Town Halls gone wild!

[jedi]

Look at the item in RED (1st one). Hum.. I wonder if he will get re-elected. Basically he is saying the heck with what they want, I'm doing whatever I want for them.

Look at the 2nd RED item. Looks like THE PEOPLE are indeed mad and begin to uprise. I don't recall this happening during the BUSH years. Did it? I know people were mad but did it get to this level?



SOURCE:
Town halls gone wild - Yahoo! News

Screaming constituents, protesters dragged out by the cops, congressmen fearful for their safety — welcome to the new town-hall-style meeting, the once-staid forum that is rapidly turning into a house of horrors for members of Congress.
On the eve of the August recess, members are reporting meetings that have gone terribly awry, marked by angry, sign-carrying mobs and disruptive behavior. In at least one case, a congressman has stopped holding town hall events because the situation has spiraled so far out of control.
“I had felt they would be pointless,” Rep. Tim Bishop (D-N.Y.) told POLITICO, referring to his recent decision to suspend the events in his Long Island district. “There is no point in meeting with my constituents and [to] listen to them and have them listen to you if what is basically an unruly mob prevents you from having an intelligent conversation.”
In Bishop’s case, his decision came on the heels of a June 22 event he held in Setauket, N.Y., in which protesters dominated the meeting by shouting criticisms at the congressman for his positions on energy policy, health care and the bailout of the auto industry.
Within an hour of the disruption, police were called in to escort the 59-year-old Democrat — who has held more than 100 town hall meetings since he was elected in 2002 — to his car safely.
“I have no problem with someone disagreeing with positions I hold,” Bishop said, noting that, for the time being, he was using other platforms to communicate with his constituents. “But I also believe no one is served if you can’t talk through differences.”
Bishop isn’t the only one confronted by boiling anger and rising incivility. At a health care town hall event in Syracuse, N.Y., earlier this month, police were called in to restore order, and at least one heckler was taken away by local police. Close to 100 sign-carrying protesters greeted Rep. Allen Boyd (D-Fla.) at a late June community college small-business development forum in Panama City, Fla. Last week, Danville, Va., anti-tax tea party activists claimed they were “refused an opportunity” to ask Rep. Thomas Perriello (D-Va.) a question at a town hall event and instructed by a plainclothes police officer to leave the property after they attempted to hold up protest signs.
The targets in most cases are House Democrats, who over the past few months have tackled controversial legislation including a $787 billion economic stimulus package, a landmark energy proposal and an overhaul of the nation’s health care system.
Democrats, acknowledging the increasing unruliness of the town-hall-style events, say the hot-button issues they are taking on have a lot to do with it.
“I think it’s just the fact that we are dealing with some of the most important public policy issues in a generation,” said Rep. Bruce Braley (D-Iowa), who was confronted by a protester angry about his position on health care reform at a town hall event several weeks ago.
“I think in general what is going on is we are tackling issues that have been ignored for a long time, and I think that is disruptive to a lot of people,” said Bishop, a four-term congressman. “We are trying, one by one, to deal with a set of issues that can’t be ignored, and I think that’s unsettling to a lot of people.”
Freshman Rep. Dan Maffei (D-N.Y.), whose event at a Syracuse middle school was disrupted, said that he still planned to hold additional town halls but that he was also thinking about other options.
“I think you’ve got to communicate through a variety of different ways. You should do the telephone town hall meetings. You should do the town hall meetings. You should do the smaller group meetings,” said Maffei. “It’s important to do things in a variety of ways, so you don’t have one mode of communication.”
“You’re going to have people of varying views, and in this case, you’ve got the two extremes who were the most vocal,” Maffei said of the flare-up at his July 12 event.
On Tuesday, Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), who handles incumbent retention duties for House Democrats in addition to chairing the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, met with freshman members to discuss their plans for the monthlong August recess. While the specific issue of town hall protesters never came up, according to sources familiar with the meeting, he urged them not to back away from opponents.
“He said, ‘Go on offense. Stay on the offense. It’s really important that your constituents hear directly from you. You shouldn’t let a day go by [that] your constituents don’t hear from you,’” said one House Democratic leadership aide familiar with the meeting.
Some members profess to enjoy the give-and-take of the town halls, even if lately it’s become more take than give.

“Town halls are a favorite part of my job,” said Rep. Russ Carnahan (D-Mo.), a third-term congressman from St. Louis who noted that a “handful” of disruptions had taken place at his meetings. “It’s what I do. It’s what I will continue to do.”
“People have gotten fired up and all that, but I think that’s what makes town halls fun,” said Perriello, a freshman who is among the most vulnerable Democrats in 2010. “I think that most of the time when we get out there, it’s a good chance for people to vent and offer their thoughts. It’s been good.”
“I enjoy it, and people have a chance to speak their mind,” he said.
Both Carnahan and Perriello said they were plunging forward with plans to hold more town hall meetings.
Republicans, with an eye toward 2010, are keeping close track of the climate at Democratic events.
“We’ve seen Russ Carnahan, we’ve seen Tim Bishop, we’ve seen some other people face some very different crowds back home,” said National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Pete Sessions (R-Texas). “The days of you having a town hall meeting where maybe 15 or 20 of your friends show up — they’re over. You’ve now got real people who are showing up — and that’s going to be a factor.”
Asked later how or whether the GOP would use the confrontations against Democrats, Sessions responded: “Wait till next year.”
But Democrats are quick to point out they’re not the only ones facing hostile audiences. They single out Rep. Mike Castle (R-Del.), who found himself in a confrontation earlier this month with a “birther” protester, and insist that Republicans face a backlash of their own if it appears the party is too closely aligned with tea party activists or other conservative-oriented protesters. “It’s a risk that they align themselves with such a small minority in the party,” said Brian Smoot, who served as political director at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in the past election cycle. “They risk alienating moderates.”

 

[Dryden]

All these protesters are under the illusion that the politicians represent them. WRONG. We've been sold out. They are entrenched and well funded (with our money)
There's no reason to believe the next batch of politicians will be any different.

 

[elaw555]

“There is no point in meeting with my constituents and [to] listen to them and have them listen to you if what is basically an unruly mob prevents you from having an intelligent conversation.”

To translate....

There is no point in meeting with my constituents if they don't totally agree with me 100 percent.

 

[waloidian]

Id say the current economic climate has a lot more to do with this, than some "uprising" due to Obama sitting in the oval office.

 

[Raoc]

Reminds me of this little episode:

Dianne Fienstien talks about the Bailouts:
YouTube - 91,000 CALLS 85,000 AGAINST THE BAILOUT BILL! Sen Feinstein

Amazing.

 

[Bill of Rights]

To translate....

There is no point in meeting with my constituents if they don't totally agree with me 100 percent.

<handwaggle> We can go in and meet with a rep in disagreement without becoming an "unruly mob". If you go in with raised voices, demanding that your view be the only one heard and acted upon, and in general being disagreeable, the rep is correct; there is little point in meeting with you. If, conversely, you go in and address a situation, explain what you'd like to see and approach with the understanding that you are a constituent, but not the only one, you are likely to get heard and maybe even listened to.

In comparison to business, we, the people, are much like middle management. Our recommendation will be heard by senior management (the full electorate) and considered in the decision, but we have not the power to fire an employee (elected rep) ourselves.

The second quote is also correct: We, the people, are coming in and saying what's on our minds. I know that's been my position with those who have been elected to represent the area where I live. They seem to hear me, but the problem is far different: when I speak, I cannot do so with nearly the amount of money that others in my area of other viewpoints have.

This is a wholly different problem.

Blessings,
Bill

 

[XMil]

"“I think in general what is going on is we are tackling issues that have been ignored for a long time, and I think that is disruptive to a lot of people,” said Bishop, a four-term congressman. “We are trying, one by one, to deal with a set of issues that can’t be ignored, and I think that’s unsettling to a lot of people.”"

Because you're doing it wrong, Congressman.

 

[nawainwright]

What did you expect? All we are is sheep to them.....sheer us when we get too wooly.

Then take what is ours for themselves.

 

[Scarnucci]

This man is entrusted to help run this country to the benefit of his constituants...has a hand in the current debacle that we are mired in, and is shocked, SHOCKED that there are unhappy people with raised voices? That the sheep will no long be content to chew grass and sit idly by while everything they have worked for gets inflated and taxed into nothingness?

He is lucky that the practice of tar and feathering has gone out of style...what a shame.

A little tar and feathering would go a long way in reminding our "Representatives" who they are supposed to REPRESENT!

Not the corporations who line their pockets, but We the People, whose blood and sweat keep the wheels of this nation turning.

 

[El Cazador]

“It’s a risk that they align themselves with such a small minority in the party,” said Brian Smoot, who served as political director at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in the past election cycle. “They risk alienating moderates.”

Those terribly scary moderates... how could you face their daunting hand-wringing and shrill whining while they scoot back and forth straddling the fence collecting splinters? How do legislators survive being admonished by someone so fearsome they won't take a solid stance on butter or margarine for their English muffins?

"small minority in the party". I think it's neat how the Democrats have learned time portal travel, since they move so easily between their world and the real world.

 

[rambone]

If you think these Town Halls are wild, wait until Pete Visclosky gets reamed when he comes to northwest Indiana for a Town Hall meeting in Chesterton! Come check it out!!

https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo..._pete_visclosky_in_chesterton_8_3_2009_a.html

 

[ocsdor]

Wait until people show up to their houses mad. That'll make the politicians rethink their stances on issues.