Good God. Did anyone see this video of Lindsay Graham's town hall meeting?

[beachmom]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/13/lindsey-graham-faces-tea_n_319225.html

The teabaggers are nasty, angry people, and basically sore losers who like many on our side, don't know how to count. Graham tried to get the crowd on his side by focusing on offshore drilling & nuclear energy, but to no avail.

God, you should hear them when the guy mentioned "John Kerry". What a bunch of haters.

[karynnj]

1. Wow - There really are a lot of nasty people there

Graham actually handled them pretty well. Now, we know that there is no a huge amount of oil offshore, and we know that companies have not drilled in some of the places they already legally can. In addition, as a world commodity the potential US increase is way too small to change the price. But, these people really see "drill baby drill" as the solution. It shows that the RW echo chamber has completely defeated logic and reason.

There hatred of Obama and Kerry was sickening.

[Blaukraut]

2. There's a german fairy tale

Rumpelstiltzkin, if you guys ever heard about it. The title character, at the end, becomes so furious and unhinged at having lost his game with the princess, that he grabs one of his legs and tears himself apart, screaming the whole time.
I just can't help being reminded of him when I watch these teabaggers in action.
So much seething, irrational, mindless hatred.

[karynnj]

3. Yep - it is well known here - and I love your summary and will now always

think of that when the teabaggers are mentioned.

[Inuca]

4. I can't believe I am saying this

but compared with his 39 colleagues, Graham is one of the best, probably top 5. He thinks with his own mind quite often (does not mean I agree with the result, but I appreciate the process) and has his own brand of guts. Isn't he up for re-election next year? Not sure, and have no time to check. If so, what he has been doing and saying recently (including the Sotomayor vote and comments against Beck and his ilk) is double gutsy.

[beachmom]

5. He is a very shrewd man. I saw him run circles around Sen. Whitehouse

during the one torture hearing. He just creamed Whitehouse. And he was maddening because he kept switching up his arguments. But it was very effective. His sound bites made the news, the whole idea of looking into the torture in Congress died. I wasn't happy with that result, but it made me respect Graham's astuteness and intelligence. In short, he is a worthy opponent, and it's not a bad thing he is on our side for the global climate change bill.

[Inuca]

14. I don't remember that particular exchange

but I agree, Graham knows his legal stuff. So does Whitehouse, which makes what you say even more impressive

[karynnj]

6. He is up in 2014, like JK

It is STILL gutsy, as I don't know how many of those people will get better.

[JI7]

8. didn't JK say that Lindsey Graham was one of his favorite Senators

from the other party ?

i don't remember exactly but there was some poll or just questions asked .

Kerry himself wasn't that popular with the opposite party but that was probably because he has made them look like fools in debates.

[beachmom]

10. Yes, he did. It was that Most Partisan/Most Bipartisan poll of Senators.

He mentioned Graham, and I think Corker.

[Inuca]

15. Corker is not too bad either

much smarter that I gave him credit at the beginning and also one that seems to be willing to use the brains he was endowed with

[sandnsea]

17. I think he'd be a conservative Dem in another time

He came up very hard as well. I think both his parents died, something like that.

[wisteria]

7. And, I bet they got all their talking points from Limbaugh, Hannity and Beck.

And, lets not forget some other haters from talk radio.

You know, there is no reason for this group or any other groups to hate Senator Kerry, but they do. Why? simply because their radio personalities tell them too?

[ginnyinWI]

9. I think the repub party is reaping what it has sown.

They have pandered to these nuts for so long that it has given that faction a feeling of empowerment. Now they are nothing but a hateful, mindless mob, ready to turn on anyone. It isn't enough to hate Dems now, they have to hate anyone who is not as wing-nut extremist as they are. Let us take a lesson and not let this happen in our party. Some of the fringe on the left can be just as intolerant of a moderate Dem, but now that we have the majorities they aren't speaking out--for now.

I don't mind dissent and a variety of voices. It's this mindless mob mentality that gets destructive. That said, I can't help thinking that the right wing fringe has worse crazies and more extreme pundits egging them on!

[wisteria]

11. I agree with everything you said.n/t

[beachmom]

12. Yup. I think the behavior of the "tea baggers" is a cautionary tale.

Believe me, the guy who was quoting the Constitution and blabbering on about treason would fit right in with some of the nuts on our side. Yesterday, I got myself into a bit of trouble on a Kos thread, which was highly critical of Harry Reid and some lame things he said yesterday. I don't really like Reid that much either, but I'm not into the sport of Harry-bashing. Anyway, someone in the thread suggested that the solution to this was for Reid to be defeated, and have a Republican take his place, and basically said he would actively support that person!!! What an idiot. I HR'd him, and wow was I shouted down and abused. I removed the HR later, but I realize I will never fit in with the mob on our side either. Even Glenn Greenwald is sometimes like them. Basically, they say that if you are not with them on their dissent that you are merely some syncophant fan girl (or boy) to Obama. I mean what arrogance!!! I think it is important that the Democratic Party listen to what netroots folks have to say, take part in alliances when it is called for, and ignore them when they act like a bunch of children, which is at least 60% of the time.

[wisteria]

13. They do not understand the compromise is necessary in governing.

For political reasons, you can be a hardliner, but if you are a patriot you have to accept that change comes with some give and take.

[sandnsea]

16. Yet more Arkansans voted for John Kerry than Obama

I need to compare some of the other red states. That speaks volumes to me.

[beachmom]

18. I think certain areas of the deep south are deeply racist.

And very, very poor. Overall, the country has come a long, long way, but then you have places like Arkansas, Mississippi, rural Georgia, Louisiana, parts of Florida, Alabama. Like the justice of the peace in Louisiana who refused to give an interracial couple a marriage license. For crying out loud, the President is the son of an interracial couple! That explains to me some of the vote flipping from Kerry to a Republican four years later.

[sandnsea]

19. AR, OK, TN and WV

Those are the states where more voters went for Kerry than Obama. Even states like ID & UT moved several points to Obama. But he still only got 35-40% in some of these red states. I think we're all kind of forgetting that around here.