Democrats Scrap Nearly All Town Hall Meetings

Originally posted by Benevolent Heretic
I'm amazed that some people think that this is an issue with Democrats only.

I searched "republican town hall meetings 2010" and it seems there actually are quite a few republicans that are enthusiastic about some town hall meetings this year.

There was one in St. Charles for Todd Akin that drew appx. 1800 people. Interestingly, it included a video of a packed house of very orderly, non-disruptive and patient "rabble rousers".

reply to post by traditionaldrummer


But was it in a traditionally Republican area? Did they screen the attendants?

And I know there's a lot of support for Republicans NOW, because Democrats have control in the government. What I'm saying is wait till Republicans are controlling everything and doing as miserable a job as Democrats are now and THEN see what the GOP town hall meetings look like.

Of course the GOP has support now. They're out of power. That's how it works.

Originally posted by Southern Guardian

We have people complaining that their representitives are not listening them (the representitives they never voted for and liked in the first place) and then when its their chance to have a say, they abuse it by shouting and disrupting the entire meeting. We are talking about adults here and it is down right embarresing. We had tea party protestors last year break into town hall meetings, disrupt any chance for a fair and mature discussion crying about 'death panels' and 'my medicare'. Seriously now. What did this do besides gain media attention? And people still insist on town hall meetings?
[edit on 6-6-2010 by Southern Guardian]

There is the irony. Folks attending town hall meetings with the declared intent to disrupt any genuine discussion claiming that "Washington isn't listening".

Hypocracy is a disease that plagues our political discource.

Ask any question you like...nothing is out of bounds...but allow someone to answer and actually LISTEN.

After the Tea Party orchestrated it's campaign to disrupt townhalls, they became a guantlet of shouting idiots and I can't imagine citizens or politicians that would find that productive or even tolerable.

tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com...

The memo, authored by Robert MacGuffie, who runs the website rightprinciples.com, suggests that tea partiers should "pack the hall... spread out" to make their numbers seem more significant, and to "rock-the-boat early in the Rep's presentation...to yell out and challenge the Rep's statements early.... to rattle him, get him off his prepared script and agenda...stand up and shout and sit right back down."

MacGuffie is a volunteer for FreedomWorks

tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com...

People who
spend YOUR Trillions
killing millions want you to treat them like 'nice' people.

What do you think?

Most of the people who disrupt town hall meetings are there to be heard. They don't want to hear anything at all. There is no point in trying to be rational with them because they're not interested in reason.

They're just interested in "expressing" their rage; for instance their supposed hatred of big government programs while carrying signs that say "Hands Off My Medicare." The contradiction between the two positions is obvious to anyone who thinks but intellect does not rule the day. The disrupters care only for the opportunity to hold their hate fest where cameras will capture their antics and they hopefully will be joined by other potential mob members.

Democrats would mostly be wasting their breath, no matter how reasonable their arguments or demeanor. They don't get a chance to even begin to answer their attackers before the whole meeting is disrupted.

The days of civil and reasoned debate have come and gone in this country.



[edit on 7-6-2010 by Sestias]

Originally posted by Sestias
The days of civil and reasoned debate have come and gone in this country.

The link I posted at the top of this page has a video of a packed house full of civilized and orderly individuals. From March of this year.

The truth is that the democrats pushed through a bill that was hotly contested and that they didn't read and they are now afraid to face the public for their actions.

reply to post by Southern Guardian

Both Democrats and Republicans have failed us over these years, but the bulk of the population including the tea party protesters have just as much to blame in my opinion. We allow ourselves to be controlled by astroturf campaigns, by actors who make money off feeding people emotional cr*p like Glenn Beck, Keith olbermann, by scare mongerers like Alex jones, we run around like idiots and then we complain about our representitives when we in part are pushing the nation to where it is by buying BS. Meanwhile we ignore the corporations that are making a killing at our expense.

I agree with almost everything you said in the above.
The problem with the corporations, though, is that it is that the relationship with citizens is a very complex one. On the one hand, as you said, the monopolistic tendencies of the last forty years of corporations, is definitely hurting the average citizen.
On the other hand, they provide the vast majority of non-government jobs in this country, either directly, or indirectly. In addition, because of those monopolistic tendencies, they provide the means for most citizens to survive and live.
Therefore, the question is what do we do with the corporations?

Originally posted by Grizzom

grissom nice picture analogy. They just want you to obey and not question what they do. Then on election day they, for a few days, will act nice and say the things they want you to hear. Then after they get elected they go right back to the same ol' attitude.