# 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:** 8
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2009, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disrupting-town-hall-meetings/505176/141 "2009-08-09T21:31:08Z")
I can see both sides of it. I am all for giving the ruling class congresscritters a hard time. That is a simple legal right and harmless diversion. Of course when someone does it who spouts a political opinion opposed to mine (as in this case), I become conflicted. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2009, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disrupting-town-hall-meetings/505176/142 "2009-08-09T21:50:46Z")
> [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](#): > > I can see both sides of it. I am all for giving the ruling class congresscritters a hard time. That is a simple legal right and harmless diversion. Of course when someone does it who spouts a political opinion opposed to mine (as in this case), I become conflicted. I’m not sure I’d call shouting them down, uttering threats, and assaulting them simply ‘giving them a hard time’. The teabaggers don’t want debate, because they have no idea what they’re arguing about. They want to have a proper white president, who’ll fight against the commies. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2009, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disrupting-town-hall-meetings/505176/143 "2009-08-09T22:30:48Z")
Well, technically speaking, that is a political opinion, its just not one with much dignity. ---
**Author:** ![athelas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@athelas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/athelas)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2009, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disrupting-town-hall-meetings/505176/144 "2009-08-10T03:09:31Z")
Meanwhile, the Dems are [busily](http://www.redstate.com/absentee/2009/08/09/lets-talk-astroturf/) filling up Craigslist offering to pay you, yes YOU! for supporting Obamacare. Which way are the claims of phony grassroots activism going now? ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2009, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disrupting-town-hall-meetings/505176/145 "2009-08-10T03:35:48Z")
Oh, shut the fuck up with the Redstate ‘cites’. Fox is more credible. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2009, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disrupting-town-hall-meetings/505176/146 "2009-08-10T04:07:25Z")
> [@athelas](#): > > Meanwhile, the Dems are [busily](http://www.redstate.com/absentee/2009/08/09/lets-talk-astroturf/) filling up Craigslist offering to pay you, yes YOU! for supporting Obamacare. > > Which way are the claims of phony grassroots activism going now? Tell me this. How many of those Craigslist ads do you suppose were placed by corporate interests? How many of those jobs involve going to town hall meetings and shouting down speakers? Out of curiosity (and because I was desperate for work) I responded to a similar ad on Craigslist a number of weeks ago. Did they want me to go to meetings and shout down the speakers? No. Did they want me to go to meetings to politely and rationally ask questions? No. Did they want me to go to meetings at all? No. (And by the way, I would never accept such a job.) What did they want me to do? They wanted me to stand on a street corner and hand out pamphlets. Now, I’m sure that not all of the jobs being offered are for that exact same thing. I can’t even say with absolute certainty that none of those ads are soliciting people to disrupt meetings, but I am extremely skeptical that that’s the case for several reasons. People who are actually trying to achieve something (as opposed to simply disrupting any progress) want discussion. They want people to hear what they have to say, and they don’t achieve that by sabotaging communication. Not only that, but can you imagine the negative publicity if some group (of whatever political stripe) was caught actually _paying_ people to disrupt meetings? It would be disastrous for that group. They would lose all credibility. That why corporate astroturf groups like FreedomWorks and PatientsUnited don’t pay people to attend meetings. They instead stoke the fears and anxieties of a fringe who will then work for free, and then give them times and dates and instructions. That way they can claim that they’re simply faciliting sincere grassroots movements. I’m sure that the people at redstate think they’ve come up with something very clever in that blog. They may even actually believe that they’ve demonstrated some kind of equivalence. But thoughtful people can see the difference between stirring up the fringe to disrupt meetings (and work for free) and paying mostly college students to stand on a street corner and hand out pamphlets. Answer a few of those ads, especially ones in support of health care reform, and ask them what the work consists of. I may do that myself. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2009, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disrupting-town-hall-meetings/505176/147 "2009-08-10T04:13:54Z")
> [@athelas](#): > > Meanwhile, the Dems are [busily](http://www.redstate.com/absentee/2009/08/09/lets-talk-astroturf/) filling up Craigslist offering to pay you, yes YOU! for supporting Obamacare. > > Which way are the claims of phony grassroots activism going now? Hiring canvassers? The horror! ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2009, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disrupting-town-hall-meetings/505176/148 "2009-08-10T04:17:54Z")
I did look. The screenshot tells the story. Craigslist, nonprofits. Crucial difference when it comes to whether or not something is astroturfing. Nonprofit. Anything else? I’ve got another couple minutes, help you out. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2009, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disrupting-town-hall-meetings/505176/149 "2009-08-10T04:34:01Z")
Here’s a great essay on this issue. I know some of you won’t appreciate it, but a lot of you will. > **[Race, Taxes, Birth Certificates, and Eugenics](https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2009/8/9/763919/-Race,-Taxes,-Birth-Certificates,-and-Eugenics)** > > The Rise of A Postmodern Racist Movement? > > A Friday email cited by Ta-Nehisi ... Yes, I know that some of you will reject it based solely on the fact that it’s at dailykos. That’s your right. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2009, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disrupting-town-hall-meetings/505176/150 "2009-08-10T05:37:58Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > I did look. The screenshot tells the story. Craigslist, nonprofits. Crucial difference when it comes to whether or not something is astroturfing. Nonprofit. Anything else? I’ve got another couple minutes, help you out. You and I obviously agree on this issue, but I feel that I should point out that you shouldn’t use that particular argument. At least some of the instigators of these disruptions are 501(c)(4) nonprofits. Freedomworks for example. You can go here: [https://www.freedomworks.org/contribute](https://www.freedomworks.org/contribute) and scroll to the bottom of the page to see this. Of course, the fact remains that, although it’s a nonprofit, it’s still an astroturf operation backed by corporations and wealthy individuals whose interests do not align with the people they claim to represent. [http://sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Freedomworks](http://sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Freedomworks) [http://sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Citizens\_for\_a\_Sound\_Economy](http://sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2009, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disrupting-town-hall-meetings/505176/151 "2009-08-11T17:07:14Z")
Once again, [John Stewart nails it!](http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-august-10-2009/healther-skelter)😃 ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2009, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disrupting-town-hall-meetings/505176/152 "2009-08-12T01:59:20Z")
> [@Sinaijon](#): > > No it isn’t. Suppressing your opposition by intimidating them with the police force is, though: [Prognostications (Think Dubya can pronounce that?)](http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/8/4/13836/02418) > [@](#): > > The Democratic Alliance of Northwest Indiana (DANI ) hosted a meeting with Rep. Pete Visclosky (D, IN-01), on Monday, Aug. 3, 6:30 PM. We invited the public and their written questions. It seems good to share with the Daily Kos readership some lessons we learned. > > Bottom line: > • We had an orderly and productive meeting. > • No one stood up, shouted out and sat down. > • At no point was our Congressman or audience rattled. > • DANI accomplished its objective. We provided the public an opportunity to question our Congressman about Health Care and Clean Energy. > • Tea Baggers came out in force, but they failed to disrupt the meeting. > • Local reporters attended. > > \ > > 6.The local police were present inside and out, in force. The Congressman didn’t call them, nor did DANI. Our meeting was at a library. The Library staff got wind of the Tea Baggers and called the police well in advance. DANI officers were loath to go heavy. But, the police presence proved crucial to success. DANI just got lucky. Don’t leave this element to chance. :eek: Can’t you just **hear** the tread of the goose-stepping Brownshirts?! ---
**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 12, 2009, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disrupting-town-hall-meetings/505176/153 "2009-08-12T02:56:41Z")
> [@athelas](#): > > [Sound so glib now](http://www.redstate.com/moe_lane/2009/08/07/getting-in-their-faces-st-louis/)? Haha YES! I assume your redstate cite is your admittance you don’t have anything credible. Made my night you did. Then you give me even more redstate cites. Stop spoiling me! Punish me hard with a credible cite, if you can. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2009, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disrupting-town-hall-meetings/505176/154 "2009-08-12T16:32:37Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > Out of curiosity, I want to find out at what level of violence the conservative posters on this board will start to have concerns? Probably they will require something more than [this.](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/10/gabrielle-giffords-town-h_n_255656.html) > [@](#): > > Town hall disruptions around the country have led to some outbreaks of violence. Unions participating in town halls have received death threats. At an event held by Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) last week, the threat of violence led her aides to call the police after one attendee dropped a gun. > > \ > > One of the callers to the Service Employees International Union said, “I suggest you tell your people to calm down, act like American citizens, and stop trying to repress people’s First Amendment rights… That, or you all are gonna come up against the Second Amendment.” ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2009, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disrupting-town-hall-meetings/505176/155 "2009-08-12T16:36:09Z")
> [@](#): > > One of the callers to the Service Employees International Union said, “I suggest you tell your people to calm down, act like American citizens, and stop trying to repress people’s First Amendment rights… That, or you all are gonna come up against the Second Amendment.” I can’t grok this. Is this one of the disrupters telling other people to calm down or they’ll be shot? What the hell? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2009, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disrupting-town-hall-meetings/505176/156 "2009-08-12T17:27:42Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > I can’t grok this. Is this one of the disrupters telling other people to calm down or they’ll be shot? What the hell? Can you think of any other reasonable construction to put on it? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2009, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disrupting-town-hall-meetings/505176/157 "2009-08-12T17:51:11Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Can you think of any other reasonable construction to put on it? Well, it’s a bit out of character, but it could be “calm down or us conservatives will take away your guns.” ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2009, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disrupting-town-hall-meetings/505176/158 "2009-08-12T17:52:08Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Can you think of any other reasonable construction to put on it? Honestly, in some little twisted part of my brain I almost _want_ something terrible to happen. The fever pitch of the fanatics reaches a high, they finally take it from words and shouting to something far worse, and the nation, as a whole, looks at that and goes “Holy shit, what the hell are we doing?” And everyone takes a couple of deep breaths and starts _thinking_ again. I know it’ll never happen, of course, even if that “something terrible” does come about. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2009, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disrupting-town-hall-meetings/505176/159 "2009-08-12T17:54:10Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > Out of curiosity, I want to find out at what level of violence the conservative posters on this board will start to have concerns? I have serious, deep-seated concerns. The people in question are in serious danger of causing some of the things that they hold dear into serious question, and for what? To make themselves look like fools, disrupt a few meetings, all in pursuit of something that they cannot stop? it’s ridiculous in the extreme that they are behaving in this manner. > [@](#): > > Also, does the context have any bearing on your concerns? For example, we had an incident here in Pittsburgh where a guy motivated by his concerns that Obama was coming for his guns ended up killing three police officers. Most conservatives did not see that as related to any activity by right-wingers that might foment violence. Similarly, an abortion doctor targeted by Bill O’Reilly was killed in a church, and most conservatives did not want to see any linkage. I wish I understood what motivates these sort of people. Isn’t it enough that Obama, in spite of his “radical” left-wing credentials, has been nothing of the sort? Geez, this guy makes Clinton look like Marx (thus far) and people are responding like he’s destroying the fabric of America. There is no place in debate for violence, and being calm and rational is how you win hearts and minds, not shooting people. > [@](#): > > If serious violence or death should arise due to these orchestrated efforts to shout down and disrupt town hall meetings, will those on the right who set all this in motion bear any responsibility? Inasmuch as they “mobilized” the assailants, they are responsible, but they do have the right to make fools of themselves in whatever manner they choose. Hell, just today Fast Eddie said that he wanted to put the PA legislature in a gas chamber. You always have the right to make yourself look like a boob, no matter what party you belong to. The whole thing is a shame. If the Republicans acted at all times with decorum and in accordance with the laws and standards of where they live they might have a voice at the table. As it is they not only have no say, but they are continually marginalizing themselves, ensuring that the Democrats will continue to be in charge for years to come. It’s depressingly counterproductive. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2009, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disrupting-town-hall-meetings/505176/160 "2009-08-12T18:04:48Z")
BTW, next time somebody brings up the 1960s in connection with all this, bear in mind that there was more RW than LW mob violence in the '60s. See [_Nixonland,_](http://www.amazon.com/Nixonland-Rise-President-Fracturing-America/dp/0743243021) by Rick Perlstein. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disrupting-town-hall-meetings/505176.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disrupting-town-hall-meetings/505176.md?page=9)