Whispers within the Republican caucus...

[kentuck]

Behind closed doors, they are very worried.

Expecting to go back home to cheers, many are returning to jeers.

As Jason Chaffetz discovered this week when he returned to Utah. He had to be surprised at the "welcome" he received? The crowd kept yelling for him to "do your job!".

A week or two ago, we had a couple of Congressmen from Colorado that received a similar reception. One had to slip out the back door to escape the raucus crowd.

This could get bad real quickly and the Republicans know it. They remember the Tea Party in 2009. They kept showing up at Democratic events and disrupted the campaigns. Republicans went on to win an historic victory in the House of Representatives.

Democrats need to keep account of these types of events and they should be looking for a challenger to the Republican incumbents, no matter how much they won by in the last election. This is the only way the Democrats can take back the House.

[Vinca]

1. They ain't seen nothing yet. Wait until they start going after Social Security.

[phylny]

4. I keep waiting for our new congressman to schedule a meeting.

His Facebook page is being lit up by constituents demanding a meeting. He *did* have time to go to district high schools and talk to seniors, though. Probably shoring up support for 2018. The interesting thing is, he won our gerrymandered district quite easily, but the local Democrats are howling. I'm one of them.

[flygal]

5. Keep howling - it'll work!

[Trekologer]

22. Find an Indivisible group in your area (or start one)

If your congressman won't hold a town hall (telephone ones don't count), hold one yourselves. Schedule it, invite the press, invite the congressman (obviously). Shame him into attending.

[phylny]

36. I live in a rural area, but I did find an Indivisible group in Roanoke, VA

which is about an hour away. I'm ready to work

Thanks for the suggestion~!

[Stonepounder]

14. Not only Social Security, the new head of HHS wants to get rid of Medicare.

This Administration literally wants to kill seniors. I guess it is their way to curb population growth. If you can't make money for them to put in their pockets, just go die.

[elmac]

18. They only want to kill seniors that are less affluent

The rich ones will be treated like royalty.

[not fooled]

19. The worst of their plans

--cut Social Security
--cut Medicare
--cut Medicaid
--privatize the VA
--sell off & privatize public lands and resources
--wreck public schools
--wreck the Civil Service with harsh cuts, hiring freezes, decreases to benefits and pay = drive out good Federal employees
--deny climate change and facilitate fossil fuel extraction
--get rid of regulations no matter the impact
--wreck Obamacare without a viable replacement
--cut taxes massively for the wealthy
--suppress voting even more
--roll back womens' rights and reproductive choice
--dismantle large swaths of the Federal Government
--roll back civil rights
--enact national "right to work" (for less)

and there's probably many more...
America doesn't want their sh*tty agenda. They will try to force it on us nevertheless.
We need to fight them on each and every one of these destructive plans

[Alice11111]

43. Well said. They are Devils with a long, mean agenda

[lastlib]

64. Basically, they want to repeal EVERYTHING back to Dred Scott.....

That'd be their line in the sand.

[WePurrsevere]

38. FWIW Medicare covers not just seniors...

Medicare, like Social Security, also covers millions of disabled adults and minor dependents. These aren't exactly people who can just go out and get a job to survive and for many disabled it's the only health insurance they can get.

Destroying Medicare and cutting Social Security benefits will also harm the economy more than most would think.

[Alice11111]

44. Very important point! Repubs will save $$ if they die though

[WePurrsevere]

46. Perhaps... but people get rather testy when people they care about...

die when it could have been avoided by the GOP leaving Medicare, Social Security and other social safety nets the heck alone.

[Stonepounder]

47. Yeah, my kids and grandkids would probably be a little grumpy

if we died because we couldn't afford doctors and medicine. They also wouldn't be really thrilled if we had to move in with one of them and they had to support us.

[WePurrsevere]

52. Exactly. I think the thought of hubby & I moving in with them...

Might be a tiny bit of what motivates them to fight Trump and the GOP though so at least there's that. My kids love me oodles, as I do them of course, but it's best done from separate homes.

[NBachers]

70. They'll bring out the brightly-decorated merry "Party Wagons" for the disabled.

You know, where the exhaust get cycled into the passenger compartments as they drive off to their "Party Holiday."

[NBachers]

69. Yeah, those of us who've reached the end of our useful tax life have no value to Republicans.

I'm 68, and I'll probably keep working 'till one morning when I don't get up. That'll keep my life-worthiness more valuable as a viable tax resourse.

[workinclasszero]

58. All hell breaks loose when those Republican scum

come after social security and Medicare!

[dalton99a]

2. Things can happen fast and Democrats should seize the opportunity.

[madaboutharry]

3. When the President is in trouble

members of the House of the same party are the first to feel the backlash
.

[pressbox69]

6. Just waiting

to see how long it will take the republiklans to blame Soros for all these protest. Now that Hillary is in the background they blame Soros for all their setbacks.

[Wounded Bear]

26. They're already trying with their "paid protester" bullshit...

so far, it looks like nobody outside of the Brietbart circle is buying it.

[bdamomma]

31. that is definitely

what they (repigs) are parroting. Didn't this come from McConnell? paid protesters???

McConnell keeps on saying or playing politics with the Democrats saying they are still upset about the election which is total BS.

[Alice11111]

45. They already are! I was thinking about that when I was marching.

He is really a good man. He has done more for humanity than all the people at Fox news and the Republicans in Congress put together. Why do they HATE good people?

They do. I've heard the phrase "Do Gooder Liberals," like they are murderers.

Truly, WHY DO REPUBLICANS HATE GOOD PEOPLE, WHO ARE WEALTHY, LIKE SOROS?

[madokie]

61. Because they know they can't get their grubby fingers

on any of the good people's money.

Hate is all the 'CONs have

[calimary]

68. This burns me up. "Do-gooders" is somehow a slur. An insult. A put-down.

Indeed? And for those who do use it as such, are they also the same self-proclaimed holier-than-thou's who are wrapping themselves around the Cross and shoving the Bible in everybody's faces?

Sometimes I wish I could meet up with Paul Ryan. I'd go straight for his "Christianism." This asshole is NO Christian. And I'd tell him that to his face. We all see your commitment to "the least of these."

[montana_hazeleyes]

71. Another one I remember from the sixties, is them calling us peaceniks with disdain.

Like peace is bad. And hideous war is good.

And what you say about these supposed Christians is so true! They are so phony. They are in no way practicing the good, kind teachings of Jesus. If he was here now they would reject him and throw him out of the country.

[calimary]

74. No freakin' kidding, montana_hazeleyes!

Here's something I would put directly to them, and do a fact-check with all of us here and everywhere:

HAS ANYBODY, ANYWHERE, EVER heard ANY republi-CON who claims to be so "Christian" and "well-intentioned" and "compassionate" EVER quote the Beatitudes? (Where it DOES NOT include, ANYWHERE, any such statements as "blessed are the rich," or "blessed are the war-makers"?)

HAS ANYBODY, ANYWHERE, EVER heard ANY republi-CON who claims to be so "Christian" and "well-intentioned" and "compassionate" EVER reference Matthew 25:45? (that "annoying" quote from Jesus that says if you turned your back on feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, sheltering the homeless, visiting the sick, helping the poor, etc - you did that to HIM?" That inconvenient truth about those described as "the least of these"?)

HAS ANYBODY, ANYWHERE, EVER heard ANY republi-CON who claims to be so "Christian" and "well-intentioned" and "compassionate" EVER quoted from the parable of the rich young man? (That annoying "nonsense" about how the rich young man asks Our Lord how to get into Heaven, and is told to "go sell all you have and give it to the poor, and come follow Me"?)

Show me YOUR "Catholicism", Paul Ryan. Show me how your selfish, cheap-skate, greedy, screw-the-needy, protect-the-rich policies underscore what YOU supposedly "believe in".

[procon]

7. This will spread.

When individual people see how much power they have as a group of like minded constituents, they will feel more empowered and secure in their right to protest what their elected politicos are doing in their name. Those diabolical community organizers and savvy activists will be on the frontlines setting up groups to attend town hall meetings and channelling protests to spread the word.

[Baitball Blogger]

8. Depends. What do they mean by do your job?

They might not be on our side.

[kentuck]

9. They wanted him to hold Trump accountable.

Just like he did Hillary with his Benghazi hearings.

[Baitball Blogger]

10. That's promising.

[pangaia]

28. But same question..what do they want?

Right wing agenda or sane agenda?

[elehhhhna]

35. Most of them were upset about repealing ACA and dying

[pangaia]

37. Good! It is almost impossible to imagine one's own death

[neeksgeek]

11. Time to remind Congress who they work for.

[bdamomma]

30. exactly

I really want to see McConnell gone he is really in denial.

After what he did to Senator Warren, he is a horrible person.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

65. The Cock Brothers? nt

[NewJeffCT]

12. There was a big difference between now and the Tea Party

The Tea Party had huge financial backing from the Koch Brothers and others, even though many of the rank & file thought it was an organic movement that grew from anger over Obama and whatever else.

While the current anti-Trump/pro Democracy movement seems to be bigger and really is organic in nature, will they be able to generate the money and keep the focus on midterm elections? Democrats need 25 seats to win back the House - that's somewhat realistic if the courts roll back some gerrymandering laws and Democrats can make a bit more than the usual mid-term pickups.

However, winning the Senate would be a monumental task - of the 33 seats up for re-election next year, only 8 are Republican seats and at least 10 Democrats are in states that Trump won. Unless Trump really tanks the economy, just staying even in the Senate would be a victory for Democrats.

[not fooled]

21. Those morans

Just where did the dimwitted Teabaggers think all of those shiny, fancy buses came from, to ferry them to Town Hall meetings and demonstrations. The Bus Fairy??

[Jim Beard]

24. A bunch of retired boomers like me but I will need to take a bottle of xanax ride with them.

[Wounded Bear]

27. Don't forget the hours and hours of free pub from Fox News...

they got big boosts from that.

[NewJeffCT]

32. Heck

the 9/12 March that Glenn Beck did several years ago drew round the clock coverage for an entire weekend on all the cable networks. They drew somewhere around 80,000 people to DC. So, more coverage than the women's march a few weeks ago, despite 1/40th the crowd.

The weekend after Beck's 9/12 March/Rally in DC, there was a march for LGBT rights that drew, by most accounts, slightly more people than Beck. Nary a peep in the media.

[Alice11111]

39. They have their own MSMpropaganda station & 1/2 US watches

it. It is a huge factor in elections. Some fake News, but mostly they just don't cover stories that would damage Republicans, or they give it a spin to blame Obama or Hillary. I have the news app. If there is a big story, like something that is the headline to every world newspaper, but damaging to Republicans, I flip to see how Fox news app covers it. More than Half the time, they don't. Simple strategy. They will instead have some lead about something a Dem did...usually bs.
If they do cover it, they bury it, with an obscure heading.
So, half the population, at least, don't even know this stuff is happening. A lot of people take pride in not watching or reading news. Fine, I don't expect everyone to be a news junkie, but if democracy is being dismantled or genocide is occurring in Aleppo, maybe the world needs to pay attention.

[hibbing]

13. I'm going to the next "town hall"

If either of my two senators has the guts to show up at any kind of meeting in the one or two blue places (i.e. cities) in my state. They both of course have supported all these horrible cabinet appointees. I sure would like to know how many contacts they each had opposing them, but party and serving their masters in the ruling class are their priorities.


Peace

[blueseas]

15. Indeed

We should target them all! We could ask people to run for office in all the areas.

[Alice11111]

40. Target Ryan, Turtleman and Chavetz

Be selective. Last time, Natl Dems wouldn't spend money in very close Senate elections. We Left people hanging who could have won, hile the Repubs rushd in w cash for the close races. It is very important that we have a good Dem Party Chair.

[blueseas]

48. If we band together

We can get more of them than that merry trio of no good.

[Scarsdale]

16. Gerrymandered districts

This should be stopped, rolled back. Wisconsin is fighting to keep them since Ryan and Walker NEED those gerrymandered districts to keep their jobs. Democrats should be registering voters all over the country, making certain polling places are readily available, too. The gop only wins by cheating in any way they can.

[Alice11111]

41. Yeah, hundreds of ways to cheat& if just Shave a few points...

They win. They have done it since 2000. Even John Kerry, swiftboating.

[roamer65]

67. If they go after the ACA, Social Security and Medicare...

no amount of gerrymandering is going to save them...none.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

73. Gerrymandering and voter suppression are absolutely key. As is election fraud (foreign interference)

Districting needs to be in the hands of permanent independent commissions working according to non-partisan rules.

Voter suppression is evil. There is essentially no voter fraud, but there certainly seems to be election fraud (machines, tabulation, hacking).

Voting machines need to be white-box and use printed ballots that are optically readable. Vote on a touch-screen, print the ballot, put it in the box. At the close of polls, scan the ballots by machine, but they are available for hand counting and tabulation by human beings for auditing and recounts.

Investigate Russian interference, Russian blackmail, Russian hacking, Russian leaking to biased Wikileaks Assange, and Comey's FBI cabal's interference.

Strengthen infrastructure, especially cyber infrastructure.

Resist the christo-fascist destruction of the public school system.

[LittleGirl]

17. McSally in AZ

won't even hold a town hall and that has caused a huge uproar.

[dae]

20. GOP is claiming townhalls are being packed with Dems and

other malcontents. I don't expect them to change much if any.

[notdarkyet]

23. They have hought it was great when the to did it to democrats.

I hope they are finding this just as fun. Damn voters. Who needs them.

[nolabear]

25. I hope the press continues to cover this. Once people see it they'll feel freer to do it.

That herd mentality thing is real and applies to all sides. If they see some thoughtful dispute by people that they identify with they might slow down and think.

[bdamomma]

29. this is great for us

bad for those repigs but then again, what about those states who want to ban protesters, and their sick belief that these are not "real people" they are in wicked denial.

We are non violent remember Bannon has his own anarchists out.

[NCjack]

33. Time for Repugs to remember how much "fun" it was for them when

Tea Baggers with fire arms clogged DEM town hall meetings. As I recall, not one Repug condemned the Tea Bagging thuggish behavior. Good job DEM protestors -- keep it up.

[zentrum]

34. K&R

[dembotoz]

42. go after dog and cat owners

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1017423435

[Skittles]

49. these stupid fuckers thought thinking Americans would buy their fascist bullshit

THINK AGAIN

[QED]

50. I fear people will forget when the midterms roll around in '18

and not show up to vote. And of course, will the Dems have candidates who can win?

[wildeyed]

51. We need to challenge each and every one.

If we run good candidates who pick a wedge issue and drive it home over and over and over, we will force them to dedicate resources to defending the 'safe' seats and plant some seeds of doubt in the true believers minds. We don't need to win them all. We just need to shave a few percentage points from their totals.

And if the Wisconsin gerrymandering decision holds, we could be looking at friendlier maps in many congressional and state level races too!

Saner Reps might see this as a good time to throw their hats in the ring in primaries as well.

[sellitman]

53. There are too many Dems up for reelection

I'll believe good election turnout when I see it.

[Lifelong Protester]

54. Challenge them!

[adigal]

55. Elise Stefanik, NY21, refuses to do a town hall now

We have some fun protests in the planning stages for her.

Dems protested Schumer's house. Hmmmmmm......

[yurbud]

56. and they need to do their job the next time they gain power.

No more giving away half the loaf before negotiations even start.

[mvd]

57. K&R

I will believe it when backed up with votes and other action, however.

[nikibatts]

59. Love your last paragraph.

We need to be in the midst. Even if we hear about Tea Party town hall, we need to be there.

[LisaM]

60. They expected to go home to cheers?

They know that the ACA was popular. They know that people need Social Security and Medicare. They also know that they take every chance they can to suppress voters and to gerrymander their districts into tortuous mazes, and that the power they've wrested doesn't necessarily represent the populace. They know these things. How can they be surprised by it?

[chowder66]

62. It would be a good time for good and decent moderate repubs to run, if there are any. nt

[PatrickforO]

63. Well, Coffman won because Morgan Caroll didn't run as effective

a campaign as she could have. She isn't quite the personable rope line hand squeezing baby hugging politician Coffman is. He comes across as more likeable, but that's only because people really don't know what odious things he's done.

Nice to see the disruption of his town hall.

[certainot]

66. democrats must recognize the tea party's secret of 'success'

was and is talk radio

it's the same with trump

and it is only a fantastic advantage for them because the left ignores it

[Liberty Belle]

72. Our Congressman refuses to hold town halls.

His aides won't let more than 5 people at a time in to meet with an aide, and never the Congressman.

How can people smoke this guy out and make him face the public that's upset with his policies?

He seems only to show up to major fundraisers, Tea Party rallies etc. and those are only announced to his private list.