The backstory, as has been reported at statesman.com and elsewhere, is that Fayette County Judge Ed Janecka called Chris Boyle, VP-Secretary of the Fayette County Taxpayers Coalition, to ask her not to protest the opening this week of a Veterans Administration clinic in La Grange, an event at which Rep. Lloyd Doggett is scheduled to appear. Ms. Boyle, as might be expected, is protesting Rep. Doggett's support of HR 3200, the so-called Obamacare bill; she also added in a statement that Rep. Doggett had nothing to do with having the clinic in La Grange.
Rep. Doggett of course, said that he had everything to do with it, saying "With meetings in both Washington and Texas, I have been working on getting this clinic to La Grange since 2006. Last year, I invited the VA to a meeting with veterans at the Fayette County Courthouse to involve them in the planning for this clinic." (Figuring out how much holding meetings had to do with the actual placement of a clinic in La Grange is left as an exercise to the reader, but given that he didn't claim credit for getting the money appropriated in the first place, I'm gonna guess it happened before La Grange became part of his district.)
Then, with his usual grace, Rep. Doggett added, "These Teabag extremists have every right to protest my unwavering commitment to health insurance reform anywhere that I go..." One gets the feeling that he's making a sly reference the same unfunny euphemism to which people losing the public-relations war have clung since April, "teabagger". (Finding out the definition of this phrase is also left to the reader, with the caveat that the definition is NSFW.)
In reporting this, as might be expected, the Burnt Orange Report threw the offending term right into the title of both its two posts covering it. Along with this, the writers there have no problem coming right out and calling Mrs. Boyle "crazy", telling her to "seek psychiatric help", and so forth, while also making up viewpoints for her, such as that she wants Congress to "[s]top meddling in the lives of those veterans and giving them medical care." (Yes, it was probably hyperbole. But yes, it was also disrepectful.)
Until both sides can have a discussion without resorting to names and insults, expect this sort of behavior to continue.
Sidenote: And why would people feel the need to protest Lloyd Doggett at this event? Possibly because some of them were refused entrance into his townhall meeting Saturday, as shown:
"He told me, 'This crowd would not want you in there anyway.'"
And why were there so many people who would not want a dissenting opinion about health care? According to Ramparts 360, MoveOn.org members were bused in from Dallas and elsewhere to pack Rep. Doggett's meeting. As for those people against the current health-care bill, there are reports that people were verbally and physically intimidated by people up to and including the senior pastor of the First United Methodist Church of Austin.
With this sort of behavior by Rep. Doggett's supporters, is it any wonder why people have taken to protesting?
3 comments:
I was at the forum, and got there early enough to get in. It filled up pretty quickly. Perhaps the lady in the video was not there early enough, or refused to fill out the ID forms. There were a few folks sitting in front of me who were opposed to reform (one had a printout of Glenn Beck's web page), but when they found out they wouldn't be allowed to disrupt or ask questions, they left. I think they were so closed minded that they couldn't hear what was being said. Maybe the lady in the video would have left, too. "They don't want you in there" means "They don't want you in there if what you're planning to do is disrupt".
Obama was elected by a large majority on a platform that included health care reform. It's going to happen, with or without the help of Republicans. It's needed, badly, as the eleven speakers at the forum testified.
Not allowed to disrupt? Totally understandable. But why was no one allowed to ask questions? Without having been there to know, I would instinctively think that this was not a forum for a congressman who wanted to listen to his constituents, but rather a rally for the faithful. But, like I said, I wasn't there, so I'm getting most of my info second or third-hand.
I still have concerns about MoveOn.org busing people in from elsewhere in the state to make for a greater crowd in support of the bill, and I also still have concerns about the use of an offensive word to describe one's political opponents.
At least one side of this debate is not operating on the level, perhaps both.
And I note with some amusement that this same article at AustinPost.org is getting voted down quickly, and yet no one is bothering to respond to what I've said. I will welcome an honest debate on the issues, but so far I don't think there is one, with the exception of your comment here, Reuel. Many thanks for an honest response.
It was a speaker's forum, not a town hall. It was not a feedback session for Doggett and wasn't billed that way. Rally for the faithful? You bet. No problem with that.
Post a Comment