 09:44:00 AM:
John,
You note the long term effects of the Dem policy proposals and you are spot-on. There is another very potent game changer hiding in the current angry roar.
People have a great deal of toleration for our political process but the one thing they will not abide is being lied to. Of course politicians obsfuscate and the other side calls it a lie. Part of the background noise.
Now there is much talk of buyer remorse. It goes a lot deeper. The people are starting to believe that they have been scammed by Obama, the media and the Democratic Party. Not only that it wasn't a white lie. It was a sustained deception over a long period of time.
It ain't the policy that will sink them, it's the scam.
Roy
By , at
Fri Aug 07, 10:59:00 AM:
The President asked his supporters to get violent and, yesterday, they did. Political goons assaulted citizens in Florida and St. Louis, with arrests in St. Louis.
At the direct request of the President of the United States. Is this really happening?
More to come.
