Shouting Down Reform
August 05, 2009
Republicans have made it clear since the spring that they want to kill any chance at health care reform. Now, as Congress recesses for August, the opponents of health care reform are sending operatives to congressional townhall meetings where they are using thuggish behavior to silence Americans calling for reform. According to the New York Times:
Senator Arlen Specter and the health and human services secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, were heckled and booed in Philadelphia on Sunday.
In Austin on Saturday, a throng of protesters enveloped Representative Lloyd Doggett, Democrat of Texas, at a supermarket where he was trying to meet constituents. They carried signs that said “No Socialized Health Care” and chanted “Just say no!”
CBS has covered some of these efforts to shout down civil discussions of health care reform:
These are not spontaneous protests. Rather, they appear to be industry-financed, Washington, DC-coordinated campaigns. According to the Workers Independent News, two prominent right wing organizations with close ties to the leadership of the Republican Party are coordinating the disruptions:
As members of Congress head home to hold conversations with constituents about healthcare reform two organizations are hoping to insert static into the dialogue. One of the organizations is Americans for Prosperity, an advocacy group fronted by Tim Phillips, who is a former leader of Ralph Reed’s Century Strategies. During Senate investigations it was learned that Century Strategies helped launder money for Jack Abramoff. Americans for Prosperity is currently paying to bus individuals around the country under the guise of an organization called Patients United Now.
The other organization is FreedomWorks which is chaired by former U.S. Congressman Dick Armey. FreedomWorks sent out a memo with instructions on how to best astroturf a town hall discussion. In the memo the organization tells members to fill the front of the hall so the representative is made to feel “a significant portion of at least the audience opposes the socialist agenda of Washington.”
That’s not a reasonable dialogue that will get to solutions. That’s not the civil discourse that makes democracy strong. That is a disturbing pattern that needs to be rejected by all Americans who value free speech and the full debate that health care reform requires.
Political leaders need to focus on dealing with the skyrocketing costs of health care insurance and ensuring that America’s families can get the quality care they need. Thuggish behavior coordinated by GOP opponents of health care reform is not a solution to our health care crisis.
UPDATE: More information, including a copy of the harassment memo, is available here.
