Drowning Out Democracy: The District 9 Townhall Meeting

The following is a piece written by Michelle Bliss of the TEP Shelby County Committee and reprinted with her permission:

Well congrats to all the conservatives in District 9. You made a big splash at the Town Hall Meeting with Steve Cohen today. You and the several dozen people from out of town who shouted down the speakers and stepped all over the First Amendment rights of the constituents. Good job. You successfully destroyed the ability of your neighbors to ask questions and hear the answers. Oh and you were helped by people who drove in from Nevada, California, Atlanta, Desoto County Mississippi, and Alabama. People who are not residents in this district and came here specifically to help you squash your neighbors ability to have a meeting with their elected representative.

You must be so proud of yourselves for being part of the solution like that. Because everyone knows that interfering in the open and free discourse of citizens with their representatives is in the best interest of America. Congrats.

By the way, you also achieved something else today. You successfully volunteered to be the voices of the Insurance lobby. Good job. I hope you got paid for it, because the people from out of town did. The got all their expenses paid by the same people who screwed up the healthcare system in the name of profit based rationing of services that you claim you are afraid will happen under this plan. Good job. They didn't even have to pay you.

The guy I got in a shouting match would not answer one simple question...do you live in the district? he did not, he is from Atlanta. I know because he parked next to me with hsi georgia plates. He would not answer who he works for either. He was wearing a $30k watch and $500 shoes. Must be nice. His wife had on 2 carets worth of earrings. Nice. What did you get for coming to the meeting?

Is the healthcare plan perfect? No, it isn't. And we will never know what it could have been with our input. Good freaking job.