A town hall meeting to discuss President Obama’s health care reform descended into shouting and violence in a Tampa, Fla., suburb Thursday as angry opponents clashed with event organizers.
Close to 1,500 people came to Ybor City to attend the town hall-style meeting on health care and insurance reform featuring Democratic State Rep. Bette Reed and U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor before the event exploded into a near riot.
According to local media reports, the larger-than-expected crowd gathered outside the Hillsborough County Children’s Board building where several hundred people, mostly in opposition to government health care, began to loudly chant and scuffle with organizers posted at doorways after the auditorium filled to capacity.
A freelance videographer was roughed up in an altercation, which damaged his camera equipment and glasses, and at least one man was treated for minor injuries after a scuffle left his shirt partially torn from his body.
“That’s the most violent anyone has been towards me,” Mark Bishop told WTSP-TV. “It was surprising to say the least.”
Video shot outside the auditorium showed several people holding signs and posters while banging on doors and windows, while others argued face-to-face and were seen screaming at one another in the parking lot as police looked on.
Inside, democratic lawmakers had a difficult time delivering their opening remarks as they were met with shouts of “You work for us!” “Tyranny! tyranny! tyranny!” and “Read the bill!” the Tampa Tribune reported.
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Anyone find it strange that these meetings were loud and angry, but not violent, until O turned his troops out and sent an e-mail to his supporters. And, they turned violent after the WH started slagging them. So, who are those out there being violent, ACORN by chance.
And what if a great majority of doctors decide to retire if this goes thru, or move to another country. Didn’t Hitler have snitches and brown shirts.
John Sweeney, the president of the AFL-CIO has issued his call to arms. He wants union members to attend Town Hall meetings in order to counter those well-dressed protestors.
Sweeney wrote a memo: “The principal battleground in the campaign will be town hall meetings and other gatherings with members of Congress in their home districts … We want your help to organize major union participation to counter the right-wing ‘Tea-Party Patriots’ who will try to disrupt those meetings, as they’ve been trying to do to meetings for the last month.”
Obama had promised the unions that he would end the need for the secret ballot to organize. Unless ObamaCare gets done , Obama won’t have any credibility to foist this undemocratic legislation upon US corporations. So the unions are happy to help Obama try to shut down dissent.
I’m sure it’s a vast right-wing conspiracy to smear Obama and it’s backed by the GOP…
Who’d'a thought that the Empty Suit would move into 70′s racial politics, urge his camp of lefties and teat suckers to show up and get in the faces of the people that don’t support the O Rings policies.
I DID!!! And in the words of the carnival, You ain’t seen nothing yet.
This reminds me so much of the coalition rallies. The coalition rallies were fed by the unions, with nice professional signs. They were told to be there and likely provided transportation. These people are pros at protesting and rallying because their unions require them to strike and picket every so often. The unions know there’s a huge payoff in anything that requires more government. Both here and in the U.S. Same deal. The leaders on the left know that their election depends on support from the unions. – you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours. Obama and his “organizations” got him elected – he’s gonna pay em back.
The Rallies for Canada (anti-coalition) featured people with homemade signs, many of whom likely had never protested anything in their lives before. People who drove themselves there or took the bus. Real average people who were so incensed at what was happening they felt they had no choice. Remember, this was in the dead of winter, no less.
These angry average people aren’t “astroturf”, either here or in the U.S.
Obama and his thugs should be ashamed of themselves. Pelosi and Boxer are disgusting women.
I really fear for the U.S. right now. But I think the 2010 midterms will see the beginning of the end for O and his thugs.