re: #106 realwest

Sorry austin_blue - just as I was about to leave you had to chuck that in, didn’t you? You don’t think it’s possible that groups of people - of various stripes and types, could be pissed off AS HELL at a Congress and President who believe they can spend our way out of a recession - with borrowed money, no less?
You don’t think that seniors who seen their stock portfolios tank, their 401k’s grind to 20% of value, who won’t be getting a COLA raise in Social Security benefits BUT will be getting higher premiums and other costs for Medicare; that middle aged folks trying to send their kids to college and who instead are fighting to find a job - now almost ANY job or are still holding onto a job but can no longer send their kids to college; and folks who are going to lose their homes in foreclosure because one or both of a working couple are unemployed right now, might not just be a little pissed off? Really?
BULLSHIT. I don’t know if the tea parties (the forerunners of these disruptive town meetings) were orchestrated or not; I do know that people I know and trust who’ve been to town hall meetings at which NO ONE carried a gun, and at which no union thugs were employed and at which truly DISRUPTIVE people were given the gate to waves of applause from 90+% of those still there are not “astroturfed” they are well and truly PISSED OFF. And y’all better get used to it, cause when Obama lets Bush’s middle class tax cuts lapse, and if unemployment and UNDERemployment don’t go down, the pissed off “level” will be bouncing off the end of the meter.

RW-

I respect you completely, but the great majority of the people in this country are sheeple and absolutely moved by the media. And right now, the people that are being moved are on the conservative wing. It’s not Code Pink that are showing up at Town Halls to argue about health care. The protesters are being driven (Baaa!) by other forces completely.

Here’s the problem:

There is no Republican voice that speaks for these people. They are totally reactionary. It’s largely Paulians and Neo-Birchers and radical religious right and Supremacists. Granted, there are other folks who are joining in, but given the core group, they are fellow travelers.