Town hall disruptions part of GOP's assault on Obama

Now Rep. Brian Baird is receiving death threats. Thanks Rush Limbaugh. Thanks Sean Hannity. Thanks Glenn Beck. And thanks to the loyal listeners of those conservative talk shows.

It’s exactly like I said in my last column: Limbaugh, Hannity, Beck and many other right wing pundits encourage this type of response in the health care debate.

The GOP leadership, with help from the media, is manipulating and exploiting their base for one reason and one reason only: to score political points against President Obama.

This is done strictly to disrupt anything the Obama administration does. Many in these protests don’t even know what they are protesting. Some don’t even have health care. This is just hate mongering at its best, or worst, depending on what side of the fence you’re on.

At first they played the race card subtlety, with a wink and a nod. But now this fringe has upped the ante so much that David Duke, Tom Metzger and Rush Limbaugh would be proud.

I think it is one thing to be against health care reform and voice your opinion at town hall meetings. I applaud that. But to go to these meetings with the sole purpose of disruption is despicable. And if that wasn’t enough, to now threaten the life a United States representative shows how far out in left field (no pun intended) the GOP is now.

And to add insult to injury, having Fox News broadcast these meetings in a light that gives the impression that many in attendance are strongly against health care reform is just as despicable.

This isn’t grassroots. This is nothing more than corporate organization with GOP backing. And it’s all a ruse. If you browse conservative Web sites you can read the game plan instructing them how to disrupt health care informational and town halls, with a meeting schedule posted for your area. I did it myself just to see.

Why would anyone submit themselves to abuse from a biased, contrived fringe that cares nothing about discourse, or discussion, or how to make things better, or even educating themselves to the subject matter?

Sadly, the people playing the part of protesters have been misinformed and some just don’t care. Their hate keeps them in this fight.

“I want my country back,” they say.

Sure they do, from the colored guy who is president, right?

Why is it always about race with these people? They are so transparent. Anything, and I do mean ANYTHING, that they can jump on to attack the Obama administration suits their purpose. And government programs that worked, they’ll ignore. They are fearful.

Here’s an example of what I mean.

I saw a clip from a recent rally where someone stood up and said, “Get your government hands off of my Medicare!” The crowd erupted in approval.

Approval?

The lack of intelligence is stunning. It is doubly concerning when they have no idea who is running Medicare or Social Security and don’t recognize that Medicare is essentially socialized medicine.

They just know they hate government, and that’s their motivation and their rallying point.

Mark Twain said it best when he said: “It is better to have people think you a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.”

I think this group missed the memo.

Lucius Daye, a service-connected disabled veteran, is working on his MBA degree from Syracuse University. A member of The Olympian’s Diversity Panel, he can be reached at lucasdaye@comcast.net.