# The numbnut who had the freakout at the Arlen Specter townhall meeting **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 12, 2009, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-numbnut-who-had-the-freakout-at-the-arlen-specter-townhall-meeting/506206 "2009-08-12T19:14:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2009, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-numbnut-who-had-the-freakout-at-the-arlen-specter-townhall-meeting/506206/181 "2009-08-13T19:05:36Z")
[Some Ecard](http://www.someecards.com/usercards/viewcard/1b6d188ed09982fce1498275be74b125) ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2009, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-numbnut-who-had-the-freakout-at-the-arlen-specter-townhall-meeting/506206/182 "2009-08-13T19:09:50Z")
> [@](#): > > …Lot of wingnuts in Pennsylvania it would seem. Which misses the point. The point being, how many of those persons who are opposed are so opposed because they have been lied to flagrantly, repeatedly, and with great verve and determination? Its one thing if they love the insurance industry so much they want to see their greed satisfied to the point where they can hardly waddle up to the trough anymore. Its quite another if they think Obama is out to snuff their granny. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2009, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-numbnut-who-had-the-freakout-at-the-arlen-specter-townhall-meeting/506206/183 "2009-08-13T19:11:52Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > (And besides, if being wrong was cause for apology you’d have time for little else.) 😉 > [@elucidator](#): > > Thick as a brick, are you? Thick as a brick? I thought **SA** was living in the past. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2009, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-numbnut-who-had-the-freakout-at-the-arlen-specter-townhall-meeting/506206/184 "2009-08-13T19:22:18Z")
You’re skating away on thin ice, there, **Biffy**. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2009, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-numbnut-who-had-the-freakout-at-the-arlen-specter-townhall-meeting/506206/185 "2009-08-13T19:24:14Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > Here’s another way to look at this–imagine the Supreme Court had a case before it and was seriously considering overturning Roe v. Wade. Do you think all of the liberals that would be interviewed would give calm and rational responses to each questiomn and would display a deep and nuanced knowledge of the case law before and after Roe and the implications thereof? I don’t. I’m sure some would, but there would certainly be a few that would make the guy in the OP’s video look like Socrates. I’m pretty sure that most people that would stand up and ask a question (at the abortion town hall) would say something like, “a woman has a right to control her own body.” or “a woman has a right to choose.” Let’s take a look at what the repubitards say: 1. Obama has appointed czars. 2. ??? 3. Obama has broken his oath of office! 4. We’re deconstructing the country. 5. Because… uh… the… founders… The average republican simply doesn’t know what they believe. Other than some fuzzy stuff about socialism. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2009, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-numbnut-who-had-the-freakout-at-the-arlen-specter-townhall-meeting/506206/186 "2009-08-13T19:30:42Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > 1. Obama has appointed czars. > 2. ??? > 3. Obama has broken his oath of office! I’m baffled as to why the practice of appointing “czars” is so abhorrent to the Retarded Right. Wasn’t the whole idea originated by that infamous socialist Richard M. Nixon? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2009, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-numbnut-who-had-the-freakout-at-the-arlen-specter-townhall-meeting/506206/187 "2009-08-13T19:37:43Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > I was being facetious, dumbass. I knew I should have inserted a smilie so dolts like you would be sure to understand that, but my sense of esthetics was offended at the thought of two smilies in a two-line post. So here:… Neatly done! You evaded the point like a _toreodor_ evades the bull’s horns when he performs a graceful and sweeping _mozzarella_! > [@](#): > > …That’s funny. I recall no such objection when **Yookeroo** blandly asserted that it _was_ popular. Why did you not suggest he post cites to back that up? Hmmm? > > Could it be because you seek to obfuscate the issue? Or could it be that you just unthinkingly accept that whatever leftie viewpoint exists should automatically be considered the correct one and is contestable only by cite?.. Which you don’t have. My personal failings notwithstanding, you don’t have. Correct? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Svinlesha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/22d042/32.png) [@Mr.Svinlesha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Svinlesha)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2009, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-numbnut-who-had-the-freakout-at-the-arlen-specter-townhall-meeting/506206/188 "2009-08-13T19:38:52Z")
**Bif** : Well, I can tell you one thing: he’s a tiger when he wants love, but he’s a snake when we disagree. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2009, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-numbnut-who-had-the-freakout-at-the-arlen-specter-townhall-meeting/506206/189 "2009-08-13T19:38:59Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > I’m baffled as to why the practice of appointing “czars” is so abhorrent to the Retarded Right. Wasn’t the whole idea originated by that infamous socialist Richard M. Nixon? You mean the free-market capitalist Nixon, whose reaction to inflation was to freeze wages and prices? That Nixon? Of course, Nixon’s dabbling with socialism has been quietly forgotten by the Right. Question: which set up a Pay Board which limited all _private_ pay increases to 5.5%, and a Price Commission which limited all price increases on all _privately-sold_ goods to 2.5%? Who detached the dollar from the gold standard (yep, another bugbear of the libertarian set)? Who proclaimed “We are all Keynesians now?” FDR? Carter? Clinton? Nope, that was all Nixon’s doing. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2009, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-numbnut-who-had-the-freakout-at-the-arlen-specter-townhall-meeting/506206/190 "2009-08-13T19:46:52Z")
\*Jethro Tull \*totally rules. Had an SO who told me that the reason she dug them so much was that they were one of the few rock bands who’s music wasn’t primarily made up of “Let’s fuck right now!” ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Svinlesha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/22d042/32.png) [@Mr.Svinlesha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Svinlesha)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2009, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-numbnut-who-had-the-freakout-at-the-arlen-specter-townhall-meeting/506206/191 "2009-08-13T19:57:22Z")
As an aside, have you guys been following the latest polls? [Top item](http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/mood_of_america/trust_on_issues) at memeorandum at the moment: > [@](#): > > Trust on Issues > **Voters Give GOP First-Time Lead on Health Care** > > For the first time in over two years of polling, voters trust Republicans slightly more than Democrats on the handling of the issue of health care. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that voters favor the GOP on the issue 44% to 41%. > > **Democrats held a four-point lead on the issue last month and a 10-point lead in June.** For most of the past two years, more than 50% of voters said they trusted Democrats on health care. The latest results mark the lowest level of support measured for the party on the now-contentious issue. > > Public support for the health care reform plan proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats has fallen to a new low with just 42% of U.S. voters now in favor of it. **That’s down five points from two weeks ago and down eight points from six weeks ago.** > > Overall, Republicans lead Democrats in terms of voter trust on eight out of 10 key issues for the second consecutive month, and the two are tied on one issue. It’s not just **SA**. The whole fuckin country is thick as brick, apparently. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2009, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-numbnut-who-had-the-freakout-at-the-arlen-specter-townhall-meeting/506206/192 "2009-08-13T20:02:44Z")
And so we see the need for Congress’ attempt to rush, rush, rush it into passage without even knowing what’s in it. They knew it couldn’t stand the light of day, and sure enough, the more that people find out about it and the more they consider the future ramifications of it, the more they oppose it. Good on ya, America! ---
**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 13, 2009, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-numbnut-who-had-the-freakout-at-the-arlen-specter-townhall-meeting/506206/193 "2009-08-13T20:04:21Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > And so we see the need for Congress’ attempt to rush, rush, rush it into passage without even knowing what’s in it. They knew it couldn’t stand the light of day, and sure enough, the more that people find out about it and the more they consider the future ramifications of it, the more they oppose it. Yes, because the average voter always has the facts at his fingertips. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Svinlesha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/22d042/32.png) [@Mr.Svinlesha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Svinlesha)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2009, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-numbnut-who-had-the-freakout-at-the-arlen-specter-townhall-meeting/506206/194 "2009-08-13T20:04:32Z")
What provisions in the bill have you personally read, **SA** , that lead you to oppose it so vehemently? Please be specific, with citations. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2009, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-numbnut-who-had-the-freakout-at-the-arlen-specter-townhall-meeting/506206/195 "2009-08-13T20:07:08Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > Why do you keep doing that? Perhaps he thinks you share some prejudice regarding Middle Eastern names. He’s reminding you that Obama isn’t one of you. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2009, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-numbnut-who-had-the-freakout-at-the-arlen-specter-townhall-meeting/506206/196 "2009-08-13T20:08:26Z")
Sure, that shit works. If you have the naked cynicism to do it, it works. Nobody said it wasn’t effective. But here’s the thing: its self-destructive. If the Forces of Darkness win this thing, and there is no reform, then every time someone gets screwed by their health insurer, they’re going to remember who to thank. So, absent a radical change in their policies and procedures, thats one fuck of a lot of new Democrats. When they’re already behind the curve. Not to mention the friends and families of same. And that demographic includes blacks, whites, Southerners, Northerners, latinos, gays, gay latinos and so on and so forth. They lost an election and may very well lose a generation. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2009, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-numbnut-who-had-the-freakout-at-the-arlen-specter-townhall-meeting/506206/197 "2009-08-13T20:10:22Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > And so we see the need for Congress’ attempt to rush, rush, rush it into passage without even knowing what’s in it. They knew it couldn’t stand the light of day, and sure enough, the more that people find out about it and the more they consider the future ramifications of it, the more they oppose it. > > Good on ya, America! Fact is it is being discussed during recess. Then it has to pass both houses. Then a version of the two will be worked out. That is hardly jamming a bill through the legislative branch. The Anti-Terrorism Bill went through is a couple days. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2009, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-numbnut-who-had-the-freakout-at-the-arlen-specter-townhall-meeting/506206/198 "2009-08-13T20:10:56Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > I’m pretty sure that most people (snip). We’re not talking about most people. We’re talking about the muppets. Your post is therefore not on point and completely irrelevant. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2009, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-numbnut-who-had-the-freakout-at-the-arlen-specter-townhall-meeting/506206/199 "2009-08-13T20:19:19Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > And so we see the need for Congress’ attempt to rush, rush, rush it into passage without even knowing what’s in it. They knew it couldn’t stand the light of day, and sure enough, the more that people find out about it and the more they consider the future ramifications of it, the more they oppose it. I find this particularly hilarious that you claim people are turning against health care reform as they learn more about the bill, when what they have apparently learned about the bill is that Obama wants to kill Downs Syndrome babies at the monthly Death Panel Ho-down. It could stand the light of day, if people would pay attention to it and not fucking idiots like Palin and Limbaugh. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2009, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-numbnut-who-had-the-freakout-at-the-arlen-specter-townhall-meeting/506206/200 "2009-08-13T20:20:24Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Yes, because the average voter always has the facts at his fingertips. :rolleyes: When Dems here start accusing the ‘average voter’ of being a dummy you just know they’re in trouble. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-numbnut-who-had-the-freakout-at-the-arlen-specter-townhall-meeting/506206.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-numbnut-who-had-the-freakout-at-the-arlen-specter-townhall-meeting/506206.md?page=11)