Happy Hour Discurso

Today's opining on the public discourse.

The Force of Stupidity is strong with the Teabaggers:

They served as interesting bookends. President Obama hosted a very strong town-hall event in New Hampshire on health care this afternoon, featuring good questions -- from supporters and opponents of reform -- and covering a lot of ground.

The president's event began on the heels of Sen. Arlen Specter's town-hall event in Lebanon, Pa. Watching Obama's gathering, one got the sense that it was American politics as it's meant to be done. Watching Specter's, one got the sense that the American political system is an experiment on the verge of collapse.

Senator Arlen Specter and his staff tried mightily to control a town hall meeting this morning but he was repeatedly booed and heckled by a majority of the 250 people inside a large hall here at the Harrisburg Area Community College. At least 700 more were kept outside, police said.

[snip]

Specter's largely right-wing crowd insisted President Obama isn't an American. One nutty man said to applause, "One day, God is going to stand before you and he's going to judge you!" Another yelled, "This is the Soviet Union, this is Maoist China."

One attendee drew a standing ovation when she said health care reform is about "dismantling" the United States and "turning" the country "into Russia." She later added that she feared toilet paper rationing.

Someone in the audience wanted to explain that the Qu'ran says that "all unbelievers will be executed." The same person added that if we close Gitmo, "criminals" will "escape" and we'll find "a bunch of innocent people are murdered. And that's what's gonna happen."

These people really need to get out more. Maybe we should take them on a field trip through a few totalitarian societies so they can experience the difference for themselves.

Of course, we probably couldn't get them on the plane, what with all the guns:

NBC caught a man outside the NH town hall with a gun strapped to his leg. It appears to be legal as long as it's not concealed in Portsmouth. And get this. He's on private property and if the owner of the property consents then he can carry the cannon on his leg. What's weird about that is the private property is a church. A man of GOD thinks it's swell to let this man carry a loaded weapon on church grounds. What would Jesus think?

Carlos: You're saying a guy has a gun in the open and we already know there are concerns about every president 's safety, but certainly this president...and the guy's just being allowed to stay there, is that right?

Allen: The Chief of Police, I just asked him because I was amazed too, but apparently the law allows this man to be here as long as the gun is not concealed, it is registered to him apparently and he's on private property on a church ground...

You know, people who feel the need to run around political rallies with a hand cannon strapped to their legs are clearly compensating for deficiencies in other departments. I'll leave you to decide which of his heads is smaller.

At least he's not a klutz:

My, my, isn't this special? The St. Louis tea bagger Dana Loesch has now made her way from Fox News to CNN. John Roberts asks if the tone of the rhetoric at the town halls is getting dangerous. Ron Reagan Jr. replies that it has, and points out that a gun was dropped out of one of the participant's pockets at an Arizona town hall meeting. Dana Loesch defends it by saying that maybe they have a concealed-carry license. Oh...I see Dana. That license makes what happened alright in your right wing nutter world.

And no, Loesch, he didn't have a permit.

Why are all these fucktards running around armed? It's not just a prosthetic manhood, but eliminationist fantasy:

The New Hampshire Republican Volunteer Coalition urged its members to make their voices heard today in Portsmouth, NH outside of a high school where President Obama was discussing health care reform. Sure enough, right-wing protesters came out not just in protest of health care, but also furiously offering the suggestion that undocumented immigrants should be sent back to their home countries with “a bullet in their head.”

“Why are we bankrupting this country for 21 million illegals who should be sent on the first bus one way back from wherever they come from. We don’t need illegals. Send them home once. Send them home with a bullet in their head the second time. Read what Jefferson said about the Tree of Liberty — it’s coming baby.”

I don't think T.J. had fuckwits like this in mind when he said that. Call it a hunch. The only thing that fucktard's gonna water is himself when he ends up as someone's bitch when he's landed himself in prison. Loudmouth pieces of shit like him don't end up earning the respect neccessary for the preservation of bodily integrity in such environments.

Meanwhile, other Teabag fucktards are busy defacing government property with swastikas:

At a contentious town hall meeting last week, Rep. David Scott (D-GA) shot back at the protesters who were disrupting his event by accusing them of “hijack[ing]” the gathering. Now, Scott’s district office in Smyrna, GA, has been vandalized with a four-foot swastika painted onto his door. Fox News reported that Capitol Hill police will likely be launching an investigation immediately.

And surprise, surprise, that swastika appeared the very night after Glenn Beck indulged in a long rant against Rep. Scott. Coinkydink? Methinks not. And we know how fond the Teabaggers are of their Nazi imagery. Why, here they are at Rep. Cardin's town hall parading around with all sorts of it. So, Weekly Standard, despite what you wish to believe, this is most likely not a fake hate crime. But you should probably ask Kenny about those.

Meanwhile, back at Astroturf Headquarters, we discover that these violent, paranoid, stupid little dumbfucks are being whipped into a frenzy by the corporate interests for one reason and one reason only:

On a private conference call, a group of top Tea Party and conservative organizers offered a surprisingly frank description of their goal, according to a source on the call: Completely blocking any kind of bipartisan compromise, and completely preventing any type of health care reform bill at all from ever becoming law.

The source who got himself on the call was an organizer for the AFL-CIO, and AFL-CIO spokesman Eddie Vale provided me with the organizer’s notes. It’s certain to be seized on by Dems to argue that organized Tea Party opposition to Obama has no constructive intentions and is fomenting public “concern” about Obama’s plan solely to prevent any reform from ever taking place. GOP officials would argue that they don’t share these goals.

The call consisted of representatives of top conservative groups, such as the American Liberty Alliance, the “Tea Party Patriots,” and RecessRally.com, the AFL-CIO’s notes say.

[snip]

“The goal is not compromise, and ANY bill coming out this year would be a failure for us,” the moderator said, according to AFL-CIO’s notes. The moderator added that “the Democrats will turn even a weak bill from the Senate Finance Committee into Canadian-style single-payer through underhanded implementation.”

Another organizer on the call, according to AFL-CIO, added: “The purpose of Tea Parties is not to find a solution to the health care crisis — it is to stop what is not the solution: Obamacare.”

Check out AFL-CIO’s notes right here.

Of course they don't want a solution. That might cut into corporate profits. So, wind up some activists, load 'em up with astroturf talking points, and set 'em loose to make total asses of themselves:

Last night, ThinkProgress attended Rep. Tom Perriello’s (D-VA) town hall in Ruckersville, Virginia. Inside, many people were holding signs provided by Americans for Prosperity, a corporate front-group run by a Jack Abramoff associate who also ran “grassroots” lobbying campaigns for Enron and other business interests. There were loud disruptions as people interrupted with intermittent yells and boos, but dozens of others showed up in support of both Perriello and the House health care bill.

“I’m angry that you ignore the law of the Constitution that requires Obama to prove that he is a natural born citizen,” said one town hall attendee. After being interviewed by ThinkProgress at the event, the man not only confirmed his “birther” views, but said he was contacted by Ben Marchi to distribute Americans for Prosperity talking points and signs at the event. Marchi is the Virginia state director of Americans for Prosperity and a former staffer for former Republican Majority Leader Rep. Tom Delay (R-TX).

[snip]

Americans for Prosperity, which is funded by oil-interests like Koch Industries, has relied upon extreme elements to build opposition to Obama and to progressive legislation. Events sponsored and organized by the group have featured Democratic members of Congress hung in effigy, rhetoric comparing health reform to the Holocaust, and signs accusing lawmakers of being traitors.

And you want to know just how much control those astroturf groups have over the Teabaggers? This much:

Back in June, members of the Tea Party Patriots were batting around ideas for a logo to be used for an upcoming Tea Party protest in Washington on September 12. One Tea Partier sent links to some designs he had made, and other members offered positive and negative feedback.

But the discussion was soon cut short by Amy Kremer, the Tea Party Patriot national coordinator who last month refused to condemn racist emailer and Tea Partier David McKalip. Kremer told the group:

Hey All, Not to be a pain, but this is not Tea Party Patriots logo to change. This is FreedomWorks logo and they have said they are keeping the original design. I do not know why this discussion is continuing.

If anyone feels that the logo needs to be changed, then you need to contact FreedomWorks directly. TPP (Jenny Beth) has already conatcted (sic) them and shared their response with everyone.

TPP is not going to contact them again about the issue.

FreedomWorks is, of course, former GOP Congressman Dick Armey's pet project. And the Teabaggers who are being manipulated by Dick aren't allowed to manipulate the logo. It's precious.

One can't help feeling that if too many Teabaggers gather in one place, a big black hole of stupidity would result. Let's just hope they suck their masters down with them.