Time To Call In The Brown Shirts...

[The Remnant]

August 6, 2009, 3:39 pm
Unions Join Fray in Health-Care Overhaul
By Katharine Q. Seelye
The nation’s biggest labor unions are bringing their muscle to bear to the raucous health-care debates that have erupted over the last week in Congressional town hall meetings across the country.

John Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO, sent out a call to arms Thursday for rank-and-file members to counteract what he called the “right-wing ‘Tea Party Patriots’ ” who have been disrupting the meetings.

And the Service Employees International Union, the nation’s largest union of health-care employees, is deploying its members to the meetings to “reclaim our democracy,” according to a statement. Referring to the colorful T-shirts that the union’s members wear at rallies, a spokeswoman said the union was “unleashing the purple people.”

Organized labor’s engagement in the mounting clashes is the latest sign of the ferocity of the fight over the direction of any health-care overhaul. It is also the latest sign of how the debate is swelling toward the levels of a national political campaign.

Generally, the unions have supported President Obama’s desire to change the health-care system, even if they differ on some of the particulars. But it remains to be seen whether the unions will fully back the president’s final position. For now, they seem eager to fight on his behalf against the insurance companies and to try to staunch any sense that he is losing the war for public support.

“The question for us is, will we let them make health care ‘Obama’s Waterloo’ or will we make it the next big step in our march to turn around America?” Mr. Sweeney wrote in a memo, first reported by the Huffington Post.

“The principal battleground in the campaign will be town hall meetings and other gatherings with members of Congress in their home districts,” Mr. Sweeney wrote. “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.”

He urged his members to spend the next 30 days pressing labor’s case in town hall meetings in 50 “high priority” districts, represented by Republicans and conservative Democrats alike. He also called for “election-style” communications with fellow union members and canvassing in various states.

Unions were already rallying this summer to urge members of Congress to pass a bill to make it easier for them to organize. But since health care has quickly and loudly dominated the debate, the unions are now piggy-backing the fight for health care on top of their union-organizing campaign.

Dennis Rivera, the New York labor leader and chairman of the service employees’ health care arm, was already overseeing a Washington “war room” operating nearly 24/7 to track all health-care related activity across the country. The union, representing 1 million health-care workers, has deployed 400 people to 35 states to organize rallies and telephone banks to put pressure on members of Congress not to block an overhaul of the health-care system.

Now, in “unleashing the purple people,” as Ramona Oliver, a spokeswoman for the union, put it, the union wants to “challenge the radical fringe” that is disrupting the town hall meetings. It plans to ask everyone attending the meetings to sign a pledge that they will engage in “civil” dialogue.

“We’re not trying to escalate a confrontation,” Ms. Oliver said. “Our members aren’t there to talk to the crazies. We want to ensure that a conversation takes place and that members are able to hear from their constituents.”

Does anyone expect that union involvement in the town hall meetings will lower the decibel level? After all, Mr. Sweeney’s memo was accompanied by a blistering attack from Richard Trumka, secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO, against the “corporate-funded mob rule,” an attack that seemed designed to fire up the unions.

Eddie Vale, a spokesman for the labor federation, said that its members intended to “hold signs, show support and act in a completely respectful way.”

“People will stand up and share their views, but we won’t be in screaming matches,” Mr. Vale said. “We have no intention of amping up the volume in this corporate-funded fight.”

Union members were already participating in town hall meetings on Thursday afternoon, he said, and so far he has heard no reports of confrontations.

[picasso]

free speech right?

[OklahomaTuba]

Don't you mean blue shirts?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTXBOgPCh9w&feature=player_embedded

video of union goons attacking people protesting obamacare.

[Dio]

free speech right?

Are the unions going out to speak, or to shove?


Our members aren’t there to talk to the crazies.

[Harry Beanbag]

I thought unions were going to be exempt from Obamacare.

[John Kochtoston]

Don't you mean blue shirts?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTXBOgPCh9w&feature=player_embedded

video of union goons attacking people protesting obamacare.

Right. Because you can tell what happened or who started anything from that video.

[StoopTroup]

Don't you mean blue shirts?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTXBOgPCh9w&feature=player_embedded

video of union goons attacking people protesting obamacare.

Yep...pretty clear video of the goonage...lol

Looks like the Medical Examiner will be busy with autopsies.

[OklahomaTuba]

I thought unions were going to be exempt from Obamacare.Yeah, I think they are, even though the tax payer will probably be paying for it anyway. In fact it was probably in Porkulus, along with their tax payer funded full pay retirement for the rest of Dear Leaders political cronies from SIEU, AFL-CIO, ACORN, etc.

If Obama and the liberals are going to resort to this type of thuggery and intimidation in order to grab more power from the American private sector, then we are indeed treading on some very dangerous ground my friends.

[StoopTroup]

Tuba...

Your exaggeration of Obama calling on Unions to attack the American Private Sector are ridiculous.

[OklahomaTuba]

Right. Because you can tell what happened or who started anything from that video.Probably goes better with the news accounts of whats happening.


Kenneth Gladney, 38, a conservative activist from St. Louis, said he was attacked by some of those arrested as he handed out yellow flags with "Don't tread on me" printed on them. He spoke to the Post-Dispatch from the emergency room at St. John's Mercy Medical Center, where he said he was awaiting treatment for injuries to his knee, back, elbow, shoulder and face. Gladney, who is black, said one of his attackers, also a black man, used a racial slur against him before the attack.

[StoopTroup]

You know...just claiming to be an activist means your there to start trouble.

Activist - an especially active, vigorous advocate of a cause, esp. a political cause.


Kenneth Gladney, 38, a conservative activist from St. Louis, said he was attacked by some of those arrested as he handed out yellow flags with "Don't tread on me" printed on them. He spoke to the Post-Dispatch from the emergency room at St. John's Mercy Medical Center, where he said he was awaiting treatment for injuries to his knee, back, elbow, shoulder and face. Gladney, who is black, said one of his attackers, also a black man, used a racial slur against him before the attack.

[OklahomaTuba]

Tuba...

Your exaggeration of Obama calling on Unions to attack the American Private Sector are ridiculous.

Right.

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina:


“If you get hit, we will punch back twice as hard,” Messina said"http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0809/25891.html

[John Kochtoston]

Probably goes better with the news accounts of whats happening.

From the same P-D Article

"One of those arrested was Brian Matthews, 34, of St. Louis city, who works as a rehabber and previously worked on a campaign for a Texas statehouse candidate.

"I feel like it was a bull rush," Matthews said. "It all came from behind."

Matthews said he had been inside the forum because he is in favor of a public option for health care. He had attended with a friend, a 51-year-old woman. After it was over, they were walking outside and had a run-in with a man who was trying to videotape them. Matthews said that man from from the GOP. They reported the man to a police officer, who seemed uninterested, Matthews said.

As the pair walked to their car, they saw a man on the street who looks like he had been assaulted. Police surrounded him.

"My friend took pictures," Matthews said, "and an officer told her not to. She contested that."

Matthews said he and his friend walked away, arm in arm. The officer followed them, and Matthews friend exchanged words with the officer, Matthews said.

"I can't tell you how many police officers charged us from behind," Matthews said. "I was pushed to the ground by one. I was pushed into the back of somebody who was walking away."

Matthews said he was told he was arrested for interference. His friend was maced "after she was subdued by the police," Matthews said. She vomited on the side of the road, then later vomited more in the police car, he said.


So, in other words, it's a bunch of he said, she said. Like I said.

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/laworder/story/0470FEB3219207458625760B001142AC?OpenDocument

[OklahomaTuba]

Yeah, NoObama has nothing to do with this, at all...

For the first time, Obama's formidable political operation, Organizing for America, is calling on supporters to go to town meetings and show support for Congressional Democrats, as a way of countering the Tea Party brigade's efforts to lay siege to such gatherings...
And early this week, for instance, the AFL-CIO hosted a "webinar" training and organizing session with over 200 leaders from the organization's four regions, opening with a short briefing by HHS Secretary Kathleen Sibelius on health care; organizers then turned to outlining the strategy in part of showing up in force at these town hall meetings.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/art-levine/fighting-the-gop-mobs-pro_b_253623.html

[OklahomaTuba]

So, in other words, it's a bunch of he said, she said. Like I said.
you're right, if you ignore the union thug going after the people in the YouTube video.

[StoopTroup]

I don't read where he told them to send Goons down to kick some *** though.

Your making something out of nothing again.

[OklahomaTuba]

You know...just claiming to be an activist means your there to start trouble.So I guess he should just shut-up then and let the SEIU and AFL-CIO tell him what to do then??

I guess I can see your point, it his own damn fault for letting the union thug beat him up and call him a racist slur.

[StoopTroup]

http://smokejumping.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/chicken-little-sky-falling.jpg

[OklahomaTuba]

BTW, what the hell are the union folks even doing there? Not only will they not pay for this, they will be exempt from ObamaCare??

[John Kochtoston]

you're right, if you ignore the union thug going after the people in the YouTube video.

The video you linked shows no such thing.

[OklahomaTuba]

The video you linked shows no such thing.Actually, it does. And it also shows the guy saying it happened, and the union thug getting arrested.

[StoopTroup]

So I guess he should just shut-up then and let the SEIU and AFL-CIO tell him what to do then??

I guess I can see your point, it his own damn fault for letting the union thug beat him up and call him a racist slur.

You know....

You go down to a public event where you know there are going to be Union and AFL-CIO folks and you go by yourself with a camera guy of course to document the event and you start throwing out "Don't Tread on me" material....and then you have an altercation with someone in a Union Shirt and declare that Obama has sent his Goons down to kick his ***.

I swear Tuba...you are really stretching my friend.

It's laughable.

I have better sense than to do some stupid **** like that.

Why don't you go down to the Texas Athletic Dormitory and start handing out flyers with * on them while wearing an OU Shirt. Tell me how that comes out. Maybe Mack will claim Bob Stoops sent you down there.

[OklahomaTuba]

.and then you have an altercation with someone in a Union Shirt and declare that Obama has sent his Goons down to kick his ***.No, he said hit them back, twice as hard. Want the link again???

And these groups were "mobilized" by the community Organizer in Chief. The AFL-CIO guy on the first post said as much.

And again, why were they even there in the first place? Obama already paid off the unions and is exempting them from this....

I n=know you're a union guy, but don't let that cloud your vision of whats really going on here, this is all about intimidation. No other reason for the unions to be involved in this.

[StoopTroup]

I'm not such a Union guy as you think...I work at a place that is a Union Shop. It's full of people who can clearly think for themselves. The amount of people I know that would show up to hurt other human beings for the President would be somewhere around 0.0001 % if that.

Your vision of what Unions are in this Country are clouded by the events of history past IMO.

[John Kochtoston]

That video shows one person, laying on the ground on his back, wearing a blue t-shirt that seems to identify him as a member of a union. Then, it shows a second man in a brown shirt standing near him. It then shows a third man, also in a blue t-shirt that seems to identify him as a member of a union, grabbing the man in the brown shirt and puling him backwards.

The most reasonable and likely interpretation of that video is that:
1) The apparent union member is laying on the ground after being in a physical altercation with someone and

2) The other apparent union member is trying to prevent the man in the brown shirt from physically assaulting the man laying on the ground. Whether or not the man in the brown shirt originally assaulted the man on the ground is unclear from the video. It's also unclear what he was going to do before he was grabbed by the other man in a blue shirt.

3) According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, six folks were arrested, plus (or including, it' unclear to me) a P-D reporter. Another person you can see being arrested in the video is not wearing a union t-shirt. The most reasonable conclusion is that the cops were arresting first, asking questions later.

So, like I said, the video you linked showed no such thing.

Also, if the union was going to send in "goons" to "kick ***," don't you think they could find some better candidates than a middle-aged, overweight dude and a skinny smoker that doesn't have the slightest clue about how to "attack" an opponent that exposes his back to him?

[MR2-Sooner86]

:pop:

[trwxxa]

BTW, what the hell are the union folks even doing there? Not only will they not pay for this, they will be exempt from ObamaCare??

One of the President's promises is to make it easier to unionize (or harder to disband by taking away the private vote). This is their way of telling the President they are still there and to not forget about them.

[The Remnant]

This comes from the attorney of the guy who was beat up.

"I am Kenneth Gladney’s attorney. Kenneth was attacked on the evening of August 6, 2009 at Rep. Russ Carnahan’s town hall meeting in South St. Louis County. I was at the town hall meeting as well and witnessed the events leading up to the attack of Kenneth. Kenneth was approached by an SEIU representative as Kenneth was handing out “Don’t Tread on Me” flags to other conservatives. The SEIU representative demanded to know why a black man was handing out these flags. The SEIU member used a racial slur against Kenneth, then punched him in the face. Kenneth fell to the ground. Another SEIU member yelled racial epithets at Kenneth as he kicked him in the head and back. Kenneth was also brutally attacked by one other male SEIU member and an unidentified woman. The three men were clearly SEIU members, as they were wearing T-shirts with the SEIU logo."

[JohnnyMack]

I love politics in this country. Remember when W was unleashing a secret thought police on us after the Patriot Act was enacted?

Partisan hackery is partisan hackery no matter whose side you're on.

[StoopTroup]

This comes from the attorney of the guy who was beat up.

"I am Kenneth Gladney’s attorney. Kenneth was attacked on the evening of August 6, 2009 at Rep. Russ Carnahan’s town hall meeting in South St. Louis County. I was at the town hall meeting as well and witnessed the events leading up to the attack of Kenneth. Kenneth was approached by an SEIU representative as Kenneth was handing out “Don’t Tread on Me” flags to other conservatives. The SEIU representative demanded to know why a black man was handing out these flags. The SEIU member used a racial slur against Kenneth, then punched him in the face. Kenneth fell to the ground. Another SEIU member yelled racial epithets at Kenneth as he kicked him in the head and back. Kenneth was also brutally attacked by one other male SEIU member and an unidentified woman. The three men were clearly SEIU members, as they were wearing T-shirts with the SEIU logo."

Which further emphasizes that Obama didn't send a bunch of Union thugs down to kick some black guys asses.

It's ridiculous.

It's like Tuba saying Union Members are all racists.

Laughable.

Find the Racist (http://www.ilaunion.org/img/SweeneyAndDelegates.jpg)

lol

[StoopTroup]

Hey Tuba...here's a concept...

http://msnbcmedia3.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/050725/050725_sweeney_hlg_12p.hlarge.jpg

[King Crimson]

call in the brown shirts or the Patriot Act.

[GrapevineSooner]

Just don't call in the Blue Shirts. ;)

[JohnnyMack]

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2009/08/08/nancys_nazi_shock_did_she_forget_the_bush_years_97 812.html


Nancy's Nazi Shock: Did She Forget the Bush Years?
By John Leo

Nancy Pelosi is shocked by the presence of some swastikas at protests against Obamacare. Who ever heard of such a thing? Well, any mildly alert American old enough to remember the anti-war protests of 2003-2007. Images of George Bush with a Hitler mustache and a Nazi uniform was everywhere at swastika-choked marches and rallies. "Stop the Fourth Reich-Visualize Nuremburg," said one sign at a Hollywood march. "The Fuhrer already in his bunker," said another. Lots of Nazi regalia appeared at protests in Pelosi's San Francisco as well.

On far-left Internet sites, where basic Bush-Is-Hitler commentary became too familiar to attract attention, Bush aides were quickly assigned Nazi roles; Tom Ridge was the new Himmler and Colin Powell became Nazi Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop; Ari Fleisher, Karen Hughes and Karl Rove were all Josef Goebbels figures. Some thought Vice President Cheney was the most important Hitler figure - he commands "storm-trooper legions," said famous crackpot Lyndon LaRouche.

One fevered lefty connected Bush to Nero as well as Hitler, saying "Nero burned Rome, Hitler burned the Reichstag and Bush burned the World Trade Center."

An even more inventive commenter managed to link Rove to Josef Mengele, the depraved Nazi doctor nicknamed the Angel of Death: "Bush made up stories about John McCain, just as Josef Mengele conducted medical experiments on children in Auschwitz." What?

Donald Rumsfeld was the new Rommel. The Action Coalition of Taos, New Mexico, however, thought Rumsfeld was the real Hitler, since, like Adolf, he had a mountain retreat. In an op-ed published in Florida, Air Force veteran Douglas Herman, disagreed, saying Rumsfeld was more like Goering, because both men had been fighter pilots.

Mainstream commentary featured Nazi references too. Both Senator Robert Byrd and billionaire Democrat George Soros said Bush reminded them of Herman Goering.

During the 2004 presidential campaign, Al Gore used the term "brownshirts" (Nazi street thugs) to refer to Republican computer teams assigned to respond to criticism of Bush and the Iraq war.

Vanity Fair magazine nominated Richard Perle for the Goebbels role, running photos of both men under the headline "Separated at Birth?"

New York Times columnist Frank Rich managed to work in a reference to a famous Nazi filmmaker. He said a Showtime program on 9/11 was so favorable to Bush that it is "best viewed as a fitting memorial to Leni Riefenstahl."

The Rev. Andrew Greeley, sociologist and novelist, depicted Bush as a Hitler figure who carried American over to "the dark side."

Federal appeals judge Guido Calabresi offered a comparatively mild Nazi reference, saying the Bush's rise to power was reminiscent of the rise of Hitler and Mussolini, with the Supreme Court pushing him into the presidency with the Bush v. Gore decision.

Bush reminded the left of non-Nazi villains as well. He was depicted as Attila the Hun, serial killer Ted Bundy, Mussolini, Ahab, Hannibal Lecter, the Anti-Christ and Frankenstein's monster (on the cover of the British edition of book by New York Times columnist Paul Krugman).

As far as we know, Nancy Pelosi never complained about any of this. Maybe she didn't notice.

[LosAngelesSooner]

No. Tuba is right. It's all Obama and his thug's fault.

Not the other protesters who were there getting violent and wearing swastikas.

[Tulsa_Fireman]

You shut up, nazi-lover.

[LosAngelesSooner]

Hey, Tuba...I found your new Avatar:

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e374/canadiansentinel/090519s_coyne-1.jpg

[Tulsa_Fireman]

OPPRESSION

[KABOOKIE]

But, las is a republican. Had Bush-Hitler been doing this, his panties would be a knot. :rolleyes:

[Tulsa_Fireman]

But I can hate Republicans, give Obama the ol' skin whistle toot, and still be correct as you fail in wrongness.

Bask in your wrongimication, wrongor the wrong-barian.

[LosAngelesSooner]

Pretty good. But not quite bile inducing enough. ;)

[GrapevineSooner]

I love politics in this country. Remember when W was unleashing a secret thought police on us after the Patriot Act was enacted?

Partisan hackery is partisan hackery no matter whose side you're on.

It's entertaining on a certain level.

But when it's applied to serious issues like the Iraq War or Healthcare Reform, it's sad. When the party leaders on the Republican and Democrat sides start to label all these demonstrators as part of a fringe, they're focusing attention away from the actual debate on the issue.