If You Can't Win the Argument, Scream Louder

Earlier this year, lobbyists and Republicans joined together to manufacture astroturf "tea parties" at which President Obama was attacked for economic policies which actually began under the previous administration. Fox News did their part as well, abandoning any pretense of journalistic integrity as they aggressively promoted the protests. One Fox reporter even went so far as to rail on air against "the Democrat fascist stimulus package."

The "tea parties" were something of a bust, attracting far fewer (and far crazier) attendees than their organizers were hoping for, but you know what they say - if at first you don't succeed, try, try again.

And so they are indeed trying again, this time under the guise of derailing the current push for health-insurance reform. With Congress away for the August recess, many senators and representatives are holding "town hall" meetings with their constituents. This is, of course, a good thing - our representatives in Congress need to hear from us, loudly and regularly.

But right-wing lobbyists and political groups are packing such meetings with their own supporters, whose only purpose is to yell, scream, disrupt and intimidate by any means necessary. And not surprisingly, GOP TV - er, Fox News - is once again backing this to the hilt.

In fact, a memo leaked last week outlines the exact strategy in almost gleeful terms:

Spread out in the hall and try to be in the front half. The objective is to put the Rep on the defensive with your questions and follow-up. The Rep should be made to feel that a majority, and if not, a significant portion of at least the audience, opposes the socialist agenda of Washington...

You need to rock-the-boat early in the Rep's presentation. Watch for an opportunity to yell out and challenge the Rep's statements early... The purpose is to make him uneasy early on and set the tone for the hall as clearly informal, and free-wheeling. The goal is to rattle him, get him off his prepared script and agenda. If he says something outrageous, stand up and shout out and sit right back down. Look for these opportunities before he even takes questions.

Since opponents know they have no case (after all, does anyone really like fighting insurance companies which refuse to pay for needed treatment?) and aren't even trying to argue on the merits, they have resorted to plan B - outright thuggery. This is not dialogue or conversation, this is designed to shut down dialogue and prevent conversation.

Furthermore, where does it go from here? Let's face it - when people are sent solely to disrupt meetings, any difference between screaming at participants and beating them up is only one of degree.

Tactics like this are profoundly anti-democratic (with a small "d"). Of course we have the right, indeed the duty, to challenge our elected representatives when we don't agree with them. This is America, and I wouldn't have it any other way. But when it crosses the line from discourse to stage-managed harassment, it becomes unacceptable.

And is it just me, or are there a lot of older people screaming about "government control of health care" at these things? Do they not know they even have health care thanks to a little something called Medicare?

The mind boggles.