Freshman Democratic lawmaker ‘physically assaulted at a local event’ by right-wing activists

[sabra]

Source: ThinkProgress

As lobbyist-run groups encourage conservative activists to “rattle” members of Congress at local town hall events, Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA), the president of the freshman Democratic class has revealed that “at least one freshman Democrat” has already been “physically assaulted at a local event” by right-wing activists. Connolly warned that conservative groups had taken things to a “dangerous level“:

“When you look at the fervor of some of these people who are all being whipped up by the right-wing talking heads on Fox, to me, you’re crossing a line,’ Connolly said. ‘They’re inciting people to riot with just total distortions of facts. They think we’re going to euthanize Grandma and the government is going to take over.”

Recent events have given congressman good reason to be “fearful for their safety.” Last week, a protester hung an effigy of freshman Rep. Frank Kratovil (D-MD) outside his district office, and after a June 22 town hall meeting was disrupted by an “unruly mob” of tea party activists, Rep. Tim Bishop (D-NY) had to be escorted to his car by police. ThinkProgress contacted Connolly’s office regarding the identity of the congressman who was physically assaulted, but we have not yet received a response.

Read more: http://thinkprogress.org/2009/08/05/freshman-dem-assaulted/

[WeDidIt]

1. These thugs need to start being arrested,

The moment they start the shout downs they are assaulting, and should be arrested.

[JayMusgrove]

33. Agreed, arrest them all.... I hate lawbreakers! Get them off

our streets and out of our town hall meetings,

Assault is a crime. Arrest them.

[melm00se]

44. assualt is a line not to be crossed

but "our town hall meetings" is not the right attitude. whether or not the rethugs voted for them does not alter the fact that they are representing the rethugs too.

[Downwinder]

54. Fits the definition of terrorism.

[JayMusgrove]

79. If they are terrorists.......send them to GTMO

plain and simple answer.. get them out of here until 2013

[Flatulo]

140. Shouting = Terrorism

?

[wolfgangmo]

164. No it does not fit the definition of terrorism.

Who are you? Darth Cheney's nephew?

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

176. Maybe Websters. Or Merriam's.

ter⋅ror⋅ism

Use terrorism in a Sentence

–noun

1. the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, esp. for political purposes

[Swede Atlanta]

82. I agree but with a slight clarification......

I clearly want all the constituents in a member's district to feel welcome to attend a town hall meeting or other event. But I expect civility at these events - showing respect for the representative as well as those who do not share your view.

These should be moderated with clear rules of engagement from the beginning. Anyone not following the rules should be asked to leave and if they don't leave then the police should be called to forceably remove them. They should not be removed for their views or even how passionately they express them but they need to conduct themselves in a civilized manner.

[alfredo]

93. I took ours as mean the voting public.

[Demeter]

105. Odds Are the Agitators Are From Out of District

[quakerboy]

114. "Our"

As in our, the citizens of the district of the townhall in question. I doubt that all of these thugs are home grown, and I have no doubt that there are republicans in the audiences who want to have a debate or to make their feelings known. "Our town hall meetings" is exactly the appropriate attitude.

[Beartracks]

135. Assault ain't free speech. n/t

[Alcibiades]

142. They are ours

in the sense that they are organized for constituents. Many of these teabaggers are outside agitators.

[wolfgangmo]

160. I agree absolutely.

Either we beleive that the reps and senators are their for ALL of their constituents, or we don't beleive in representative democracy. As much as it pains me, for example, Michele Bachmann is my rep (shudder).

Having said that, there is a legal line that can get crossed. And shouting out at a political meeting is not crossing it. Assault: crime that occurs when one person tries to physically harm another in a way that makes the person under attack feel immediately threatened. Actual physical contact is not necessary; threatening gestures that would alarm any reasonable person can constitute an assault. (from NOLO)

This definition also includes threats, although it is usually an add on charge.

So, for example, if they rush the stage, or throw anything, or block an exit, etc. then a reasonable person could feel threatened and the cops could be called and hall the trash out to the curb. Cuff 'em and stuff 'em in the vernacular of the trade.

I firmly beleive that they COULD be a danger and as such should be watched VERY carefully. And IF they step across the line then...

I also beleive that if these meetings are occuring on private property then we don't have to wait until it reaches a legal level for response. The rep / owner renter of the propery gets to set the rules. And they need to be followed or we can charge them with trespassing.

[Lagomorph]

147. You guys sound like....

1960's Republicans. :eyes:

Just a few years ago, I saw thousands of people in the streets, shouting, blocking roads, disrupting anything they found out about. Are any of you veterans of the Battle in Seattle?

I mean, the fine Democrats leaders of our current government wrote the book on civil disobedience.

You better get some serious meds before the Molotov cocktails & looting starts.

God, I love Democracy!!!

[fasttense]

155. The difference being that Corporations were NOT funding the Democratic Protesters

Yet the Republicons seem to have found barrels of money to pay and con people on Medicare to go protest socialized medicine.

Yeah, Progressive wrote the book on how to protest, that's the only thing you said that is factual and makes any sense.

But Republicons are so afraid of Democratic Protesters that they get their thugs to lock them in jail Before they even protest. Remember Amy Goodman and the RNC Convention?

If the bush and Dick the Cheney were still in power and these town hall meetings that were being disrupted were Republicon, you can bet your bippy bush and dick would have all those Medicare recipients locked up in jail before you can say "Benedict Arnold's you Uncle."

[Peacetrain]

173. Let me pull the hip waders on here sonny jim.. and get into this with you..

When elected officials are being assaulted by corporate funded goon squads..and you cannot see the difference in that.. then there is some mighty big mis communication between the synapses.

Quick hand me the list of corporate funded goon squads from the democratic side.

K Street is up to its proverbial gills in this.

[Lagomorph]

179. I dunno...

I've been watching the videos and reading the articles. There has been some right wing organizing, but I also see union groups showing up all wearing the same t-shirts allowed into the meetings, while bunches old folks asking questions get locked out. Must be all those highly militant AARP counter revolutionaries. Lots of middle aged and late middle age people who showed up to get answers. When they can't get their questions answered or get locked out, they get pissed.

From watching the videos, I see a lot of people who just don't fit the profile of organized thugs.

But Hell, we've finally got the "silent majority" out of their La-Z-Boys and that's something to celebrate.

If you expected something as big as national health care to sail through without a question, wake up and smell the coffee. You're dragging millions of people out of the comfort zone. If there is one thing I'm sure of, the middle class hates being drug out of their comfort zone.

It'll pass, eventually, and it'll be expensive for a lot of people who've chosen to opt out of health care due to financial reasons. A lot of people are gonna have to cough up $400 - $800 a month for cost sharing, if the version of HR 3200 I'm looking at goes through.

I've got a lot more research to do before I can make an informed decision.

http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_bills&docid=f:h3200ih.pdf

MINIMUM SERVICES TO BE COVERED.—The items and services described in this subsection are the following:

(1) Hospitalization.
(2) Outpatient hospital and outpatient clinic services, including emergency department services.
(3) Professional services of physicians and other health professionals.
(4) Such services, equipment, and supplies incident to the services of a physician’s or a health professional’s delivery of care in institutional settings, physician offices, patients’ homes or place of residence, or other settings, as appropriate.

(5) Prescription drugs.
(6) Rehabilitative and habilitative services.
(7) Mental health and substance use disorder services.
(8) Preventive services, including those services recommended with a grade of A or B by the Task Force on Clinical Preventive Services and those vaccines recommended for use by the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

(9) Maternity care.
(10) Well baby and well child care and oral health, vision, and hearing services, equipment, and supplies at least for children under 21 years of age.

(A) ANNUAL LIMITATION.—The cost-sharing incurred under the essential benefits package with respect to an individual (or family) for a year does not exceed the applicable level specified in subparagraph (B).

"APPLICABLE LEVEL. — The applicable level specified in this sub paragraph for Year 1 is $5,000 for an individual and $10,000 for a family. Such levels shall be increased (rounded to the nearest $100) for each subsequent year by the annual percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index (United States city average) applicable to such year."

[katty]

39. Yeah, I am for that, crazy ass whackadoos-the lot of them!

[zbdent]

67. "The moment they start the shout downs they are assaulting" ...

I'm going to have to not subscribe to that ...

I think that only in Cambridge is a verbal "assault" equivalent to a physical assault ... otherwise, there would be more arrests at women's clinics ...

[Maineman]

71. Assault and battery

It is my understanding that assault is when they are threatening. Battery is when they become physical. I think it IS assault - though I am not a lawyer.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

129. Making a lot of noise is not making a threat.

You might get a sympathetic DA to charge, but it would get thrown out. Unless they actually threatened physical violence.

David

[wolfgangmo]

161. Yup

Check the NOLO site for a definition. They have to be making a threatening gesture (which can include verbal) which a reasonable person would consider theatening.

[NorCalDem]

73. Agreed.

They arrested hundreds of protesters the day BEFORE the RNC convention just because they had plans to protest, yet these people can shout down and nearly assault congressmen/women and senators at local townhalls and nothing happens.

These people are angry mobs, no other way you can slice it.

Besides, I don't go to Republican townhalls cause I'm a Democrat. Why the fuck would a Democratic congressman care what the Republican constituents in his/her district think? They'll never get their vote anyway, so fuck em...

[PatrynXX]

77. for the brave, go to hannity.com

They seem to be a bit irritated at being called Thugs.

meanwhile alan.com has a good one. How to make a fake Kenyan birth certificate in a hurry. Already made mine with a url :)

[GoddessOfGuinness]

115. We've been calling them rethuglicans for over a decade...

Why are they so thin-skinned now?

[tsuki]

83. I'd like to see the head Thug, Rupert Morlock, arrested. nt

[patrick t. cakes]

89. start from the top down

rush, hannity, beck..etc.

[HillbillyBob]

101. What I want to know is Why they are not being arrested.

Under amBushco the lefties only had to show up to be arrested let alone speak or assault the nazi partisans.

[wolfgangmo]

165. "Under Bushco"

Is that really the yardstick which we want to measure ourselves against?

[Expedite Trucker]

126. Agreed lock em up

[jhrobbins]

132. How is what they are doing different from what Dr. Gates was arrested for

except for the fact that they are 'in public' instead of their own home. If this is public disorder they should be arrested. These Democratic lawmakers need to grow some (and have these folks arrested) - I know it has been said over and over, but it remains true.

[Malikshah]

2. To some here...this is just free speech....

More's the pity.

[DarthDem]

5. ??

Free speech ends when there's assault with it. I doubt too many here would disagree.

[Malikshah]

8. There's a thread where some wrap this all up in the First Amendment garb

False equivalencies abound...

Tenacious and tiresome.

BTW-- I agree w/ you. Free speech stops at incitement to or outright violence and hate.

[ejpoeta]

17. i think there is first amendment and then there is disrupting a meeting.

it doesn't sound like these folks want to be heard, but to deny others the right to be heard and to question their representatives. if you can't act in a respectful manner and follow the format for asking questions, then you shouldn't be there. that's like my kid in class just spouting stuff off at the teacher. now, if she does that she is disrupting the class and preventing others from asking questions and learning things. i know it is not exactly the same, but when she does it it s because she doesn't know any better.... and if she were continued to be allowed to do this, how would anyone learn anything?? these people know exactly what they are doing and they are purposely trying to prevent others from gaining information or asking questions of the reps.

[Malikshah]

25. Agreed. I just wish some of the pseudo-supporters of Free Speech in this other thread

would remove their heads from their nether regions and realize that.

[RedCloud]

30. Or would understand how fascism gets started.

Look how the Bush family had the traitor Prescott Bush and no one brought that to the public's attention?

Bush and Cheney should be getting ready for their trials and possible deportation for violations of international law. Fail to do that and the young brown shirts will interpret this as cowardice and act even crazier.

[geckosfeet]

102. A large granuale of truth in what you say. They all feel that they can get away with murder.

[JDPriestly]

38. When I first heard about these demonstrations, I thought they

were ordinary exercises of free speech. When I saw the videos it became evident to me that they were not.

The other thread may have been one of the early threads on this, one that was posted before the extent of the disruptions, the mob nature of the groups in these meetings, was understood.

[The Wizard]

128. The key words in the First Amendment

"limit the right to peaceably assemble,"
There's nothing peaceable about Republicans. They are neo-fascist reactionaries. The only things missing are the armbands, jackboots, and gas chambers.

[Beartracks]

139. The "P" in "GOP" certainly does not stand for "Peacable" n/t

[saigon68]

162. And a few Negroes hanging by ropes around their Necks

[Grinchie]

31. There is also a little thing called Riot

Under United States federal law, a riot is defined as A public disturbance involving (1) an act or acts of violence by one or more persons part of an assemblage of three or more persons, which act or acts shall constitute a clear and present danger of, or shall result in, damage or injury to the property of any other person or to the person of any other individual or (2) a threat or threats of the commission of an act or acts of violence by one or more persons part of an assemblage of three or more persons having, individually or collectively, the ability of immediate execution of such threat or threats, where the performance of the threatened act or acts of violence would constitute a clear and present danger of, or would result in, damage or injury to the property of any other person or to the person of any other individual. 18 U.S.C. § 2102.

As every state in the United States has its own laws (subject to the Supremacy Clause), each has its own definition of 'riot.' In New York State, for example, the term 'riot' is not defined explicitly, but under § 240.08 of the N.Y. Penal Law, A person is guilty of inciting to riot when he urges ten or more persons to engage in tumultuous and violent conduct of a kind likely to create public alarm.

From Wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riot#United_States_2

I guess people would just rather forget about the behavior of the Police against protesters of the Republican National Convention in 2008, where they acted well before any violence ever occurred.

[Beartracks]

138. 10 or more?

> "A person is guilty of inciting to riot when he urges ten or more persons to engage in tumultuous and violent conduct of a kind likely to create public alarm."

Hmmm... Think more than 10 people listen to Sean Hannity? Vague allusions to "the revolution" DO cause people to think up things in their heads.

[JDPriestly]

37. Demonstrations are fine provided they are managed and

respectful. That is the difference between the right and left in their attempts to affect policy. The movements of the left have with very few exceptions been based on commitment to non-violence and peace. The danger with these right-wing movements is that they are essentially based on a commitment to violence in a larger number of cases. Not all right-wingers see violence as a legitimate means for obtaining political goals, but many of them do. They are not starting from a commitment to non-violent protest.

This will backfire on those instigating the mobs.

[suzanner]

51. By their own standards, in a 'pen' blocks away,

and the only ones allowed into the meeting must swear to be of a certain party, sign an 'oath', and be completely empty upstairs.

[pokercat999]

87. "Not all right-wingers see " Maybe not ALL but this is

standard MAIN STREAM REPUBLICAN behavior. Theses are not crazy right-wingers they are the heart and soul of the Republican Party the MAIN STREAM if you will.

[Critters2]

63. Link, please? nt

[depakid]

16. To a lot of Democrats, this is "free speech"

The just desserts of media deregulation which they've supported.

[Grinchie]

34. And Corporate Personhood takes advantage of Free Speech

Even when it is a lie, because a Corporation is protected under the Fifth Amedment against Self Incrimination.

Not to mention that pay taxes on profits after expenses, while we pay taxes on earnings, and then get to pay taxes again of all the shit they tell us to buy.

[dschis]

152. There should be limits to that corporation being an entity

[Cha]

26. Yeah, I've seen those posts and I think

they're stupid..the thugs are the ones who are thwarting free speech..duh:silly:

[JDPriestly]

29. Free speech can be regulated -- time, place and manner

[DailyGrind51]

32. "Free speech" my ass, bust these thugs!

I still remember the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago, when our Democratic Mayor, Richard J. Daley, had CPD haul off demonstrators, en mass, by paddy wagons. At 18, I called it "Fascism!" Now, at 58, I say, if these "Freedomworks" morons intrude on my Representative's meetings, I hope Richard M. Daley's finest bust a few Freeper skulls!

[freebrew]

61. Didn't they use RICO to charge the C7?

Crossing state lines to incite to riot.
If these lobbyists are paid for by the HealthCorps. Then they are being paid to cause a riot.
I've seen that same guy, fat white guy with a ball cap in almost everyone of the videos.
He looks like some CFO in commoner drag.

[DailyGrind51]

107. Yes, they did, and RICO should apply to Freeper outsiders!

Richie Daley's only problem is that our cops don't have a contract yet and are a little pissed at "his Honor" right now. State's Attorney, Lisa Madigan, and President Obama are good friends and Cook County Sheriff, Tom Dart, is the "Thom Hartman of local law enforcement". I'm sure they will fill any void left by any no-show CPD.

[MetaTrope]

92. Chicago did it again a couple years ago during protests against the invasion of Iraq

But of course, there's still a Daley as mayor too...

[Lorien]

146. Rioting and assault has never been considered "free speech"

it's criminal activity. Arrest the thugs!

[DJ13]

3. Liberals/progressives need to start packing these events to blunt the cons

[loudsue]

6. Eventually fights are going to break out.

Little republican noses will be broken.

[leftcoastie]

9. And THAT

is what the power brokers want. Divide and conquer.

The hordes of uneducated mobs from out of town have to be dealt with directly, and arrested if need be.
Meetings with your rep shouldn't be crashed by out-of-their-minds out-of-towners.

[DJ13]

14. Were already divided

But those power brokers are expecting liberals to back down as they have so often in the past.

For once lets not let them get away with the power grab.

[JDPriestly]

40. The irony is that many of the loudest protestors look like Medicare

recipients. How can you protest government involvement in health care if you accept Medicare benefits? It's crazy. Shows how ignorant these people are.

[bbinacan]

4. Who was the lawmaker

that was physically assaulted?

[melm00se]

158. excellent question

not to excuse the thugs of the republican party but I can find no news report other than this blog referencing a congressman being assaulted. You would think that something like that would warrant some kind of news coverage.

you would think that this level of outcry would be doubled or trebled and could carry the day if there were even more specifics.

[davepc]

7. Much how the Nazis got their start in the 1920's. They were basically thugs.

[VaYallaDawg]

11. So true, so true. Scary to see history starting to repeat itself!

[jwirr]

62. History started repeating itself in 2000 with the election theft of *ss.

We are way beyond the thugs taking over - we are now trying to stop them from totally destroying the place.

I am feeling a little ashamed of my instincts when it comes to these thugs. I would like to go and stand up to them in the same way that the motorcycle groups stood up to Phillips when he and his gang protested at funerals but then I would just be acting like the thugs do. I suspect that is exactly what the pugs and their handlers want to happen.

[JDPriestly]

42. Yes. Read The Lost City by John Gunther.

And the governments in Germany and Austria meekly allowed the anger to foment. The rest is history. And please don't say that we should not compare these people to NAZIs. I really know the history of that time and have lived in Germany and Austria. I speak German. My husband was a child during the NAZI period. I know what I am talking about.

[HillbillyBob]

111. http://www.spiritone.com/ ~gdy52150/noon.html#top

The Nazi Hydra in America..its a good read, a few points I am not too sure about, but think on this they have been here since the 20s.
I m sure you will recognize names, most of the info came from the Library of Congress so it is real documentation standing behind it.
I have read much of the original docs, I have also spoken with people who would know those that lived in the US and Holocaust survivors some were my relatives.
The link is in the subject with a space between / and ~

[JDPriestly]

149. My husband's dad was interned.

[JDPriestly]

150. Thanks. I'm quite interested in the topic.

I'm also quite interested in the STASI and the former East Germany, its government, etc. There, too, oppression was the order of the day.

[WriteDown]

10. Good...

Offer single payer instead of this claptrap. Start looking at systems that work like Sweden's instead of the big payoff to private healthcare companies.

[ejpoeta]

19. I agree! look at all the examples available and see hte pros and cons of each

and develop a single payer system that would take the best aspects of each to create a good model that would benefit every american and save us money in the long run. i'll go for that.

[ejpoeta]

12. can someone please explain to me why it seems that some people are removed

and some aren't from these types of things. it seems from what i am hearing that these disrupters are allowed to stay and continue to disrupt, when others are removed. what is the threshold for being removed?? my thinking is that anyone that disturbs the normal order should be removed... like people shouting out questions when some system of asking questions has been determined. plus if they are just shouting things and seem to not be there to attend a town hall meeting but to prevent discussion they should be removed.

[glinda]

18. Right. Isn't this disruption of the peace? Harassment? Threats? Why are there not arrests?

I am really sick of everyone accepting that people screaming at each other is normal. It is not normal. Threats are not normal. Just because Faux and other companies depict everyone screaming at each other does not make it normal.

[Hansel]

72. It's a good question.

I think that if a congressman/congresswoman are going to organize these events that they are obligated to assure the safety of the people attending. They need to set ground rules and if they are broken they need to enforce them, with arrests if necessary.

That being said, I think some of them have been caught off guard. Have you ever been to a town hall meeting? Usually they are pretty boring and people are respectful of other people's rights to exercise free speech. They might moan, but they don't act like this. I think they might have been caught by surprise.

Then again, they got some film footage that they are using against the GOP. So maybe, in some cases, they let them go on to get that footage of the insane buffoons.

From now on rules need to be set and enforced to protect the safety of everyone. And they need to make a big loud deal of announcing the rules in the media. I think they should call a press conference and make a national announcement. This will serve two purposes. 1) Demonstrate how bad these mobs have gotten and 2) tell others that it is safe to come back to town hall meetings. After all, the danger is not just that these town hall meetings are shut down. It's that the sane people stop coming ever.

[RandySF]

13. It's sort of ironic for me

It was 2004 into 2005 that I actually feared for my personal safety thinking they the jackboots might arrest me as a terrorist because of my opposition to Bush. Now, however, the tangible threat is from these nutcases. I'm starting to appreciate the 2nd Amendment.

[Aragorn]

43. got it

I don't want to give too many details as I wish to remain anonymous, but let me say that in 04 I pulled my every-other-year over-the-top April Fools gag, with the story that due to my presence at an appearance by the governor's wife (The gov hisself being a strong and vocal gwb guy) I had been arrested. "The FBI" was calling "because your email address was on computer" and "you are under investigation for possible terrorism". I kid you not, despite my known rep for these gags (which is why they had to be so ridiculous) everyone who got the call believed it. One group was still worried 3 days later, "glad to see I was out of jail" "who took care of your kids" etc.

I should add that her appearance was on the same block as my office where I flew an upside down flag since the war started.

Contrast that with the lack of response when it's the right wing/corporatists. Just sayin'

And ask Gates what he thinks about this too, 'k?

[seafan]

15. "This is a fight to the death by the corporate monarchy."

Freshman Democratic lawmaker ‘physically assaulted at a local event’ by right-wing activists., August 5, 2009



April, 2009: Department of Homeland Security: "Right wing extremism in the United States..."



"This is a fight to the death by the corporate monarchy." ----Christine Alexander of KPOJ on Thom Hartmann program today.




HOW MUCH LONGER?

[Grinchie]

48. If people don't recognize this as the "Death Throes" of Corporate Oligarchy

Then we are doomed.

It's not a matter of Democrat or Republican anymore, as it's pretty obvious that this administration is in the death grip of the Corporations the same as Bush was.

Perhaps the Corporations have made the Government an offer then can't refuse, and the Government, if one actually exists independantly of complete Corporate control, has no other choice than make futile attempts at maintaining the status quo out of fear of social collapse.

The Government is mistaken if they think Americans are so weak that they would not be able to deal with the truth if it were allowed to be known.

We already know that our Air, Water and Soil is poisoned beyond belief. The food we eat can barely be called food anymore. The Family farmer is crushed under big agricultural interests, and Alternate Energy is suppressed every chance they get.

We are forced to endure the Automobile based economy, and mass transit remains suppressed and unfunded.

The Military has complete control over Patents that would help the world, and greedily hides them from public view under the guise of National Security and claims of Balance of Power.

The military would not function if people refused to sign their lives away to be used as Live Guinea Pigs for Radiation, Viruses, Vaccinations, Chemical or Bioelectric weapons or Cannon fodder or other instruments of death of their fellow man.

Nor would there be any weapons if Scientists got reacquainted with life and the ethical contradiction of creating ever more poisons or weapon systems.

The system would collapse if people just gave up on the Fiat Money Supply controlled and created out of thin air by the power brokers, and fell back to Barter and local produced resources.

But, since they FORCE everyone to use FIAT money, they have complete control, regradless of the fact that it is only paper, with nothing to back it up.

Yet, they keep control of the path of industry and research because they maintain the fraud.

Slowly, people like myself are withdrawing from the system and affording them a diminished state of returns. As a farmer, I know the value of pulling a weed or two here as I have the energy. After a while, you don't have any more weeds. It doesn't happen overnight, but it DOES happen, and most of the time, the sense of accomplishment reinforces ones soul that we, as individual can make a significant difference in the grand scheme of things. You can also plant things that make your life better, such as tree's or beneficial grasses and nurture them until they can manage on their own.

I hardly use money anymore. I hardly use Gasoline any more. I use more sunlight than anything else.

Now that we see the Corporations tactics for Opinion Shaping, it's pretty clear they have taking the tactics straight out of the US Armies Unconventional Warfare Manual and are using it for their own gain. Search on the web for it.. You may find a copy of it.

The Corporations and Politically alligned miscreants that use these tactics are being exposed more and more as people regain consciousness and say "ENOUGH". These ploys are no longer effective, so now is the time to be prepared for the Corporate game of Hard Ball.. Layoff's, Economic Collapse, Deflation, followed by Hyperinflation. Reduction of food and supplies necessary for daily existence, etc..

Be prepared people, these bastard have been in control since the last depression. They are not going to give up without a fight.

[seafan]

59. You've pretty much nailed it. It's The Corporate Structure waging war against The People.

If they lose control over our health care, they've lost BIG.

If this health care battle has illuminated anything clearly, it's shown us who the real enemies of America are, with their whores in positions of political power.

[Grinchie]

86. If the Populace wakes up en masse, they are doomed.

I'd like to think that they have already exceeded the limits of most people to realize what they have done to America for the past 30 years, but considering the sheer numbers of Overmedicated, undereducated sheep, I think we still way to go yet.

History is repeating itself, but nobody is bothering to read the History books anymore. I have been doing as mouch as I can, and it's really kind of frighteneing to see the similarities of the situation we have today, when compared to the Great Depression, and the lead up to World War II. The Rhetoric and hate is almost identical. Nothing needed to make sense for the people that blindly joined ranks with Hitler, and we see the same sort of group memberships forming today.

[The Wizard]

131. There's no nice way

to say Nazi

[Grinchie]

151. Actually, Mel Brooks at least made it funny.

So did Charlie Chaplin, but I digress.

[The Wizard]

156. I agree with Brooks'

concept of taking down a tyrant with ridicule.
I must tell the birds-----They're going to clear Der Fuerher's name.
And he could dance the pants off of Churchill.

[Grinchie]

178. The remake of "The Producers" in 2005 was a masterpiece

Great Cast, Great Songs, Great Story, Great Choreagraphy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNXj-SCx5dY (at 5:55)
{

• "Heil Myself"
  
• "Watch My Show"
  
• "I'm the German Ethel Merman Don't Ya Know!

}

Those lyrics still cracks me up.

[jwirr]

65. You are very correct and I think it is going to get tougher before it is

over. These corporations have been working to gain their power since before 1980 and they are not going to give it up easily. I mostly fear for our president but he is not alone in this fight to rid us of the partners in globalization. Further they unlike us can live in one nation, have their headquarters in another, get their raw materials from another and use slave labor in another. We are up against the biggest enemies this nation has ever seen.

[DailyGrind51]

113. Benito Mussolini said it best:

"Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power."

Benito Mussolini

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/b/benito_mussolini.html

[midnight armadillo]

118. And the American people are bringing knives to a gunfight

Ever wonder why US History as taught in schools stops in the mid 1800's? So we don't learn how hard the people had to fight to get anything from the powers that be. We don't want to give young people ideas, you know.

[MidwestTransplant]

20. Beautiful. Another Freeper going to the federal pen.

[Moostache]

21. How long, how long must I sing this song?

True, Sunday Bloody Sunday is by an Irish band and in reference to British violence against a protest in Ireland, but the lyric is universal to anti-violence and anti-war protests around the globe.

The simple solution is to have IDs checked and only admit people who are actually constituents of the congressman speaking into any event. Let the carpet-tea-baggers and paid for consultants hang out in the parking lot 100 feet away from any entrances. It is sad that the right wing has co-opted the minds of these people to blind them to the facts - the fact that they are being used by powerful lobbyists for nefarious gains, the fact that the health insurance companies they are protecting will cut them off at the knees if it saves them $10 in future profits, the fact that they are being fed 1/4 truth and 3/4 fabrications to whip up their emotions, the fact that the policies and policy makers who got us into this state of affairs were similarly bought and paid for year after year after year and it is only because the numbers look to favor reform now that so much is being made of the issue again.

Of course, I forget that "facts" are not held in esteem to many of those who join this mob any more than I personally believe people in church are REALLY eating the flesh and drinking the blood of a 2,100 year old dead Jewish carpenter's apprentice...in the mean time, the full lyrics of Sunday Bloody Sunday are scarily relevant today in ways that they were never intended:

I can't believe the news today
Oh, I can't close my eyes
And make it go away

How long...
How long must we sing this song?
How long? How long...
'Cause tonight... we can be as one / Tonight
Tonight / Tonight

Broken bottles under children's feet
Bodies strewn across the dead end street
But I won't heed the battle call
It puts my back up
Puts my back up against the wall

Sunday, Bloody Sunday / Sunday
Sunday, Bloody Sunday / Sunday
Sunday, Bloody Sunday
Sunday, Bloody Sunday
Alright let's go

And the battle's just begun
There's many lost, but tell me who has won
The trench is dug within our hearts
And mothers, children, brothers, sisters
Torn apart

Sunday, Bloody Sunday / Sunday
Sunday, Bloody Sunday / Sunday

How long...
How long must we sing this song?
How long? How long...
'Cause tonight... we can be as one / Tonight
Tonight... tonight, tonight / Tonight, Sunday, Bloody Sunday
Tonight, tonight / Tonight, Sunday, Bloody Sunday

Wipe the tears from your eyes
Wipe your tears away
I'll wipe your tears away
I'll wipe your tears away / Sunday, Bloody Sunday
Oh, wipe your blood shot eyes / Sunday, Bloody Sunday

Sunday, Bloody Sunday / Sunday, Bloody Sunday, oh yeah
Sunday, Bloody Sunday / Sunday, Bloody Sunday, oh yeah
Yeah let's go

And it's true we are immune
When fact is fiction and TV reality
And today the millions cry / Sunday, Bloody Sunday
We eat and drink while tomorrow they die / Sunday, Bloody Sunday

The real battle yet begun / Sunday, Bloody Sunday
To claim the victory Jesus won / Sunday, Bloody Sunday
On...

Sunday Bloody Sunday / Yeah
Sunday Bloody Sunday

[provis99]

28. I think you missed the irony here

Sunday Bloody Sunday was about a bunch of Catholic thugs rioting in Protestant areas of Northern Ireland. Are the Republicans the thugs in your comparison?

[Moostache]

46. Just the lyrics...the Irish troubles do not have a 1-to-1 correlation here (yet)...

In particular:

When fact is fiction and TV reality

*Any time spent watching anything on Fox will give truth to this!


And the more macabre:

The battle's just begin
There's many lost, but tell me who has won

*In light of the fact that Florida 2000 was contested in many ways the same as the 2009 TEABAGGERS - via physical intimidation and thuggery, this battle has been actually going for awhile now, but I do not believe a President Gore would have invaded Iraq, and 4,330 US servicemen and women who have died there would not be among the lost....certainly NONE of us has won a damn thing from that misadventure...

Applying this further to the current healthcare and stimulus debates, the lyrics resonate more strongly...how long will we on the left allow this same playbook to be thrown at us? How long must we sing this song?

[wickerwoman]

66. That's a pretty gross mischaracterization of events.

The song is about British troops slaughtering civil rights marchers.

"Bloody Sunday (Irish: Domhnach na Fola) — sometimes called "the Bogside Massacre" — was an incident in Derry, Northern Ireland, on 30 January 1972. Twenty-seven civil rights protesters were shot by members of the 1st Battalion of the British Parachute Regiment during a Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association march in the Bogside area of the city. Thirteen people, seven of whom were teenagers, died immediately, while the death of another person 4½ months later has been attributed to the injuries he received on the day. Two protesters were injured when they were run down by army vehicles. Many witnesses, including bystanders and journalists, testify that all those shot were unarmed. Five of those wounded were shot in the back."

"However, all eyewitnesses (apart from the soldiers), including marchers, local residents, and British and Irish journalists present, maintain that soldiers fired into an unarmed crowd, or were aiming at fleeing people and those tending the wounded, whereas the soldiers themselves were not fired upon. No British soldier was wounded by gunfire or reported any injuries, nor were any bullets or nail bombs recovered to back up their claims."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloody_Sunday_(1972)

The Bogside is a Catholic slum in Derry famous for it's Republican murals. The only sense it which it's a "Protestant area" is that many of the landowners were Protestant and refused to rent to Catholics (because in NI in the early 70s you didn't have a vote if you didn't have a home.) Thousands of Catholics were kept homeless in an organized campaign to prevent them from voting. Hence the civil rights marches leading up to Bloody Sunday.

[glitch]

166. Thank you. nt

[onestepforward]

22. I'm affraid that this is only the beginning.

These people have hate and anger in their hearts and are being activated by Limbo, Beck, etc.

[FatDave]

57. They blew up a federal building because of Clinton.

And he was a white southerner.

[zbdent]

70. a thought occurred to me ...

a lot of Repugniconvicts go on and on about how all the ills in the world happened due to Nancy Pelosi or Barack Obama taking charge ...

Who was in control of the House and the Senate 4/19/1995, when Tim McVeigh blew up the Murrah building in Oklahoma City? Repugniconvicts ...

but you don't hear that ... of course, if it could have been spun that a "liberal Tim McVeigh" had done it, don't you think it would have already been played out and repeated ad nauseum?

[FatDave]

84. It's kind of the biggest irony of all...

...that the real domestic terrorists are all right-wingers. And in fact, the problem Muslims are the conservative, dogmatic Muslims. If all the world's conservatives want to fight each other to the death, let's ship 'em to Antarctica and give them a few truckloads of weapons.

[Libertas1776]

23. My Rep

Tim Bishop was accosted by these thugs at a town hall meeting in Setauket, NY. And what really pisses me off is the only freaking paper on LI, Newsday, didn't cover one damn thing about. They're too busy remaking their paper into the Post with lots of flashy headlines, big pictures, and info-tainment.
I really am at the boiling point with these paid protesters. What's next, are they gonna start dressing alike (brown shirts, black shirts, that kind of thing). We really need to start getting our guys to go to these events to counter and shout down these maniacs, only our anger will be real and not manufactured. Are we just to sit on the sidelines and let these professional thugs derail any real legislation in Congress, physically attack our elected members of Congress, and silence public discourse. They are going to let this country descend into chaos. And that is our problem, we always just stand on the side lines and watch and say "Oh, look at them. They're so stupid, nobody is listening to them. They're just having a temper tantrum." People have thought this way time and time again in other countries, shrugging off the frenzied rabble instigated by manufactured falsehoods. And look what happened to them. "It can never happen here." Well, yes, IT CAN!

I think I really understand now why most of the founding fathers were afraid of the people at large. A person is usually a smart, considerate and well meaning individual. People, however, can be a stupid, murderous rabble of thugs ready and willing to believe the most fantastical tales told to them by a charismatic talking head, whether they be in a black uniform spewing hatred through a microphone, or in a suit on a 24 hour network spewing hatred.
We have had this problem with the average lot of rural minded Americans (not necessarily living in rural areas) since Andrew Jackson was elected president because he wore a uniform, fought in a bunch of wars, and was the kind of guy you wanted to have a hard cider with. The same thing happened with William Henry Harrison. Emulating Jacksonian principles, he dressed up in his war regalia, drove around in a log cabin, and accused his opponent Van Buren (ironically Jackson's chosen successor) of being some East Coast elitist dandy who rode around in English coaches. And you guessed it, Harrison won...and died 30 days after inauguration because he was to manly to put on a coat in sub zero temperatures.

Sadly, what is playing out before us is just another continuation of a long, sad story in American politics. But we have a choice now, we are greater in numbers and we have the power to fight back, and we must.

[libodem]

24. Please let them be charged

and convicted of assault. Then let's watch to see who ponies up for the legal fees.

[Vidar]

27. If it is " inciting a riot," they need to prosecute. They will not respond to

angry rhetoric--their own stock in trade.

[derby378]

35. We need to actively shut down the disruptors before they even start

Here's a couple of threads discussing how to do this:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x6216203

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x6217096

[LynneSin]

36. We did alot of protesting during the Bush years but we always kept it to non-violent

Gandhi freed a nation thru civil disobedience. What this nutjobs are doing is shameful and wrong. I hope they get arrest these idiots.

BTW, I know there times that protesters would get arrested during our protests but it was always thru non-violent means.

[defendandprotect]

41. And where are the local police to oust these people . . . it's like the 2000 election . . .

GOP ran a fascist rally which STOPPED the vote counting and actually began
to become violent/physical in wresting a ballot from someone connected to
Election HQs -- and all of this without any interference from Florida police!!!

Though Miami-Dade Election HQs were carrying out a recount mandated by the
Florida State Supreme Court!!!

It is clear evidence, however, not only of the violence of the right wing -- the
political violence we've seen over decades -- but of the complete theft involved
in their having taken power --

These are ignorant, violent people who have given us at least 50 years of political
violence - assassinations of world leaders, rising leaders --

while their "pro-life" wing has been delivering new murderous religious crusades
against women's clinics and doctors!!!

And presumably our FBI/CIA is still breathing down the necks of anti-war groups???!!!

[SeriousEbony]

45. Who was assaulted and which thug did the deed?

I followed all the link in the OP and nary a name was mentioned. Has anyone found a victim
and/or a perp yet? And if so, was the perp arrested?

[Carl Skan]

60. It appears

That's been asked three times with no answer.

Assauling a public official like that's a pretty darn big deal to not have details for.

[Binka]

108. You Two Are So Cute

NOT. But you did bring a new stink to the joint.

[Common Sense Party]

130. In other words, who needs facts or details.

A favorite DU pastime: Get worked up about something with no evidence.

[Kolesar]

167. Who was assaulted? The name is nowhere on this thread...eom

[Freddie Stubbs]

163. Congressman Tony Schnell?

;)

[rasputin1952]

47. They have crossed the line when they physically assault someone...

arrests and prosecutions should be norm in situations like this, not the exception. The GOP has taken a page from the Storm Troopers with their tactics...disrupt in any fashion available, including, and not limited to physical attacks.

I believe that the first clown arrested will be the last clown arrested, as these people are cowards in the first place.

One way to deal w/this is to check drivers licenses as people arrive to an event, out of state, you get turned away; however, I readily admit I don't know about the legality of such a thing.

Another easy way out, but I'm sure is illegal, is to have "Bat Day", like at ball parks, where people are given small clubs as souveniers...:evilgrin: (I actually attended a Yankee/Red Sox game in Yankee Stadium in 1965 when it was "Bat Day"...not a good idea...I can hear the conversation in Yankee management, "what can possibly go wrong?")...:rofl:

[Cleita]

49. Now they've crossed over the line from exercising their "free speech" rights

to "assault and battery", which is not a right. I hope that Congressman Gerry Connolly sues the people behind these so-called activists, mainly Dick Armey and Company who are funding these protests and frankly inciting violence.

[David__77]

50. Mass mobilization, not law enforcement is the key.

Thrash the right-wingers in the streets.

[pauljulian]

52. Freedom of Speech - no first amendment right to be heard

There are too many unthinking jerks that seem to think that the Constitution guarantees the right for these Freeper idiots to be heard.

Speak all you want - nothing in the Constitution says we have to listen to you, and when it crosses the line into illegality and threats - well, just show me in the Constitution where it says you have the right to do that.

So sick of the sore losers and the "useful idiots" they are winding up and turning loose.

What planet are these ignorami from?

[liberal N proud]

53. Now it is violent and the feds need to take control

If these thugs have resorted to violence, Federal Agents should be involved because it is a member of Congress.

[elehhhhna]

55. glenn beck is inciting riots RIGHT NOW

[Carl Skan]

56. Who was assaulted and where?

?

[BreweryYardRat]

58. And behold, the line is crossed.

You don't get to claim freedom of speech when you're committing assault and battery. These fools just forfeited their right to attend town hall meetings. Treat it like electioneering -- they can't get within a hundred feet of any entrances, and they can't block the path between people's cars and the entrance.

[McCamy Taylor]

64. Why is domestic terrorism become "free speech" if it is the raving right doing it? Fascism

is what they called this kind of behavior back in Europe after WW I. Thugs were recruited to intimidate democratically elected officials.

[santamargarita]

68. How many right-wing terrorists were arrested?

?

[Richd506]

69. Hmmmmmmmm... does anyone know why they're the minority right now?

By gosh I tell you! I just can't figure it out! They seem so lovable! I just can't figure it out!

[mascarax]

74. McCain/Palin & company helped incite this last year

so it's not surprising that they see another opportunity...because it's that percentage that's been looking for it.
I'll never forgive McCain for his part in it either (Mr. "Bipartisan").

Any physical assault needs to be dealt with immediately!

[kywildcat]

75. The mobs, these people are domestic terrorists

and need to be labeled as such. When our democratic leaders start calling their colleagues out on the house floor and more importantly in the media, as supporting domestic terrorist-by denying other voters the right to be heard, by diminishing their voice/vote, and inciting violence. This needs to be labeled as such-Timothy McVeigh style domestic terrorism.

[SalmonChantedEvening]

76. Fullest Extent Of The Law. n/t

[PatrynXX]

78. I'm not trying to silence actual protestors

Certainly Code Pink has pushed the envelope. But they are the extreme. Did they ever beat anyone up? The right wing is openly calling for riots. Riots based on fiction. I look at these people with pity because they are screaming at congressmen to keep the Government away from their medicare. Well if the congressmen did what the screamers want, there'd be no more medicare. I have to pity the uninformed. Olbermann was right, they are acting like Lemmings.


acting like the ants in this Rammstein video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6XrKN16cuc which was supposed to parody the notion that Rammstein were acting like Nazi's.

[orleans]

80. police presence inside the meetings and outside would help to quell

these assholes down a bit

the folks running town halls need to request police presence in advance.

anyone disrupting needs to be removed

anyone starting a fight needs to be arrested.

[Buns_of_Fire]

168. Exactly. Make the rules known (and published) in advance,

make sure everyone has signed off (especially the police, who, after all, will ultimately have to remove the offenders), and then enforce it during the meeting. No exceptions, whether you're for us or agin' us -- act like a civilized human being, or you're outta here. Period.

There are several good threads, previously mentioned upstream, which outline ways to accomplish this peaceably, where everyone gets to toss in their two cents. And I think you'll see more and more of these "Standards of Conduct" popping up as August trudges on.

I don't see a lot of Kumbaya-singing going on, but at least some of the more egregious stuff can be nipped in the bud before someone winds up taking a poke at someone else and things really start to heat up.

[VPStoltz]

81. What ever happened to citizen's arrest? These lunatics need to be locked up.

[AngryOldDem]

85. This so reminds me of the Brownshirts back in 1930s Germany.

There are so many parallels between that time and this that it is downright scary.

[SeriousEbony]

88. Has a victim been identified yet?

Did they catch the perp if so?

[fascisthunter]

90. absolutely parallel to the rise of the nazis... they act just like brownshirts

and they all get their orders from a political party.

[time_has_come]

91. Any MSM pickup on this???? n/t

[alfredo]

96. I saw their exposing of the disrupters on ABC evening news Tuesday.

[time_has_come]

106. yeahbut yeahbut, this is different. No? nt

[alfredo]

112. Oh sure, but it reinforces what we are saying about the nature of these protesters.

[lynne]

94. At least one was assaulted? Why no arrests? Why no media coverage? Why no name?

More is missing than is available and I'm not sure why. If any politician was assaulted I've no doubt police would be involved and it would be on the evening news. And why didn't we get the politician's name that was assaulted?

I don't want to squelch peaceful protest as I want to make sure that option is available to me in the future. If they're disorderly, arrest them and report it fully. Simple enough.

[alfredo]

95. RICO laws?

[chat_noir]

97. Nobody could have predicted this...

Oh, except for the DHS, which totally predicted this.

http://www.balloon-juice.com/?p=25055#comments

[DirtyDawg]

98. Most probably won't agree with me, but...

...I say that if it's a riot these bastards want, then by God let's give 'em one. If the meetings are gonna be disrupted anyway, then why not bust a few skulls - and if they send grannies out to lead the shouting, then grab 'em up by their Depends and escort 'em to jail. I'm sorry, and even if you think this is 'playing into their hands', I think that kicking some butts is the only language they understand. Think how much different this country would, and could, have been, if a group of Democrats had charged into that bunch that stopped the voting in FL back in 2000. Cracking some heads together might have turned the entire tide of human events...there would at least be a lost more people alive now, Americans and Iraqis.

[Doctor_J]

100. It's going to happen eventually. Now is better than later

These people should not be arrested, they should be roughly removed from the premises by large, jumpy men with cans of mace. The more they are allowed to get away with, the harder it will be to prevent it

[TankLV]

180. you won't get any disagreement from me...

I've been wanting this for LONG time now - since the 2000 coup...

[Doctor_J]

99. that's why we need bouncers at these meetings

when a few right-wing assailants get taken away in ambulances, these mobs will cool down.

[Swagman]

103. isolate them in a pen away from meetings and let them demonstrate

just like George Bush did with demonstrators:sarcasm:

[ShadowLiberal]

104. I knew it was only a matter of time till they resorted to physical violence

Political parties dominated by racist white southerns, such as the GOP today, have a history of resorting to violence when they start to get desperate and feel powerless in the United States. We only need to look back at the beating of Senator Sumners for 'daring' to strongly speak out against slavery and the politicians who supported it.

The guy who beat him, representative Brooks, didn't just act alone either, he had another southerner in the room carrying a loaded gun, to make sure that no northern politicians in the room interfered with Sumner's beating, and that guy did tell a few northern senators to stay back and pointed the gun at them during the beating.

[Joey Liberal]

109. It's time to slam some of these thugs

I feel like slapping a republican.

[marmar]

110. American Brownshirts.....

nt

[Sarah Ibarruri]

116. I used to believe in peace....

But now I know one cannot be kind to or have piece among these pigs. I think until people start busting in the teeth of these repukes, they will continue to act like the trash they are.

[bkkyosemite]

117. Arrest those brained washed idiots.

[AsahinaKimi]

119. Its only a matter of time ...

When they start bringing Guns... Maybe someone should put a stop to FOX NEWS hate speech.

[New Dawn]

120. Conservative terrorism.

[workinclasszero]

121. When will the police start arresting these brown shirt nazi bastards?!

Or are we going to sit back and watch the fascists take over???

[mod mom]

122. Intimidation and deceit-the only way the GOP operates.

[earcandle]

123. So how come the police are not protecting these reps? Tazing these folks? Arresting for disorderly

conduct and all those other things they do? 

Are they being prejudiced in their work?
Are they protecting these dangerous folks ? 

[tooeyeten]

124. easy enough

they're crazy, arrest them.

[grytpype]

125. Mob rule is on the rise. All to stop health care reform.

It's time to stop going along with the joke, the sane people in this country have to start fighting back.

Sometimes political questions are resolved in the streets, and this might be one of those times.

Unbelievable but true.

[johnaries]

127. This is NOT "Free Speech". This is anarchism.

During the 8 years that Bush was destroying our country, we protested but still advocated Peace. Al Gore had the election stolen from him by the SCOTUS, but he stepped down because the only alternative was Revolution, which he rejected.

I think it is important that we recognize that these people who are hiding behind First Amendment Rights are the first to abuse those rights. As so many of these people are famous for saying, "your rights end where mine begin".

They have twisted that meme to mean "my rights trump your rights" for any excuse they can think of to rationalize their sick cause.

I have the greatest respect for Democracy. I have the greatest respect for honest debate. I have the greatest respect for rational opposing points of view.

But, at some point you have to say WTF?

Let's make a comparison to Iran. Iran's election was obviously fixed. America's 2000 was also fixed, although it may not be as obvious. Election 2004 was also fixed, and it was more obvious than 2000.

Election 2008 was still fixed, but it didn't matter because the margin was overwhelming enough that the "fixing" couldn't fix the results. Obama won overwhelmingly. The fact remains that we need to fix the voting process so that it cannot be "fixed" again so that the best criminal gets elected.

But, again, these protesters have stepped beyond the rights protected by the First Amendment.

Some "conservatives" have predicted that they would be rounded up in "camps". Perhaps that is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Because they will go to any extreme to make sure that becomes true, regardless of the consequences to the rest of the country. I have heard similar behavior described as "Diva" and "Martyr" behavior.

Then again, I am trying to imagine Limbaugh going a week without his OxyContin and Viagra. Would that be considered Cruel and Unusual Punishment? In Limpballs case, it just may be...

[RagAss]

136. BINGO ! Thread Over !

[TransitJohn]

143. You are so right on with this.

Some "conservatives" have predicted that they would be rounded up in "camps". Perhaps that is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Because they will go to any extreme to make sure that becomes true, regardless of the consequences to the rest of the country. I have heard similar behavior described as "Diva" and "Martyr" behavior.

These AstroTurfed and faux demonstrators and assorted teabaggers and Palinites are all such Drama Queens.

[bitchkitty]

133. I wish they would start checking residency at these meetings.

Would that open up a can of worms that I'm not considering? An ID check at the door?

[Odin2005]

134. OMG! This BS is getting insane!

:scared:

[countmyvote4real]

137. brown shirts :Google that if it does not make sense to you. n/t

[Flatulo]

141. So what was the physical assault?

Telling someone "I am going to beat the shit out of you" is assault.

Actually physically attacking them is battery.

Telling someone you think they suck is not assault. Shouting is not assault. It may be rude and ignorant, but it is not assault.

[dschis]

153. But the way you convey 'you suck' can be assualt

[ArnoldLayne]

144. You mean Right-Wing Fascist Thugs!!

[Douglas Carpenter]

145. KICK AND RECOMMEND!!!

PLEASE also kick and recommend this excellent video by Rachel Maddow about who is really behind these town hall meeting disruptors:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x348958

[notesdev]

148. Better be careful

to distinguish the people wanting to assault their Reps because those people are right wing fascist birther haters, and those people wanting to assault their Reps because those Reps sold their future and their childrens' futures to Goldman Sachs for 50 pieces of silver.

Maybe I missed it, but I haven't seen on this thread at all any discussion of the sanctity of freedom of speech, or the right to petition for redress of grievances.

Are you sure these people are right wing crazies or is that just what the puppet masters in the media would like you to think?

Are memories so short here that so few remember the lengths to which those on our side went to exercise these same freedoms?

Are memories so short here that ALL have forgotten that the Democrat party has its elitists too, that they too hunger for power and fear the voice of the people? That they put you and me behind BARBED WIRE and 20 foot chainlink fencing at the Democratic National Convention, of all places?


Now, far be it for me to question the word of a politician... but where's the police report and arrests of the assaulters? Or is this just an elitist who panicked at the thought of contact with the great unwashed whom he is paid to represent?

Here's the Bishop meeting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOLs7Cybnqw

Judge for yourself - the town hall meeting itself starts at 1:20 on the clip.

Listen to the questions the people ask, and the disingenuous responses by the elitist Rep. Who exactly benefits by the portrayal of this as an angry ideological mob? Besides those who get to loot the Treasury further while everyone is distracted with yet another manufactured crisis, that is?

I know that a hundred posts into this thread it's not going to change the direction of the mob mentality here, but for those of you whose time horizon extends beyond the next half-hour, and those who remember what it was like to be in the opposition, think long and hard before you label a group of protesting citizens a 'mob' and start to demand the police state crack down on them.

[dschis]

154. A lot of us here would do a 'sit down' protest

And be completely passive about it or vote. That's what happened during the last election 'average Joes' looked up and found out they were broke, out of a job, and paying the equivalent of their mortgage for health insurance and health care. Checking the Ids at the door is the best way. If the congressman doesn't belong to you, stay outside.

If the Republican party keeps acting this way there will be prosecutions or civil action if it gets traced back

[SeriousEbony]

157. where's the police report and arrests of the assaulters?

Exactly. To read the comments here one would assume there really was an attack. Do most people not need facts
anymore? The faux outrage is chilling.

[fascisthunter]

159. oh... you mean the faux outrage by the right wing thugs, right?

[JCMach1]

169. I think Repug Fascists have found their Brownshirts

Watch out though, once they are through with you!

[Abq_Sarah]

170. Have we found out who

The Freshman Congressman was yet?

[Dr. Strange]

171. Who was the "Freshman Democratic lawmaker?"

[Gregorian]

172. And all of this after they got everything they ever asked for. Stolen election, war, ruined economy.

Talk about ungrateful little shits.

They should be gleeful that they got their way, even if they didn't earn it. Slobs.



Oh yeah, and the media needs to be torn down and have a real one reinstated. About as easy as letting our troops leave the Middle East.

[Liberalynn]

174. The right to extend one's arm

ends where another person's face begins. Or at least that is one example my political science professor once used, and he was a tried and true liberal, and a sixties protester himself.

If they are getting physically violent then they need to be arrested plain and simple.

[pfitz59]

175. I was at a weekend festival few years back

The Democratic Party booth was manned by an elderly couple in their 70s. A group of beefy 30 somethings walked up to the booth and started verbally harrasing the old folks. The oldsters gave back just fine, but the 3 beefy guys were becoming physically threatening, pushing up against the booth. Security was nowhere to be seen. My friend and I (both Dems/and largish males) decided to run interference. We stepped between the beefy jerks and the stand. My friend said, "Its mighty cowardly picking on a couple of old folks. How about moving along." The beefy guys backed down and wandered off laughing. Someone in the crowd called them Brownshirts as they were leaving. The moral is there are full-blown Nazi's in our midst who will stop at nothing to disrupt honest discourse incuding threats and intimidation! When will our elected Dems realize this is hardball, not grade school politics!

[Psephos]

177. No victim named, no perp, no news reports, nothing...this is why advocacy sites are banned from LBN

This is almost as bad the the Palin divorce thing.

If it turns out there are verifiable facts and actual names, then it belongs front and center on LBN...but if not, it has no place on LBN and weakens the entire purpose of having an LBN forum.

Specifically:

Who was assaulted?

What does the arresting officer or agency have to say about it?

Who is the perp?

I understand the political smarts behind creating a push-back message designed to go viral. But treating it as factual news, absent any corroboration or verification, demonstrates how wanting to believe something simply swamps and overwhelms critical thinking.

Moderators???

[hileeopnyn8d]

183. I agree with you there

I'm trying to find as much factual information as possible, in order to counter what I believe is false information posted by some right-wingers on another messageboard I visit. (They're posting that it has been republican protesters attacked by SEIU)

I refuse to post stuff that will end up debunked and result in making me look foolish. It's hard enough to weed through all this stuff as it is, I came to LBN hoping to make it easier.

[TankLV]

181. but, oh no, don't EVER call the "brownshirts"...!!!

[steven johnson]

182. K&R