Perhaps a donotinsureme.gov is in order - a la donotcall.gov. That way we can help those who need and want it. Those who don't want - even though they might need but have been convinced they don't by Faux News - can opt out.

The Napa newspaper fails to notice that the opposition message is shouting and disruption.

Considering what I'm seeing in the local press, which is fairly liberal here in the Seattle area, the consequences are starting to be felt a bit. I can't speak for the eastern half of Washington state, which is the more conservative half, since I don't regularly keep up on their news media.

With the word already out on Olberman, Maddow, Stewart and Colbert, I'm hoping the MSM will start picking up on it soon.

Yeah, wishful thinking. I know.

Remember the Crazy McCain Palin Lady who became an SNL skit? This is all going to end up just like that.

As a resident of Napa, I think it is impossible to overstate what a surprise this editorial was. The paper is quite conservative in ideology and temperament. I attended the meeting, and the scene was somewhat worse that the Register notes.

(Some choice nuggets: one protester had his daughter go to the front and give Rep Thompson a few dollars, to emphasize that the program would take money away from children. And the stickers many conservatives were wearing? Obama as the Joker, from Batman. He's a villain--and oh yeah, a black guy in whiteface. Hilarious!)

And the McCain supporter sitting next to us was so appalled by the display that she changed her mind on healthcare. She yelled at the protesters for having worse manners than a first grader. They called her a socialist for wanting to listen.

But the hell of it is, these shouters aren't looking to sway anyone's opinion one way or the other. They're looking to shut down debate and keep people uninformed.

Just because people were "turned off" by the tactics of the GOP hooligans, this doesn't mean they were more informed about health insurance reform than they were before that disaster of a town hall meeting in which they were present.

There ought to be some kind of "If the Republicans are afraid of it, it must be good for America" meme going out, something so simple that anyone and everyone can grasp it. The Republicans are relying on the media to show them shouting at town hall meetings and say "Wow, people must really not want health care reform!" We need to turn that around to say "Wow, rich people are duping idiots to shout out a healthy debate over an issue that affects the entire nation. They must reeeeeeallly be scared of it. My guess is, health care reform will work, and it will SAVE US money, but it WON'T MAKE THEM money! That's why they hate it!" Viral video that sonofabitch.

I have said before that there will be violence before this is done. That the next major terrorist attack on US soil is going to come from inside the US by people claiming to be Christians NOT from outside groups claiming to be Muslim.

The Republican leadership is playing with fire. They are actively encouraging people to go right up to the line and its only a matter of time before someone crosses that line and we see some loon pull out a gun at one these town hall meetings.

We saw this during the Clinton years and we got Timothy McVeigh. Let's hope we can avoid a repeat. I very much doubt it.

Perfect, Slappy, absolutely spot on. You should send that to Rachel and Keith so they can get the word out even further.

Come to think of it, I'm trying to remember who that guy is who's always showing up on Rachel's show and has a pretty decent online presence. Maybe he can pass it on.

His name's right on the tip of my tongue, dadgummit...... ;)

Does anyone seriously believe that, having loosed the hounds, their masters can now call them back? These people are butt-fuck looney, bereft of either explicable ideology, self-awareness or the capacity for rational thought, much less rational dialogue. They'll be slithering around the edges of the body politic until they drop dead of their own accord or their relatives have them euthanized under the Socialist/Comyoonist/Facist/Kenyan-inspired health reform bill now inching through Congress. Meanwhile...more popcorn, please.

It reminds me of yelling "Freebird" at concert.

"these angry mobs should probably realize that there's a cost to their over-the-top antics."

Dunno. Could go either way. They probably turn off some of the people at the event (but what middle-of-the-roaders, undecideds, go to political events? VERY few, IMO).... But, their intended audience is probably the news cameras and the general tv-watching public. They DO get some kind of message out.

I think the fact that the demonstrations are so obviously organized - centrally, cynically, maybe corporately - undermines their message more than their tactics.

"Most Americans tend to think healthy debate and respectful discourse are good things"

Please, you're joking right? You think people would keep the channel tuned to a couple of people talking about health care reform longer then they would watch a coupla Jerry Springer mob moments, or "don't taze me dude!" fracases?

If you asked people about the health reform issue, how many could explain the terms "single payer" or "public option" in the simplest terms? I guess

Please, you're joking right? You think people would keep the channel tuned to a couple of people talking about health care reform longer then they would watch a coupla Jerry Springer mob moments, or "don't taze me dude!" fracases?

If you asked people about the health reform issue, how many could explain the terms "single payer" or "public option" in the simplest terms? I guess

And I gotta admire the mob protests in a way - I wish we lefties had done more of that in 2003, while politicians and the media were lying about the impending Iraq war. Yes, there were huge protests, but no direct action against politicians like this. Probably because it there is no corporate money in opposing war, nor corporate-sponsored think tanks with an interest in not killing people.

All this wingnuttery is motivating the left as well. Progressive people are actively seeking out Townhall meetings in their area to attend, so that they can counter the wingnuts. That's a good thing.

Just keep telling yourselves that these crowds are sent by organizers.

They are actually a spontaneous outpouring by citizens who are knowledgeable about the healthcare system and want to finally have a rational discussion without all the feelings and emotions the left always brings into everything.

Calling them names and belittling them just shows you have no answers for their razor-sharp criticisms of Obamacare.

And just think, a few short years ago these sorts of meetings had their attendees heavily screened so that only sympathetic supporters could faun over Bush Co.

Silver lining my friends....silver lining.

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?

Whoops, I flubbed that comment somehow.

Anyone else remember in August 2008 during the campaign when Obama mentioned that these people take pride in being ignorant?

Yeeaah...

The Bush Administration solved the problem by arresting people.

There may be other examples of these mobs turning off mainstream audiences -- I encourage readers to let me know if you find any [...] -- Steve Benen

Now *you* want me to spy on my fellow-citizens and secretly denounce them? And you not even a Stalinist-terrorist President yet? For shame!

The GOP has become political slapstick and bad vaudeville. I grew up in a longtime Republican family and household, and frankly, I'm very embarrassed for the party, since it otherwise appears impervious to shame. I became a Democrat in 1987; Iran-Contra was what did it for me.

As it stands, both my aunt and uncle changed their respective California voter registrations last year to identify themselves as Democrats, and both cast their ballots for Hillary Clinton in the primary and then Barack Obama in the general - and let me tell you, if the Republicans finally lost those two Eisenhower conservatives, I'd offer that as anecdotal evidence that they're in very deep trouble systemically.

exlibra: "Now *you* want me to spy on my fellow-citizens and secretly denounce them?"

No, we're merely requesting that you point them out for us, so we can all have a good hearty laugh at their expense.

Been There. Done That

As someone who has seen countless Leftist demonstrations and protests, its nice to see the right falling into the same trap. Marches, protests, and demonstrations dont work: Cindy Sheenan, Code Pink, Chicago '68. I suppose they can help organizers recruit volunteers and in some cases(the immigration May Day marches) they can help put a topic into the infosphere. The Right doesnt need to motivate its hardcore members nor does it need any help in getting its message out.

Protests also tend to attract loons. I cant tell you how many times I saw one creep burn an American flag, which is the last thing the organizers want. Not to mention all the off topic, single issue activists who always crash a party. If the left have a march against war, you will always get people using the opportunity to preach the wonders of Hemp.

Can anyone think of a protest or a march that got anyone elected or changed policy?

Donald from Hawaii: No, we're merely requesting that you point them out for us, so we can all have a good hearty laugh at their expense.

Cosign. Don't let us miss anything really tasty, exlibra. We're counting on you.

What congresscritters need to do at these town hall meetings is carry a whistle. When the mob begins screaming, you blow the whistle into the microphone (over the PA system) for a few seconds. Then you announce that everyone will behave like ladies and gentlemen, and if they don't the whistle will be blown again until they shut up or leave.

Repeat as necessary.

And I gotta admire the mob protests in a way - I wish we lefties had done more of that in 2003, while politicians and the media were lying about the impending Iraq war. Yes, there were huge protests, but no direct action against politicians like this.

Can I introduce you to Code Pink?

They interrupted plenty of hearings and events (and yeah, it was certainly much harder for them to get into GOP events than it is for the teabaggers to get into the townhalls).

Of course, the teabaggers get marginal bragging rights by generally being a pain in the ass to their 'enemies' rather than their (yes, sometimes nominal) allies, but I can only hope the teabaggers are as successful in undermining their cause as CP was in theirs.

Out and About (@17:27) and Shortstop (@17:47),

You really don't know me all that well, do you? Even if I encounter a mob, I'm not going to report on those who got repulsed by the mob's tactics... I'm likely to give them a glass of water to rinse the bad taste out of their mouth (Poland being a nation of dedicated drinkers, I have plenty of experience with people cleansing their systems) and a shoulder to cry on, while I lead them to the book where they can sign up for their *Dem* updates.

And as for those who aren't repulsed and who are the part of the mob... By the time I've finished with them, they're more likely to be the object of your pity, not your amusement. Nobody expects me to be vicious, because I'm "half-pint" (5'2"; 105lbs), but, the smaller the bitch, the louder it yaps and the sharper the teeth buried in your ankle...

jimmy,

Yes. Martin Luther King's March on Washington.

I think this is fascinating.

the smaller the bitch, the louder it yaps and the sharper the teeth buried in your ankle...

I don't doubt it a bit.

I don't doubt it a bit.

Bwa! Toothless, incontinent old cur Mike K is still licking his wounds from the mauling he got from pit bull trex.

No one knows why you keep coming back here to be freshly humiliated each time you appear, Mike. You're like a dog eating its own vomit.

We first heard from the birthers, with their fake “birth certificate” in hand and with their fake outrage. These are the same under tones that you saw from Republicans during the confirmation hearings for Sonia Sotomayor, "you are not like us" or "you are too different", “you are not main stream”. And then they act surprised when people do not vote with them, they are lost, no core beliefs, too bad.

In my opinion the Republican Party has been taken over the most extreme religious right (people who love to push their beliefs on others while at the same time trying to take away their rights) and that’s who they need to focus on if they real want to win. Good Luck, because as they said in WACO, “We Ain’t Coming Out”.

It’s funny we hear Republicans say that they do not want “faceless bureaucrats” making medical decisions but they have no problem with “private sector” “faceless bureaucrats” daily declining medical coverage and financially ruining good hard working people. And who says that the “private sector” is always right, do we forget failures like Long-Term Capital, WorldCom, Global Crossing, Enron, Tyco, AIG and Lehman Brothers. Of course the federal government will destroy heathcare by getting involved, Oh but wait our military men and women and the Senate and Congress get the best heathcare in the world, and oh, that’s right, its run by our federal government. I can understand why some may think that the federal government will fail, if you look at the past eight years as a current history, with failures like the financial meltdown, Katrina, and the Walter Reed Scandal but the facts is they can and if we support them they will succeed.