So I guess given the persistent ratcheting up up the paranoid, hateful and just plain fact-challenged rhetoric of the wingnuts this can’t be a surprise — one of the teabagging organizers is providing detailed directions on how to disrupt townhalls held by Democratic congresspeople this August:
The lobbyist-run groups Americans for Prosperity and FreedomWorks, which orchestrated the anti-Obama tea parties earlier this year, are now pursuing an aggressive strategy to create an image of mass public opposition to health care and clean energy reform. A leaked memo from Bob MacGuffie, a volunteer with the FreedomWorks website Tea Party Patriots, details how members should be infiltrating town halls and harassing Democratic members of Congress.
Their marching orders? Look here:
– Artificially Inflate Your Numbers: “Spread out in the hall and try to be in the front half. The objective is to put the Rep on the defensive with your questions and follow-up. The Rep should be made to feel that a majority, and if not, a significant portion of at least the audience, opposes the socialist agenda of Washington.”
– Be Disruptive Early And Often: “You need to rock-the-boat early in the Rep’s presentation, Watch for an opportunity to yell out and challenge the Rep’s statements early.”
– Try To “Rattle Him,” Not Have An Intelligent Debate: “The goal is to rattle him, get him off his prepared script and agenda. If he says something outrageous, stand up and shout out and sit right back down. Look for these opportunities before he even takes questions.”
Lee Atwater before he repented would have been really proud of this. Joe McCarthy would have been delighted to see his own tactics refined so well. Don’t even pretend anymore to anything resembling an intelligent debate or basic respect. Just get out to these townhalls, be really disruptive, get as much media attention as possible and hope that the bullying actually intimidates both Congresspeople and attendees. And all of this from the Party of Victimization — who apparently aren’t so victimized that they don’t mind bullying other people. Change the conversation to your own personal bad behavior so that those interested in talking with their Congressperson never get a real chance to do so.