Tea Baggers FAIL to disrupt Health Care meeting, lessons shared.

The Democratic Alliance of Northwest Indiana (DANI ) hosted a meeting with Rep. Pete Visclosky (D, IN-01), on Monday, Aug. 3, 6:30 PM. We invited the public and their written questions. It seems good to share with the Daily Kos readership some lessons we learned.

Bottom line:
• We had an orderly and productive meeting.
• No one stood up, shouted out and sat down.
• At no point was our Congressman or audience rattled.
• DANI accomplished its objective. We provided the public an opportunity to question our Congressman about Health Care and Clean Energy.
• Tea Baggers came out in force, but they failed to disrupt the meeting.
• Local reporters attended.

Lessons learned follow below the fold.

Don Briggs's diary :: :: 1.We sent out Public Service Announcements to the local media a week in advance, and then followed up with phone calls to each outlet the Thursday before the weekend. The event got good exposure.
2.The topic of Health Care Reform draws the Tea Baggers, no problem. But oddly, it proved somewhat difficult to rouse enough Progressives to attend. We recommend a strong, multifaceted approach. We posted the event with MoveOn and Organizing for America. But, we also blasted e-mail to lists scoured from the 2006 election. In this effort, we succeeded, but barely. The attendance inside was split roughly evenly between Progressives and Tea Baggers. The meeting room filled to its capacity of 110 well before our start time. About 40 Tea Baggers and 20 Progressives remained outside. Both sides had their signs.
3.Physical separation proved very important. We were lucky to have a foyer between the meeting room and the Tea Baggers outside. The Tea Baggers chanted for the duration, but only occasionally did their noise perturb the meeting. Rep. Visclosky was able to address the audience without resort to a microphone, and only a few times did he find it necessary to raise his voice. Without the foyer, the meeting might have been far less successful.
4.Don't call them Tea Baggers to their faces in a public setting. Yes, we all know—they self-identified as Tea Baggers early on. But, in a public meeting, it gives them a pretext to take umbrage. Don't go there.
5.People entered single file, signed in, and filled out a name tag. This simple measure helped set an orderly tone to the meeting.
6.The local police were present inside and out, in force. The Congressman didn't call them, nor did DANI. Our meeting was at a library. The Library staff got wind of the Tea Baggers and called the police well in advance. DANI officers were loath to go heavy. But, the police presence proved crucial to success. DANI just got lucky. Don't leave this element to chance.
7.DANI members and friends gained early entrance and sat in front. Make sure your Progressives know to get to your event early.
8.The DANI executive board consulted closely with Visclosky's office to draft the Public Service Announcement and to set up ground rules for the meeting. So, we opened the meeting by laying down the ground rules.
9.Written questions went directly to Visclosky's staffer, not to DANI members or officers. Do not stand between the people and their representative.
10.And then in opening remarks, I blew the Tea Baggers' cover. Roughly, it went like this:
Meetings like this one continue a democratic tradition more than 2500 years old, that of the ancient Greek "Ecclesia." The term means "those called out"—called out to discuss and decide civic matters, and to defend their ancient Greek city-states, to defend their democracy. And you all were called out by notices in the local papers, radio stations, by e-mail and internet, to discuss Health Care Reform and Clean Energy with our Representative tonight.

So know this: efforts to disrupt and thwart public discourse on civic matters are profoundly anti-democratic. But, that's an obstacle we face tonight. It's public knowledge that groups known as Tea Baggers intend to disrupt and thwart the public discourse on Health Care Reform in meetings like this during this month's Congressional Recess. They want Democracy to fail. So, let's face this obstacle together.

The Tea Baggers' instructions are also public knowledge. If some people stand up, shout out and sit down; if some try to rattle us and the Congressman; if some pretend numeric superiority; if some try to stifle intelligent debate; then we can compare that behavior to the Tea Baggers' instructions and draw our own conclusions.

That was my "appeal to first principles" of Democracy. Karen Kroczek followed by laying down the law: unruly behavior would not be permitted. Period. Violators would be escorted out of the meeting. End of story. The police presence inside lent credibility.

11.As it turned out, Rep. Visclosky took one look at the stack of about 100 index cards with questions, and decided to make some opening remarks, and then simply invite verbal questions from the floor, one-at-a-time. His approach worked very well.
12.At one point, Rep. Visclosky said he agreed that government has a natural role and responsibility in health care. The Tea Baggers booed him roundly. It was the only serious breach of decorum. One Tea Bagger even challenged the constitutionality of a governmental role in health care. So, at these meetings, we should raise the point that the Preamble to the Constitution includes the phrase "promote the general welfare" as one of its key organizing principles.
13.Rep. Visclosky responded that MediCare is 44 years old and has not been challenged on constitutional grounds. He went on to note that MediCare was enacted in 1965, just after the last time Indiana turned Blue, in the 1964 election. He drew a round of applause from the Progressives. It was a delicious moment, and I think it was ad lib.
14.As a side effect of this meeting's success, DANI will grow stronger. Many of the local Progressives attending did not know about DANI before this meeting, but now intend to join up. And the Tea Baggers will shrivel.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/8/4/761608/-Tea-Baggers-FAIL-to-disrupt-Health-Care-meeting,-lessons-shared.

they used a variation of my idea:)

SoCalDem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Sun Aug-02-09 11:36 AM
Original message

How a smart Representative handles the "memo-people"/disruptors.



Immediately after being introduced, he/she would say:

"Everyone who is on medicare, please stand up". Now sit down. Everyone who is too young to be on medicare, please stand up. Now sit down.

Why did I ask you to do that?

The first group of people who stood up paid into medicare since 1965 (maybe not the correct year) and their payments went to pay for health-care for their parents & grandparents. the second group of people who stood are NOW paying out of their paychecks for the first group's medicare..

Is that socialism? or is it just a generational promise of good citizenship and fair-play?

Let me ask these questions to the 2nd group. Should deductions from your pay stop, so that health-care benefits for the first group could be terminated?

Of course that means that YOU would get nothing in the way of health-care when YOU turn 65 either. How many have a million dollars saved up for health care in their old age?"

"NOW.. for the people who have received the RNC memo, and who are here to disrupt, please step up to the stage.. all together now.. You have 15 minutes to recite your prepared talking points, and then we'll proceed with the town hall meeting."

(assuming that no one steps forward)

Since no one here admits to receiving the disruption orders, or perhaps they were texting or twittering just now, anyone who stands up and shouts anything , will be removed."


then they should start the meeting.

Taking control early is the key.

an ambush is not effective if everyone's expecting it:)

and recommended.

By providing a well organized venue and delivering a preemptive strike you created a safe place where a meaningful dialogue can occur. You are to be commended. I hope word gets out to all our Democratic congress members, this is how to hold a town meeting.

I think the sixth step, where everyone signs in and gets a name badge, also tends to take the rougher edges off. If someone can just shout and run (or sit) anonymously, they might be tempted to do it. When you're wearing wearing a "HELLO, My Name Is Steve" name badge, it makes it a dicier proposition.

Good job, DANI. And good job to the congressman.

I'll bet a lot of people bussed in won't know the local zips.

Of course these are not foolproof tactics but it does make it a bit harder for disrupters to just come in and work the meeting.

Have you hugged and/or thanked a Librarian lately?

Gotta love 'em!

would be to Xerox copies of their instructions and hand them out to the audience as they enter. Then each time a teabagger did #2, the speaker could simply nod and say "Numer two" so that the real audience reference it on the sheet and accurately understand where these trolls on steriods came from and what their mission is.

Anything we can do to show these brown shirt thugs are working to a script with a goal of STOPPING public discussion will expose them for what they are - anarchists.

maybe it was just a coincidence but all the video I saw last night was full of horrible crazy old people, you know the type that likes to sit around all day listening to limbaugh and watching fox news.

I have rarely seen young people or youngish people at these events.

....that was shown on the MSNBC footage. My mother, who is 75, shouted "sit down and get a haircut, you old bag!" at the TV! :)

....which made it 10 times funnier! :)

I have only a fetid Puke as a rep. A real rabid right winger. :cry:

:D

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

I think this is the way we should all handle our local meetings where teabaggers are showing up.

Good job DANI!!

:applause:

Don't care much for the original "scripted" feel planned for the meeting, but I like how Rep. Visclosky took questions from the audience anyway. Well done.

:kick:

Thanks for the thread, Joanne.:thumbsup:

I'm glad to have this to counter those clamoring for more chanting, shouting, and confrontation with the cretins.

put them on the spot. Let them know up front that people are on to them and they will make gigantic asses of themselves if they follow their uber-troll instructions.

VIVAN LAS BIBLIOTECARIAS!

Especially here in Arizona where the tea-baggers outnumber the Dems at events 10 to 1...

before the events. The rest of the tasks are wise also.

:applause:

:applause:

This way, if anyone disturbed the meeting, they could have been removed, and fined for disorderly conduct. I believe that this is one way that we can get these poor excuses for people to stop. They may only get fined, but if they are fined enough times, their 'movement' will die a death of a thousand cuts.

Thank you for posting this; I consider it to be a roadmap to victory. This is a fight we have to win.

:kick:

:hi:

with the staging of the town hall meetings!