# Disrupting Town Hall Meetings **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 3, 2009, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disrupting-town-hall-meetings/505176 "2009-08-03T16:17:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2009, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disrupting-town-hall-meetings/505176/41 "2009-08-04T19:28:15Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > I’ve been thinking about this, and you’re right, if the only way you can win is by stopping the other guy from talking, you do suck. But on the other hand, you’ve won. So, is it better to say, “I’m not going to use these tactics”, and lose, or use them and win? And is it really realistic to think that somebody isn’t going to use desperate tactics to win? Any tactic you use on someone else will eventually be used on you. And I think you left out a step by assuming the tactics will work. There’s no “socialist agenda in Washington,” so they can’t kill it. Whatever tax reform they are pushing, they’re unlikely to get it. They’re also not likely to drive Obama from office or kill a health care bill. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2009, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disrupting-town-hall-meetings/505176/42 "2009-08-04T19:34:40Z")
I think they’re extremely likely to kill the health care bill. The congress is out in their districts hearing from the people who have health insurance and are afraid of losing it. They aren’t hearing from those who don’t have it and need it. Unless you’re in a safe blue district, you’re afraid of this if you’re in congress. As a long term strategy, exploiting the fears and residual racism in working class whites is a loser. But Republicans don’t care squat about the long term. They want to kill this for their insurance companies that own them and perhaps pickup the odd seat or two in 2010. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2009, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disrupting-town-hall-meetings/505176/43 "2009-08-04T19:46:16Z")
Did anybody see [The Crank Cycle](http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-august-3-2009/master-rebators---the-crank-cycle)on The Daily Show last night? ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2009, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disrupting-town-hall-meetings/505176/44 "2009-08-04T19:51:35Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Well, nothing wrong with encouraging people to go to open forums to express their desent. Best typo of the day. “Oh no-I had the silly thing in reverse-they’ve devolved into Neanderthal Republicans!” ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2009, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disrupting-town-hall-meetings/505176/45 "2009-08-04T20:05:06Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Any tactic you use on someone else will eventually be used on you. And I think you left out a step by assuming the tactics will work. There’s no “socialist agenda in Washington,” so they can’t kill it. Whatever tax reform they are pushing, they’re unlikely to get it. They’re also not likely to drive Obama from office or kill a health care bill. The tactics are already being used, though. Somebody had mentioned Code Pink, which did the same sort of things. It’s not like disrupting meetings or heckling speakers is a new tactic. And as for a “socialist agenda in Washington”, there’s a bunch of discrete bills and ideas that those opposed have labeled a “socialist agenda”. Putting aside the question of whether it’s an accurate description or not, each of those bills will either be passed or not passed individually. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2009, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disrupting-town-hall-meetings/505176/46 "2009-08-04T20:17:52Z")
> [@Ca3799](#): > > …And added to news reports of Democrat only disrupted town hall meetings in other states leads one to believe that some people are intent on eliminating intelligent discussion and acess to lawmakers. > > I find this all very distasteful and almost fascist in flavor. Huh? How does going to a town hall meeting and asking that a congressperson justify their actions become fascist in your eyes? Is it simply because it’s conservatives daring to question the irresponsible actions of a liberal? Or do you simply think that the congresscritter should simply get a pass and not have to explain their actions at all? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2009, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disrupting-town-hall-meetings/505176/47 "2009-08-04T20:24:27Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > The tactics are already being used, though. Somebody had mentioned Code Pink, which did the same sort of things. It’s not like disrupting meetings or heckling speakers is a new tactic. I didn’t say it was new, I was pointing out a disincentive toward using them. > [@](#): > > And as for a “socialist agenda in Washington”, there’s a bunch of discrete bills and ideas that those opposed have labeled a “socialist agenda”. Putting aside the question of whether it’s an accurate description or not, each of those bills will either be passed or not passed individually. Since socialism is so broadly and poorly defined, this allows them to take credit for a lot of things they did not actually do. It’s the same with the tea parties: they were protesting a bunch of things that were never proposed in the first place. How can you lose if you set out to protest that? ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2009, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disrupting-town-hall-meetings/505176/48 "2009-08-04T20:30:09Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Huh? How does going to a town hall meeting and asking that a congressperson justify their actions become fascist in your eyes? Is it simply because it’s conservatives daring to question the irresponsible actions of a liberal? Or do you simply think that the congresscritter should simply get a pass and not have to explain their actions at all? Not a single person here has even suggested that “asking that a congressperson justify their actions” is wrong or to be discouraged. What people have been talking about is protesters who are not even interested in asking questions or hearing answers, but who simply want to shout so long and loud that their political opposition can’t even state their position. Take my Ann Coulter example from my first post (i’m sure you have a pin-up of her on your bathroom wall). If the people shouting and heckling during her speech had waited until the question period at the end, and asked questions or offered critiques of her speech during that period, i would have had no problems with them. What they did instead, though, was simply to yell out “fascist” and other equally-useless epithets in an attempt to drown out her speech. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2009, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disrupting-town-hall-meetings/505176/49 "2009-08-04T20:35:07Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Huh? How does going to a town hall meeting and asking that a congressperson justify their actions become fascist in your eyes? You haven’t been watching TV the last couple of days, have you? They are not asking questions, they are deliberately shouting down the scheduled speakers, intentionally disrupting others who wish to speak. They are not interested in asking for justification, they are only interested in cutting off debate and creating a disturbance so that it will be reported on TV. This is calculated ratfucking, not democracy in action. There is a townhall meeting in Hampstead, NH tomorrow at 1:00; I intend to be there. Film at eleven. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2009, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disrupting-town-hall-meetings/505176/50 "2009-08-04T20:44:47Z")
Was just slumming on Fox, waiting to see their reaction to Horndog Bill’s success in N. Korea. Nothing. Just talking about the grass roots outrage in America. See, thing is, this is lose/lose worse/die for the Pubbies. Even if they water it down heavily, some people are going to benefit. And those people are likely to remember it was the Dems helped them out, and the Pubbies peed down their necks and told them it was raining. If they don’t water it down, even \*more \*people benefit, and remember. The only hope they got is to flat out kill it, and hope to convince people that this is a good thing. And every other night on TV, we get another story about some poor dumb schmuck who suffers because its profitable for the health insurance industry. So they have to find some way to create a plausible cover, that the reason it failed is because America is hugely against socialized medicine. If they succeed, it won’t change my opinion on the existence of God, but I may have to review my opinion on the Prince of Darkness. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2009, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disrupting-town-hall-meetings/505176/51 "2009-08-04T21:30:51Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Huh? How does going to a town hall meeting and asking that a congressperson justify their actions become fascist in your eyes? Is it simply because it’s conservatives daring to question the irresponsible actions of a liberal? Or do you simply think that the congresscritter should simply get a pass and not have to explain their actions at all? Lest I be whooshed, I must ask if these are serious questions. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2009, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disrupting-town-hall-meetings/505176/52 "2009-08-04T22:11:58Z")
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqOSNI7l0bQ](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqOSNI7l0bQ) Here’s a Detroit Council meeting . try interrupting that. ---
**Author:** ![Frostillicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Frostillicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frostillicus)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2009, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disrupting-town-hall-meetings/505176/53 "2009-08-04T23:17:38Z")
I know it is hard to believe, but the right-wing tea-baggers are being just a little bit inconsistent here. [http://whiskeyfire.typepad.com/whiskey\_fire/2009/08/liberal-disruption-fascism-conservative-disruption-democracy.html](http://whiskeyfire.typepad.com/whiskey_fire/2009/08/liberal-disruption-fascism-conservative-disruption-democracy.html) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disrupting-town-hall-meetings/505176/54 "2009-08-05T00:10:04Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > > [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > > > At the time I was thinking, “well, the USPS will take a letter 4700 miles from my house to Honolulu for 44 cents, and the CIA then can remotely blow up the recipient with a Predator drone. That’s pretty damn efficient.” > > Remind me not to give you my address. However, I have some addresses for his _Christmas mailing list_. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disrupting-town-hall-meetings/505176/55 "2009-08-05T00:15:21Z")
> [@Carol\_Stream](#): > > Me, too!!! Shit, I just tossed mine. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disrupting-town-hall-meetings/505176/56 "2009-08-05T00:31:36Z")
You know, **Guin** , you _could_ just consider responding to her to be beneath your dignity. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disrupting-town-hall-meetings/505176/57 "2009-08-05T00:36:39Z")
Dignity is over-rated. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disrupting-town-hall-meetings/505176/58 "2009-08-05T01:04:03Z")
Granted, but so are many of the “benefits” of troll-feeding. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disrupting-town-hall-meetings/505176/59 "2009-08-05T01:06:18Z")
How is bringing your concerns to a townhall meeting in your district, ‘disrupting townhall meetings’? ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disrupting-town-hall-meetings/505176/60 "2009-08-05T01:09:46Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > How is bringing your concerns to a townhall meeting in your district, ‘disrupting townhall meetings’? Skipped reading the OP, did you? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disrupting-town-hall-meetings/505176.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disrupting-town-hall-meetings/505176.md?page=4)