Pima Dems: Health care discussion deserves civility

Posted by Pima County Democratic Party
Jeff Rogers, Chair


There exists among us, a small but vocal group of right-wing extremists who have adopted the Washington special interests’ talking points and their “by any means necessary” strategy for disrupting Congressional Town Halls, rather than participating in them. We will not be deterred by intimidation, provocation or other tactics aimed at making noise, rather than progress.

Recently in Douglas, Congresswoman Giffords held a “Congress on Your Corner” event, the 18th that she has held since taking office in January of 2007. The format is simple and effective: constituents meet with the Congresswoman one-on-one to discuss their concerns. This angered a handful of right-wing protesters though, because this format did not present an opportunity for spectacle, but rather civil discourse.

The Cinema La Placita Movie Series is a Tucson tradition that the Congresswoman was honored to sponsor last Thursday. But a collection of angry individuals arrived early to the venue, demanding to speak with the Congresswoman, having been mistakenly informed that the event was a town hall. Much to their dismay, they discovered that they had shown up to protest a screening of “Mr. Smith Goes To Washington”.

These angry protesters have continually received misleading information from organizers, who do the bidding of K Street lobbyists from Americans for Prosperity, FreedomWorks and other right-wing special interest groups. Neither of these events were town halls, nor were they advertised as such. But because these extremists have received their orders from Washington, complete with a step-by-step “How to shut down the discussion” manual, they were irate to find that they could not use such tactics. Both Congresswoman Giffords and Congressman Grijalva have hosted, and will continue to host discussions on health care and other important issues facing Southern Arizona. But with certain individuals promising total disregard to civility and open, two-way communication, scheduling such events has become increasingly difficult. But these tactics have only served to strengthen our resolve.

“Public hearings, town halls, and meetings should be seen as opportunities for the free exchange of ideas for those who want to participate in the democratic process,” said Jeff Rogers, Pima County Democratic Party Chair. “People have the right to present ideas free from the fear of violence and abuse; verbal or otherwise. Fear-mongering, race-baiting and other scare-tactics adopted by these individuals have no place in the marketplace of ideas.”

“Health care reform is a serious issue, one that deserves open, honest and civil discussion. Fear and intimidation are the tools of those who would rather disrupt the discussion than to take part in it. We denounce these tactics and we call on the Pima County Republican Party to do the same.”