Scene At Tampa Health Care Town Hall Crammed With Protesters Reportedly Turns Violent

We have several posts that look at the increasingly ugly health care town halls amid allegations that they are being spurred on by special interests opposed to health care reform and polarizing talk show hosts and often involve the prevention of discussion rather than spirited discussion or debate. To others, the groups genuinely represent anger and frustration at President Barack Obama and his proposed policies.

Here’s a You Tube that shows the scene yesterday at a Town Hall for where Rep. Kathy Castor got an ear full as soon as she was introduced — and reportedly didn’t stay long amid the din.

According to reports, this Town Hall turned violent.

What was intended to be a town hall discussion on President Barack Obama’s health care reform proposal dissolved into a shouting match with shoving and scuffles in Ybor City on Thursday night.

The event brought home to Tampa the recent phenomenon of angry opponents of Obama’s proposal disrupting town hall meetings by Democratic members of Congress during August’s recess.

This meeting was organized by Democratic state Rep. Betty Reed but was to include comments on the proposal by U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor of Tampa, a strong supporter.

Castor tried to speak for nearly 15 minutes, but the crowd drowned her out, chanting, “You work for us.” “Tyranny. Tyranny.” And, “Read the bill.” She ultimately left the meeting early, further angering some attendees.

The New York Times’ Paul Krugman sees the meetings as signs that a longtime winning GOP electoral strategy may be making a comeback:

But they’re [the protesters] probably reacting less to what Mr. Obama is doing, or even to what they’ve heard about what he’s doing, than to who he is.

That is, the driving force behind the town hall mobs is probably the same cultural and racial anxiety that’s behind the “birther” movement, which denies Mr. Obama’s citizenship. Senator Dick Durbin has suggested that the birthers and the health care protesters are one and the same; we don’t know how many of the protesters are birthers, but it wouldn’t be surprising if it’s a substantial fraction.

And cynical political operators are exploiting that anxiety to further the economic interests of their backers.

Does this sound familiar? It should: it’s a strategy that has played a central role in American politics ever since Richard Nixon realized that he could advance Republican fortunes by appealing to the racial fears of working-class whites.

Many people hoped that last year’s election would mark the end of the “angry white voter” era in America. Indeed, voters who can be swayed by appeals to cultural and racial fear are a declining share of the electorate.

But right now Mr. Obama’s backers seem to lack all conviction, perhaps because the prosaic reality of his administration isn’t living up to their dreams of transformation. Meanwhile, the angry right is filled with a passionate intensity.

And if Mr. Obama can’t recapture some of the passion of 2008, can’t inspire his supporters to stand up and be heard, health care reform may well fail.

Krugman’s characterization of the protesters will be rejected by some. But what is clear that August will be a pivotal month.

Law makers will hear from their constituents and also look at the polls. The question: how many lawmakers who see their meetings going like this will conclude this is the view “out there” or the view from a segment that may not reflect the “silent majority” or their constituents?

And will the polls move up, or down, or not at all by images and headlines of Town Hall meetings becoming shout-down festivals? CBS Blogger Charles Cooper , in a post titled “Teabaggers Shout Down Tampa Bay Town Hall,” writes that it “seemed the hysteria was reaching the point where I was sure someone would jump out of the crowd screaming, “Soylent Green is people!” Maybe next time.”

As Krugman notes, the passion push back is not evident (except on the blogosphere in online writings) from Obama’s backers and supporters of health care reform.

To the victors go the spoils — but in this case could it be that to the town hall spoilers come the eventual victory?

If so, watch for this tactic to be “cloned” and used in the future. The danger is that given America’s propensity for pushing the political envelope and lowering the discourse bar the newer version could be even uglier.