Joe Six-Pack Speaks Out

by: nancy morgan | published: 08 06, 2009

After years of perfecting and feigning faux outrage, many politicians are now starting to experience the real thing. But don't expect to see it. This outrage can only be manifested behind closed doors - because the outrage is directed at Americans. Those pesky Americans who are showing up in droves at townhall meeting across the country. Those pesky little people from flyover country who actually dare, DARE to question the (accepted) wisdom of their elected officials.

For many years, politicians have used semantics and non-answers to deflect attention from ugly or inconvenient facts. But, lo and behold, Joe six-pack is starting to fight back.

This Joe six-pack is a perfect example. (Video) He had the audacity to challenge the House Majority Leader yesterday at a news conference. "Why does the President want to shove a healthcare bill down our throats in three to four weeks when he took SIX MONTHS to pick out what kind of dog he wanted for his kids???" The kicker - this Joe six-pack is a Democrat. The response? Rep. Hoyer has restricted his next townhall to 'invitation only'.

The occasion is the proposed 'reform' of health care. A reform that even the CBO says would break the bank. A reform that is being touted as a solution to a 'crisis', despite figures showing 82% of Americans are happy with their coverage.

As politicians break for the August recess and go home to 'listen' to their constituents before voting for this 'reform', they're encountering, gasp, resistance, outrage and anger.

Representative Tim Bishop temporarily suspended holding “town hall” style meetings after Suffolk County Police had to escort him back to his car amid a throng of rowdy protesters who turned out for a meeting in Setauket last month.

Last Sunday, Kathleen Sebelius and Sen. Arlen Specter got a taste of the tough sell lawmakers are facing over health care as audience members booed and jeered them during a town hall meeting. Booed them? How dare they!! Their fake smiles remained intact but their body language was a joy to watch.

In Austin, Texas, Rep. Lloyd Doggett's townhall erupted into a frenzy as he was met with constituents who made clear they don't want ObamaCare.

After seeing the writing on the wall, Congressman Vic Snyder (D. Ark.) came up with an ingenious solution to these angry protests. He held his townhall meeting in a hospital, considerately pointing out that an "angry protest" would not be appropriate at a hospital where sick kids are being treated. The angry crowd heckled him anyway.

Treating this uprising as a temporary aberration instead of a genuine sign of concern on the part of millions of Americans, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs suggested that the opposition is being organized by a small group seeking to create "manufactured anger."

The DNC quickly followed suit, accusing Republicans of "fueling mob rule by encouraging protesters of Democratic lawmakers and the Obama administration across the country."

In a classic case of projection and cognitive dissonance, Democrats have united in depicting the anger of Joe Six Pack and Susy Homemaker as "angry mobs duped into hostile actions by special interest groups." Those are their talking points, and they're sticking with them. Case closed and no further debate required.

Insteading of addressing legitimate and inconvenient questions, Democrats continue to employ the classic liberal tactic of impugning the motives of  dissenters, as shown so skillfully by Sen. Barbara Boxer yesterday. She claimed the 'well-dressed' protestors at townhall meeting are out to 'hurt our president',  (assuming that only poorly dressed Americans are legitimate?) Hey, when the facts aren't on your side, deflect the issue into emotion and class warfare.  

Speaker Pelosi neatly summed up the political elite's reaction to the genuine outrage being demonstrated across the country. When asked if she thought that those protests were a sign of genuine grass roots opposition to the Obama health care plan. Pelosi replied, "I think they're Astroturf." For graduates of government schools, that's a cute soundbite signifying the protests are, well, fake. Case closed. 

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