Polite Questions Deserve Polite Answers
The last few weeks there has been a lot of debate and discussion over the town hall meetings and the disruptions of those meetings by those upset over the health care proposals. I certainly agree with Joe that both sides need to lighten up a little bit. I’m a big fan of free speech but I do think that some of the protesters have gone a little bit overboard in their efforts to disrupt these events.
At the same time however, I think it is worth remembering why some of these protests have come up. In many cases things started out with citizens simply going to the town hall meetings to ask their member of Congress about the plan only to find the response less than sufficient. In some cases members outright refused to even hear questions on the topic (unless they were pro reform) and we are now even hearing about invitation only town halls.
This is certainly not what I have in mind when I think of my member of Congress being available to me when I have concerns about what they are doing in Washington. Whether you support the Obama plan or oppose it the fact remains that we are talking about a huge change to our economy and our daily lives and that warrants questions.
I find it particularly hypocritical that many of those on the left who cheered on pretty much any form of protest against the past administration now seem to think that no questions should be allowed. This is hardly the kind of democracy that we expect in our country.
I think if members of Congress are willing to answer questions then the protests and disruptions need to stop. On the other hand if you ask the questions politely and the member refuses to answer then I do think some form of protest is warranted.
23 Responses to “Polite Questions Deserve Polite Answers”
“I find it particularly hypocritical that many of those on the left who cheered on pretty much any form of protest against the past administration now seem to think that no questions should be allowed.”
Questions. Not astroturfed and/or intentionally disruptive and anti-intellectual paroxysms.
[I find it particularly hypocritical that many of those on the left who cheered on pretty much any form of protest against the past administration now seem to think that no questions should be allowed]–
There will be healthcare reform. We do not have a complete bill yet so in our due diligence we are holding meetings for information exchange regarding healthcare reform. The disruptions during the Town Hall Meetings are basically Republican Protesters trying to disrupt the process of information exchange in an attempt to prevent any and all healthcare reform. They are not there to ask questions, they are there to disrupt according to their anti-reform political organizers.
Ok…Touché`…but you will loose in the end because we are doing the right thing and the nation knows it already.
These shout-downs are specifically designed to prevent prevent rational communication.
Yet you're saying the lack of rational communication is the responsibility of the people being shouted down.
Heads, you win–tails, the other guy loses?
These shout-downs are specifically designed to prevent rational communication.
The planned 'shout-downs' are not designed to prevent rational communication. The people who are advocating that are telling people to shout down a Congressman if he's only giving doublespeak, talking point answers to questions. In some of the clips we've seen, the crowd erupts when people like Specter tell whoppers like 'We can't read the whole bill because we have to ask fast' (To which you can hear one guy in the crowd shouting “WHY??”)
That's not to say that some people aren't just venting anger, and being disruptive for no legitimate purpose. But to the extent that there's been some organization and prompting for a method to show dissent, the ideas being promoted aren't to prevent discussion, but to disrupt those discussions which are propagandistic and patronizing.
There are a few people who have been too disruptive, but for the most part the disruptions have been brief, sporatic outbursts. The DNC is overplaying its hand with its “unruly mob” meme.
Funny how they are calling out claims of astroturfing. It wasn't that long ago that the President got caught with his hands in the astroturfing cookie jar with planted questioners and prescreened questions by the national media.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ou7SGNo5QHE
More 'astro-turfing' from the Left:
http://pajamasmedia.com/instapundit/83036/
http://pajamasmedia.com/instapundit/83062/
http://pajamasmedia.com/instapundit/83031/
http://pajamasmedia.com/instapundit/83016/
http://pajamasmedia.com/instapundit/83028/
I could keep this up all day. The Left is running terrified that the public has finally caught on to the REAL agendas, and is none too happy.
This is great.
Now, the unions are saying they will send in their thugs to silence any citizen who dares to question Obama’s socialized healthcare.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/06/unions…
How bad can this get?
As I said in another thread I can't support being rude and disruptive at public meetings. Just because others have done it in the past doesn't make it right. I would hope people would take the higher ground here – a thoughtful question that is framed well will have a lot more impact than some goofball shouting.
It is humorous hearing the left decrying organized dissent though.
Patrick, you raise legitimate points and they deserve genuine answers. I'm not fond of seeing the left adopt any of the more unpleasant tactics they learned from the right. It's too much like a kid that misbehaves and then tries to excuse it by saying that everybody else is doing it too. It seems to be a case of what goes around comes around… and it ain't pretty. Where are the grownups?
DaGoat- I completely agree with your comment but I'm not willing to concede that these townhalls have been disrupted to the degree that's being claimed. What is disrupted in the clips I've seen is Congressional Reps spouting off talking points and platitudes, not constructive dialogue.
As far as rudeness, certainly some of the people are expressing themselves in ways I wouldn't choose, and I don't think that calling the Reps liars and such is constructive. But the degree of exaggeration needed to call these people mobs is just absurd.
JS LEARNED FROM THE RIGHT?? What drugs are you taking; I would like some. The Left invented this type of protesting in the 60's, perfected it in the late 60's and early 70's, and have been BY FAR the main practitioner of these tactics.
That has always been an issue on the Right – Conservatives as a whole are just not the protester type.
AR – I would agree with you but the protesters shift just as the power dynamics have shifted.
Since Nixon left office in disgrace, things were pretty even for 20 years. Dem congress, Republican president. Then came Clinton but the dynamics quickly shifted. Dem president, Republican congress. Then you have Bush where you had a severe power imbalance where Republicans confidently controlled all 3 branches of gov't. Lots and lots of Leftwing protests. Now we're seeing a oscillating shift to the Left and you're seeing Rightwing protests.
Protests in America are inherently a sign of weakness. When one side or another has no recourse, they simply protest and try to disrupt the operations of the other side (such as the 2004 Republican Nat'l convention).
So the main point of this that you can't decry these recent Republican tactics without condemning it on the Dem side as well, because it has happened before (especially if you lived through the 60s). So I agree with AR and the others on this, it's a bad tactic overall, and was invented by the anti-Vietnam protesters in the late 60s.
My ONLY caveat is that the Rightwing protests in this day and age (yes, I acknowledge there were leftist terrorist groups in the past) are the truly scary ones, because I believe the Right has more guns and is more willing to use them in despicable ways. Thus, threats of violence should be taken seriously and nipped in the bud lethally, because we've had numerous incidents of Right Wing violence in the recent past (the Knoxville Unitarian Church shooting, the Tiley murder, etc). Still don't believe me? Would you believe that threats against the President (Obama vs. Bush) have increased by 400%?
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/08/04/early…
So when it comes to potential for violence in 2009, I'm a lot more scared of the Right than the Left.
Shouting-Down any reasonable conversation at the Town Hall is not asking questions and not protesting. I find it hypocritical that the republicans who supported the Bush Administration's tactics of hauling out anyone protesting at events by merely wearing T-Shirt or holding a sign now find protesting as a shout-down OK. I do agree there must be discussion on the Health Care Reform, but this is not what the Republican Shout-Down is doing.
Austin Roth–
One of your Instapundit links went to a story from ABC News, which included this bit of news:
They hanged him in effigy. Did you miss that part?
Nothing good will come from this.
Would you believe that threats against the President (Obama vs. Bush) have increased by 400%?
What's the source of that, Lit3Bolt? The link you gave after that statement doesn't seem to address this, but instead gives allegations by some guy who wrote a book about cuts in Secret Service protection, which the agency denies.
Good point smithmj. I'm a bit mystified myself why the Dems don't use the same Bush tactics to lock out dissent and try to merely rally the base to get things to pass. Instead, only Dems believe in bipartisanship it seems and they keep try to pet the nice Republican puppy that bites them over…and over…and over…
GS –
They hanged him in effigy. Did you miss that part?
Yes, I missed it. Nope, I don't support that at all.
I lost count of how many times Bush and Cheney were hung in effigy. Yet no one on the left complained about how “nothing good will come from this” then. Why now? Just because it is right-wing protesters instead of left-wing protesters?
Organizers of these town halls and congressional chats just need to organize better than the teabaggers. There is nothing wrong with dissent and free speech, although from the videos I've seen, the intent of protestors at these meetings seems less about getting their point across and more about disrupting the whole process, essentially interrupting everyone else's free speech. I don't think the solution is to return to the “Free Speech Zones” of the RNC or the profiling of potential dissenters (because they wore an anti-Bush t-shirt for instance), but instead be prepared to remove disruptive elements from the crowd once they prove their incalcitrance. Just like when Code Pink protestors are removed.
The mostly corporate funded press loves the perceived tension that this small minority of intellectual cripples can provide. You can see these protestors getting a lot more air time when compared to anti-war protestors of recent past, because the anti-healthcare protestors are serving the wishes of the media's parent corporations. “Don't mess with our profits, no matter how important it is.”
Let’s hope the union goons don’t get carried away and start beating innocent people who are just trying to ask questions at town hall meetings.
This attempt to stifle free speech is something liberals should be ashamed of.
Of course, anyone who would spend their time listening at keyholes for subversive talk against Obama’s socialized healthcare just so they can get a pat on the back for reporting them to the White House is pathetic anyways.
CStanley, sorry, that source of that 400% quote is Ronald Kessler, who released a book on Aug 4 titled, “In the President's Secret Service: Behind the Scenes With Agents in the Line of Fire and the Presidents They Protect.” I'm unfamiliar with Newsmax and Ronald Kessler, so maybe I should have used more discretion. I just remembered recently reading it.
JasonArvak, please. Bush and Cheney were immolated, not just hung in effigy. Our liberal hate burnt pure and strong. =)
OK, thanks for the additional sourcing, Lit3Bolt