The attached video shows South Carolina Congressman Gresham Barrett being booed and heckled at a recent tea party. They even had an airhorn. Barrett is a Republican, but the reason for the reception was apparently because he voted for TARP. A few points:
1. It should be obvious that this type of reception is more like what ACORN tries to do; in fact, far-lefties recently tried to shout down Tom Tancredo in an appearance in North Carolina. This is pretty far from the high-level debate about policy that I've been promoting; asking him a tough question on video would be far better. But, apparently plumbing these depths is what the tea parties leaders want.
2. The reception might cause him to change his policies and I don't know enough about SC politics to say what the impact would be; he might end up losing after alienating more moderate voters.
3. Even if he changes his policies and all the other politicians in SC are forced to abide by the wishes of those at the party, they'll have "won" through force and not through serious argumentation. Engaging a politician in debate in order to show that his policies are ineffective could change minds in a more fundamental way.
Sat, 04/18/2009 - 19:41 · Importance: 4
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