Progressives Should Be Shutting Down These So Called Town Meetings Too

[debbierlus]

Many progressives are getting all bent out of shape over the "brown shirt" rabble organized by health industry PR firms to disrupt the so-called "town meetings" being organized all over the country by Democratic members of Congress.

What they are conveniently forgetting is that these are not really "town meetings" at all, at least in the sense of the town meetings I grew up with, and started out covering as a young journalist in Connecticut--that is, meetings called and run democratically, with leaders elected from the floor, open to all residents of a community.

These "town meetings" are really nothing but propaganda sessions run by members of Congress who are trying to burnish their fraudulent credentials as public servants, and trying to perpetrate a huge fraud of a health care bill that purports to be a progressive "reform" of the US health care system, but that actually further entrenches the control of that system by the insurance industry, and to a lesser extent, the hospital and drug industry.

ObamaCare is to health reform what bank bailouts are to financial system reform, which is to say it is the opposite of what its name implies.

The right-wing nuts who cry that ObamaCare is introducing euthanasia for the elderly and infirm, or that it is socialism, are ignorant wackos, to be sure, but they are right about one thing: Americans are about to be royally screwed on health care reform by the president and the Democratic Congress, just as they've been screwed by them on financial system "reform."

The appropriate response to this screw-job is the one the right has adopted: shut these sham "town meetings" down, and run the sell-out politicians out of town on a rail, preferably coated in tar and feathers they way the snake-oil salesmen of old used to be handled!

This is not about civil discourse. This is about propaganda. The Obama administration and the Democratic Congressional leadership have sold out health care reform for the tainted coin of the medical-industrial industry, and are holding, or trying to hold, these meetings around the country to promote legislation that has essentially been written for them by that industry--legislation that will force everyone to pay for insurance as offered, and priced, by the private insurance industry. What a deal for those companies--a captive market of 300 million people! There will be little or no effort to control prices, and the higher costs will be financed through higher taxes, and through cuts in Medicare benefits.

This isn't "reform." It's corruption, pure and simple.

Any mention of a system that works--single payer--the system we already have in the form of Medicare for the elderly and disabled, and the system that has proved successful for almost four decades in Canada-- has been systematically blocked and censored out of the discussion. Every effort has been made to bury an excellent bill, HR 676, offered up by Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), which would cover every American by simply expanding Medicare to cover everyone.

The only proper response at this point is obstruction, and the more militant and boisterous that obstruction, the better.

Instead of opposing the right-wing hecklers at these events, progressives should be making common cause with them. Instead of calling them fascists, we should be working to turn them, by showing them that the enemy is not the left; it is the corporations that own both Democrats and Republicans alike.

The only proper approach to the wretched health care legislation currently working its way through Congress at this point is to kill it and start over. At these "town meeting" staged events, Obama and the Democrats need to hear, in no uncertain terms, that we don't want no stinkin' ObamaCare. We want Medicare for all.

http://blog.buzzflash.com/node/9185

[PVnRT]

1. Progressives should make common cause with fascists?

Ask the leftists of Iran how that worked out in 1978-1979. If you can find any of them still alive.

[debbierlus]

3. You cut out the second half of the statement.....Work to EDUCATE them

Instead of calling them fascists, we should be working to turn them, by showing them that the enemy is not the left; it is the corporations that own both Democrats and Republicans alike.

[Hello_Kitty]

35. There is no educating them.

They are hateful bigots and part of a small percentage of any population who are impervious to logic and ration.

[natrat]

9. exactly, it's a scam all the way around

i laugh at all these morons getting taken by the right wing distraction and by the whole obama bs reform line. Really stupid people everywhere.

[debbierlus]

21. It is just weird watching people not only defend but advocate for the corporations

Simply because it is Obama selling it.

Suckass corporate legislation is suckass corporate legislation -

[flyarm]

2. you are so right!! see what Huffington post says..

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/is-health-care-reform-abo_b_256127.html

Is Health Care Reform About to Go the Way of No Child Left Behind?
Arianna Huffington

Posted: August 10, 2009 09:23 PM
Obama also promised to hold all negotiations on C-SPAN. He hasn't. Instead we've had a week of White House statements, followed by anonymous White House briefings, followed by contradictory anonymous White House briefings, accompanied by the PhRMA drug lobbyists touting their agreement, followed by the lobbyists issuing "no comment" comments on their agreement, followed by the lobbyists walking back their touting of their agreement.

The health care industry has hired more than 350 former members of Congress and government staffers to lobby their former colleagues, and is spending around $1.4 million a day trying to maintain the status quo. Looks like it will be money well spent. With price control negotiations and the public option circling the drain, their victory is near complete.

[debbierlus]

6. If Obama was advocating real health care reform, instead of this bs insurance wet dream

He would be commanding this debate.

Without a good piece of basic legislation that people can rally around, he has lost his most vocal and passionate supporters - true progressives.

[flyarm]

4. see here at Daily Kos..

http://www.dailykos.com:80/story/2009/8/10/21444/5754?new=true

[DevonRex]

5. Is this the debbielus I Hate Obama Board? So tedious.

[flyarm]

no it is Americans realizing they are getting sold a bill of goods board!

some of us can actually read and understand what bs we are being sold out on!

[debbierlus]

10. What is tedious is people defending corrupt corporate policy because they like the spokesman

That is REALLY tedious...

Defend the damn legislation.

Just stop it with the 5 year old fingers in the ear bs - I won't listen because I don't like what this implies about Obama.

I don't care he has been having secret meetings with big pharm & big insurance.

I don't care that he backed out on his word that it would be televised and transparent.

I don't care that the insurance companies are spending 1.5 million a day to promote THEIR legislation.

I don't care that it won't cover everybody.

I don't care that it will mandate a failed & corrupt corporate system.

...........

Tedioius, that is the word.

[dionysus]

13. there is no final bill yet. and you know that, but don't let that get in the way of your daily

tantrum. need a pamper?

[DevonRex]

16. Daily? Pfft. It's like every 10 minutes or so. I don't even believe

she's a progressive anymore.

[debbierlus]

23. No final bill. Just versions with toothless public options or co-ops

So, no final bills....

Just different versions of the same b.s. mandated private insurance.....

It should be interesting to watch this board as the final legislation unfolds.

[PVnRT]

34. So....people should wait until a bill is signed before speaking up about it?

Yeah, that makes sense.

[dionysus]

37. no, wait until the bill comes out of conference and actually exists.

but if you think complaining on a message board is going to affect anything, go for it.

[DevonRex]

7. I don't see much difference in your raving lunacy and the RW raving lunacy.

You both want to shut down health care reform. You both hate Obama. They don't vote dem. Do you?

[natrat]

17. the point is that it's no longer health care reform

in fact by legislating such huge giveaways it will make permanent an already flawed system. Knee jerk support of your favorite political personality in the face of incontrovertible evidence that he does not have your best interest at heart is a little odd.

[flyarm]

18. how about truth..are you so afraid of truth???? So now truth is lunacy?

Ok..i get it..truth is now a thing of the past..we need to all be sheeple following your lead!!

got it ..over and out!!

[flyarm]

24. try even reading Open Left..

http://www.openleft.com/diary/14554/

Fear Techniques wouldn't work nearly as well on "Medicare for all"
by: Ian Welsh
Mon Aug 10, 2009 at 19:30

Ruling out "single payer" from the very start was an act of mind-bending incompetence on the level of disbanding Iraq's army during the occupation of Iraq. From a policy point of view "Medicare for all" provides massive savings, and we know it works because the equivalent policies have worked for every other nation in the world who ever implemented then. From a sales point of view it's much harder to demonize Medicare and much easier to explain it. From a negotiation point of view pre-compromising is so stupid that anyone who has spent 5 minutes in a third world bazaar or taken even a single negotiating class knows better.

The current health reform "bills" are turning into a clusterfuck of epic proportions. Scrap them, introduce Medicare for all, target Senators who won't vote for it with bone-crushing ads which ask why they want 22,000 American to die every year who could be saved for less money than the Iraq war cost; explain with nice simple pictures how much money they receive from the insurance industry and note that they are willing to let Americans die in exchange for blood money from the medical industry.

I know it's difficult for Democrats to play hardball since they'd have to grow a spine, but perhaps, just perhaps, it's worth it to save lives, end 70% of all bankruptcies and make sure people who are sick get the care they need?

[DevonRex]

26. I rest my case. nt

[babylonsister]

8. Brilliant. That's exactly what the rethugs want the Dems to do...

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2009/08/mission-accomplished-by-digby-now-were.html

They want Democrats to be scared and cancel their events. They did it in 1994. They did it in 2000. It works.

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2009/08/civility-by-digby-i-hadnt-heard-about.html

After all, they are following the 1994 playbook and they did the same thing then. This is from the PBS timeline of the Clinton health care debate:

July 22, 1994 - Trying to win back the kind of political support that brought them to the White House, the administration plans a bus trek across America to generate their own grassroots message to Congress for reform. A kickoff rally in Portland, Oregon, is marred by anti-Clinton protesters. When the first buses reach the highway they find a broken-down bus wreathed in red tape symbolizing government bureaucracy and hitched to a tow truck labeled, "This is Clinton Health Care."

The anti-bus trek protests are the crowning success of the No Name Coalition and especially of the conservative political interest group Citizens for a Sound Economy (CSE). By the time the ill-fated bus caravan takes to the highways, CSE operatives, working closely -- and secretly -- with Newt Gingrich's Capitol Hill office and with Republican senators, have mapped out plans to derail the Reform Riders wherever they go.

July 23, 1994 - Following several days of anti-Hillary rhetoric on local talk shows, Hillary Clinton -- at a bus rally in Seattle -- is confronted by hundreds of angry men shouting that the Clintons are going to destroy their way of life, ban guns, extend abortion rights, protect gays, and socialize medicine. When she finishes speaking and tries to leave the rally, her limousine is surrounded by protesters. Each of the four caravan routes becomes an expedition into enemy territory -- with better-armed, better-prepared, better-mobilized anti-Clinton protesters at each stop along the way. Local reform groups and caravan organizers are forced to cancel scheduled stops because of implicit threats of violence.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooks_Brothers_riot

Brooks Brothers riot
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search

The so-called Brooks Brothers riot was a demonstration at a meeting of election canvassers in Miami on November 19, 2000 that was allegedly orchestrated by astroturfing Republican operatives (the "Brooks Brothers Brigade"<1>) who were flown in to "shut down" a hand count of 10,750 ballots during the Florida recount of the 2000 United States presidential election.<2><3>. Several of the protesters were identified as Republican staffers and a number were later said to have gone on to jobs in the Bush administration.<4>

[DevonRex]

11. All I know is that she hates Obama and wants to shut down health care reform.

:shrug:

[debbierlus]

28. This is NOT health reform. It is insurance reform - mandated private insurance

That is what this is...

[DevonRex]

31. Do you propose that progressives take guns to the town hall meetings, too?

Or stand in church yards, armed, with a sign that threatens President Obama, in order to shut down the town halls? Just how far out there ARE you?

I will be going to a REPUBLICAN town hall tomorrow evening to voice my opinion and I will direct my anger where it belongs: the motherfucking REPUBLICANS.

[Jennicut]

15. Why don't some here get that they can support the President against the crazies

while at the same time expressing some disappointment with the health care bill? It does not have to be either/or. We can pressure the WH while still having his back. Most of that these idiots are telling are lies. But, nope, lets not bother because the WH "sold out". Nope, lets not ever vote again.

[babylonsister]

20. Because they clearly don't like the president, just like the r/w crazies.

It's pretty evident to me.

[DevonRex]

25. Maybe they're actually part of the crazies. In any case, the result is the same.

They hate him. They want to shut down health care reform. And now they actually want US to shut down town hall meetings.

[Jennicut]

30. Like I said there are people convinced that they cannot pressure Obama

while supporting him against the crazies. No way should the town halls be shut down. Show the crazies for who they are and what about the normal people showing up who honestly want their questions answered? Nope, they should not be allowed.

[DevonRex]

32. I'm going to a Republican town hall tomorrow evening to express my

opinion. We've all made our calls to Democrats to let them know where we stand. Personally, I'd like Medicare for everybody. Like you, I think the town halls are important so that people can get some questions answered. We don't get that opportunity very often.

*Sigh* Since my rep is a Republican, I don't expect to be very happy when the meeting is over. But at least I will have tried. And btw, MoveOn is how I heard about the local meeting. They're asking that we attend because the Democrats are being shelled by crazy people, so we need to make the effort to get our voices heard with Repub reps.

[Jennicut]

33. I am glad you are going. CT had a recent one with Joe Courtney

his is not in my district but is a Dem and whom I like a lot. I heard from the CT forum on DU that the unions turned out heavily for the town hall to drown out the crazies. Keep up the fight.

[debbierlus]

19. You entirely missed the point of this post - read the post again

If you read it in the first place...

The left needs to show up and DEMAND real health care reform. That is what this is all about, right?

If Obama is going to have the nerve to sell this country a mandated private insurance bill without a real public option, the left should be showing up to protest and demand real reform.

Do you want mandated private insurance with no real public option to be the law of the land? Do you think this is good policy?

I don't. I think this is another huge sellout to corporations with Obama as the charming frontman.

If people want decent policy, they might want to show up and protest and DEMAND it.

If you are happy with this corporate wetdream, then show up and suppot that -

My last post gave tons of links about why mandated private insurance is such bad policy. I suggest you read it.

Babylon, I know you love Obama. But, this isn't about Obama. It is about fighting for real health reform. And, if the left can't even demand decent legislation and policy from their elected leaders, and they will blindly support betrayal on such an important issue, this country is completely lost.

[babylonsister]

22. And you clearly despise him. Pls. post one link from the past

8 months where you've praised a thing he's done. I don't think you can.

So when you stop with your ravings, I'll stop calling you on them.

What do you think about:

Strong regulation of insurers, including requirements that insurers provide insurance to people with pre-existing conditions without higher rates

And at least one key insurer regulation would kick in right away: Come 2010, insurers could no longer yank coverage from people retroactively because they've uncovered new evidence of pre-existing conditions. This practice, known as "rescission," is among the most patently unjust features of our health care system.

Don't hear much about these from you. Got a problem with this?

http://demopedia.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x6262237

[debbierlus]

27. Tiny concessions for 300 million mandated customers....

Sorry, babylon...

http://pnhp.org/mass_report/mass_report_Final.pdf

This is the reality of the legislation being passed.

Obama & democrats have placed insurance profit over human illness and suffering. They are selling us out to big insurance & pharm, and you can rail against me all you want - I do not care. This should upset every person who labels themselves a democrat.

Obama has betrayed us on this legislation. He vowed transparency. He lied.

He vowed a true public option. He didn't even begin to fight.

Obama made his choice to represent corporate interests above the people.

And, I do despise that....

[babylonsister]

29. Sorry, but you won't like a damn thing that's proposed, and don't.

Guess what. I don't care what you think. I think we need to get something passed and then work on improving it.

I'm not here to bitch and moan about this admin and what they're attempting. I did that for the past 8 years. At least someone is trying to do something despite you trying to thwart those efforts.

[dionysus]

12. people say the funniest things when they sniff rubber cement.

[DevonRex]

14. I'm pretty much gonna have to take another break from DU soon.

It's just awful here.

[anonymous171]

36. Actually progressives should infiltrate those groups and inflame them even more. nt