The pushback begins...

[gearofzanzibar]

Aug 7, 2009 10:35:14 GMT -5 Will said:

I've heard everything from, we are bankrolled by right wing extremist groups to big insurance. Truth is we operate on donations from members. Our members are politically diverse from registered democrats, republicans libertarian and undeclared. We are simply fed up with our government and ALL the parties. Arcuri won't hold a town hall meeting here so we went to him. We yell and shout because people just don't see that it's not us that are influenced by special interest groups.... It's our politicians, and they are not listening to us. Therefore we must turn up the volume so the voices in their heads become too loud to ignore.

Since Mr. Arcuri continues to refuse any kind of public meeting on health care, why not hold your own forum? Invite him and any other supporters of the plan to make their case, as well as opponents.

I hear Fort Stanwix is available. Heh.

[dgriffin]

WSJ


Lawmakers Rethink Town Halls


"The health-care debate was supposed to play out at rallies and inside gymnasiums when lawmakers headed home for the August recess.

But after a series of contentious town-hall meetings, some Democratic lawmakers are thinking twice about holding large public gatherings. Instead, they are opting for smaller sessions, holding meetings by phone or inviting constituents for one-on-one office hours.


The Senate on Friday headed home for a monthlong break after progress stalled on passing sweeping health-care legislation. House members, whose break started a week ago, have been hit with a flood of inquiries about the legislation since they arrived home.

Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D., Ariz.) on Thursday canceled her public schedule for the day after a "Chat with Ann" session at a Safeway grocery store in Holbrook, Ariz., turned rowdy.

A video of the meeting showed a woman shouting, "You don't appreciate our frustration!" Ms. Kirkpatrick cut the session short after 15 minutes and headed to her car, trailed by a jeer of "What a nitwit!"

Rep. Tim Bishop (D., N.Y.) stopped holding town-hall meetings after a June event. Footage of the meeting showed participants screaming questions at Mr. Bishop, then repeatedly shouting him down when he tried to respond. At times, Mr. Bishop would begin to respond to a question and a participant would yell, "Answer the question!" At one point Mr. Bishop yelled back, "I'm trying to!"

Police were summoned as several dozen protesters followed Mr. Bishop to his car. Now Mr. Bishop, who has held 100 town-hall meetings during his tenure, has just one scheduled for the August recess, and his office is wrestling with how to ensure it will be civil and orderly."


online.wsj.com/article/SB124969539333116231.html

[Will]

Well that's not right. We shouldn't be following people to their cars, that's just creepy. The fact that they retreat to their cars is quite enough to say they are cowards.

People are indeed VERY frustrated. Lawmakers are not listening to their constituents. They say they are "trying to" answer the questions but the only thing that comes out is more lies.

Also, I have a call into Arcuri to see if he will come meet with our group. I suspect I shouldn't hold my breath. Or maybe that's what they want me to do.

This is a blog from one of my members. Very interesting stuff here.

It seems only too obvious that one of the most sacred and personal inalienable rights of mankind is the liberty to be in complete control of any decision making which affects a person’s personal health care needs. It should also be noted that our federal Constitution’s preamble states in crystal clear language the very purpose of our federal Constitution is to “secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity”. And yet, without a power being delegated by the people of the various States to our federal government to tax for, spend on and then regulate the health care needs of people living within the various united States, our President and various members of Congress are feverishly at work preparing legislation to do exactly that: tax for, spend on and assume a federal control over one of the people’s most sacred and personal inalienable rights ___ their right to be in complete control of meeting their personal health care needs as each sees fit!

And now that concerned Americans are rising up and objecting to an orchestrated attack upon a fundamental inalienable right, they are labeled as being an “angry mob” by their hired public servants in Washington who have taken it upon themselves to not only ignore our written Constitution, but are contemplating a use of federal force to assume a power over a fundamental inalienable right of mankind which has not been consented to by the people via the prescribed manner which is articulated in Article V of the Constitution of the united States.

Indeed, let us not forget that our mob in Washington which includes every Senator and Representative of the united States and every judicial Officer, and even our beloved President Obama, are bound by Oath to support “this Constitution“, meaning the Constitution of the United States, and not one they make up in their minds to conform to tyrannical legislative acts designed to subjugate the limited powers granted to Congress by the Constitution.


Let us recall the eloquent words of Chief Justice Marshall when he elaborated upon our constitutionally limited system of government with reference to powers delegated to Congress and powers retained by the people as articulated in our Constitution:

"The powers of the legislature are defined and limited; and that those limits may not be mistaken or forgotten, the constitution is written. To what purpose are powers limited, and to what purpose is that limitation committed to writing; if these limits may, at any time, be passed by those intended to be restrained? The distinction between a government with limited and unlimited powers is abolished, if those limits do not confine the persons on whom they are imposed, and if acts prohibited and acts allowed are of equal obligation. It is a proposition too plain to be contested, that the constitution controls any legislative act repugnant to it; or, that the legislature may alter the constitution by an ordinary act.

Between these alternatives there is no middle ground. The constitution is either a superior, paramount law, unchangeable by ordinary means, or it is on a level with ordinary legislative acts, and like other acts, is alterable when the legislature shall please to alter it.

If the former part of the alternative be true, then a legislative act contrary to the constitution is not law: if the latter part be true, then written constitutions are absurd attempts, on the part of the people, to limit a power in its own nature illimitable.

Certainly all those who have framed written constitutions contemplate them as forming the fundamental and paramount law of the nation, and consequently the theory of every such government must be, that an act of the legislature repugnant to the constitution is void." ____ MARBURY v. MADISON, 5 U.S. 137 (1803)


For America’s freedom loving people to not rise up and confront public servants who are actively engaged in a concerted effort to exercise a power not granted, especially when that power takes aim at a fundamental inalienable right, would be the first step in submitting to despotism and conceding the power in question.

Neither Obama, nor any member of Congress can establish from the debates during which time our Constitution was framed and ratified, that it was the intention of our founding fathers to grant power to Congress to tax for, spend on and meddle in the personal health care needs of the people living within their respective state borders. As a matter of fact, Federalist No. 45 summarized the limited powers granted to our federal government as follows:


“The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite. The former will be exercised principally on external objects, as war, peace, negotiation, and foreign commerce; with which last the power of taxation will, for the most part, be connected.

The powers reserved to the several States will extend to all the objects which, in the ordinary course of affairs, concern the lives, liberties, and properties of the people, and the internal order, improvement, and prosperity of the State."


And if the above is not clear enough for President Obama and those in Congress who are attempting to subjugate the documented intentions under which our Constitution was adopted, let me remind them that our Constitution’s Tenth Amendment was specifically adopted to confirm a constitutionally limited system of government


"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States, respectively, or to the people."

Expounding upon our Constitution is not a matter of “interpretation” as some would have us believe…it is a task of “documentation”! Enemies of our constitutional system wish to ignore the recorded intentions for which our Constitution was adopted in order to then be free to make the Constitution mean whatever they wish it to mean.

JWK


America, we have a problem, we have been attacked from within! We are being destroyed from within by a group of domestic enemies who have managed to seize political power and whose mission is in fact to bring “change” to America ___ the dismantling of our military defensive power; the disarming of law abiding citizens, the allowance of our borders to be overrun by foreign invaders, the destruction of our manufacturing capabilities; the looting of our federal treasury; the brainwashing of our nation’s children in government operated schools; the creation of an iron fisted control unauthorized by our written Constitution over free enterprise and even our personal health care needs; the devaluation of our nation’s currency, and, the future enslavement of our children and grand children via unbridled debt and inflation.

[Will]

This guy is so arrogant he say's he'll have healthcare meeting but again, more lies. He won't have healthcare meeting and neither will the others. That's why we need to keep showing up at their other events.

[dgriffin]

Will, good post. A couple of things:

Quote: "For America’s freedom loving people to not rise up and confront public servants who are actively engaged in a concerted effort to exercise a power not granted, especially when that power takes aim at a fundamental inalienable right, would be the first step in submitting to despotism and conceding the power in question."

Well ... to be frank, this sentiment seems a little late in the game. Not that I disagree with it, but if we had a magic wand to wave away all the legislation that exercised "a power not granted by the Constitution," fully two thirds of the complete body of US law would be wiped away. I suppose some may think that a good thing.

I think Congressman Scott unfortunately typifies our legislative "leaders." Whether one agrees or disagrees with them on one issue or another, their arrogance (as you point out) is palpable. Makes one wonder how they stay in office, aside from having exclusive access to lots of money. But it's also true that in most of their appearances they are in total control of the room and their attitudes are masked. It's why the hard questions are seldom asked, or if they are, why the lawmaker can get away with not answering them. (That's true more so in the US than in many other free countries. In the UK, for example, politicians are often stopped by news interviewers with such statements as, "Now, wait a minute, that doesn't agree with what you said last week in Parliament." I've even heard on the BBC, "You expect us to believe THAT?") Over here, that kind of audience behavior brings charges of hooliganism, anti-democracy and worse. In the absence of a responsible media willing to challenge the drivel from people like Scott, shaking up a politician at a news conferences or town meeting and watching what falls out of the package is a good thing.

And it's a very good thing that from the news conferences of the past few weeks people will begin to feel empowered and realize they can show up and ask questions and argue their points of view. It might even renew our interest in real democracy and our hope to govern ourselves once again.