Last updated on August 10th, 2014 at 05:08 pm
At a town hall meeting in Lebanon, PA today, Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) was booed for having the nerve to claim that President Barack Obama is an American citizen, thus providing more evidence of who is really yelling the loudest at these town halls. It isn’t average Americans, but right wing activist doing the loudest screaming.
Here is the video courtesy of Think Progress:
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After Specter was asked if he will go back to Washington and represent us first as an American and tell President Obama he is an American, and if not there’s other countries. He answered, “Well, I think President Obama knows he is an American, and when you ask me to make a commitment to represent American first I will say absolutely yes.”
Notice the jeers that came when Specter said that Obama is an American. Specter has been a target or right wing protesters at his town hall meeting, and I wonder why they are targeting him? Specter is going to definitely vote for the final healthcare bill. In fact, his stance on healthcare was one of the major divides between himself and the GOP.
These staged protests are not going to derail healthcare reform. The birthers and the tea baggers can pack all of the town halls that they want. I think the underlying strategy here is not only to disrupt healthcare reform, but to use the issue to motivate the GOP base for the 2010 midterm elections.
The right winger plan is to take up time in these town halls to get their message out by asking follow up questions, and generally being disruptive. Follow up questions aren’t the norm at these events, but it is up to the person holding the meeting whether they will allow them. The protesters try to spread fear and misinformation that will further confuse those who undecided about reform. Some people do this out of political motives, while others are being ignorantly guided by fear.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
