The unberable lightness of being obtuse

Don't forget that Tim Phillips, (0.00 / 0)

the CEO of Americans for Prosperity claimed to be a community organizer during his interview with Rachel Maddow last week:

"I'm not a lobbyist. I'm not a lobbyist in Washington, D.C. I'm a grassroots - hey, I'm a community organizer, Rachel. What do you think about that? Maybe I'm qualified to be president."

It's easy to stand by and declaim them because there arguments are built on lies. But the media, republican and industry clowns, and the protesters themselves don't see it that way.

Personally, what I think gets in the craw of most traditional left-of-center organizers and activists is that they feel that effective protesting is a province unto their own. And that when they see the right doing it so effectively, even under false pretenses, it just seems so... perverted.

I remember back in the mid-late '80's, when loggers started to organize and use enviros protest tactics against them. It got pretty ugly. But it's nothing new.

"But bullying people at rallies, shouting down other points of view, silencing debate? - that's not patriotic."

I've seen all that and more from the left. Relativist arguments aren't going to work here.

The problem is that republicans did a great job of marginalizing the left activists through the '80's and 90's to a point that democrats internalized the distaste for them and their tactics, and distanced themselves. But democrats have yet found a way to do to the TeaGaggers what the republicans did to the left. They're just so... polite and reasonable and accommodating.

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by: JC @ Mon Aug 10, 2009 at 20:58:01 PM UTC

Depends on who is doing the protesting. (0.00 / 0)

I remember during Dubya's years in the Whitehouse, that whenever he went out in public to discuss his conservative policies, left of center (and far left) protesters were kept far, far away from the President--out of sight, and out of hearing.  His public events were vetted so that only verifiable conservatives could be admitted to the venues where Dubya was speaking.  

I also remember that there were two young people who got in to one of the Bush talking events somehow, and were wearing t-shirts with something printed on the front that was not favorable to Bush.  They weren't shouting down any of the speakers, nor were they threatening; however,these two young protestors were escorted out of the meeting place and temporarily jailed.  So much for democratic free speech when it appears to be against Republicans.

Now talk radio hosts spend hours each day racheting up the negative emotions of unsophisticated listeners with falsehoods and out-and-out lies about Obama's health care reform bill -- which is still a work in progress!

I think the words of Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck and their ilk are the equivalent of shouting "FIRE" in a crowded theater.  My fear is that someone will be pushed to the emotional brink where they will become violent, and this is NOT where public discussion of the pros and cons of health care reform should be heading.

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by: Gypsy @ Tue Aug 11, 2009 at 02:02:45 AM UTC