Reid on Astroturf, Republicans Trying to “Blow Themselves Up.”
EmailABC’s Z. Byron Wolf reports: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid brought a prop along to an off-camera briefing with reporters to argue that the loud protesters who have disrupted Democrats’ health care town hall meetings are manufactured rather than the vox populi. “I just want you to see what Astroturf is,” he told reporters, hoisting a square of green fake grass. “This is not grassroots.” Reid is not the first to dismiss the protests as fringe. He said there have been a lot of letters and emails flooding into Senate offices opposing health care reform as proposed by Democrats, “But they’re all form letters,” he said. Reid was on the offensive, trying to tie the Republican party to the activist groups disrupting meetings and painting them as a fringe party. “They’re taking their cues from talk show hosts, internet rumor mongers and insurance companies. We take our cues from the people on the street,” he said. “They’re doing this because they don’t have any better ideas. And it’s a strategy that will ultimately backfire on Republicans, according to Reid. “Its not often you try to blow yourself up but that’s obviously what they’re trying to do,” he said of Republicans, pointing to the “vexatious” town hall interrupters. All that said, however, Reid’s deputy in the Senate, Majority Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois, admitted that Democrats will have to tweak their town hall strategy as they try to sell health care reform to constituents this summer. Future events will be done on the terms of the lawmakers, he said, although he did not elaborate on how Democrats will sidestep anti-reform protesters, who seem more interested in disrupting events than asking questions. “I Don’t have to set up a stage for these people,” Durbin said.
Can Mitt Romney Win Conservatives Back? 
Possible Contraception Compromise in D.C.
50% and dwindling. who is imploding?
Posted by: catman | August 6, 2009, 1:46 pm 1:46 pm
Let’s end the question here and now. If Reid is so sure that this is NOT a grassroots uprising, let’s conduct a vote of the American people to find out what the majority of them think. I’ll guarantee that there are more people opposed to government involvement in Health Care than are for it. There is a village that’s missing an idiot…Harry can you hear me?
Posted by: Sunrogue | August 6, 2009, 2:15 pm 2:15 pm
I thought dissent was the highest form of patriotism.
Posted by: Osteoblast | August 6, 2009, 3:41 pm 3:41 pm
Wow, I didn’t know Reid cared so much about helping Republicans! If an opponent tells you to stop doing something, you can bet it is not because he has your best interests at heart. If Harry really thought these protests were going to blow the Republican party up, he would help organize them instead of trying to stop them.
Posted by: Don | August 6, 2009, 3:55 pm 3:55 pm
In just a few short months we went from dissent being patriotic to a White House compiling an enemies list. The White House is the only side astroturfing furiously and we hear nary a peap about it from ABC. Will the shills at ABC start being more even handed about this any time soon? Don’t hold your breath
Posted by: lakelevel | August 6, 2009, 4:50 pm 4:50 pm
Reid this Harry.. FOR a group that wrote an awful piece of garbage (HR3200) that doesnt fix the problems of health care you really dont get it. ALL you have done is create NEW problems with health care.
Can you create legislation like TORT reform? How about Pooling? How about No pre existing conditions. How about spending ~100 Billion to cover catastrophic illness for those without insurance.
BUT YOU DONT Reid Harry and That is a shame.
Spend some time going over you White House enemies list you will see its getting LONGER all the time.
Posted by: ChicagoBob | August 6, 2009, 6:33 pm 6:33 pm
No body wants to silence dissent, but they do want to be able to be able to hold civil discourse so that the dissent can be aired and responded to. How is screaming and hanging effigies productive?
Posted by: gop | August 6, 2009, 9:52 pm 9:52 pm
For either side to accuse the other of a lack of patriotism is silly, at best. Well-meaning people have different ideas about how to address health care issues (and others). I may not agree with a given person’s approach, but if he or she presents a case calmly, clearly, and *politely,* I certainly will listen — even if I remain unmoved in the end.
Posted by: Mekhong Kurt | August 6, 2009, 10:04 pm 10:04 pm
Give me liberty, Give me the freedom to choose. Give me opportinty. Do not give me the baby blanket of all protective government. Governement cant control spending on it’s current programs so why do we need to give them more to spend on? and when government has to control spending on health care. It will mean rationing of services. now the govenment is encourageing us to report people who dissent against the presidents plan. more and more the USA is becomening the Obama Nation.
Posted by: individualist 1 | August 7, 2009, 8:57 pm 8:57 pm
This is a grassroots movement of both Democrats and Republicans who are genuinely concerned about the devastating effect government controlled healthcare will have on our country. Maybe they yell because no one will listen.
Posted by: Patriot | August 8, 2009, 1:22 am 1:22 am
I personally am getting pretty darned tired of the demonizing of opponents by BOTH sides. This demonizing is not the sole province of the Republicans OR Democrats, though there are fringe elements out there that sure are taking it to soaring heights. Sure, I have my own views, strongly held ones. But as I said in an earlier posting here, if another person presents me a reasoned argument in a civil way, I’ve got lots of time to listen — and listen I will.
As for the hate-mongers, I wish they’d just go crawl back under their rocks — of whatever stripe.
Posted by: Mekhong Kurt | August 9, 2009, 6:00 am 6:00 am
Hilarious of Reid and Pelosi to call citizens at town hall meetings “astroturf”, seeing how they are the ones sending out the union thugs and ACORN. I suppose since that is on page one of their playbook they can’t conceive that real people actually go to these events and *gasp* oppose the radical liberal view.
Posted by: RockyTOp | August 10, 2009, 9:58 am 9:58 am