Obama's NH Town Hall Brings Out Birthers, Deathers, And More (SLIDESHOW)

A HuffPost reader sent in pictures from President Obama's town hall Wednesday in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, which brought out a veritable rogue's gallery of hard-right activists and conspiracy theorists. Though Republican Party leaders have defended the town hall protesters as citizens concerned about health care, many of those who gathered outside the president's event seemed to have other things on their minds. Signs touted conspiracies about Obama's birth place, compared him to Hitler, suggested his election was a terrorist attack, and came close to threatening him with death.

Take a look:

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"By adopting the birthers and the deathers, Republicans are becoming indistinguishable from the black helicopter crowd," said a Democratic political strategist. "They may be getting some sort of short term satisfaction about the result last election in venting through the angry fringe this way, but they are guaranteeing to turn off independents in the next one."

The Secret Service is investigating a man who authorities said held a sign reading "Death to Obama" outside a town hall meeting held by Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) in western Maryland. The sign also read, "Death to Michelle and her two stupid kids."

On Wednesday night, Rachel Maddow tracked the disturbing death threats emanating from these events.

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Comments

[CalDemo]

Democracy in action. These fascists/racists are finding a time and place to meet with like minded empty headed anti-government hypocrits who wouldn't give up their place in line for social security and medicare benefits and free pizza. These people must have secure jobs and private health care, because there's no way they'd stoop to accept unemployment benefits or federal assistance for medical insurance in the event of a lay-off.

No, these people don't need government help because about every federal program that serves the elderly or the needy were introduced in congress by Democrats, their republican friends faught against every social program, just like they're doing with health care.

[Veritas 2009]

The irony found in the Left-Wing's response to the genuine groundswell of public outcry against this Socialist power-grab (aka "Health Care Reform") is almost laughable. For decades, they have been the "Puppet-Masters" whipping up mobs of misguided - misinformed people to do their bidding. Now, an INFORMED constituency has arisen from ALL sectors of American life, and they are shocked.

I always wondered what the look on Robespierre's face must have been when his own hellish brand of mob rule came full circle on him only to find his own neck on the block: One look at any Liberal politician who heretofore has supported this surreptitious power-grab, and you know the answer... FEAR. And that's a GOOD thing.

"When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty." [Thomas Jefferson]

[huffingt]

Miserable future generation going no where

[stefiz]

we the evangelical white people are the only real Americans... you dang commies! ;)

(please note the sarcasm!)

[EquesLignite]

The second picture is from the LaRouchites

[Patrick Morris]

As a Canadian 15 year high school student, I find this absolutely repulsive. To even use Obama and Hitler's names in the same sentence is wrong. To let alone compare Obama to Hitler is so disgusting, Hitler was an evil, cruel man. Obama, is a great man and to doubt that because of his color, ethnicity, or nationality is absolutely demoralizing and hypocritical. Obama will do great things

[RadGash]

son, you know this because you are an intelligent young man. But you must understand that many in this nation of ours are their own fathers. Education is something that was never a big priority to them because it cut into their prayer time.

[Veritas 2009]

Statements like that epitomize the truly contemptuous spirit underlying those who in other circumstances love to decry the "intolerance" and "disrespectful attitudes" of others.

America was never better, than when her Leaders spent more time on their knees, than playing demigods.

[huffingt]

We don't want our country to be like Russia but we will follow Russian Or ly
We are informed citizens, thus follow Pa li n, to see Russia from her porch
We don't want socialism but social security, unemployment insurance and medicare
We want our country back - back from intellectual people
We don't want govt. bureaucrats; we can elect govt. Mo rans
We don't need to show my birth certificate, but demand others to show theirs
We want States right for governance & succession but could use some stimulus money
We don't want govt control but stand by me at every crises & Katrina in my life
We are Americans so we exercise our rights over others
We are unique in our stu pi dity, so, America is the only place for me
We are not angry mob, unamerican, nor militias, just boring left over teabagans
We ha te color people, but, presently on vacation in Puerto Rico to TAN my skin
We yell at meetings to say- hands off when my foot is in my mouth
We have values, good ones, but hard to practice in C. street when lights are off
We don't mind false sided F. news when delivered with a Tear
We are fearful of death panel as it prohibits us from pulling the plug on my rich relatives
We know amendments –to conceal drugs, alcohol, gu ns & soul mates
We understand constitution-"Our forefathers & Sotomayor wrote something.I know she did”

[JDRNYC]

The product of high school/GED level educations and inbreeding.

[tantrictim]

holy geez, i am so glad i am canadian!

[huffingt]

Canadians live peacefully with these stu pids as neighbours-

[JDRNYC]

Love the pic of those slack-jawed yokels holding the dumb and dumber sign.

[ericmiami]

These folks look too uninformed to get even expense money from the insurance companies.

[QueenMaeve]

I suppose Mr. AbortObama's T-Shirt says it all.

[huffingt]

Only Stu pidity

[ansonort]

Sometimes America depresses me unutterably.

[FZliveson]

Rachel:
Your use of NLP is quite good, and–very obvious.
You do not really purport yourself to be a reporter of news,
do you?

[in4success]

you mean in the sense of beck, hannity and o'reilly?

if zappa were alive he'd force-feed you yellow snow for shaming his image with your bigoted ignorance and blatant buffoonery.

[FZliveson]

Hey...Cool your jets, in4success.
Why the PERSONAL attack here?

I despise Beck, Hannity and O'reilly and have no time for Limbaugh either. Once in a great while Savage actually says something of value.

Are you related to Rachel or something? The woman clearly uses psychological twists and NLP in her writing to influence the thinking of the readers. She is not reporting, she is attempting to control the thinking of the readers through subtle word management. I've studied the craft and recognize it.

Show me where I was bigoted in the above post.

(I rather think Frank would have me a sales manager in his dental-floss business.
Cheers!

[3dtrix]

Newton was right - for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. What we are seeing with the present metastasizing of droolers, foamers and knuckle-draggers is the downside of egalitarianism - that time-honored baseline of liberalism. The rightful assumption that all citizen's rights are equal - truly the flower of societal development - is encircled with rings of needle-sharp and poisoned-tipped thorns - that the opinions (and votes) of the willfully ignorant, the dim, the paranoid, the superstitious, the bigoted are given the same due as those of their counterparts...

[JDRNYC]

Perfectly stated.

[FZliveson]

3dtrix: Well-written indeed.
Newton was speaking about physics and physical forces over distances (work)
Society is more complex and subjective than physics.
Hegel's dialectic theory, dealing with opposing forces and resultant synthesis is more applicable.
However, polarity is being pushed by many in our society, driving people out to the edges and making it possible to have continual "equal and opposite" reactions. This is, in my mind, contrary to human nature and a real danger to our society. If people can be made to be polarized, they can be made blind to solutions which lie in the center. Note that recent elections have all been so close that the ones campaigning are more concerned about the few percentages of undecided voters than the ones firmly in their camps. When we stop seeing people who think differently than we do as being the "enemy" or being "bad" or "unpatriotic" or "liberal" or "conservative" we will start looking for synthesis, rather than victory and then we will recreate our society as it was designed to be.
Thanks for your post...vVry thought provoking

[FZliveson]

Fanned

[postman66]

I was going to avoid the townhalls. As a person of color I felt it prudent to avoid rabid 60 something whites who are angry enough to approach people who disagreed with their rambling opinion. I'm rethinking that position, I'm a third generation of A.A who has fought in this countries wars. I don't have to sit in my house disgusted at the way things are going.

[3dtrix]

The town halls - like everything else in a democracy - belong to those who claim ownership. GO!