Will The Teabagging And Violence Backfire On The Republicans In 2010?

Republicans have a real problem coming up next year-- and more than just the possible triumph of inertia, David Frum was fretting about yesterday, should they and their corporate allies kill health care reform. Most of the action you've been hearing about involves mobs of angry and ill-informed right-wingers disrupting Democratic town hall meetings. Yesterday's NY Times summarized the action:

The bitter divisions over an overhaul of the health care system have exploded at town-hall-style meetings over the last few days as members of Congress have been shouted down, hanged in effigy and taunted by crowds. In several cities, noisy demonstrations have led to fistfights, arrests and hospitalizations.

Democrats have said the protesters are being organized by conservative lobbying groups like FreedomWorks. Republicans respond that the protests are an organic response to the Obama administration’s health care restructuring proposals.

There is no dispute, however, that most of the shouting and mocking is from opponents of those plans. Many of those opponents have been encouraged to attend by conservative commentators and Web sites.

“Become a part of the mob!” said a banner posted Friday on the Web site of the talk show host Sean Hannity. “Attend an Obama Care Townhall near you!” The exhortations do not advocate violence, but some urge opponents to be disruptive.

“Pack the hall,” said a strategy memo circulated by the Web site Tea Party Patriots that instructed, “Yell out and challenge the Rep’s statements early.”

“Get him off his prepared script and agenda,” the memo continued. “Stand up and shout and sit right back down.”

The memo was obtained by the liberal Web site ThinkProgress. Its author, Robert MacGuffie, a founder of the conservative Web site Right Principles, confirmed to The New York Times that the memo was legitimate.

Who are these violent mobs of people who demand the right to be ripped off and treated like shit by insurance companies? They're not all just run of the mill racists who hate the idea of a Black president succeeding. Local Republican Party offices are urging activists to attend Democrats' meetings. GOP front groups, like Conservatives For Health Care, FreedomWorks and the teabagger organizations, are also trying to get out masses of people. And then, of course, you have the actual leaders of the Republican Party-- Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck-- actually inciting violence for the sake of ratings points. Conservatives certainly opposed the Declaration of Independence-- and many even joined the British during the American Revolution-- but that doesn't stop right-wing political hacks from inciting violence-- if not overthrowing the government-- by quoting the very document that Jefferson wrote and their ideological antecedents fought against.

Michigan Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop (R-Rochester) takes exception to the "angry mob" characterization of vocal opponents to the Democrat's health care plan.

"I would suggest that everybody go back and read the Declaration of Independence," Bishop told Frank Beckmann this morning on WJR AM-760 in Detroit. "The kind of reaction that you're getting from the public out there was envisioned by our forefathers. And it's our responsibility to let the public know and to let our elected officials know how we feel about things."

There are substantiated reports of delusional wingnuts-- armed delusional wingnuts-- from Arkansas and Mississippi storming into a health care forum in heavily Democratic Memphis, Tennessee.

But the ugly truth about who the protesters are is that an inordinate number are Paultards. That explains why conservative, anti-health care Republicans (like South Carolina Rep Bob Inglis), as well as far right, anti-reform Blue Dogs like Ann Kirkpatrick (AZ) and Chris Carney (PA)-- who actually started whining that protesters were "rude" and that "they should remember that I'm one of the Blue Dogs that slowed the process down so we could have a discussion about this issue"-- are being targeted along with Democrats who favor health care reform.

But the self-righteous and thoroughly delusional Paultards-- fanatic followers of Libertarian Ron Paul who long for a less complicated age (and the Gold Standard)-- aren't trying to take over the Democratic Party. They are, however, attempting to take over-- or at least exert more influence on-- the Republican Party. In some ways that wouldn't be so terrible. They're adamantly opposed to foreign wars of choice for example. But they haven't earned the "tard" on the end of their name because the members of their base's IQs make the leap from 2 digits to 3. Try talking to one some time-- though not on a plane-- and you'll think you're talking with a Scientologist or a Mormon. Same-same.

And the danger I was referring to: primaries in 2010. These folks running around in self-righteous-- albeit manipulated-- rage at the tea parties and health care protests want to defeat incumbents and that certainly includes mainstream Republicans. When McCain tweeted that "Town hall meetings are an American tradition - we should allow everyone to express their views without disruption - even if we disagree!" he may well have been worried about the extremist goon running against him in the Republican primary, Minuteman Chris Simcox. The anti-McCain attack line is simple, as outlined her in a Simcox press release:

"John McCain has failed miserably in his duty to secure this nation's borders and protect the people of Arizona from the escalating violence and lawlessness," Simcox said. "He has fought real efforts over the years at every turn, opting to hold our nation's border security hostage to his amnesty schemes. Coupled with his votes for reckless bailout spending and big government solutions to our nation's problems, John McCain is out of touch with everyday Arizonans. Enough is enough."

While rabble-rousing right-wing hacks like Palin, Gingrich, Romney, Jindal, Huckabee and Pawlenty jostle for position and plot to beat Obama in 2012-- and while Obama's approval rating has started climbing again in the midst of the teabagger anti-health care violence-- Paulards and other fanatics on the fringes of the GOP are looking to defeat incumbent Republicans and take over open seats. Arizona may be a stretch. But Kentucky isn't. Ron Paul's son, Rand, is running for the open Senate seat against the heavily financed Establishment choice, Trey Grayson who was handpicked by Mitch McConnell even before he drove somewhat senile incumbent Jim Bunning out of the race. Grassroots money is pouring in-- steady dribs and drabs-- and he's going to be able to compete with the dull, corporately funded Grayson. If anti-Insider sentiment is strong enough next year, he'll beta him too.

The Republican Establishment in Connecticut also has a favorite, ex-Congressman Rob Simmons, to run against Chris Dodd. But the Paultards-- and Ron Paul personally-- are behind crackpot stockbroker named Peter Schiff.

South Carolina is a complete mess for the GOP establishment, with series extremist challenges brewing for conservative incumbents. Henry Brown will be battling it out with the Confederate Sarah Palin, Katherine Jenerette. Bob Inglis already has 4 right-wing loons running against him, which may well help account for the vicious response he got on Thursday at a health care forum. (He reminded the attendees that he's a Republican, not a Libertarian.) And Gresham Barrett would have had a tough challenge for re-election but he's running for governor as the Establishment candidate with several grassroots extremists running against him in the Republican primary.

Anywhere you look in the country, there are far right-wing extremists challenging conservative Republicans in the crazy party they share. Marco Rubio is the darling of the far right in Florida and he's been beating heavily favored Establishment-backed Charlie Crist in every county straw poll. Radical right birthers and teabaggers are threatening to defeat Mary Bono-Mack in Riverside County, California. A teabagger, Curt Schroder, and a normal conservative, Ryan Costello, are fighting it out for who will run against Doug Pike in Pennsylvania's 6th CD. Senator Robert Bennett in feeling intense pressure from the far right in Utah and could well be defeated by whackjob Mark Shurtleff, the same way conservative Chris Cannon was defeated in last year's Utah Republican primary by radical right sociopath Jason Chaffetz.

The GOP moving further and further right is probably not the best way to respond to a general public that is clearly moving further and further away from the failed right-wing policies and politics of the last three decades. But try telling that to party leaders Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck!

I want to end this post with something I got in the mail today-- one of those viral spams that, despite the title, doesn't come from a right-wing astro-turf operation (for a change):

I AM AN AMERICAN CONSERVATIVE SHITHEEL

This morning I was awoken by my alarm clock powered by electricity generated by the public power monopoly regulated by the US department of energy. I then took a shower in the clean water provided by the municipal water utility. After that, I turned on the TV to one of the FCC regulated channels to see what the National Weather Service of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration determined the weather was going to be like, using satellites designed, built, and launched by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. I watched this while eating my breakfast of US Department of Agriculture inspected food and taking the drugs which have been determined as safe by the Food and Drug Administration.

At the appropriate time as regulated by the US Congress and kept accurate by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the US Naval Observatory, I get into my National Highway Traffic Safety Administration approved automobile and set out to work on the roads build by the local, state, and federal departments of transportation, possibly stopping to purchase additional fuel of a quality level determined by the Environmental Protection Agency, using legal tender issed by the Federal Reserve Bank. On the way out the door I deposit any mail I have to be sent out via the US Postal Service and drop the kids off at the public school.

After spending another day not being maimed or killed at work thanks to the workplace regulations imposed by the Department of Labor and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, enjoying another two meals which again do not kill me because of the USDA, I drive my NHTSA car back home on the DOT roads, to ny house which has not burned down in my absence because of the state and local building codes and fire marshal's inspection, and which has not been plundered of all it's valuables thanks to the local police department.

I then log on to the internet which was developed by the defense advanced research projects administration and post on freerepublic and Fox news forums about how SOCIALISM in medicine is BAD because the government can't do anything right.

UPDATE: Is There A Recess Event Near You?

I'm going to one on Tuesday evening. Use the Firedoglake searchable data base to find the event closest to where you are: