GOP Desperately Trying To Gin Up New Town Hall Anger

Politico:

Republicans are looking to resurrect the angry town halls of August in the last few weeks of November.

Senate Republican Conference Chairman Lamar Alexander said Republicans are "quietly" planning some 50 in-person and telephone town hall gatherings over the next three weeks to drum up opposition to Democratic health care bills. Republicans believe this effort will pick up new urgency once Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) releases his long-awaited bill -- possibly next week.

Read the whole story: Politico

Comments

[rf dude]

Didja hear the one about the teabagger who got caught smoking (in the) pot?

Howsabout the teabagger who jerked his string off?

Or the one about the teabagger who thought this was all RELEVANT...

[SimJack]

If you want to pi$$ off the monkeys just take their bananas and cable TV away.

[mrh3]

Americans have been lied to. The Tea Party protests were not about taxes.
The real Tea party protest was a protest against the East India Company and other corporations owned by the English rich and powerful. It was a pushback against the rules which forced Americans to buy their products. These rules were enforced by the requirement of a tax stamp. You Tea Baggers on the other hand are corporate dupes who fight against the push back.
If you want to have a real “Tea Party” then go down to the rail yard and dump a carload of peanuts or grow your own tobacco. Better yet import your prescription drugs from Canada or stop shopping at Wall mart.

[Tulka2]

I didn't know there were so many snake-handlers in the United States.

[ThankGodhesgone]

Instead of ginning up bs anger against the democratic proposal, how about providing some facts about the republican health plan? Can't do that though, can they? THey have few ideas and those that they have help no one with their health care.

[Uchenna Oguekwe]

Hmmm....I got an idea. Instead of trying to gin up an astroturf town hall movement, why doesn't the GOP set up field trips to hospitals around the country and actually talk to people with and without health insurance? Why not get a good understanding about what people who are actually dealing with the inadequacies of the health care insurance industry are going through. No of course not, that would mean that they actually care more about the American people than they do the insurance companies.

[Osusuki]

It's funny. The Republicans will do almost anything to get back into the majority, except the one thing that would put them there. Didn't they learn ANYTHING from Bill Clinton? To get back into the fight, the GOP would have to actually pay attention to what the people want, instead of using PR ploys to get the public to want what the GOP thinks is right. Luckily for the rest of us, that'll never happen.

[Lori Bowles]

Lets see, popular flash points would be:
ACORN
Illegals
Ab0rtion
Medicare cuts
Death panels
rationing
tax increase
and jail for not purchasing this plan
I could go on but why.

[sonwinks]

Very true.,... however you forget that it also will involved totally unrelated crap like:
*communist
*socialist
*Hitler
*Nazi
*Mao
...etc....­etc....etc

[PhilipB]

Well I suppose the "why" is you have great insights, and it is appreciated.
:)

[noaxe397]

Is it possible the Dems could be PREPARED this time for these nut jobs?

Maybe scare the teabaggers with tight security
Maybe get MoveOn, etc to bus in anti teabaggers. Nothing makes these roaches scatter more than confronting a bigger opponent.
Mock them unmercifully and individually until they become SP or MB caricatures of the true populist.

or

Just don't hold town hall meetings, citing security concerns and blame the teabaggers for it.


It's a funny headline, though. If you can't figure out how to get a Republican mad, then stay out of politics. Just walk on their lawn.

[Phxflyer]

It didn't work before, it won't work now.

[KLordsha]

I guess after the hitler/sta­lin/mao/ke­nyan/death­panels/ten­thers/bach­maners/pal­inists.... there's nothing left.

[ckfan]

It was shocking in August - at first. Then, it became laughable. November? not so much. Holiday season - it will be seen as pathetic and negative. They're making a huge mistake. People don't want to hear that mess during the Yuletide season.

[legalies76]

Where were the dummies when Bush and Conservatives used 9-11 to pass The Patriot Act within days and never even reading the thing. It created an instant police/spy state much like Communist countries except with more efficient technology to accomplish their evil ends. If these teabaggers get rid of the Patriot Act and The Surveillance State then I will to them.

[oldngrumpy]

Don't discount the tea bagger rallies and town halls too quickly. They serve a couple of important purposes for Republicans.

1) They provide cover for the blue dog DINO's to vote with their campaign contributors. A little noise and bravado goes a long ways toward providing the "impression" that the GOPers are a majority and most of the blue dogs are from conservative districts where Faux Noise rules. However individuals may feel about a public option, they likely don't know that the majority supports it.

2) This movement is funded by the insurance industry via non profits that don't have to disclose their sources and have few accounting requirements. By funneling money through Dick Armey's faux grassroots think tank the industry can supply a lot of momentum and make the movement appear a lot bigger and fiercer than it is. Visibility trumps real numbers in politics. Politicians are easily distracted by shiny things.

[bobfeld]

Hooray!!! I thought they were going to go away after that dismal turnout in Washington last week Glad they are still around, we need the comic relief.

[bobfeld]

The sequel is NEVER as good as the original(not that it was that good)