Rude, loud, and obnoxious. And to think that there wasn’t a dirty anti-war hippy anywhere in sight.
After driving five hundred miles (in eight and a half hours) round trip I had time to reflect and process the event at Jefferson College in Hillsboro. The seemingly impotent rage coming from some of the people in attendance was stunning in its force.
They’re pissed that Obama is president. They’re pissed that McCain isn’t. They’re pissed that Jim Talent isn’t their senator. They probably voted for George W. Bush twice (and probably his daddy twice). They’d probably be pissed if you pointed out that dubya is and was a monumental screw-up – it reminds them that they made that particular choice. They didn’t vote for Claire. They’ll never vote for Claire. They’re outraged that their sense of entitlement about calling the shots in what others should believe and even how the open forum should have been run isn’t accepted or catered to.
To them a late entering African American woman breaking the “sign rule” is an outrage upon civilized society and is pointed out instantly. It is enough of an outrage so that some jerk can jump out of the stands and try to rip it away (for God’s sake, it was a Rosa Parks poster). Yet, a bunch of people can stand after that with their “Don’t Tread on Me” flags and there’s not a whisper from the crowd.
They’re pissed that Claire asked how many of them were on Medicare (several hundred) and then asking how many wanted off (a handful) – pointing out the crowd’s hypocrisy about government health care. No matter what anyone does they’ll be pissed and stay pissed. And they ain’t voting for any Democrats. Ever.
Not everyone in attendance was opposed to health care reform
“…But there was little she said that didn’t elicit jeers and yelling, usually from the same few loudmouths. Within thirty feet of me, there were half a dozen middle aged males who frequently screamed their displeasure….”
The altercation over an “unauthorized sign”. Law enforcement quickly separated the parties and escorted them outside.
Curiously, after the first “unauthorized sign” incident the crowd didn’t take issue with these signs. I wonder why?
The press conference after the forum.
The obligatory teabagger Hitler/Obama comparison.
Pro-reform activists displayed a number of satirical signs outside after the event.
I asked those carrying the signs if people “got it”. They weren’t sure if people did.
Teabaggers were also well represented with signs after the event.
Evidently insurance company sponsored euthanasia is okay.
The lady from the “unauthorized sign” incident with her Rosa Parks poster.
In traffic on the way back on Highway 21 approaching I-270. I wonder if this driver had one for dubya when gas was $4 a gallon. Nah, *IOKIYAR.
* it’s okay if you’re a republican
Thanks for the post Michael, great pix and commentary.
The question I have for you or anyone that was there is, what is your guest-o-mation of the percentage of people at the forum that were the trouble makers, shouting and disrupting the meeting? I ask this because the Insurance lobbys lying lackeys (Freedom Works, etc.) would have us think that these people are just part of this great uprising across the country that is against healthcare reform. Just trying to get a grip on what the real story is.
Secondly, in the “got it” or “didn’t get it” category, the sign “Keep Government out of the V.A.!”, what are they saying? Is the sign stateing something clever that I don’t get, or is the person saying “I’m stupid and to prove it, I made this sign”. If it is the latter, “God Bless her”. V.A. does still stand for Veterans Administration, right!
Michael,
Claire handled the Teabaggers with all the thoughtfulness and class that we could hope for. She was masterful.
While I have confidence that Sen. McCaskill will do right by the people of Missouri, I am concerned about the political calculus of other moderate Democratic lawmakers.
They are facing townhall goons who are very (perhaps even honestly) concerned, scared, angry and motivated by fears that are utterly baseless.
Which variable will carry the most weight: a) the invalidity of their concerns, or b) the protesters degree of passion?
I would hope that the Dems have the sense to properly discount protests that are based on self-evident lies (what if some very loud and angry voters were really worried about the threat of the Atlantean Illuminati?), but I suspect that they will use the protests as an excuse to put off meaningful health care reform, e.g. “We need to take some more time to convey to the voters what we’re trying to do here.”
Democratic lawmakers need to face the facts: These protesters would oppose every and any possible health care reform presented or supported by President Barack Obama.
You can’t wake them up — they are only pretending to be asleep.
— MrJM
In your picture with the caption about all the jeers and yelling, you caught two of the six people within thirty of me who were doing a lot of the yelling–the guy in blue and the one in red.
and
(found on TPM)
I was there too.I was sitting on the bleachers that are out of the picture,next to the man in the yellow shirt holding the ,Don’t Tread on Me, flag.I was sitting with a group of Jeffco politicos. When the man with the flag kept yelling liar everytime Claire talked I told him to pipe down. If looks could have killed I would have been dead as he yelled at me to shut up! Ha! a man sitting behind me, one of the politicos got right in his face and said,F***You! They started the man thing…you want to take it outside back and forth and some Jeffco officers materialized out of nowhere and calmed it down.But he was allowed to stand and hold his little flag.
Another incident was interesting. I was sitting behind the line of press people who were standing at the back of the people in chairs, there was a moment when a camera bag was sitting alone,with no one around. I left for awile,I am willing to walk my talk but I am not willing to get blown up in the process.When I came back the police had a sniffer dog in the same spot. I was happy to see that they were realistic and prepared.
I would say people for healthcare reform were outnumbered 3 to one. I also think many of the people there had been ( figuratively)driven there by their churches. That was confirmed to me this morning when I went to a resale shop run by a Penticostal couple. It was early and all the staff was chatting. One of them said,”Wow it really worked,McCaskill was really rattled”,and the pinched face preacher said,”there is a party in heaven this morning.” Well I spoke up and said,”I was there too and I am for healthcare reform….before I could get another word out the preacher told me that I was interruping their morning prayers and the whole staff immediately got into prayerfull positions.I am still steaming about it! This staff are all alcholics and drug addicts that he has “saved”,all vulnerable people,all anxious people.Their livers might be in better shape but their souls are being poisoned!
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