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.
Well, technically speaking, that is a political opinion, its just not one with much dignity.
Meanwhile, the Dems are busily filling up Craigslist offering to pay you, yes YOU! for supporting Obamacare.
Which way are the claims of phony grassroots activism going now?
Oh, shut the fuck up with the Redstate ‘cites’. Fox is more credible.
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.
Hiring canvassers? The horror!
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.
Here’s a great essay on this issue. I know some of you won’t appreciate it, but a lot of you will.
Yes, I know that some of you will reject it based solely on the fact that it’s at dailykos. That’s your right.
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 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=Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy
Once again, John Stewart nails it! 
:eek: Can’t you just hear the tread of the goose-stepping Brownshirts?!
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.
Probably they will require something more than this.
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?
Well, it’s a bit out of character, but it could be “calm down or us conservatives will take away your guns.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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, by Rick Perlstein.