I’ve been out of the loop so maybe I don’t understand the nuance of this. Could someone explain to me how this can possibly be?
Appearing at a town hall in his home state of Iowa, Sen. Chuck Grassley told a crowd of more than 300 that they were correct to fear that the government would “pull the plug on grandma.”
“There is some fear because in the House bill, there is counseling for end-of-life,” Grassley said. “And from that standpoint, you have every right to fear. You shouldn’t have counseling at the end of life. You ought to have counseling 20 years before you’re going to die. You ought to plan these things out. And I don’t have any problem with things like living wills. But they ought to be done within the family. We should not have a government program that determines if you’re going to pull the plug on grandma.”
Press secretary Robert Gibbs chose his words carefully on Thursday when asked to respond to comments made by Grassley, who is one of three key Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee tasked with crafting compromise legislation. Despite being heavily wooed by the White House, Grassley took up the fundamentally dishonest “death panels” line of attack at a town hall meeting on Tuesday.
Gibbs suggested the Iowa Republican talk to his Republican colleague, Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska who deemed the death panel rumor an offensive myth designed to “gin up fear in the American public.”
But Gibbs wouldn’t go any further, telling reporters during Thursday’s briefing that the White House remained committed to working with Republicans to get health care reform passed.
It’s an unusual strategy. I’ve rarely found it to be very effective to try to negotiate in good faith with lunatic demagogues, but maybe it can work.
I certainly hope so, because if it doesn’t somebody is going to have a reputation for being a weak little chump. And it isn’t going to be Grassley.
On Wednesday, during Sen. Chuck Grassley’s (R-IA) town hall in Winterset, Iowa, an attendee proudly noted that the Senator brought his personal copy of Glenn Beck’s book “Common Sense.” Grassley responded stating that he has read the book and that he intended to “pass it on”:
TOWN HALL ATTENDEE: I noticed that you have the book “Common Sense” with you today, I hope you share it with a lot more of those 535 people.
GRASSLEY: Well the reason I brought it is you’re supposed to pass it on to other people when you’re not reading it.
At the end of the town hall, Grassley gave an autographed copy of “Common Sense” to ThinkProgress and said “it’s something you gotta read a couple times.”
This week, Remote Area Medical, an organization that got its start providing health care services to the impoverished in the Third World, descended on Inglewood to provide those same services to the most disenfranchised group, from a medical care standpoint, in the industrialized world – the uninsured and underinsured in America.
They came for new teeth mostly, but also for blood pressure checks, mammograms, immunizations and acupuncture for pain. Neighboring South Los Angeles is a place where health care is scarce, and so when it was offered nearby, word got around.
For the second day in a row, thousands of people lined up on Wednesday — starting after midnight and snaking into the early hours — for free dental, medical and vision services, courtesy of a nonprofit group that more typically provides mobile health care for the rural poor.
Like a giant MASH unit, the floor of the Forum, the arena where Madonna once played four sold-out shows, housed aisle upon aisle of dental chairs, where drilling, cleaning and extracting took place in the open. A few cushions were duct-taped to a folding table in a coat closet, an examining room where Dr. Eugene Taw, a volunteer, saw patients.
These were not only uninsured patients, over 1,500 in the first day alone, but underinsured patients who cannot get the services they need with their coverage.
No cable news outlet discussing health care reform and the town halls around it ever get around to mentioning this reality. In the poorest areas of this country, health care access is so nonexistent that people will wait around for days in their cars, driving for sometimes hundreds of miles, to find a volunteer clinic that they now use as their primary care physician. South Los Angeles lost one of its only health care providers when King-Drew Medical Center shut down a couple years back, and really nobody, outside of Remote Area Medical, has filled the breach. This is an absolute tragedy, and at the end of the day, it costs our medical system far more than it would to cover everyone, because nagging problems only served by free clinics every couple years eventually find their way into the emergency room. And the disconnect between this circumstance and those right-wingers yelling and shrieking across the country is striking.
The enormous response to the free care was a stark corollary to the hundreds of Americans who have filled town-hall-style meetings throughout the country, angrily expressing their fear of the Obama administration’s proposed changes to the nation’s health care system. The bleachers of patients also reflected the state’s high unemployment, recent reduction in its Medicaid services for the poor and high deductibles and co-payments that have come to define many employer-sponsored insurance programs.
Somebody should leak to one of the astroturf groups activating the right about these town halls that there will be a major Congressional event over at the Forum in Inglewood, and then sit back and watch their face sink when they show up to protest and instead encounter the horrors of this broken system.
…from Fred, in the comments:
“Obama should be at this event, talking to people and forcing the media to cover it. He should even invite/dare the three health care CEOs who told Congress they would still use recission to cut costs.”
This is something Digby and I just said to each other about a minute ago. He’s already out west this weekend. There’s no sharper way to bring forward the case for changing the system. And sure, the Malkinites will start looking up the addresses of those being helped, and if they have cell phones or TVs or granite countertops, but I think the witness of this giant line of thousands of people with no outlet but to practically beg for health care would swamp the nonsense.
In January, an Onondaga County sheriff’s deputy pulled over Audra Harmon, who had two of her kids with her in her minivan. A routine traffic stop escalated quickly.
The deputy, Sean Andrews, accused her of talking on her cell phone. She said she could prove him wrong.
He said she was speeding. She denied it and got out of the van. He told her to get back in. She did, then he ordered her back out.
He yanked her out by the arm, knocked her down with two Taser shots and charged her with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. His rationale on the disorderly conduct charge: She obstructed traffic when she got out of the van. The speeding accusation: going 50 mph in a 45-mph zone.
The scene along Hopkins Road in Salina on the afternoon of Jan. 31 was captured by a camera on the dashboard of Andrews’ patrol car. Harmon, 38, says the video is proof of police brutality.
She plans to sue the sheriff’s office today, claiming Andrews was improperly trained in the use of his Taser. It’s not supposed to be used to take down people who pose no threat, she said.
Harmon was charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and going 50 in a 45 mph zone. The district attorney’s office dismissed the charges a month later — after watching the videotape, said her lawyer, Terrance Hoffmann. The prosecutor could not be reached for comment.
Deputy Tasers Mom In Minivan
If this is what they do when they have a video camera rolling in their own car, what do you suppose happens when one isn’t?
I guess the taser saved the officer the physical effort of hitting her over the head with his baton or shooting her to gain compliance, so that’s good.
Batocchio wrote last night about the idea of having some sane people attend the town halls, which I think is a really good idea. however, I think it’s just possible that more than a few who people who might normally go are somewhat put off by the idea that there are screaming hysterics there, many of whom believe that everyone in the country should be packing heat at all times. It tends to be a bit intimidating. And that, of course, is the point.
I have had the opportunity to speak with a couple of congressman who are here at Netroots Nation about this, both of whom were really concerned that the pro-reform side wasn’t turning out for these events and speaking out if they do. They believe that this is essential.
I think it’s also essential that liberals stop allowing a bunch of hysterical, misinformed cranks to dominate the political discourse in this country by acting like some psycho dad every time they don’t get their own way..
American politics can be better understood by looking at three important political creatures – the wonk, the hack and the zealot. Here’s a brief introduction.
Wonks Occasionally shy, the wonk may be tracked by following its trail of citations. Quotation droppings can also serve as useful clues. Wonks are especially fond of chewing on obscure policy papers and classic works such as this one (that coincidentally captures the wonk mindset):
Meno: Somehow, Socrates, I think what you say is right.
Socrates: I think so too, Meno. I do not insist that my argument is right in all other respects, but I would contend at all costs both in word and deed as far as I could that we will be better men, braver and less idle, if we believe that one must search for the things one does not know, rather than if we believe that it is not possible to find out what we do not know and that we must not look for it.
Highly inquisitive and giddy over problem-solving, wonks typically possess enormous stamina that aids them in poring over legislative bills, detailed memos and original documents. Many prefer a dry climate. It’s not uncommon for male wonks to sport beards, but beware the moustache of understanding. The wonk is most easily found in one of its natural habitats – academic departments, activist meetings, certain blogs, Scandinavian award ceremonies and PBS shows. The wonk responds well to empirical data, geeky humor and sometimes wit, but certain breeds can become confused and flustered by prolonged exposure to bullshit. When provoked, some wonks utter a piercing, shrill cry that petrifies their enemies.
Hacks Over the years, once mighty herds of news wonks were hunted mercilessly in the name of profit, contributing to the ascendancy of the hack. Steven Pearlstein describes the devastation after a typical swarm of hacks:
The recent attacks by Republican leaders and their ideological fellow-travelers on the effort to reform the health-care system have been so misleading, so disingenuous, that they could only spring from a cynical effort to gain partisan political advantage. By poisoning the political well, they’ve given up any pretense of being the loyal opposition. They’ve become political terrorists, willing to say or do anything to prevent the country from reaching a consensus on one of its most serious domestic problems.
There are lots of valid criticisms that can be made against the health reform plans moving through Congress — I’ve made a few myself. But there is no credible way to look at what has been proposed by the president or any congressional committee and conclude that these will result in a government takeover of the health-care system. That is a flat-out lie whose only purpose is to scare the public and stop political conversation…
The hack thrives in moist, damp environments, such as loss-leadermagazines, conservative think tanks, political television shows and talk radiocess pools. Hacks display a variety of plumage, often preen and strut, and sometimes can be identified by a sneer or other look of disdain. They play better with their own kind (assuming similar markings), but frequently grow territorial, aggressive and predatory around any other creatures. Some try to disguise themselves as wonks as a hunting technique, with varying degrees of success. They require constant scrutiny, since they tend to steal or destroy anything not firmly secured. Some are quite belligerent, yet prove cowardly when confronted. When pinned down, a hack often flailsaboutwildly, and may bite off its own leg to escape (some instead go very, very still).
Zealots Let’s move on to our third type of political creature. Noted Zealotologist John Cole writes:
Now- nobody SANE is arguing that the health care reform proposals will include death panels, which is probably why James [Joyner] thinks it is so preposterous. He is sane.
On the other hand, the same crazy people who the right wing has whipped into a froth the past couple of decades sure as hell do believe there are going to be death panels. But then again, they also think a small increase in the top marginal rate is socialism, that Sarah Palin would make a great president, that you can make people ungay with therapy, that the earth is ten thousand years old, that Obama was born in Kenya and doesn’t say the pledge of allegiance and was sworn in on a Quran, that the Clinton death list is real and that Hillary murdered Vince Foster, and on and on and on. And operatives in the Republican party, to include elected officials, have spent decades making people believe this stuff. We didn’t imagine Dan Burton shooting pumpkins in his backyard and we aren’t imagining Richard Shelby and others pushing birther nonsense. There is an entire industry pushing this crap.
While the zealot desires that its perceived enemies huddle in the cold (and die), the zealot itself prefers a hot climate, to match its burning rage. Zealots are fond of rituals of shared grievance andfictionalcourage. The zealot can found wielding teabags, threatening to “go Galt,” bullying politicians and citizens at town hall meetings, agreeing with Bill O’Reilly, and crouching in caves covered in batshit. Zealots are best handled with caution or avoided altogether if possible. Their inscrutable, sphinx-like logic can prove hypnotizing, and even the brave of heart and nimble of mind may find him or herself captivated. Disruptive but normally a limited threat in isolation, zealots in numbers can grow dangerous. When challenged or agitated, the zealot can puff up in size and employ a relentlesssonicattack.
It can be difficult at times to distinguish hacks from zealots, and the two often intermingle. In fact, they often can’t tell each other apart. Traits of hackery and zealotry may ebb and flow back and forth – or coexist – in the same entity. Field studies have discovered hacks and zealots cavorting together, rolling in tall piles of false talking point papers mixed with fresh batshit. Regardless, for dealing with either type, protective fact-checking and latex gloves are highly recommended. Prolonged exposure is best countered with equal or greater time with basically sane, decent people, wandering in nature, or doing something generally positive. If, after exposure to either type, your annoyance lasts more than four hours, turn off the TV.
There’s at least one more important political creature that bears mentioning – the Jester. The most insightful of these can be found on basic cable. Impervious to bullshit, and eager to call it out, they are the only creature hacks fear more than wonks. (They’re also an exception to the “turn off the TV” rule.)
In any case, that’s a partial field manual to political creatures. Join us next time, when we’ll diagram a Glenn Beck monologue with crazy string.
(I’ve linked it before, but Steve Benen has a better –and more realistic – breakdown on the different types of opponents to health care reform. See also “Bush’s War Against Wonks” by Bruce Reed and A Political Bestiary. This post is basically a tongue-in-cheek riff on part of an older, serious and very long post on American politics. And of course Stewart, Colbert and a number of other bloggers do better satire.)
I would say that Howard Dean’s message today at this health care town hall in Pittsburgh at Netroots Nation, arguing strongly for a choice in health care other than a private insurance monopoly, and saying that the only element in the entire bill that can be credibly called health care reform is the public option, makes a lot more sense in this environment than Bill Clinton’s “accept half a loaf” speech last night (He had a generally good speech last night, but that was the ultimate message). Somebody has to make this argument, and if we don’t, absolutely nobody else will, and there will be no progressive counterweight to the manic-obsessive centrism that too many Democrats are kind of dying to perpetuate.
He’s also talking about the psychology of anger among the right wing in these town halls, and how it’s not about the bill, but a major generational change in America, and the sense among a certain element that things are slipping away. This of course doesn’t totally help us right now unless that new generation advocates for something worth doing.
…A very good point from Dean: nurse practitioners can perform about 60% of what he did as a primary care physician, and they should be able to work independently from primary care operations. We’re just going to need to do something like that, because adding 30-35 million people to the health insurance rolls and emphasizing prevention will require so many doctors, probably much more than we can muster. So empowering nurse practitioners would help this out pretty well.
Here’s a tale told in three videos. We’ll start with some recent town hall furor captured by TPM (via Sadly, No):
I know that years down the road, I don’t want my children coming to me and asking me, ‘Mom, why didn’t you do anything? Why do we have to wait in line for, I don’t know, toilet paper or anything?’ I don’t want to have to tell them I didn’t do anything. As a normal citizen, the most I feel like I can do is come to this town hall meeting.
“The country is slowly being ripped apart,” said Katy Abram, who identified herself as someone who didn’t care about politics until the last few years. “It scares the life out of me.”
Abram was one of 30 people selected to ask a question to Specter. When she got up, she said, in part, “It’s not about health care … It’s about the systematic dismantling of this country … I don’t want this country turning into Russia, turning into a socialized country. I want to restore this country to what it was under the Constitution.”
First they came for the grandmothers, and I did not speak up, for I did not have a grandmother. Then they came for the toilet paper… Those French-loving Democrats start by winning elections, then impose death panels, internment camps, and bidets.
Lawrence O’Donnell had the same woman, Katy Abram, on Hardball (via Brilliant at Breakfast):
On the one hand, they way she talks about war – war, ya know, where people die and little things like that – makes me feel like pounding my head repeatedly against the wall. On the other, I will give her some credit for occasionally admitting that on some matters – well, many – she just doesn’t know. She’s not an informed citizen, nor has she tried to become informed, and she sure as hell should not be running the country. But Bill Kristol, John Bolton and the gang would never admit that they didn’t know what the hell they were talking about, nor are they typically honest about their agendas. (Jezebel has an interesting take on Abram, too, and includes The Daily Show‘s clip on her.)
Lawrence O’Donnell deals with Abram fairly gently while trying to engage her on the basis for her views, and I think that’s the most effective approach, especially since she’s not belligerent. In a one-on-one situation with real people versus professional hacks, that seems like the way to go. It’s also not a bad idea on the national level. As it turns out, O’Donnell worked with a guy named Aaron Sorkin who wrote a relevant scene:
The bully pulpit is powerful, and using it is a good idea given such a vile misinformation campaign against health care reform. The Sorkin scene expresses a yearning for an informed citizenry. It’d be nice if that could prevail over the loons who think they’re in Red Dawn but acting like they’re in The Lord of the Flies (or the mob in The Ox-Bow Incident, or The Manchurian Candidate, or…).
Real life is generally more complex than fiction, of course. Steve Benen has a very good post on five basic types of opponents to health care reform. The hacks and zealots aren’t reachable, but others are. There are legitimate debates to be had about health care on top of that, and keeping pressure on Grassley, Baucus, Enzi and others is important. Yet currently, it seems like a big fight just to get the public discussion back to the realm of basic sanity. That’s not accidental. But having more informed, interested, basically sane people at town hall events would help.
Firedoglake has a search engine for town hall events and a widget for passing the information on.
Update: Via this comment thread and others, here’s the Daily Howler take and a Daily Kos diary on Abram. Make your own call. For what it’s worth, I’m less interested in Abram specifically and more concerned generally about the group Benen calls “The Dupes” in his breakdown, the people “who stand to benefit from reform, but are skeptical because they don’t know who’s telling the truth and who isn’t.” To my mind, that’s a huge problem on a host of issues, although it sure ain’t the only one.
Mr. Mackey, I’m not sure if you understand who it is that shops at your organic grocery chain: a lot of progressives, vegetarians, professional and amateur athletes, and others who care so much about the environment and what they eat that they’re still willing to shell out three bucks for an organic orange, even in the midst of the worst recession in sixty years. I was proud WFMI was based in my hometown of Austin, and defended it against most of the conservatives I knew growing up there, many of whom still hold your entire business in utter contempt. Some of them ridiculed me for shopping at Whole Foods, with all the “tree huggers and granola eaters and hippies” who, incidentally, made you a millionaire.
Mr. Mackey, you just shat all over your best customers.
Now, this is no reason to give up good food. Here’s an organic store locator. And here’s the famous Eat Well Guide, where you can look up farmer’s markets, restaurants, groceries, etc. Very useful.
But if you want to express how you feel to folks at Whole Foods here is what to do (tip of the asparagus spear to Hopeful Skeptic and Aptoklas). As always, be polite, but tell Whole Foods what you think of their CEO’s “ideas:”
Contact Whole Foods Market’s Investor Relations Department by calling (512) 542-0204 or via email at ir.questions@wholefoods.com. : U.S. National Offices
World Headquarters Whole Foods Market, Inc. 550 Bowie Street Austin, TX 78703-4644 512.477.4455 512.477.5566 voicemail 512.482.7000 fax(br)
David Broder evidently wants the elders of the Republican Party to step up and put an end to the madness at these Town Halls. He seems to think they will suffer a backlash because the people are being disrespectful of their leadership. He also seems not to have noticed that the screamers are mostly elders themselves — and that the Republican elders agree with them. I wrote a post last week about the chief GOP senate negotiator talking up the euthanasia charge on talk radio and yesterday he repeated the insanity in a Town Hall. It’s hard to see where Broder thinks the line is supposed to be drawn.
The Villagers have spent the last 30 years chasing phantom hippies and black panthers. They actually thought the 50 something centrist Bill Clinton was Jerry Garcia because there were pictures of him with long hair and his wife used her own name. They have not cared about or even noticed the radicalism on the right, which doesn’t fit their picture of scary political terrorists because right wingers look like what they think of as Real Americans. How in the world can these nice, white middle aged and elderly people possibly be so crazy?
Every editor in the country should assign all of his reporters and spokesmodels to listen to Limbaugh, beck savage, an d the rest for a solid week. Then they might not be so surprised to find out that the people who listen to them are paranoid, racist, hysterical, narcissistic and stupid. And there are a lot of them. And they aren’t wearing headbands or tie-dyed t-shirts. They look just like David Broder and Cokie Roberts.
