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photo by Sal Peralta
All the kooks are getting sucked into the teabagging vortex. Kathy J (via email):
The LaRouchies were out with Nazi materials including a large picture of Obama with a Hitler moustache added. Lots of "Don’t tread on me" folks, with flags. Also "Abortion is Homicide" signage being waved.
An escalating set of pre-town hall events was loosely planned, but the situation developed this way: A line formed about four hours before the event outside the meeting room, and most of the early arrivals were pro-reform people. From there, over four hours, the line and participation swelled to somewhere upwards of 700 people, certainly one of the larger political gatherings ever in Yamhill County. (A typical town hall by Senator Ron Wyden, by comparison, typically might draw 100 people, which under normal conditions is considered pretty good turnout.) The crowd appeared well split between sides, the pro-reform people probably in a majority but likely not by a lot.
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All this might have set up a contentious meeting. But the meeting room had space for about 120 people, so only the early arrivals (we were among them) actually got in. People got a ticket number as they signed in, and got to ask questions when the moderator pulled their number out of a box; the approach spread the questioning around and kept any questioner from dominating the proceedings.
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Wu might have handled some answers in more diplomatic ways, and once or twice (especially on the question of whether he will follow the wishes of the district or his own view on his health care votes) his replies were convoluted enough to deny easy comprehension, or summary. Mostly, he came across as plain and direct. He spoke in favor (generally) of the health care plan running through Congress, and supportive of the “public option,” though saying that he would not necessarily vote against a bill without it.
Wu takes his place in the "weasel words" category: he’s all for a public option as long as he doesn’t have to fight for one.
h/t Carla Axtman at Blue Oregon
21 Comments
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all kinds of crazy
Jane, A note about the FDL events tool:
I just entered an event into the searchable events tool. Joe Sestak has been invited to a town hall event at Broad Street Ministry in Philadelphia tomorrow night. The email just came out from his office yesterday so it’s rather short notice. Anyway, since the event was not listed, I used the “enter an event” link and entered it.
It worked fine, except that it lists me as the “Host”. I am most definitely not the host of the event and it makes me uncomfortable to see it listed that way. Broad Street Ministry is the host.
Perhaps I didn’t enter the event using the correct mechanism? (I followed Elliot’s advice in an earlier diary to use the “enter an event” link).
I’m not aware of another way to enter an event.
Please advise.
While I’m on the topic, here is the information for this event, open to the public, tomorrow night in Phila.:
The circus has come to town! No doubt these characters will really help attract normal citizens to the cause.
Let the loonies rant and scream…at least they are not killing museum guards and blowing up Federal buildings with fertilizer truck bombs.
Why is CNN broadcasting the Snarlin’ Arlen townhall? If it is the one on Lebanon, it will contain some crazies. I guess I just find it funny that CNN is now trying to compete with C-Span(as well as Faux Noise).
That’s our problem in a nut-shell, we’re all in favor of things getting better, as long as they can get better with out our having to get off the couch, let alone confront organized crowds of the most ignorant, angry people on the planet.
Why should our representatives be different?
And here we thought defeating them at the ballot box would be enough?
Good call on Sestak’s part arranging the meeting on Broad Street. The locals there will be defending their turf against the crazies.
Sestak needs to start putting the squeeze on Sphincter. Firing up the Philly crowd will be a good start.
The Specter town hall isn’t being broadcast on C-SPAN.
C-SPAN has been steadily deteriorating in their choices of what to cover, and what to broadcast on their most widely available channel, C-SPAN1, IMHO.
MSNBC had the town hall on earlier too. Both networks are broadcasting it because there are fireworks, not because of any sense of responsibility to the public.
Congresskritter Dingell totally supports more guns for gun nuts. But that is not enough to escape the hatred of the “Healthers”. These unpaid corporate lobbyists do show us what will happen to anyone who wants change. I would not be surprised if Goldman Sachs was supporting tea baggers. Anyone who supports labor unions, environmental protection and any public programs is always attacked, and not just with words. The corporations mean business, and have historically have not hesitated to use violence. Remember, Blackwater was put in New Orleans during the Hurricanes.
It remains to be seen how well Sestak will be supported in Philadelphia.
Pres. Obama and Ed Rendell are endorsing Specter, and Philadelphia tends to follow Obama and Rendell, in fact they are heroes in Phila. We’ll see how things turn out though. I’m not entirely confident that Phila. will follow their leaders on this one. I also noted that there did not seem to be many supporters from the left at Specter’s town hall. Doesn’t look like the unions or anyone else came out to cover his back. So basically he had a bunch of Republicans who aren’t happy that he changed parties, the rabid anti-HC crowd and not many from the other side to defend him. Personally, this is how I think the primary is going to play out too, but we’ll see — the polls aren’t showing that yet.
BTW, Sestak continues to get stronger and stronger on the public option (last night on the Ed Show he said “They have to have it,” while Specter is starting to waffle on it.
We’ll figure it out and email you, Joanne. Thanks.
Specter waffles on everything constantly dancing back and forth. I can’t imagine how he decides which suit to wear.
Thanks. Snarlin’ is certainly not the darlin’ of inner-city Philly. Rendell and Obama simply need to tone down their endorsement and Singleshot is toast.
the people of Lebanon aren’t crazier than people anywhere else.
I attended Congressman Sam Farr’s Town Hall in Monterey last night. People from BOTH SIDES were lined up before 5 pm for a 6 pm “show.” I got there at 6 pm and there was a crowd of at least 200 in the street outside. While driving to the place, I heard a caller to the local progressive talk radio. He was in line behind a group of anti-reform people with signs and he could hear them plotting their “strategy”. I asked several people who left at about 7:30 what it was like inside – they said people were being civil. It was carried live on the local right wing radio station (- cool! but I want to be there to see) Outside there were 2 young people, a woman and a man, both Black. They had huge posters of Obama with a Hitler moustache – yes, LaRouchies. Pro and anti reform people were mingling for 2 hours with no problems (the policce had shut the little street off) but the folks who left early told me the questions being asked by BOTH sides were so rhetorical it was hard to get any real information. Several older Black people stopped to talk to the young woman. They were civil to her but as they walked away, they told me they were extremely upset about what her presence implicates for the US. A holocaust survivor also spoke with the young woman. For these people, it was terrible to see Obama called Hitler. An 18-year old outgay high school student conversed with the young man LaRoucie. He told him that Hitler had killed gays and blacks. The LaRouchie denied that was true. This is a scary indication of how people choose to believe lies that are easily shown to be false.
Sam Farr, who sponsors single payer bills, has added several more town halls and larger venues to his calendar. He deserves our support.
Strongly agree. Specter’s support for the public option was always bogus, IMHO. To get a sense of how he really feels about it, just think about the first few days after he changed parties. In a tv interview he was asked if he would support a public plan and he answered, without hesitation, “No”. That was around the same time that he declared to the nation that he would never be a loyal Democrat.
Then when he got a primary contender, he waffled. Then he supported it. Now he is waffling again, saying we should “explore” it. He’s also trying to use the excuse with the Lebanon crowd that there is no bill in the Senate yet. That drew a great round of boos for him too.
Is it just me or has everyone, including Specter, forgotten that legislation which requires revenue and spending originates in the *House*?
I maintain my opinion that the Senate is ground zero of the problems in this country.
My local progressive talk radio station carries CBS Radio Newscasts. This morning, August 11, I heard the following:
“The White House is setting out to debunk WHAT IT SEES AS LIES AND MISINFORMATION.”
Next, in the ten-second-type ,they mentioned an Arlen Specter town hall that was held last night. They played one anti-reform sound bite. I called the head of their radio newscasts and left a message and the guy called me back right away and we had a discussion. I said that the White House was actually going to be debunking some lies and misinformation, so why did they phrase it as “what they see as” lies and misinformation. His reply was that lies and misinformation are in the eye of the beholder. I asked if there were actually such a thing as a “fact” and if there were actually such a thing as “lies” and “misinformation” or do those things not exist, in his world, because “there is always another side”. I asked how he could recognize and report news as though there is no such thing as a fact, lies, or misinformation. So, that was about as far as we got. He protested that they also have sound clips of pro-reform protesters. I would LOVE to be referred to someone who monitors CBS radio newscasts. This guy told me he would read the script and see if he could see what I was saying. Anyhow, just call if you hear slanted news. He had the manners and “listening attitude” down pat – but you know which side his bread is buttered on. Here’s his info:
Harvey Nagler
CBS Radio: Newscasts department
(212) 975-2685
Wu is my congressman, and I am sure that calling his rhetoric “weasel words” will endear his critics to him, and make him really eager to vote against any bill lacking a strong public option.
A little maturity might be appropriate at times. Is there some satisfaction in vitriolic name-calling that I don’t get? Please inform me, I hate being left out.
Tom Finlay
Saint Helens, Oregon
1st Congressional Dist – Oregon
David Wu is having another town hall today at Good Samaritan Hospital. Tom, it would be great if you could be there to present a sane, common-sense perspective and ask a good question. I agree with you that name-calling (”weasel words”) does not help the discussion or elicit willingness to vote for the bill the way we want our congresscritter to.
I was at the Wu town hall yesterday and did not get into the room (Jane quotes me at the start of this article). However, there were lots of opportunities for productive conversations between citizens outside the room. Some folks got educated by their fellow Oregonians — others, not so much, as their minds were not open to reality.
These stupid Larouchies were at the town hall that I went to last night in Monterey. Their Hitler posters were certainly not welcome. I, who rarely engage such people, even told one of them that whatever serious point they would have would be lost because of such a stupid poster. Another refused to say where he was coming from, just saying he was from the United States. My point was that since time with our congressman is limited that only locals should be able to attend. The town hall was packed and I had to stand in the foyet with 100 or so other people because the 200+ auditorium was full 45 minutes before it started.
Not only was there the “Obama with Hitler moustache” poster at the David Wu town hall but the LaRouchies had lots of other Nazi stuff on display. What kooks!