Remember last year during the health care fight when the media reported on the "angry mobs" at town hall meetings all over the country?
Remember also that these "plain folks who were outraged over a potential government take over of health care" were really bused in and in some cases paid by groups attempting to hijack the Tea Party "movement," and to use manufactured outrage to disrupt the meetings?
Well, that was last year.
This year there are more of those town hall meetings, and there are plenty of angry people again too. The difference this year is these people aren't bused in, paid, or scripted by those "Tea Party" lobbyists. They're real people who are armed with more facts than the congressmen have talking points and colorful pie charts in which to muddy them with.
This year they're angry not over a manufactured, mythical government takeover of health care ("Hands Off My Medicare!"), they're angry at a real GOP proposal to take away Medicare and health care as they know it. They aren't fooled by the sales pitch they're getting from their congressmen, and they're confronting them with it.
And those Republicans don't like it.
Last week, Paul "Ayn Rand Is My Mentor" Ryan was booed at his first town hall, where he was confronted by people who (surprise!) don't care for replacing Medicare with Ryan's "throw them a bone voucher" in order to fork over yet more tax cuts for big corporations who are already either paying very little taxes or none at all, getting refunds, subsidies, and oh by the way, busily NOT creating all those jobs the Bush tax cuts promised oh those many years ago.
Problem.
This week there have been a couple memorable town halls, which are actually getting some media attention. Two of them were in Florida.
The first was in Alan Grayson's former district, this time represented by Daniel Webster who defeated Grayson in last year's election. You'll recall that Grayson was defeated in part because he dared to speak the truth about the GOP health care plan. Grayson gave a speech on the House floor, where he said:
"The Republican health care plan: don't get sick," he said. But, he added,"The Republicans have a back up plan in case you do get sick ... This is what the Republicans want you to do. If you get sick America, the Republican health care plan is this: Die quickly!"
This description immediately caused the GOP, the media, and some Democrats to fan themselves and head for the fainting couches faster than one could say "but he's right." He was. Read that quote again and see if you can see any difference from the Ryan plan for Medicare. Don't get sick, because if you do, well good luck finding insurance with that coupon! (As if any health insurance company would even insure them in the first place.) That being said, because Democrats are labeled as radicals for speaking the truth about what the GOP is really up to, for that offense Grayson was in part swept out of office and replaced with a real radical, Daniel Webster.
Webster's first town hall since Ayn Ryan...I'm sorry, PAUL Ryan unveiled his fantasy based, math free "budget plan" took place yesterday. Webster was busy reciting his scripted talking points to the crowd with his little charts and graphs when he was challenged by constituents who were armed with facts. This is what happened:
Problem.
GOP New Town Hall Rule 1. Facts are not permitted.
Now we move on to another of yesterday's town hall meetings held by Allen West who makes Dan Webster look almost down right normal. Almost. West has never been a "fact" person and he tends to make up his own reality as he goes along. However, yesterday according to reports, he did admit to one fact: This years town halls are more heated than last year. He just chooses to pretend it's for different reasons.
“The natives are restless. You go up and you whack a hornet’s nest,” he said.
Well, sure. If those "restless natives" are senior citizens, or those who will be in the near future, who want health care, and if that "hornet's nest" is being "whacked" by members of the media asking actual fact-based questions rather than those collected and screened "George W. Bush style" at the door prior to the meeting. Those natives and whackers of hornets nests would be dealt with, as West pointed out himself:
“You’re not going to intimidate me,” West said.
West is certainly a man of his word, and in his little corner of GOP style Democracy, those who dare to ask impromptu questions will be...arrested:
One protester was just arrested at Congressman Allen West’s Fort Lauderdale town hall meeting.
Nicole Sandler of Coral Springs interrupted when West was explaining the Republican position on Medicare.
Sandler shouted a question, which prompted responses from other audience members: “Shut up lady.”
She didn’t stop. As people recorded the scene with their camera phones, she was escorted out by a Fort Lauderdale police officer.
Sandler objected to being asked to leave, arguing with the officer as he escorted her out, including emphatically cursing at him. Ultimately he arrested her for “trespass after warning” and transferred her to another police officer who took Sandler away.
Problem.
GOP New Town Hall Rule 2. You May Ask Questions Only If You Don't Mind Spending At Least One Night In Jail. Bring Your Toothbrush.
So there is a glimpse of what democracy looks like in the new world of the Right Wing-Nuts who have become today's Republican Party. Facts have rarely been tolerated by the GOP in the past either, it's just that now there will be no debate. Rather than asking questions based on actual facts, you will be stripped of your rights and silly luxuries like Medicare, and you will sit quietly while your future is quite possibly destroyed so that the rich might buy another yacht with gold-plated fixtures so they can sail to one of their private islands where they can bide their time sipping cocktails garnished with swizzle sticks topped with tiny plastic senior citizens and poor children as they keep the fire pits stoking with $100 bills.
And you will like it. Or else.
Yes, the GOP are learning a new lesson this year. Life just isn't scripted, and there are only so many gullible, bad actors willing to get on the bus and protest against their own best interests.
Facts matter in the real world.
