Uncommon Sense: They're right and they're wrong

Written by Jeff Morris
Wednesday, 16 September 2009 23:00

Just an advance warning: I’m about to wax histrionic. Those of you with delicate sensibilities might want to leave the room.

A couple of weeks ago I ventured out of the house to attend a “town hall meeting” on healthcare reform held by Congressman John Hall at Fox Lane High School. I won’t make that mistake again soon.

The main reason I decided to go at all was because of indications that there would be attempts to disrupt the meeting by opponents of the proposed legislation, as had been going on at such town halls across the country. An e-mail sent to opponents said — and I quote — “Hall needs to see shock and awe.” Supporters of healthcare reform needed to come forward and be counted to show we wouldn’t be intimidated.

We were intimidated.

After South Carolina Republican Congressman Joe Wilson shouted “You lie!” during President Barack Obama’s healthcare speech to a joint session of Congress last week, he “apologized” afterward by calling his outburst a “town hall moment.” (Of course, he was right; when I heard him yelling while I was watching the speech, my immediate reaction was that I was back at the Fox Lane High School auditorium.) This shows how rapidly language evolves nowadays. The traditional town hall meeting, or “town meeting” as it is also called, used to bring to mind the form of government that evolved in New England. Issues were debated, passions ran high, but typically the worst behavior was epitomized by Bob Newhart’s portrayal of cranky, frustrated petulance during lampoons of Vermont meetings on his 80s “Newhart” sitcom.

There is nothing the least bit funny about Mr. Wilson’s “town hall moment” or what I witnessed at Fox Lane. What is funny is the way right-wing Republicans who have been engaged in these disruptive tactics still insist that it’s all just a grassroots movement, and that they’re not doing anything that (1) isn’t any different from what Democrats have always done, or (2) isn’t simply in the finest traditions of free speech.

Bullfeathers.

There isn’t even any point in attempting to address the “issues” about which these folks claim to be so angry. Rep. Hall tried — and succeeded — in responding to questions with calm, rational, real-world answers, and what used to be called “facts.” These were greeted by an assortment of boos, catcalls, derisive laughter, and concerted attempts to shout him down. It’s hard to take seriously the repeated assertion that President Obama is attempting to “cram a socialist agenda down our throats” when I know so many people who are just as, if not more, angry with the president for promoting a middle-of-the-road agenda that continues to enrich corporations. The ever-present charge that the proposed legislation amounts to a “nationalization” of healthcare is absurd, given that at most — and only if the Democrats really dig in their heels, which is not something they’re noted for — it will contain a watered-down public option.

But all that is really irrelevant, because the facts are not important. What use is there in arguing with people who insist, no matter how you point out what is actually stated in the bill, that you are lying? Democrats have never behaved this way, no matter what mythology the Republicans would like to invent. Anti-war activists have demonstrated, and fringe elements have been known to sneak into meetings and shout slogans. They were typically hauled off to jail by the same folks who now claim this is their “right.” And let’s not forget the 1968 Democratic Convention, when police under orders from the Democratic mayor beat demonstrators in the streets. That wasn’t because Democrats have a long history of promoting the disruption of meetings — let alone doing it themselves.

Now, I’m not insensitive to legitimate concerns about the costs associated with this legislation, and I know what it’s like to be accused of being part of an orchestrated movement when, as far as you know, you’re acting on your own initiative. I can vividly recall being referred to as a “dupe” of everything from the Viet Cong and the Soviet Union to terrorists. Yet when the exact same tactics are used to disrupt meetings across the country, including a joint session of Congress; when the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX), endorses the strategy of staged protests and says the days of civil town halls are now over; when Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH), in an August memo to House Republicans, promises, “Americans’ anger will be on full display in the weeks ahead as members of Congress leave Washington and travel the nation listening to the voices of their constituents” — one has to question the “grassroots” nature of this behavior. Right?