Liberals seeking to silence and demonize those who oppose their benighted plan
I am glad, in one sense, to see the liberals totally overplaying and exposing their hand as they seek to demonize, silence, and mischaracterize what is obviously a grass roots movement, not something run by any one powerful neocon or GOP group (though The President of the United States sent out an email to his partisans to get out and oppose the citizens attending the Town Halls – does that sound right to you?).
But today, I got a newsletter from the much maligned and hated-by-the-left AFA that summed it all up nicely. So here you go.
Liberals seek to silence and demonize those who oppose their socialism
New poll shows those opposing ObamaCare are in the majority
Dear Daniel,
Gary
Bauer sent out a special alert yesterday concerning how the liberal
politicians and liberal media outlets are seeking to silence those who
are speaking out against out of control spending and the take over of
vital industries. The liberals are upset that common citizens like you
are exercising their right to free speech, and are using it to let the
liberals know they have had enough and are going to let their voice be
heard.I urge you to get involved, stand up and speak out. Make the phone
calls, send the e-mails, make the phone calls. Don't let the liberal
left silence you! The future of our country and our children and
grandchildren is at stake. The ugly name calling shows that your voices
are being heard. Please keep it up!Here is what Gary had to say:
"All over the country, normal citizens
are exercising their God-given rights of assembly, free speech and
dissent. It is important for elected members of Congress to hear from
their constituents, and it is a healthy exercise for our democratic
republic."But the reaction from some in the media
and political establishment has been very disturbing. It appears as
though there is a coordinated effort to delegitimize public dissent,
which strikes at the heart of our constitutional guarantee of free
speech. Here is a sample of statements we have collected in the past 24
hours: "One member of Congress from Texas
referred to his own constituents as "a mob," saying, "This mob…did
not come just to be heard, but to deny others the right to be heard." "From the Democratic National
Committee: "Republicans and their allied groups — desperate after
losing two consecutive elections and every major policy fight on
Capitol Hill — are inciting angry mobs of a small number of rabid
right wing extremists funded by K Street Lobbyists to disrupt
thoughtful discussions about the future of health care in America
taking place in Congressional Districts across the country." "From a Virginia congressman: "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, youre crossing a line." "White House Spokesman Robert Gibbs: "I
hope people will take a jaundiced eye to what is clearly the Astroturf
nature of grass-roots lobbying. This is manufactured anger." "CNN commentator and political
strategist Donna Brazile: "They're renting organizers. The left has
done it. Now they're doing it. This little small band of protesters are
trying to stop members [of Congress] from doing their jobs.""The same leftists who for years
applauded when demonstrators took over the streets to protest the Iraq
war, amnesty for illegal aliens or who attacked churches that supported
marriage remaining between a man and woman, suddenly see a few hundred
retirees, small businessmen, homemakers, farmers, sales clerks and just
plain folks as evidence of 'rightwing extremism.'"My friends, the Left believes that
name-calling can intimidate you into silence. Don't cave! As an
American, you have a right to express your views to the politicians who
WORK FOR YOU, even if they don't like it."The fact is, you are in the majority now
not the leftists trying to push European socialism on you. The
American people do not want government-run healthcare, as a new poll
out today from Quinnipiac University shows. The poll found that '52
percent of American voters disapprove of the way [the president] is
handling the health-care issue and 39 percent approve.' Here's more
from the poll: By a whopping 72%-to-21% margin, voters don't believe
healthcare reform will be paid for or be 'deficit neutral.' And by a
20-point margin, 57%-to-37%, voters say healthcare reform should be
abandoned if it adds to the deficit."By the way, the Washington, D.C., newspaper The Hill reported
this weekend that labor unions and leftwing organizations "will spend
between $10 million and $20 million this month to twist lawmakers' arms
over the stalled healthcare reform effort in Congress" and the Employee
Free Choice Act. So, ACORN, Big Labor and other groups can organize and
protest in support of the liberal agenda, but how dare anyone speak up
against it!"My fear, given the stakes and emotions
on both sides, is that union thugs, ACORN activists and leftwing
anarchists (who ransacked the streets of Minneapolis and St. Paul
during last year's Republican National Convention) will turn violent
and innocent people will get hurt. If that happens, the radical Left
will bear the responsibility for demonizing free speech."
Sincerely,
Donald E. Wildmon,
Founder and Chairman
American Family Association
Typical sociopathic behavior from the lunatic right: blame the liberal demons for the very thing you are guilty of and refuse to accept any responsibility whatsoever for your own misbehavior. Thus, we witness organized mobs invading Democratic townhalls to shout down and generally intimidate the speakers and anyone else who wants a real discussion. These Brown Shirts have been exposed for what they are, and the right-wing christianist fascists like Bauer and daniel are trying to spin it to their own advantage. Sickening.
>> 1. blame the liberal demons for the very thing you are guilty of and refuse to accept any responsibility whatsoever for your own misbehavior
What misbehavior? Do citizens not have a right to be angry? I agree, shouting people down is not good, nor extended chanting over people, but by and large, the protesters have been articulate, have presented reasoned but passionate arguments, and are expressing their grass roots displeasure at the Obama/Congress steamroller. This is called Democracy, not misbehavior.
There is a difference between real protest and the fringe manufactured kind, and this is not the latter.
>> 2. Thus, we witness organized mobs invading Democratic townhalls to shout down and generally intimidate the speakers and anyone else who wants a real discussion.
First of all, these are democratic with a small "D". Second, they aren't mobs, they are local citizens. Just because people are more passionate about the gross missteps of this administration doesn't mean that they are mobs. That's demonization again.
I think you are picking and choosing when you talk about shouting down.
>> 3. These Brown Shirts have been exposed for what they are, and the right-wing christianist fascists like Bauer
What you call 'facism' we call the right to free assembly and speech. Trust me, if GWB ever called for people to organize while in office, you would scream bloody murder. But when St. Obama does it, he's trying to ward off fanatics.
When more than half of the nation disapproves, perhaps you should re-evaluate your knee jerk accusation of 'fringe' and 'fanatic.' It's the Obama plan that is truly insane.
BTW, when I search for Town Hall in youtube, I get the following, none of which seem like mobs. What I see are disrespectful pro-Obama people leading the meetings, dismissing the citizens.
Liberal Senators are losing control of their meetings because:
- people are angry
- the people feel like they are not being heard, and dismissed
Poor public servants.
1. AARP TOWN HALL MEETING
Liberal AARP Decides to Stop meeting because they tire of their members disagreeing with their one-sided pro-Obama perspective, and their sponsorship of Obamacare. I saw people being civil, but realizing that the AARP is just an Obamatool, and are deciding to cancel their memberships.
2. US SOLDIER DEMANDS APOLOGY FROM SENATOR MCCASKILL
I saw a soldier speaking calmly, I saw raucous applause and one standing ovation, but no violence or threat – people sitting in their seats. I do think that demanding an apology is a stunt, though, but um, no mob.
3. MCCASKILL TOWN HALL MEETING – TEA PARTY BREAKS OUT
The person who posted this must have been against the protests, but this 'revealing' video showed people cheering for about 20 seconds. A little annoying, but um, no mob.
4. STEVE DRIEHAUS TOWN HALL MEETING
A woman airing her grievances on a microphone, people sitting quietly, and cheering loudly from their seats when she finishes. She was not the most articulate person, but her displeasure is clear. Again, no mob.
Perhaps you could guide me to a video that shows mobs?
"These Brown Shirts have been exposed for what they are…"
Wow! A very powerful metaphor. That really makes me see this in a different light.
This isn't by any stretch of even the most sick imagination peaceably assembling to petition the government. Rather, it is a concerted effort to demonize both the Democratic party and President Obama. It started during the campaign when both McCain and Palin egged on "real Americans" to a mentality close to a lynch mob. These Brown Shirts are on a mission to stop the debate and intimidate civilized people (Democrat or Republican) for their right-wing agenda. And this includes the hate radio crowd: demogogues like Limbaugh (who compared Pelosi to Hitler today), Hannity, Beck, etc. It's disgusting and profoundly unAmerican. It's sick and monstrous. And it goes beyond health care to a visceral hatred of Obama and the rest of us. And, of course, it fits right in with the fascist, christianist mentality intent on imposing its authoritarian will on America.
See here for another example.
Sieg Heil!
btw: Limbaugh isn’t just using the Nazi meme against Pelosi, but against Obama as well. I used to think he was just a clown but this is downright dangerous given the audience of dittoheads he commands. The right is showing its true colors: fascist, anti-American, dangerous. I hope the rest of America sees this and wakes up to the real threat.
And, of course, these are the people who are the most anti-gay rights. I think I’ll buy a gun.
>> LOUIS: And this includes the hate radio crowd: demogogues like Limbaugh (who compared Pelosi to Hitler today),
Actually, it was PELOSI who first alluded to the town hall protesters being Nazi ('carrying swastikas' I think she said). Rush just shot back at her in kind, saying that the Obama healthcare emblem looks a lot like the Nazi emblem. Sure, it was a cheap shot, but it was a return shot, and at least he was not broad brushing the citizens as she shamefully and shamelessly did. She is an embarrassment.
I don't see any big deal here. He stooped to Pelosi's level in part to show how ridiculous, partisan, and anti-democracy this administration is.
The big deal is the error and arrogance of the Obama admin and the left.
>> LOUIS: I used to think he was just a clown but this is downright dangerous
Fearmongering. Ooh, he's so dangerous. What nonsense.
How many injuries and deaths have been accomplished by these mobs? How much property damage? How many gays were beat up?
None that I know of. You think grass roots opposition, rightfully angry but self controlled, is mindless hatred, rage, and ignorance, but really you just want an unchallenged liberal autocracy. For the sake of our people and our children, we say no thank you. Stop projecting onto us your fears. It's anti-American.
Here's some more with relevance for folks who really love Paul Krugman. First, his post from the NYTimes:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/07/opinion/07krugm…
Seems pretty sensible, right? Well except for the ending part where he smears anyone who disagrees with Obamacare as a racist. That's not very supported, is it?
Oh, wait, except there's a problem with his article:
http://thenextright.com/jon-henke/protests-2008-v…
Oh, and when I use the super secret search tool (Google) and enter "2005 protest Bush effigy", I'm sure you're not suprised at what I see…
I don't think there's a lot of use coming from the Left and decrying astroturfing (Google "David Axelrod Astroturfing hired PR firm" together, the man is a pro, then Google "Moveon.org astroturfing bus" or "union astroturfing bus"). For that matter, our POTUS is a community organizer who just emailed all of his followers to get out to these meetings… is that astroturfing?
I also don't think there's a lot of use coming from the left and decrying people shouting down political opposition…
You should simply come from the position of someone who holds dear the ability to dialogue and support your ideas openly and despises anyone who would replace debate with rudeness. I know I despise it, no matter which side it comes from. Of course our elected representatives create their own risk when they ignore their constituents. They are spending a lot of time talking, no time listening, and it will cost them their seats, hopefully nothing more.
fascists with swastikas
Louis, if they were Fascists, wouldn't they be FOR fascism instead of saying "No Repeat" and "NO to fasicm" See how confused 'you people' are?
They are saying that the Obama plans are socialist, if not Fascist. I don't agree with the latter, but they have a right to say that.
But what is so stoopid is that liberals play this out like these people are some sort of white supremacists – what the hell is that? LYING.