Report: Violence breaks out at Tampa town hall on health care
posted at 9:19 pm on August 6, 2009 by Allahpundit
The toll: “At least one fistfight” plus “shoving and scuffles.” No word on who started it, how many people were involved, etc, but if the left can turn a memo sent to 10 people by a guy who’s not even a Republican into a nationwide GOP astroturfing conspiracy, surely it can turn some chanting and a fistfight into Kristallnacht. I look forward to MSNBC’s coverage tomorrow.
From what I can tell, it was a protester who got the worst of it. The Teamsters’ handiwork, perchance?
Several of the protestor’s signs bore an image of Obama with his face painted as the Joker, an image that drew protests of racism locally when it appeared on a Web site thought to be associated with the Pinellas Republican party…
One of those involved in a scuffle, Randy Arthur, of Oldsmar said he was injured by those manning the doors and said he would file a police report.
He and his wife, Kathy, were outside the meeting room when organizers tried to close the doors. Randy Arthur and others tried to stop them “and he didn’t give up,” Kathy Arthur said.
Randy Arthur, who owns an air conditioning service company, later talked to police officers, his knit shirt ripped and a few scratches visible on his chest. “They slammed him into the wall,” Kathy Arthur said…
“They’re hiding from their constituents. She works for us and needs to listen,” said Karen Jaroch, a Tampa homemaker and organizer for the 9-12 Project, set up by rightist TV commentator Glenn Beck.
If all they’re going to do is scream, they belong outside. Disrupting the event itself when people are trying to listen is a jackass thing to do, and totally counterproductive in terms of handing the left material with which to tar the GOP. Which reminds me: Since this is bound to be used against Republicans, what exactly is the logic behind the theory that Republicans are organizing it as part of an astroturf campaign? Said the Florida Democratic Party chair after tonight’s fiasco, “Recently, their thoughtful discussions are being interrupted by angry mobs – well funded and organized by Washington special interests – attempting to drown out the voices of the hard-working Floridians who are desperate for health insurance reform.” Well-funded Washington special interests are trying to win the media war … by telling people to get into fistfights? Nuance.
Blowback
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The only movement he’s seen is probably his bowel’s.
atheling on August 6, 2009 at 10:21 PM
REMEMBER THIS ALWAYS!!!!!!!!
“During the American Revolution 70% of the citizens were loyal to the King or apathetic. The other 30% founded a Nation.”
xler8bmw on August 6, 2009 at 10:23 PM
No, the only show is to show what will happen to citizens if the buck the tide. These goons are serious and they must be countered. Healthcare is becoming a secondary issue to the very existence of this Republic.
rplat on August 6, 2009 at 10:23 PM
+100
dhunter on August 6, 2009 at 10:25 PM
The Hypocrite in Chief says this …..
Then Hussein says this, two paragraphs later …..
Hey Obama, you’re lies are showing.
fogw on August 6, 2009 at 10:25 PM
Poor planning on GOP’s part.
Should have distributed fliers advertising FREE BEER plus PORN on the opposite side of town.
Teamsters fall for it every time.
jeff_from_mpls on August 6, 2009 at 10:26 PM
The lefties just want to sucker cons into a confrontation that ends in arrests.
blatantblue on August 6, 2009 at 9:47 PM
blatantblue: Your right BB,after a few so called ‘arrests’
the State Runned Media,can spin up,propaganda
that is,that all on the right are being used
by the Healthcare Industry!!
I wonder,what fancy term,the Left would come
up with,like the one ‘birthers’ they dreamed
up a week or so ago!!:)
canopfor on August 6, 2009 at 10:26 PM
I can guarantee you that my friends and I won’t be intimidated or pushed around. If you could see my friends you would know why.
Fire will be fought with fire on this one; some fool tries to close a door in the face of my friend Jack, that door is going to come off its hinges in about 100 pieces.
Bishop on August 6, 2009 at 10:27 PM
Bravo!
rplat on August 6, 2009 at 10:27 PM
Teargas will probably be considered good. Things could get a lot worse.
Think ACORN goons with nightsticks showing up at a townhall meeting in a state that has open-carry or CCW. There is a certain disaster waiting to happen.
This will all fall at the feet of Obama. He pushed it there. Everyone should start talking about how he, personally, will be held responsible for pushing the meetings toward violence.
Yoop on August 6, 2009 at 10:27 PM
I wrote earlier but let me repeat his in a different way.
Obama is playing on a different playing field now.
he is not campaigning and making pie-in-the-sky promises that idiots believe.
Now we are talking health care expanding coverage to millions at no sacrifice to others and concepts like having something for nothing.
He is stepping out of his fantasy world that he paints in this memo to the real world.
The more he and others quibble and talk nonsense the angrier people get.
The startgey now is to accelerate that process.
You don’t need to shout to embarass somebody the YouTube videos prove that.
I had the thought listening to Hannity today that he is stringing out the opposition callers a lot longer before he responds.
Why?
because none of the less silver-tongued devils can keep from sounding silly after more than a 2 minute discussion.
We can bleed these people out by letting them have enough rope to hang themselves. I am sorry if I am sounding mystic but maybe in summary the big lie has hit a tipping point we just need to keep shoving it over by getting all the Obama people to talk as much as possible to opponents and not just give speeches.
Conan on August 6, 2009 at 10:27 PM
Have you seen the latest from the admin to protestors!
http://speakmymindblog.com/2009/08/06/obamas-administrations-message-to-healthcare-protesters/
sherryande on August 6, 2009 at 10:27 PM
This is why I told you all to bring video cameras to these things from now on.
You’re going to be seeing lots of incitement from the Democrats to try to get you to react violently.
The only way to counter this is to stick cameras in their faces.
Good Lt on August 6, 2009 at 10:28 PM
Cindy! You don’t really believe that, do you? Where were the local television crews for the first Tea Party at the Landing? As far as I know, none of the local stations even mentioned it. The local reporters are just as biased and liberal as the national reporters they aspire to be.
peacenprosperity on August 6, 2009 at 10:28 PM
The only movement he’s seen is probably his bowel’s.
atheling on August 6, 2009 at 10:21 PM
And just what “movement” have you seen…
ladyingray on August 6, 2009 at 10:29 PM
just be clear
blatantblue on August 6, 2009 at 10:31 PM
It is the left, including socialists like Ochimpy that engage in the NAZI-esque tactics. Conservatives need to push back against that specific assumption from now on. It is like we concede the point and in the process admit that the right is simply a NAZI movement that hasn’t hit it’s full stride.
Every time you see that accusation, you need to push back hard and remind these socialists that THEY are the ones who are emulating Hitler and the NAZI movement.
csdeven on August 6, 2009 at 10:32 PM
At this rate I think this thing is going to shake out before 2010.
FloatingRock on August 6, 2009 at 10:32 PM
No mystic thinking there, you are spot on. Not only is Ogabe’s shine coming off, it’s being peeled away to show the rusted, ramshackle monstrosity underneath.
The race pimping demagogue managed to get himself elected and actually expected his sharky grin to carry him through even when his plans were exposed as disasters.
The more Ogabe tightens his fist, the more people who slip through his fingers. His show is over.
Bishop on August 6, 2009 at 10:35 PM
I love the M$M’s narrative….
USA Today last week had stories about the horror of the Indian Reservation System, the VA, and Military medicene…..then on Friday their narrative was “and that’s why we need Obamacare….”
yeah your 16 year old “I Was a Teen President!” wrecks his clunker so hand him the keys to mom’s caddy….
“the adults are in charge now”
sven10077 on August 6, 2009 at 10:35 PM
If the SEIU was involved in this that President Obama / Joker comparison seems a bit more appropriate.
BadgerHawk on August 6, 2009 at 10:35 PM
KSgop on August 6, 2009 at 10:06 PM
Gotta go one step at a time. Folks at the THMs wouldn’t have been bold enough without the Tea Parties. To really make a difference, truth must win the hearts of the average guy who’s just now considering that he’s been lied to. Be the active honest alternative.
ROCnPhilly on August 6, 2009 at 10:35 PM
Bottom line is we have a president who will send his supporters out to bust the heads of ordinary American citizens who disagree with him.
Rational Thought on August 6, 2009 at 10:36 PM
Oh I don’t think these tactics are for show I think Obama and the left have used these Chicago tactics successfully in the past and are relying on them again. The problem is Healthcare is too personal to walk away from when the heat gets too much and too familiar to talk over people’s heads about. The one size fits all strategy that has taken them from everything to taking out Sarah Palin and Hillary to pushing thorugh the stimulus bill is not working here because Health Care is not like anything else. You are just demonizing a person people don’t know personally or creating a crisis that exists for the moment. They are sounding silly trying to package health Care in those boxes.
Conan on August 6, 2009 at 10:36 PM
The key is too make sure that the pieces of door remain large enough so that they really, really hurt when they are inserted up the rectum.
Remember the rule: rectum inserts should wreck them… ;-)
Yoop on August 6, 2009 at 10:36 PM
I think we should take the Iranian Uprising as an example of what we need to accomplish here. If they can stand up to the Mullahs then we can surely make our voices heard.
ronsfi on August 6, 2009 at 10:36 PM
The Democrats call in the union thugs and these town halls degenerate into fist fights. I think I see the pattern.
18-1 on August 6, 2009 at 10:37 PM
Don’t underestimate that everyone has done the math except our own, so-called, government reps. I say OUR because it is WE who will be the ones, while being shut out of our own town halls, who hold the hand of their fate. We have much more power than the government thinks it’s taking away from us; Hence, the security guards at these town halls—it’s not OUR fear, it’s THEIRS.
ccbokc on August 6, 2009 at 10:37 PM
This will play out before the end of August.
Yoop on August 6, 2009 at 10:39 PM
I think the lost part of the story is how OUTNUMBERED the SEIU members were by ordinary citizens like us.
SouthernGent on August 6, 2009 at 10:40 PM
Gun sales have skyrocketed? Wonder why? WE CANNOT BE DEFEATED.
marklmail on August 6, 2009 at 10:41 PM
Way to be an Obama tool AP with that report.
Anybody notice the total insincerity on the face of the congresswoman.
Yes it’s there.
Sapwolf on August 6, 2009 at 10:41 PM
Kathy Caster’s “career” in Congress is toast.
notagool on August 6, 2009 at 10:41 PM
The counter strategy here is to bait the union and acorn thugs. Turn their tactics around on them.
Make sure you are in a group. Surround them the best you can and Stick a camera in their face and ask them why they support Marxism, ask them if they plan on forcing their leader’s socialism against our will, ask them if they are willing to plunge the nation into civil chaos to make Obama look good. Ask them how far they are willing to go to force their agenda on us.
No profanity, no breaking things, no banging on windows, no touching of anyone whatsoever make sure they use violence first. catch it on film. We’ll proceed from there.
Don’t let up. If the left is not confronted like this it will undermine everything we hold dear until we are all slaves.
Their actions show us that we have them on the run. They are busing in these union thugs we don’t need to put out a call unless things get violent. FIGHT.
elduende on August 6, 2009 at 10:41 PM
Obama used the promise of Utopia to dupe the ignorant and parlayed that success into political power. But his real success came from duping the average citizens with the help of the media. Those same folks are now looking up from the ballgame to see what’s going on. If they preceive rrationality and violence as the alternative, they’ll stay in Obama’s camp no matter how bad it gets.
ROCnPhilly on August 6, 2009 at 10:41 PM
They were quite outnumbered. I didn’t think they expected a thousand people to show up, otherwise they would have done what St. Louis did and filled up the entire building with union thugs.
Enoxo on August 6, 2009 at 10:41 PM
rrationalityirrationalityROCnPhilly on August 6, 2009 at 10:42 PM
Obama’s people hired the New Black Panthers to secure their polling places and our local citizens should hire armed guards to protect their town hall meetings. They have an absolute right to domestic tranquility and must be free from fear and intimidation. Enough of this crap.
rplat on August 6, 2009 at 10:43 PM
A wounded wolf learns quickly. Their numbers are about to grow exponentially.
fogw on August 6, 2009 at 10:44 PM
when will the clever conservative opponents to health care “reform” break out the signs that say: ‘i thought dissent was patriotic. when did that change?’
cpr on August 6, 2009 at 10:44 PM
You are willfully missing the point…
I could link two hundred stories of the moonbats using molotovs in Seattle, burning Bush in effigy, being as hateful as they can be without any disavowal from Chicago Jesus in his build up and “I Won”…..
the old rules are falling by the wayside if Barry thinks he is the only one who can either go for the throat or balls he needs to be taught the lesson through the emasculation of his thugocracy in action brigade that no Xerxes on this day the world will learn that even “gods” can bleed….
Bambi ain’t walking away from this clean.
sven10077 on August 6, 2009 at 10:45 PM
These Congress critters and Senate Scum must know that if they choose to vote aginst the wishes of the citizenry not only will they be voted out of office, but they will not want to come home.
They do not respect the voter, but they need to fear the majority! That is what Pinnochio is desperately trying to supress. He’s trying to hold the line by teliing his troops they will be fine he will fight for them and send his thugs to protect them.
These scum do not feel safe with “We The People” and they must not!
dhunter on August 6, 2009 at 10:47 PM
A live blogging website: http://fderfler.posterous.com/liveblogging-tampa-rep-kathy-castors-town-hal
Directly from the person who was there:
Enoxo on August 6, 2009 at 10:47 PM
Remember this one:
H&H
Sapwolf on August 6, 2009 at 10:48 PM
That’s undoubtedly true in the traditional sense, however, one of two possibilities exist:
1) They are history’s biggest morons and don’t even realize they’re digging their own grave for ’10 and ’12 in not starting a civil war, hot or cold.
2) They think they have ’10 and ’12 handled through alternative means, (i.e. the fairness doctrine, electoral fraud, census manipulation), and are relatively unconcerned.
Considering everything that’s happened recently, (i.e. the snitch site, demonization of over half of Americans, supporting Ahmadinejad’s and Zelaya’s coup), I have little confidence the answer is 1.
FloatingRock on August 6, 2009 at 10:52 PM
I’m not the one making stuff up.
peacenprosperity on August 6, 2009 at 10:52 PM
We’re all Iranian now.
Speakup on August 6, 2009 at 10:52 PM
No. Not being deliberately dense. Not saying there is never a time for confrontation or violence to win or keep one’s freedom. I’m saying now is not that time.
ROCnPhilly on August 6, 2009 at 10:53 PM
Alinsky them back!
1) Power is not only what you have but what the enemy thinks you have
4) Make the enemy live up to their own book of rules
5) Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon
8) Keep the pressure on
9) The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself
10) The major premise for tactics is the development of operations that will maintain a constant pressure upon the opposition
13) Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it
xler8bmw on August 6, 2009 at 10:54 PM
The hall was almost filled with union members before the ordinary people arrived, so most constituents weren’t allowed inside. This is from the 10connects forum linked above:
mbs on August 6, 2009 at 10:56 PM
I think the truth is so much on our side we have the trump card of the ordinary person on our side. You need to just let these thugs aim these tactics at the senior citizens, etc and people on the sidelines are going to leave Obama’s team.
Let them act desperate and screw up they are on the defensive now.
Conan on August 6, 2009 at 10:56 PM
We need a right-wing version of the National Lawyers Guild to monitor these protest and ensure that people’s constitutional right to assemble and protest is not being infringed on by union goons.
Punchenko on August 6, 2009 at 10:57 PM
you seem to be mocking civil protest there
thats all
what else can one come away with from that comment?
blatantblue on August 6, 2009 at 10:58 PM
All the video I have seen of the left shouting down people, I say it is about time they got a taste of what they themselves did for the 8 years before obama.
free on August 6, 2009 at 10:58 PM
A Children’s hospital?
They’re starting to use children and the sick as human shields from the people!
Where have I seen that before???
Yeah,, the violence is what this congress and what this President intends to inflict on the American people!! That is the real violence!!
JellyToast on August 6, 2009 at 10:58 PM
Clearly staged by ACORN thugs. The reds are getting desperate.
Sign of the Dollar on August 6, 2009 at 10:59 PM
The “townhall” is about to be reported on the local news, I’ll let you know how they spin it.
TampaBayBull on August 6, 2009 at 11:00 PM
Taxation without representation is TYRANNY!
fossten on August 6, 2009 at 11:01 PM
For a primer, go here: http://www.infed.org/thinkers/alinsky.htm
ROCnPhilly on August 6, 2009 at 11:03 PM
This is better video of the violence:
http://www.wtsp.com/video/default.aspx?aid=88414
The lady is telling the camera the SEIU thugs are attacking a guy (her husband) who has stage 4 cancer.
Enoxo on August 6, 2009 at 11:05 PM
Sheesh, AP, you are starting to sound more like Ed every day. What are they supposed to do, sit there politely and listen to the ObamaCare lies and then run home and make a blog post about it? It really doesn’t matter, since the left and the media will just make things up anyway, ala Nancy Pelosi’s swastikas comment. When are you going to get that part?
The loud voices are being heard, the videos are being played on YouTube and even Hot Air. People are paying attention and it is affecting the debate. This is a “mad as hell” moment and it seems be having an impact.
tballard on August 6, 2009 at 11:06 PM
As usual Mark Wilson(the reporter) played it pretty much down the middle, no pejoratives for the opposition, as is par for the course on NBC.
They interviewed a protester that for once, wasn’t a hick or screaming about a birth certificate! She stated she wasn’t a “right wing nut” or “sent there by any insurance group”, just afraid of the O’s massive spending.
However, they did mention how most that didn’t want the plan were “locked out of the event”. It was Fox after all.
TampaBayBull on August 6, 2009 at 11:10 PM
A first hand report here, “The Tampa Townhall WAS NOT Open To The Public-UPDATED”:
http://carolyntackettscloset.blogspot.com/2009/08/tampa-townhall-was-not-open-to-public.html
Donald Douglas on August 6, 2009 at 11:12 PM
I watched the video, I think it is incredible, that these people were shut out of the meeting and not allowed to express their objections to the government’s health care plan. I can’t believe I am seeing this happen, people are angry because the government is trying to shove government run health care down their throats, they don’t want it, and they are being called thugs and out of control violent protestors for trying to let the government know how they feel. This is just so wrong.
mbs on August 6, 2009 at 11:12 PM
BULL! They do not listen to anything other than yelling, confrontation and threats…normal conversation results in normal results…citizens get patted on the head by their servants, like addled children, and ignored, while the politician does exactly what he wants.
We have reached a place in America where the political class could care less about the folk who put them in office and they only respond to bribes and fear of removal from office…that involves confrontation. Break the law, no…make a fuss, YES!
JIMV on August 6, 2009 at 11:13 PM
Er this is the video.
http://www.wtsp.com/video/default.aspx?aid=88415
Enoxo on August 6, 2009 at 11:14 PM
So much for the middle east. We need to spread democracy in the United States. Learning from the Iraqi people, we must get a secure means of communication and make sure we have film to post on the internet. They have controlled the media for so long but there are alternate resources now.
Haunches on August 6, 2009 at 11:22 PM
And isn’t it funny that they can’t come up with a fancy term for gay marriage?
silly progressives.
Califemme on August 6, 2009 at 11:23 PM
Now that the unions have posted their thugs to townhalls expect to see a lot of violence, started by the unions and blamed on the patriots. These are professionals and they are expert at their job. Someone is going to die at a townhall meeting soon and the patriots are going to get the blame.
single stack on August 6, 2009 at 11:29 PM
Anyone who says that poster of Obama as the Joker is racist is either a liar or a psychopath. There were plenty of posters with Bush as a subhuman chimpanzee, often with a swastika, and at least one with Bush as a far more demented looking Joker. Those who say that it is racist are just trying to elevate Barack Obama to the level of North Korea’s Kim Jong Il and should remember that America is not North Korea.
Actually Barack Obama is far more like Jekyll and Hyde than he is like the Joker.
Luka on August 6, 2009 at 11:30 PM
The american people need to keep a list of the wrong doing of these elected officals in all states and organize as americans to get them voted out of office, state by state and states helping other states.
workingforpigs on August 6, 2009 at 11:34 PM
He’s the same way about Palin and her supporters.
Sapwolf on August 6, 2009 at 11:35 PM
Umm…cluebat to Rep. Kathy Castor.
The drug companies support ObamaCare
The Ugly American on August 6, 2009 at 11:37 PM
You said something the other day that I found interesting. You had apparently talked to some distant relatives in Caracas and they said that, in the beginning… I don’t remember exactly what, I’ll let you tell the story if you’re so inclined. I think that lessons learned from their experiences could be very helpful to us now. Obama is far more likely to follow Chavez’s model than Lenin’s, Stalin’s or Hitler’s. The left has evolved over time and, as the latest incarnation, Chavez has been relatively successful by their standards.
FloatingRock on August 6, 2009 at 11:38 PM
Go early to town halls, check out nearby parking lots for the buses that bring these people in. Ask the thugs what part of town they’re from and record the answers. We can fight back and do it smartly, I think America is finally getting the picture.
oldoldbabs on August 6, 2009 at 11:39 PM
We’ll have to show up before Obama’s goons, next time.
FloatingRock on August 6, 2009 at 11:42 PM
Now that reports from citizen journalists who were there are being linked to, it doesn’t sound ‘violent’ at all. More like loud and raucous.
Skandia Recluse on August 6, 2009 at 11:42 PM
Person attacked by SEIU:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLpHbD5cy0s
Enoxo on August 6, 2009 at 11:43 PM
I pray that doesn’t happen. Because, once blood is spilled, all bets are off. It’s going to be an eventful four to eight weeks–one that will be studied by future historians for some time to come.
The moving hand has begun to write on the wall. I wonder what it will say once it has finished.
Matt Helm on August 6, 2009 at 11:44 PM
In Tampa, the protesters were there at 1pm, for a 6pm meeting. When they opened the doors, the room was already half-filled, they brought them in through the back door. People at the front of the line were pissed off when they saw everyone inside before them.
Enoxo on August 6, 2009 at 11:46 PM
I think I should share this with you all
I am recovering @ home from surgeries, and some relatives who are here to see me ( all Obama voters) are shaking their heads, in disbelief, after seeing the video. They are telling me this is exactly why they left the misery of a repressive regime 35-40 years ago, to come to USA. There is a word for this third-world atrocity on the constituents, its called goonda-raj.
They say they experienced all this and much worse 40 yrs ago , and they are afraid for our country b/c they know what follows goonda-raj.
They are ashamed that Barak Hussain is being revealed as Saddam Hussain-lite.
For the first time in my adult life, I am scared for my country.
macncheez on August 6, 2009 at 11:49 PM
It called Fabian socialism FR. After the cold war the KGB’s funding of Communist insurgencies collapsed and they got together to plan a new strategy. What they came up with is closely linked to the British Fabian Communist movement. It is a strategy of incrementalism.
Use democratic institutions to gain power then dismantle democracy in small increments until there is nothing left. Chavez was the first to succeed and in the last 12 years since then he’s toppled 12 more democracies in the Western hemisphere.
Hang on I’ll be back and tell you what happened to these relatives in a few minutes…….
elduende on August 6, 2009 at 11:52 PM
wait hold on…..
“has to be waterboarding or lud music”…..
//sarc
sorry about your kin in all seriousness….
Marxists need treated like the vermin they are not the people they appear to be.
sven10077 on August 6, 2009 at 11:54 PM
The report in the video didn’t seeem “violent” to me. The reporter was too far from the crowd to really know what was going on, which the reporter himself admitted. Instead of talking about “violence”, why doesn’t the reporter get closer to the crowd to see what they’re doing? A little noise? Free speech and assembly, right?
Steve Z on August 6, 2009 at 11:59 PM
If they hide behind sick children again, we can ask why they aren’t hiding behind sick seniors or the very young, because according to Obama’s czars, those are the people who will suffer the short end of the rationing stick.
FloatingRock on August 7, 2009 at 12:01 AM
They controlled the message for many years but can’t control all of it anymore. They are getting meaner. Who will win?
Haunches on August 7, 2009 at 12:07 AM
White conservatives protesting is Olby’s biggest nightmare.
Speedwagon82 on August 7, 2009 at 12:22 AM
When Chavez ran for President of Venezuela he was a tarnished candidate 6 years earlier he had led a colonel’s coup attempt that had failed. The Venezuelans knew who he was and what he represented. Unfortunately the corrupt government had pissed so many people off that he won the election.
My relatives that were in the middle class resisted for ten years. They went on marches and protested Chavez while he systematically delegitimized anyone criticized him. Using street muscle and the bully pulpit he got his “changes” and “reforms” (yes its the same language Obama is using now). Bit by bit the their freedoms dissapeared the media was brought down, the constitution rewritten, industries nationalized, and when there were protests the people were intimidated by chavez’s counter protests. In the end they were afraid of confronting Chavez, their fear of violence did them in.
For the last 2 years there has been a marked change in them all (Not just one of them) they don’t talk ill of Chavez anymore, they don’t talk about his corruption or about how scary his thugs are, nothing. Its what I would call a soul crushing acceptance of their fate. They’ve given up and are resigned to their fate. Chavez outlasted them without getting his ass shot off.
Now Chavez has created a new nomenclatura in Venezuelan society that will fight to the death to protect the new status quo. Corruption and poverty are worse than it ever was under the Oligarchs. The elections are rigged, Free speech is gone, and mob rule intimidates anyone that gets out of line.
I have not broached the subject about Chavez with them although they are on my Facebook page. I think they know they are now faced with living with Chavez in perpetuity or raising arms and going the route of violence to overthrow him.
Their initial fear of confronting Chavez has led to the worst of both worlds, they have a totalitarian leftist police state on their hands and the only way to get rid of it will be violence. Stick a fork in them they are done. Chavez has not prevented emigration and many Venezuelans have fled and are now sitting in Miami. Some of the ones that are still there may think Chavez will be defeated somehow and this nightmare will end but I don’t think so.
I’ve been watching Chavez in action since 1992 so when I first clued in on Obama, saw his background, and heard him speak, the hairs stood on the back of my neck because he sounded like Chavez did in his early years.
Go into the archives here and you’ll see my shrill warnings on Obama from at least March 2008.
elduende on August 7, 2009 at 12:22 AM
This is not going to end very well, I’m afraid. If these politicians are afraid to listen to their constituents, and hear a differing viewpoint, and then totally ignore them, its going to push people over the edge.
I’ll repeat what’s been said before, get it recorded on your phones and cameras. The truth must win out over these evil people.
cjs1943 on August 7, 2009 at 12:22 AM
Yeah, I agree to an extent, but on the other hand, AP spends his days in the trenches monitoring our opponents and linking to stuff that many of us wouldn’t have otherwise noticed, and he has thick enough skin that he doesn’t ban long standing members simply because they’re being a nuisance to him personally—like MB4.
Allahpundit remains the driving force behind Hotair even though many of us, including myself, often disagree with him.
But I only say this out of appreciation for AP, even though I enjoy giving him a hard time too.
FloatingRock on August 7, 2009 at 12:30 AM
Next time, don’t let just one person fight them. Don’t be frightened of them. Stick up for those you are with and beat them down.
If war is what they want, war is what they will get.
iconoclast on August 7, 2009 at 12:32 AM
And video the buses.
FloatingRock on August 7, 2009 at 12:32 AM
We’ll have to keep an eye on the back door’s, then. :)
FloatingRock on August 7, 2009 at 12:35 AM
I always knew the angry white Republican hate mobs would resort to violence instead of trying to peacefully discuss their position. Inevitable, but I hope they keep it up. They are destroying any ground they have made.
dcwvu on August 7, 2009 at 12:36 AM
I live in Tampa. My spouse’s best friend was at the town hall in Ybor City. A few tidbits he shared with us.
- He heard on the radio that Castor was going to hold a ‘last minute town hall meeting’ in Ybor City from 6 to 8 pm so he dropped by after work.
- The auditorium has a capacity of about 250 and that the front rows were packed with 175 ACORN/union people who had been brought in through the back door so few bill opponents were allowed into the building.
- The crowd outside numbered somewhere around 300 to 500 people and about 80% were against the bill. They chanted loudly to make their opinions heard since they were shut out of the building.
- A man who had been towards the front of the gathering said that Union organizers tried to close the doors and were “beating up” opponents of the bill. The man was very upset and genuinely outraged.
- Just before 7 pm, over an hour before the meeting was scheduled to end, rumors were heard that Castor had left the building via another exit. He asked a policeman and got confirmation that she’d left early.
- He saw numerous bill opponents with cell phone and digital cameras filming the events so we should see more of the actual happenings on YouTube soon.
FYI, RhinoBoy, Ybor City is an old historic neighborhood of Tampa that was founded by cigar manufacturers and was home to large numbers of immigrants from Spain, Cuba and Italy. Much of it has been renovated or restored, resulting in a good number of great clubs and restaurants. The Columbia Restaurant there is the oldest Spanish restaurant in the US, established in 1905. They serve primarily Cuban food and make the best paella on the planet. In my very humble opinion, of course. :)
Kirin on August 7, 2009 at 12:37 AM
How do we know if those well funded “mob” isn’t the mob we think it is but from well funded liberals who may be trying to push the image of a GOPer mobs gone wild?
Kokonut on August 7, 2009 at 12:44 AM
Thanks, Elduende. I hope you’ll repeat this from time to time. I think there is a lesson in it for all of us.
FloatingRock on August 7, 2009 at 12:47 AM
Thanks FR, I will. FYI in case you are wondering I have relatives in Venezuela (distant), Honduras (closer), and Colombia (very close) so I have had a front row seat to the predations of left.
elduende on August 7, 2009 at 12:50 AM
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