Calling Loons Loons
Awesome—Durbin calls the loons exactly what they are–loons.
“It is a small fringe group,” Schumer told the Huffington Post, “and if we let a small group of people who want to monopolize the conversation and not listen to the facts win, you may as well hang it up.”
“These town hall meetings have been orchestrated by the tea baggers and the birthers to just be a free-for-alls, make a lot of noise, go on YouTube and show discord,” said Durbin. “I mean that is what they are determined to do. But that is not going to accomplish what we need to accomplish: real health care reform.”
Showing up and disagreeing is perfectly reasonable, but the stated point is to disrupt the events.
August 4th, 2009 at
Having helped to make sure that Senator Burris was seated, Durbin knows something about loons…
Our congressman has a solution to the issue, Foster is having is event at 4:00PM on a weekday, when most folks, ummm are at work.
August 4th, 2009 at
One, they’ve been showing up at other events held during the weekday.
And on what grounds could the Senate have refused to seat Burris?
I wanted the Senate to refuse to seat him as much as the next guy but the fact remains he was legally appointed by a sitting governor to fill a vacant seat. Even the Sangamon County (Republican) State’s Attorney’s investigation into Burris’ alleged perjury in his House Impeachment Cmte testimony was found to lack sufficient evidence to pursue.
We Illinoisans and the Senate itself got stuck with Burris because the GA in S’field avoided disinfecting a tainted situation and instead hoped the US Senate would bail them out by essentially inventing a Senate precedent. Even Jesse White held out as long as he could but in the end had no legal recourse to avoid signing off on the appointment.
Hindsight’s 20/20 but even if the GA passed a bill requiring some form of legislative approval for any Senate appointee as soon as Blago was arrested given Blago’s past he likely would’ve appointed someone and then waited the full signing period before vetoing the bill.
August 15th, 2009 at
As of today then, 54% of the public are “loons”. Read the polls, it’s not a small fringe group.
August 15th, 2009 at
Can you read?
===Showing up and disagreeing is perfectly reasonable, but the stated point is to disrupt the events.
Seriously–do you think 54% of the people think there are death panels? Do you think 54% of the people think Obama is a Nazi?
The organized effort by lobbyists, right wing hate radio, and loonatics isn’t about simply opposing something. A distinction I clearly made, but you appear too stupid to understand.
August 16th, 2009 at
What organized effort by which lobbyists? Big Pharma? Insurance companies? AMA? They all support Obama. I’m saying the outrage is organic and it shows in the polls. Today’s dropping of the public option is more evidence. Don’t let the MSM’s focus on the screamers taint what is actually going on. Obamacare is dead, calling me stupid won’t help.
August 16th, 2009 at
Calling you stupid is because you cannot read what I said. You at one point in two very quick comments both embraced the screamers and then claimed the screamers were just a result of the MSM.
Consistency much? Rhetorical question.
But how stupid are you? If you bothered to read the post you commented on you have noticed the criticism is of the people going to town halls and disrupting them with bullshit about Nazis, death panels, socialism, none of which apply to the current bill. They are scare tactics created by industry and lobbyists and fed to idiots who watch Fox news and listen to right wing radio:
http://thinkprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/townhallactionmemo.pdf
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/04/09/lobbyists-planning-teaparties/
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Americans_for_Prosperity#Funding
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FreedomWorks#Funding
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/04/14/lobbying-clients-teaparties/
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/14/health/policy/14panel.html
What is particularly stupid about your claims is saying that the lobbyists are all on one side of the issue–which anyone with a ounce of either intelligence or integrity wouldn’t say. It’s simply a ludicrous claim given DLA Piper and Dick Armey’s efforts as well as the amount of spending by health insurance companies on lobbying being more in the last few months than they have spent record amounts opposing a public option.
So calling you stupid wasn’t because you called Obama’s health care plan dead or because you disagree. It was because you made patently false claims that anyone with any brain would know are patently false claims starting with the notion that disruptions in public settings, calling people Nazis, and yelling socialism are things done by loons and not the mass public.
August 16th, 2009 at
The screamers served their purpose in drawing attention to the issues. The nature of the debate has now changed. I made no such claim that ALL lobbyists back Obama. The ones I listed do. As far as Freedom Works goes, they’re like the dorks you never invited to your party but who showed up anyway to take the credit.
With the massive union and Pharma spending in support of President Obama’s health reform bill, supporters have outspent opponents five to one, according to the New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/16/health/policy/16ads.html?_r=1&hp
Despite what you say, Democrat lawmakers know the townhall gatherings are real and organic. They aren’t part of any industry-funded astro-turf campaign.
The backlash you’re witnessing is very real. And it is reflected in the polls. Meanwhile, the left has to pay people to show up at town halls. When Congress returns in September, the thoughts of the members will turn to their own reelection. That’s when the real fear will set in. The Democrat leadership went “a bridge too far”, and everyone knows it. Your side is losing, so who’s the stupid one?
August 16th, 2009 at
The screamers are loons who believe in conspiracy theories–
Whether it those who think Obama wasn’t born in Hawaii, or even better, don’t think Hawaii counts as a state. Whether its those who believe that there are death panels in the bill… Whether it’s those who think that this is akin Nazism…
Are those the people you are trying to draw attention? Or do you think it’s appropriate to draw attention to issues by disrupting public meetings?
It’s not appropriate and it’s called being a thug. It antithetical to democracy and exactly what the Founders worried about even those these chumps try to claim the Founders are who they are supporting.
Cherry picking one poll, also does not mean that much especially when one understands polling, which you don’t. One of the oldest findings of public opinion polling going back to the 1950s is that public opinion isn’t stable or consistent. Thus, you can get nearly 70 percent approval for a the elements of the health care bill and yet have differing polls on whether people support or opposed to the bill in question.
Spending on ads is a relatively small amount of the money being spent and if you had read the links I provided, you would have realized how stupid citing an article about ad spending is compered to the overall efforts, but again, no one is accusing you of intelligence or honesty.
The backlash isn’t real–in the sense you think it is. It’s a mobilization of nutters–Constitutional Party people, talk radio listeners, a few opportunists, and people at the fringe of the Republican Party. Look at all the polling that asks people what they do want–and it is reform of health care that includes a public option, universal coverage which is the only way to bring costs down, and
Saying that Democratic lawmakers know they are real protestors is a joke. The exact opposite is true. Having people show up and disrupt events in exactly the way that the letter I cited and you apparently refused to read, is astroturfing and it’s thuggery.
Democracy is about discussion. If you are disrupting that discussion, you weaken the democracy. Apparently, you don’t care. Congrats!
August 16th, 2009 at
Why do you suppose they are dropping the public option then?
August 16th, 2009 at
That doesn’t address the question of what people actually want. It’s being dropped because of pressure from lobbyists–the public option isn’t a big issue at these town halls. It’s a big issue to lobbyists. If you listen to the questions or read the signs it’s hasn’t taken up most of the discussion by teabaggers.
August 16th, 2009 at
I disagree that it’s not part of the town hall discussions, but which specific lobby(s) has pressured the Dems into dropping the public option even though you claim
“Look at all the polling that asks people what they do want–and it is reform of health care that includes a public option,”