Conservative GOP Violent Rhetoric Breeds Violence

DNC Web Ad: "Enough of the Mob"

President Obama faces an increase of 400% in death threats a day as lobbyist-run conservative special interest groups whip conservative activists into mounting mob mentality. Telegraph.co.uk:

Since Mr Obama took office, the rate of threats against the president has increased 400 per cent from the 3,000 a year or so under President George W. Bush, according to Ronald Kessler, author of In the President's Secret Service.

Some threats to Mr Obama, whose Secret Service codename is Renegade, have been publicized, including an alleged plot by white supremacists in Tennessee late last year to rob a gun store, shoot 88 black people, decapitate another 14 and then assassinate the first black president in American history.

Most, however, are kept under wraps because the Secret Service fears that revealing details of them would only increase the number of copycat attempts. Although most threats are not credible, each one has to be investigated meticulously.

Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA), the president of the freshman Democratic class has revealed that “at least one freshman Democrat” has already been “physically assaulted at a local event.” Connolly warned that conservative groups had taken things to a “dangerous level“:

“When you look at the fervor of some of these people who are all being whipped up by the right-wing talking heads on Fox, to me, you’re crossing a line,’ Connolly said. ‘They’re inciting people to riot with just total distortions of facts. They think we’re going to euthanize Grandma and the government is going to take over.”

The violent rhetoric from talk radio and FOX News continues to throw gasoline on the fire. Remember Dr. Tiller?

In fact, threatening phone calls escalate to a death threat for Rep. Brad Miller (D-NC) over the health care bill. His offices have received threatening phone calls, including at least one direct threat against his life.

RNC Refuses To Accept Calls Generated By New DNC Web Ad On Conservative Mobs

Cherry Creek News: A BROAD STRATEGY: Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX), chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, has endorsed the strategy of staged protests, telling Politico the days of civil town halls are now "over." [Democrats launch a phone counter-offensive on Pete Sessions]

In a memo to House Republicans, Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) promised "anger" during the August recess: "Americans' anger will be on full display in the weeks ahead as Members of Congress leave Washington and travel the nation listening to the voices of their constituents."

The published memos are similar to talking points being distributed by FreedomWorks that push an anti-health reform assault all summer. Patients United, a front group maintained by AFP, is busing people all over the country to protest health care reform. America's Health Insurance Plans, the trade group and lobbying juggernaut representing the health insurance industry, is also sending staffers to monitor town halls in 30 states.

Meanwhile, Conservatives for Patients' Rights (CPR), led bydisgraced hospital executive Rick Scott, is running a national campaign against a public health care option. Yesterday, the group took credit for "helping gin up the sometimes-rowdy outbursts targeting House Dems at town hall meetings around the country, raising questions about their spontaneity."

Earlier in the week, a representative of CPR "sent an email to a list serve (called the Tea Party Patriots Health Care Reform Committee) containing a spreadsheet that lists over one hundred congressional town halls from late July into September."

And last weekend, CPR announced it will send staff to "confront" lawmakers at town halls and then transition to negative ads.

Mental Illness Services in Collin County (Meeting)

The Healthcare Committee of Collin County (HCCC) will conduct a panel discussion on Mental Illness in Collin County on Tuesday, August 4, at 7:00 PM at the Collin College McKinney Campus Conference Center.

2200 West University Drive, McKinney, TX 75070 - Room D106 Section B - Look for the main entrance across from the Clock Tower on Campus - map

Most Texans don't realize that the State of Texas is ranked 49th in per capita funding for Mental Health while one out of every six adults will experience a serious Mental Illness throughout their life.

The HCCC has assembled a panel of local experts in the field of mental health care services who will share their thoughts and expertise on the subject. The committee is a nonpartisan grassroots organization dedicated to improving healthcare in Collin County. Please attend to find out what mental health care services are available in your Collin County community.

This meeting is open to the public, and the public is encouraged to ask questions of the panelists.

Sign up at: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gpfz7l

Right-Wing Thuggery At Democratic Events

Tea party conservatives are organizing into a campaign of disruption and intimidation to disrupt health-care forums and other Democratic events. Politico reports that disruptions are becoming quite common and Think Progress reports that the disruptions are being carefully planned:

This growing phenomenon is often marked by violence and absurdity. Missing from [corporate media] reporting of these stories is the fact that many of these protests are coordinated by public relations firms and lobbyists who have a stake in opposing President Obama’s reforms.

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 Democratic iniyitives. 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 Democrats.

Some of the advice being dispensed to disrupt Democratic events includes:

• Be Disruptive Early And Often
  
• Try To Rattle To Not Have An Intelligent Debate
  

Chris Good at The Atlantic reports that we can expect a long August with these kinds of events:

Over August recess, conservative activist groups will mount a renewed effort to kill the dreaded ObamaCare. August will be a melee of grassroots (or Astroturfed) activity on both sides: members of Congress will be home in their districts, holding town-halls, taking feedback from constituents--in other words, they'll be more open to pressure from activist campaigns than at any other time during the year.

Think Progress: Angry right harasses Rep. Lloyd Doggett with anti-health care chants. (Updated) - Today, House members are back home to begin their month-long recess. The far right has indicated that they plan to welcome many of their representatives with large, angry throngs (“town halls gone wild”). The corporate lobbyists engineering these “grassroots” efforts have indicated their harassment strategy is to “yell,” “stand up and shout,” and “rattle” the members. Politico reported that Democratic members of Congress are increasingly being confronted by “angry, sign-carrying mobs and disruptive behavior” at local town halls.
This past weekend, Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) was the latest victim of the right’s strategy, where protesters followed him and chanted “just say no” to health care. Watch the video:

Congressman Doggett had this to say after being cornered by Teabaggers and Birthers this past Saturday

"This mob, sent by the local Republican and Libertarian parties, did not come just to be heard, but to deny others the right to be heard. And this appears to be part of a coordinated, nationwide effort. What could be more appropriate for the "party of no" than having its stalwarts drowning out the voices of their neighbors by screaming "just say no!" Their fanatical insistence on repealing Social Security and Medicare is not just about halting health care reform but rolling back 75 years of progress. I am more committed than ever to win approval of legislation to offer more individual choice to access affordable health care. An effective public plan is essential to achieve that goal."

Texas has the highest uninsured rate in the nation and stands to be among the most to gain from Obama’s health care plan. “Nearly 6 million Texans, including the one in six U.S. uninsured children who live there, could get health insurance for the first time if the plan is enacted.”

MSNBC's Countdown talks about these disruptions in the following video: