For Democrats, that’s precisely the problem: Their ability to make their case on health care at public events during the August recess is mostly in the hands of the people who turn out for the events. And if those people want to be disruptive — especially en masse — there’s not much the Democrats can do about it.
“Town halls have become town hells,” said Mark McKinnon, a former adviser to President George W. Bush. “Special interests and opponents have figured out how easy it is to disrupt town halls and get their own message out. The days of the truly free-form town halls may be over.”
The problem also is that embarrassing public officials is great fodder for the news media and YouTube. The idea that "people power" is trumping the "powerful" is always pretty potent. If the Dems are so concerned with what Gibbs calls AstroTurfing Brooks Brothers Brigade then bring in the tax-payer sponsored ACORN goons to shout back. Then the so-called health care debate can really get surreal.
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