The teabaggers is the Joker -- so sez Melissa Harris-Lacewell in a nice piece over at duh Nation...

Always fun to watch idiots prove your case for you. Further proof that "being Republican" is a mental disorder.

Anyone in Dallas area is welcome to have a chat with "Taliban" Pete Sessions, who has endorsed the tactics described above. Tonight at 7PM

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/8/5/762138/-Dallas-Dems:-Pete-Sessions-town-hall-TONIGHT

The should run commercials with the tombstone, the SS sign, the noose, the abusive behavior and intercut them with "Brought to you by" with pictures of the executives with their company or organization name and phone number.

TCinLA, must disagree with you - many mental patients have little control over their activities. This is more akin to a small army of male and female Nurse Ratcheds, who are sipping the meds of their patients.

I don't see these people. I don't hear these people.

I just commend the fresh spontaneity and powerful populism of the teabagger movement without acknowledging the people it consists of.

Overall, it's too long and too whiny. But some of the images are strong and I really like this line at the end: "They have no plan for moving our country forward, so they've called out the mob."

Mike K I don't know if your a parody or real. You should be removed from this site. If it's parody it's really inane and stupid. If it's real it's really inane and stupid.

I cordually invite all those assholes screaming about socialism to politely decline their social security and medicare. They can then write us a nice essay on how that's working out for them. As usual persons of diminished mental ability are duped into following a meme that is against their own self interest. Would that some "journalist" would ask one of these rubes how they currently pay for their health insurance and what they would do if they lost their jobs. Would they take advantage of that fabulous free emergency room care? The stupidity is mind boggling.I have a good job and would probably keep my insurance as is , but it would be nice to know there was another option if catastrophy hit.

I think the SS sign is the best. These really are the brown shirts that were used in the 30's in Germany and again in Iran leading up to the ouster of the Shah and then to maintain the clerics in power. I am firmly in support of the constitutional right of Americans to assemble, protest and petition their elected representatives, but there is no right to stifle debate and communication. Any one speaking out of turn or otherwise disrupting events between elected representatives and their constitutents should be forcibly removed from the gathering and charged with disorderly conduct. If all they want to do is protest they should be permitted to peaceably assemble outside the venue not inside. The authorities were quick to deal with disruptions when the GOP was in power and frankly these folks are a lot more dangerous than progressives.

Gandalf, you are partially correct. The real Mike K is, at times inane, but, he always pays his layaway charges at Frederick's of Hollywood.

terry, only problem with your comment deals with the Shah. He was a brutal authoritarian with a highly trained, by our CIA, brutal Secret Police force. One may argue about the aftermath of the overthrow, but, there were many non-brown shirt types in Iran, who helped in his ouster.

But, he was "Our Guy", was he, not?

Mike K I don't know if your a parody or real.

Having it explained to you at least 20 times still didn't help?

"I cordually invite all those assholes screaming about socialism to politely decline their social security and medicare."

Maybe the congress person who is at these events should bring a tble with an assistant who can thelp these people fill out whatever forms necessary to officialy be dropped from the social security and medicare rosters (if that's possible). If not, call their bluff and have assisstants on hand to council them on how to go about it. I wonder how many takers?

Berttheclock - I do believe you have "found it."

The scary thing, however, is that some of the right wings lies seem to be catching hold. A new CNN poll shows that more seniors are against health care than for it. Could it be that they believed the crap about euthanizing older people?

This "behavior" may or may not create a backlash but it does accomplish at least part of its goal. What will happen is that the people who are undecided on Healthcare and depend on these meetings to get information so that they can make up their minds, these people will not be able to get accurate information. Many such people won't even go to the meetings because they fear the unpleasantness. These Town Halls are desperately needed to counter the misinformation/lies about Healthcae Reform which are being spread by the Republicans

It's a point that Democrats are apparently prepared to emphasize heavily in the short-term.

From your keyboard to God's ears. I've had enough of the Democrats' weakness and "win by losing" strategy. Let's hope they start playing hardball, and continue to do so for the forseeable future.

How fortunate this process was not rushed along & voted for before the recess. It's terribly important to let these people have all the air-time they need to scare senior citizens into thinking they're on their way to the Death Camps come September.

Thank you, Blue Dog Dems & Gang of Six. I hope you are proud of yourselves & will be willing to take your share of the blame when someone gets killed.

Berttheclock, You are right, of course, about the Shah, but my point was that a minority of thugs can hijack democracy, will of the people, or whatever you want to call it. I, and I suspect others who read this blog, have issues with the "reform" that is making its way through Congress and I and others should be permitted to have our concerns heard. The frightening thing about the tactics being used by the Tea Baggers or Shirters is they do not want to protest nor do they want to debate--they want to shut down democracy and intimidate. While we can laugh at them we do so at our peril.

Something I seldom see commented on are the children of these protesters pressed into service by the parents. What kind of person brings their child to a political event only to have them witness Mom & Dad yelling and screaming, neck veins bulging and spittle flying? Add to that the parents (and the children!) carrying signs with swastikas, devil horns, MOCs in nooses and other reprehensible images. Who involves their own child in such tomfoolery? And is overtly, defiantly proud of doing it?

Terry,

You are absolutely right. I made comments about this yesterday, and a couple of people here, accused me of making xenophobic comments, another tried to say I was crazy.

Go figure! I see it happening on this blog, where certain people have to have the last say (word). They aggressively attack other people's comments instead of going on their way, and politely ignoring people's comments.

But, yes, I made the comment yesterday that these people will end up in jail. Just because some of them are older is no excuse. The guy that shot the security guard at the Holocaust museum was not a young guy. In addition, Bernie Madoff was not a young guy.

I think once they start locking some people up for their behavior, the ones that have a least a little common sense will think twice.

And none of this will mean anything so long as CNN and the rest of the media ignore it all, while giving voice (and defending) birthers and birther apologists like Dobbs.

BTW, I'm surprised Tim Kaine actually is putting this stuff out there. I would have expected him to put out a plea to Republicans to stop the bickering and urge bipartisanship. Glad to see he's willing to actually call these thugs out.

"Who involves their own child in such tomfoolery? And is overtly, defiantly proud of doing it?" -steve duncan

Steve, you've never been to the South? I went to school with a kid who attended KKK rallies with his dad.

We will see violence at one of these town-hall meetings before this is done. The Republican leadership is actively encouraging people to go right to line and it won't be long before someone crosses that line and people start being taken away in ambulances.

Why should seniors get a veto over the health care system for the rest of us? They've already got government-run health care!

Mike K I don't know if your (sic) a parody or real.

Born without a bullshit detector, were you?

There's a "Mike K" and a "Myke K." Learn the difference.

You should be removed from this site. If it's parody it's really inane and stupid. If it's real it's really inane and stupid.
Posted by: Gandalf

Lighten up, will ya? Jeebus. There have been parody trolls at this blog since its inception five or six years ago. Myke K is actually one of the better ones.

I think we should be calling them the 'Teabag Taliban".

I just posted this on another WM article, and it applies here, too:

On November 9th 1938, Hitler instructed the Brown Shirts to stage "spontaneous" actions against the Jews, in what came to be known as "Kristallnacht" or "Night of the Broken Glass."

The more things change, the more things stay the same. Spontaneous Tea Parties, disruption of town-hall meetings (which is what the Brown Shirted S.A. did from the very beginnings of the Nazi Party).

We ARE on a slippery slope here, people. . .

And with Adolph Limbaugh waiting in the wings to have the Brown Shirts "spontaneously" declare him their Leader...

Just keep your damn government hands off of my medicare!

As a tactic to lessen the disruption at the pro-health-care-reform congressman's and women's town hall meetings, why don't all congresspeople coordinate their meetings to be held at the same time. That way out-of-town-disrupting-type-loud-mouths would be, theoretically, diluted in number at many pro-rallies-town-hall-meetings, right?