Pelosi Is an Expert at 'Drowning Out Opposing Views'
Disruption of the health care town hall meetings has triggered some rich debate about free speech in the U.S. In these discussions, CODEPINK has been referenced several times as the group that has most often tested the boundaries of free speech. Over the years, we've been chided and insulted by the media, Members of Congress, former Press Secretaries, and even President Bush himself. However, when Nancy Pelosi weighed in recently on the town hall "mobs," saying that "drowning out opposing views is un-American," I was compelled to respond.
While the frequent mentions of CODEPINK in these discussions do not surprise me, it saddens me that there are so few groups from the past decade to reference when talking about pushing the edge of healthy debate. Congress has been failing the people in so many ways for so long that there should have been be a non-stop primal scream from the people to wake the our representatives up from their corporate-funded stupor.
But who would have heard them? For far too long, the American people have been cut off from and out of the political process without any real avenues of letting their voices be heard. So when Speaker Pelosi -- no stranger to drowning out opposing views -- talks about "drowning out opposing views is un-American," the statement is steeped in irony.
For example, CODEPINK attended Nancy Pelosi's last town hall meeting in January of 2006. Let me be clear -- these town halls are one of very few ways for the people to voice their opinions, and CODEPINK does not disrupt healthy debate at these events, as some of the protesters have done at recent health care town halls. At this event, Medea Benjamin was the first in line to ask a question. After her question was ignored (no answer was given), CODEPINK members stood quietly in the front of the room with their banner. No screaming, no verbal attacks or threats of violence, no disruption of the other voices in the room.
At the time of the meeting, Pelosi had announced she'd taken the impeachment of George Bush "off the table" -- choosing her popularity and chances at reelection over her constitutional duty. Millions of Americans were not happy -- but Pelosi refused to have any other town halls for the rest of Bush's term -- effectively "drowning out opposing views." Today -- over three years later -- she continues to work at locking out debate about single payer in the Congressional hearings on health care.
In the media surrounding the health care town halls, protesters disruptions have been compared to CODEPINK's presence in Congress. This is comparing the proverbial apples to oranges and doesn't distinguish Congressional hearings from the public-centered town halls. In Congressional hearings, the discussion is all too often one-sided, with the voice of the people woefully absent. We seek to expand the conversation and introduce the elephants in the room -- most often we've delivered our message with our choice of costume or the messaging on our signs and t-shirts. We do this after we have exhausted every other remedy to express our opinions -- after we've called, written letters, delivered petitions, brought activists to DC from around the country and met with our representatives. We resort to non-violent direct actions when there is no other way to get the message across.
We've understood, regrettably, when we go to a hearing that if we stand up and deliver the message that it is quite probable that we will be arrested. Our 'outbursts' are not meant to shut-down conversation; they're meant to join it where we have been shut out. This does not seem to be the motive of the health care protesters, who appear upset that the topic is even being visited.
However, what is most sobering about this conversation about how to hold national debates is that here, in this country that considers itself to be the most democratic in the world, dissent is so rare and so frightening. We need dissent now more than ever - our representatives have just forked over $10 trillion to Wall Street and another $100 billion for wars. We should all be attending town halls right now and asking the hard questions, demanding accountability. Our representatives need to feel our anger at the selling out of everything we value. But this can only happen when we have all the facts and when we respect the other voices in the room. We absolutely must demand to be heard -- but never through violence, and not at the expense of silencing others.
Follow Jodie Evans on Twitter: www.twitter.com/codepinkalert
Loading comments…
Want to reply to a comment? Hint: Click "Reply" at the bottom of the comment; after being approved your comment will appear directly underneath the comment you replied to
Thank you for this piece. Having attended a healthcare town hall in California, as well as being very familiar with and supportive of CODEPINK, I myself was outraged that anyone would liken the kind of tactics the people yelling at the town halls have used to what CODEPINK does. Thank you for reminding people that CODEPINK has a wealth of campaigns and different types of actions, including delivering petitions to government and delivering humanitarian aid to war victims. Activists from CODEPINK are brave, sometimes just one or two activists alone speaking up in an assembly that is opposed to them, with security goons who immediately seize them, whereas these townhallers are in the middle of hysterical meltdowns of fear and group together to try to intimidate through the effect of an angry mob. CODEPINK activists know there are likely to be consequences to disrupting a congressional committee, and they face those consequences in order to take a stand, whereas the townhallers seem to think that if they are not allowed to yell angrily and incoherently for an entire town hall meeting thereby preventing anyone else from hearing what the representatives, medical experts, and their fellow citizens are trying to say, then their freedom of speech has been violated. Moreover, an important point is that every CODEPINK member I know, unlike some of these townhallers who have received a lot of media, cherishes democracy and is completely non-violent and unthreatening.
It seems to me that the only thing worth fighting for any more is get the money out of politics. Make everyone donate $5 or $10 on their tax returns and have public financing. Plus these Dem idiots won't even fix the voting machines and elections are still going to be stolen by Repubs. Town Halls are so 20th century. We need something different. Even though I'll go to any that's available. Waxman is having one apparently on energy next week. He knows his constituents want single payer, he doesn't give a crap, he's going to do what he wants.
I SO respect you as a fighter who doesn't quit or sell out! But I really wonder if you understand how little congresspeople care about what you have to say. For them to care, you'd have to have a lot of money available for them.
Code Pink's tactics legitimize the tactics of the town hall screamers from the right. No matter how badly they behave, and no matter how unfair the comparison may be, screaming until you are ejected from a meeting sets a poor example.
I don't care whether you're on the left or the right, organized little mini-movements to disrupt townhalls is destructive of democracy. I deeply resent this kind of stuff. Townhalls are for intelligent discussion, not "primal screams," yelling, banners, or any other kind of disruption. As a disabled person I dare not attend a townhall meeting because of the potential for physical violence of any kind--and at any rate, how could I EVER get a word in edgewise? I could I EVER hope to get a question answered?
Code Pink I dislike every bit as much as the right-wing fringe idiots controlling our national discussion today.
Agreed. I particularly like this statement :
"We absolutely must demand to be heard -- but never through violence, and not at the expense of silencing others."
But when they pull their stunts, they become the story, and drown out the underlying reason behind the protest. They give Fox and the other MSM outlets a good excuse to ignore the actual story and talk about the circus act that Code Pink represents. By becoming the story, they effectively silence any talk about the real issues.
Nancy Pelosi is the best thing the Democrats has on the Hill! She works with the President, and for Harry Reid, he needs to go!
Pelosi needs to go. She is worthless.
"Pelosi had announced she'd taken the impeachment of George Bush "off the table" -- choosing her popularity and chances at reelection over her constitutional duty. Millions of Americans were not happy"
Impeachment was killed for good when Rep. John Conyers, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee announced that he agreed with Pelosi, that it should be off the table. Conyers had for years portrayed himself as the Champion Of Impeachment.
Later on when presented with a Petition Asking for Impeachment
(with over a Million Signatures) Conyers ignored the Petition and had those bringing it arrested. Conyers has never mentioned the Petition since.
Now that Conyers is the Champion Of Single Payer, is there anyone but me that thinks it hasn't a chance?
We have to make an example of the Bush criminals or it will happen again and again until we lose our most cherished freedoms. Our politicians support Torture unless they are actively fighting to have our Federal Anti-Torture Law enforced.
At all public events, Ask them why they support Torture? and
SIGN THE PETITIONS
Demanding
both a Commission of Inquiry
and a Special Prosecutor
For All Their Crimes
at ANGRYVOTER
http://ANG
Only Prosecution deters Federal crimes
.
Without Nancy Pelosi's help President Obama would not have been able to accomplish nearly as much as he has so far. Has anyone else notices that Conservatives no longer mention Harry Reid when deriding Democrats or the Obama Administration. They only mention Pelosi, Dodd, Barney Frank, Rahm Emanuel, etc. But they never mention Harry Reid.
There's no need for Republicans to demonize Reid who does not stand in their way and who votes with them much of time.
Madam Do Nothing speaks.
Why does Nancy Pelosi need enemies, when she has you and CodePink at her back?
There is a time and place for everything, and the timing of your commentary is simply terrible. Go form your circular firing squad someplace else, please.
And let me be the first to congratulate you on the success your organization has acheived.
Oh that's right. You have none.
The only good thing you have accomplished is in seducing some RW nutjobs into emulating your tactics, thus ensuring they'll be even bigger failures than you are.
Perhaps the author has a legitimate beef with Nancy Pelosi, but this is not the time to spread divisiveness. We need to stand united and pass health care reform, hopefully Single Payer, but at the least, a public option. The lack of a town hall meeting does not prevent us from making our voices heard. Call, email, Twitter, Facebook, letters to the editor...a
A local rep canceled his town hall meeting recently, due to death threats. I am not going to let that stop me from making my wishes known to him.
It is just the time....it
Her comments of late have reflected her lack of understanding of what voters want.
She is an example of the entrenched senior politician who considers deals with special interests "business as usual" and does not put the voter first. Her way of doing business is what Obama campaigned against...
She could be doing a lot more to help the President.
"Congress has been failing the people in so many ways for so long that there should have been be a non-stop primal scream from the people to wake the our representatives up from their corporate-funded stupor."
I agree completely and have been supporting Code Pink for a long time.
Congress means the House and the Senate to me. Especially the Senate.
I may be old-fashioned, but if you can't conduct yourself like a civilized human being at public gatherings, then you can and should be asked to leave. What has been going on is cynical manipulation of a confused, volatile and under-informed public and is also just plain rude and without conscience. Treat others with the courtesy that you would like to receive yourself.
Nancy Pelosi is not interested in anyone's opinions. She is only interested in her wealth and leaving a legacy. Selfish human being. She's an embarrassment to women who strive to achieve. The people showing up at the townhalls are tired of hearing her tell anyone with a different opinion is un-American.
Don't presume to speak for "women who strive to achieve." I'm sure 99% of them are perfectly capable of expressing their own opinions.
Co-signed!
Nancy Pelosi has been entrenched in Washington for so long, She long ago forgot about the voters and has given her full attention to special interests.
The question is, do her divisive comments help the President's efforts in achieving healthcare reform?
He champions transparency. She is a steward of politics past.
Despite what your AM radio tells you, Pelosi did NOT say that anyone with a different view is un-American. She said drowning out those with different views is un-American.
You must be logged in to comment. Log in or connect with
