Do these actions represent the Right?

[eelo]

Okay, so a lot of horrible things are happening at some of these Town Hall meetings. Just this week, some jerks at a Town Hall meeting in NJ heckled and mocked a woman in a wheelchair:

http://dailyhurricane.com/2009/09/mo...rotesters.html


After seeing/reading/hearing about all these things, what do you think of this statement: Such are the fruits of hate speech pouring forth 24/7 from Fox Noise, talk radio, and indeed GOP leadership itself as it pulls out all the stops to serve up a defeat for the President. Anyone who disagrees with these people is dehumanized and becomes simply a target of ridicule with zero regard for her plight. Common decency is dead. Civil discourse impossible. Truth and fairness have no place.

[Jayo]

Originally Posted by eelo Okay, so a lot of horrible things are happening at some of these Town Hall meetings. Just this week, some jerks at a Town Hall meeting in NJ heckled and mocked a woman in a wheelchair: http://dailyhurricane.com/2009/09/mo...rotesters.html After seeing/reading/hearing about all these things, what do you think of this statement: Such are the fruits of hate speech pouring forth 24/7 from Fox Noise, talk radio, and indeed GOP leadership itself as it pulls out all the stops to serve up a defeat for the President. Anyone who disagrees with these people is dehumanized and becomes simply a target of ridicule with zero regard for her plight. Common decency is dead. Civil discourse impossible. Truth and fairness have no place.

This is pack mentality at it's best. Those that oppose so vehemently are spewing their own socialism. "Believe in one way and one way only!" at what cost? I think that there are so many different ways to interpret the bill that is trying to be passed that the government needs to make the acutal bill readily available to the public. Broken down in laymen's terms and seperated from the other misleading and misguided additives that lay within.

I so dispise those that are so closed minded that they feel that their hardnosed tactics really need to be forced upon others. Here I do not believe the ends justify the means. All I see is ignorant, beligerent opposers spewing illogical nonsense at the expense of others.

[littlebird]

Originally Posted by eelo Okay, so a lot of horrible things are happening at some of these Town Hall meetings. Just this week, some jerks at a Town Hall meeting in NJ heckled and mocked a woman in a wheelchair: http://dailyhurricane.com/2009/09/mo...rotesters.html After seeing/reading/hearing about all these things, what do you think of this statement: Such are the fruits of hate speech pouring forth 24/7 from Fox Noise, talk radio, and indeed GOP leadership itself as it pulls out all the stops to serve up a defeat for the President. Anyone who disagrees with these people is dehumanized and becomes simply a target of ridicule with zero regard for her plight. Common decency is dead. Civil discourse impossible. Truth and fairness have no place.

I agree entirely with the quoted statement. As for do these actions represent the Right? Until someone from the conservative leadership comes down hard and says this is not okay, they sure as **** do. There is simply no reasoning with the types of people in that video. When did that kind of behavior become acceptable in any setting?

I enjoy hearing well-reasoned, dissenting opinions. I enjoy debating and discussing issues with reasonable people. I learn a lot from people who hold well-reasoned opinions that are different from mine. But "death-panel" conservatives? My mind is simply blown at their ignorance and unwillingness to see and recognize facts when they are set before them.

[littlebird]

Originally Posted by Jayo This is pack mentality at it's best. Those that oppose so vehemently are spewing their own socialism. "Believe in one way and one way only!" at what cost? I think that there are so many different ways to interpret the bill that is trying to be passed that the government needs to make the acutal bill readily available to the public. Broken down in laymen's terms and seperated from the other misleading and misguided additives that lay within. I so dispise those that are so closed minded that they feel that their hardnosed tactics really need to be forced upon others. Here I do not believe the ends justify the means. All I see is ignorant, beligerent opposers spewing illogical nonsense at the expense of others.

I don't know about broken down into layman's terms, as it's longer than 1000 pages, but the actual text of the bill is here http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h3200/text among other places I've seen it.

[Viva]

Originally Posted by littlebird I agree entirely with the quoted statement. As for do these actions represent the Right? Until someone from the conservative leadership comes down hard and says this is not okay, they sure as **** do. There is simply no reasoning with the types of people in that video. When did that kind of behavior become acceptable in any setting? I enjoy hearing well-reasoned, dissenting opinions. I enjoy debating and discussing issues with reasonable people. I learn a lot from people who hold well-reasoned opinions that are different from mine. But "death-panel" conservatives? My mind is simply blown at their ignorance and unwillingness to see and recognize facts when they are set before them.

I agree especially with the bolded. The republicans are refusing to foster an honest debate by acting like the crazy claims are actually justified in some way. Instead of educating people about the facts, they just throw gasoline on the flames of the crazy.

They are smart enough to know that this is all untrue BS. There are certainly aspects of the bill that could and should be objected to, absolutely. Death panels ARE NOT one of them and everyone on the Hill KNOWS IT. They are gambling that the bill will die instead of actually trying to make it better.

To me, those crazy people completely represent the right. Until their leaders denounce their behavior they will continue to represent them in my view.

[princessgwynn]

I think it represents some people on the far right- I am surprised I haven't seen my grandmother on one of those news reals- but not everyone who is on the right. These meetings tend to bring out the loud mouthed crazies and, while I don't agree with their politics, I am friends with several people who are on the right politically but who use their brains and would never act in such an atrocious manner.

[eelo]

Originally Posted by princessgwynn I think it represents some people on the far right- I am surprised I haven't seen my grandmother on one of those news reals- but not everyone who is on the right. These meetings tend to bring out the loud mouthed crazies and, while I don't agree with their politics, I am friends with several people who are on the right politically but who use their brains and would never act in such an atrocious manner.

I feel that way too, but you know, I don't see or hear any of my friends saying those people are wrong or are behaving badly. So I have to wonder..... are they speaking for the Right? How do those on the Right feel about being spoken for by these people?

[littlebird]

Originally Posted by eelo I feel that way too, but you know, I don't see or hear any of my friends saying those people are wrong or are behaving badly. So I have to wonder..... are they speaking for the Right? How do those on the Right feel about being spoken for by these people?

I think their silence implicates them.

[princessgwynn]

Originally Posted by eelo I feel that way too, but you know, I don't see or hear any of my friends saying those people are wrong or are behaving badly. So I have to wonder..... are they speaking for the Right? How do those on the Right feel about being spoken for by these people?

I was thinking in particular about my Usin (Step-Uncle who is my DH's name so more like a cousin ). He has stated that he thinks this behavior is horrible. He feels that all this does is weaken the right's arguments. As I said though, I would not be in the least surprised to see my grandmother behaving like this.

[antenney]

As a proud conservative, I have to respond to this! While I am most definitely on the right, I love to listen to and consider other points of view. I think our freedom of speech is one of the many things that make this country great. My opinion on this particular matter is that there are extremes on both sides, and extremes are never good. Not only can they be personally hurtful, but they also do more harm to the cause than good. This kind of behavior is reprehensible no matter what your political beliefs are. That being said, I do not believe that there is a single news organization that is giving us unbiased news today, and this includes coverage of town halls. I refuse to watch the "mainstream" media, and I choose to watch Fox knowing that it is biased information I am receiving. I just try to keep an open mind while watching. I wish there was a place I could go to get news that is old-fashioned reporting, but I don't think it exists anymore.