US. Senate 2010

Town halls gone wild

2009-07-31T15:22:00.000-07:00

Town halls gone wild
Politico

Rep. Tim Bishop, D-NY. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds) News – Rep. Tim Bishop, D-NY. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)
Alex Isenstadt Alex Isenstadt – Fri Jul 31, 5:30 am ET

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 temporarily 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.”

Gateway Pundit: Dear Leader's Approval Index Goes Negative For First Time.. Down 32 Points Since January

2009-06-21T10:01:00.000-07:00

Gateway Pundit: Dear Leader's Approval Index Goes Negative For First Time.. Down 32 Points Since January

It is time to physically surround them

2009-05-19T11:33:00.001-07:00

It is time to physically surround them, time to stop sitting on our hands, time to water the grass roots that the tea parties have planted. It is time to take the fight to the Socialist Democratic Party.

I am asking you, the people of State Washington, and the United States, to support and elect ordinary citizens to the U.S. Senate in 2010.

With your help we can take on Patty Murray in 2010. I need your support, join our campaign committee, donate some of your hard earn money and time.

In order to defend our values and our country, we need to roll up our sleeves and prepare to engage in whatever level of struggle in take to retain a government that is for the people by the people; to replace the current government that serves the special interests and the elite establishment.

We always have to remind ourselves every day that we are not guaranteed success.
The entrenched bureaucrats and spectral interest will pull out every stop to tort us, but they cannot stop us from working every day to achieve our goals.

In solving any problem is better to say yes if then to say no because. We can win our government back with enough Yes’s. We the people need to elect leadership that consists of common sense-ordinary people; not just in the state of Washington but all of the United States.

A minimum of 20 newly elected US Senators that are ordinary people; can stop this madness and move the government back to its main duties, protecting our national security, sealing our borders and assistance during emergencies.

I know this is something thing that has been talked about before; that ordinary people should be in government, I also know that it has been said that ordinary people cannot win without large donations from powerful people and large labor unions. We the people can win by raising large amounts of money from individual donors and put large number boots on the ground.

We're not arrogant, we are proud generous Americans and most of us try to be true to ourselves and honest with other people.

There are 32 senate seats up for election in 2010. We need to win 15 to 20, so let’s start in Washington State and take this idea national. Win or lose this will make the news and our voices will be hear.

I am Instructor of Electronic Engineering, a Vietnam Vet. (It is de-vu the way our new Vet’s are being treated by the Socialist Democratic.)
Our duty is to stand up and fight when our county is being attack from the inside or outside our border.

The first thing is to box the GOP into our way of thinking, and start making the GOP back ordinary citizens. Next we need accountants, project planner, lawyer, researcher, organizers, volunteers and much more.

On June 14, 2009 is Flag Day and this is a good time for all groups to meet and plan out how we can push our Government back into the constitution framework.

Let’s surround them

Chime in with your thoughts mailto:senaterace@yahoo.com

Don’t vote for anyone who runs in their pack

2009-04-26T10:44:00.000-07:00

Remember, they are robbing you (and your posterity) blind under color of law without fear of reprisal. Make them earn what they steal from you.

So, you tell me who are the domestic terrorists? Those who wish to live in peace according to the original American arrangement or those who seek its overthrow for their own greed and ambition?

That the criminal class that now runs America has tried to make us out to be the domestic terrorists ought to tell you something. They are projecting onto us the very characteristics they themselves possess. This dishonest process is called The Law of Preemptory Accusation—they hit you before you can hit them. If they’re thieves, they accuse you of theft; if they’re liars, they accuse you of lying. If they’re haters, they accuse you of hatred.

I did not write this, but I believe

” No choice to real choice”

2009-04-25T09:47:00.000-07:00

We need to move our government from” no choice to real choice”. This requires a bold new organizational model to create a 21 century government that actually gets things done.
We need a government to give us an incentive to work more to earn more. The current system will not deliver the change we need. But we the people can force real change, and secure the kind of future Americans and our children and our grandchildren deserve. It is time to elect 20 ordinary people to US. Senate; it is time to for the majority of the American people to stand up.

By electing 20 ordinary conservative Senator we will have a big enough caucus; that can and will stop the Administration and the House.

AIG’s bonus payments

2009-04-25T09:33:00.000-07:00

Mar 31 2009
Patty Murray, by acting stunned, surprised and outraged over AIG’s bonus payments to some of their executives and employees, is simply trying to divert attention away from her agreement to and acceptance of those very same bonus payments.
She, along with all Democrat party followers and some Republicans, voted 74 to 25 to pay out taxpayer dollars, not even collected yet, to bail out and rescue financial institutions. They selected the ones to “save” and allowed others to collapse and to date, nobody has any idea what criteria was used to do that.
AIG as it turns out does, in fact, handle much of Congress’s retirement accounts and has also given its largest campaign donations to Chris Dodd and Barack Obama. Is this coincidence? Nobody knows. When I sent Senator Murray a letter protesting the use of taxpayer dollars on bailing out private business, I received a “form letter” reply which also indicated she had indeed read and understood the bill in its entirety. Now, we are to believe that she didn’t “know about” the bonuses when that part of the legislation was inserted by Chris Dodd at the “administration’s” request before it was passed into law.
It should be fairly obvious that Senator Murray either 1. lied about reading the legislation before it was passed or 2. lied about getting caught knowing about the legislation with Dodd’s addition firmly in place, and as we all know from popularity t.v., the best way to divert attention when caught in a lie is act as emotionally as possible and turn the attention to the scapegoat villain, in this case, AIG.
Senator Murray should be ashamed of herself, but she isn’t, for even contemplating using public money to bail out private businesses. On top of that outrage, she is supporting the idea that the government can selectively pick out individual citizens to “tax.” Perhaps, Congress should reread history about what the Boston Tea Party was all about.
Tax dollars are collected to ensure that the federal government with its limited activities can operate. Federal government has stepped way over the lines of its Constitutional powers with the help of Senators like Ms. Murray.
Catherine Paxton

Winning in 2010

2009-04-21T10:36:00.000-07:00

We the people have to; must, elect a minimum of 20 U.S. Senators that are ordinary people. Just one Senator does not have the power. We can put a stop to this madness and move the government back to its main duties, protecting our national security, sealing our borders and assistance during emergencies.
I know this is something thing that has been talked about before that ordinary people should be in government.
I also know that it has been said that an ordinary person cannot win without large donations from powerful people and large labor unions. I said that; ordinary people can raise large amounts of money from individual donors and put large number of individual boots on the ground.
I am going to run for the U.S. Senate against Patty Murray in 2010, and I need your support and need to hear from you by the thousands.
E-mail me so I can decide if I have the support to run for this office.
Scott Johnson

I am an Instructor of Electronic Engineering

Please send your comments:
senaterace@yahoo.com or call 206-261-6435

Redistributing Knowledge: ALERT! CARD CHECK JUST INTRODUCED TODAY!

2009-03-14T21:17:00.000-07:00

Redistributing Knowledge: ALERT! CARD CHECK JUST INTRODUCED TODAY!

mortgage meltdown?

2009-03-11T11:04:00.000-07:00

What’s the dirty little secret behind today’s mortgage meltdown? Mortgage lending affirmative action. A outlines how the seeds of today’s banking crisis were sown, in large part, by the Clinton administration’s drive to “help” otherwise non-creditworthy minorities buy homes:
In moving, even tentatively, into this new area of lending, Fannie Mae is taking on significantly more risk, which may not pose any difficulties during flush economic times. But the government-subsidized corporation may run into trouble in an economic downturn, prompting a government rescue similar to that of the savings and loan industry in the 1980’s.
Without government assistance, they could not have bought. And today, they can’t pay. Now, their lobbyists are working hard to get Congress to approve a bill that will give federal bankruptcy judges the power to “adjust” downward their mortgages balances, effectively taking property from tax-paying Americans and giving to individuals who can’t pay mortgages and probably don’t pay taxes either. I believe that everyone, from Clinton to Congress, were fully aware of exactly what might happen as a result of these bad investments in minority mortgages.

For the people by the people

2009-03-11T10:23:00.001-07:00

40 years ago I served in the Army during Vietnam and I was deeply offended by the Liberals and their attitude towards my fellow soldiers that gave their lives for their country. And the one’s like me that were lucky enough to come home and be treated as killers as and less than human. This is also true for our newer veteran’s .Now 40 years later I find myself compelled to serve my country again, that is why I have decided to test the waters for the U.S. Senate seat in the state of Washington. The way things are now in Washington DC; our only shot at stopping the liberal agenda is in the U.S. Senate. I know this is an uphill battle because at this time most people do not know who or what I stand for, but with your help and many other like-minded people we the people can take our government back to our founders blueprint for freedoms; to work hard and succeed in all our life’s endeavors.

*******US. Senate 2010*******

Town halls gone wild

Gateway Pundit: Dear Leader's Approval Index Goes Negative For First Time.. Down 32 Points Since January

It is time to physically surround them

Don’t vote for anyone who runs in their pack

” No choice to real choice”

AIG’s bonus payments

Winning in 2010

Redistributing Knowledge: ALERT! CARD CHECK JUST INTRODUCED TODAY!

mortgage meltdown?

For the people by the people

US. Senate 2010