Things are turning ugly. Town halls, which typically serve as open, safe environments to ask questions of elected officials, have degenerated into violent shouting matches.
Last night in St. Louis, Missouri, a reverend and member of SEIU was assaulted at a town hall. The incident, along with a town hall in Tampa, Florida, has been all over the radio and cable news shows. GOP operatives are rushing to paint it as SEIU "thug" violence. That couldn't be further from the truth.
Watch the video with footage from these events: http://action.seiu.org/townhall
Cable news channels are broadcasting images of neighbors turning against one another in chaotic, sometimes frightening town hall meetings. Incited by extremist radio and TV hosts, "teabagger" protesters are yelling and chanting talking points that span from radicalism to racism.
Enough is enough. Click here to sign a pledge for civil, honest debates about health care reform: http://action.seiu.org/townhall
It is extremely discouraging to see people treating one another like this. And it's a reminder of how GOP scare-tactics ("the government will kill the elderly,!" "the government will choose your doctors!" or "the government will ration care!") use fear to overpower the truth.
We are at a turning point. To succeed, we will continue to elevate this conversation, distinguish ourselves from the opposition, and speak to our fellow Americans with respect and dignity. Where we disagree, we'll invite discussion. And when we agree, we'll work together toward a solution.
That's the only way we're going to solve our nation's health care crisis. When it comes to quality, affordable health care, the stakes are too high to let shouting run the show.
Thanks for standing up.
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I must say, it is such violations of American citizens 1st Amendment rights as these attacks on protesters that make the 2nd Amendment so incredably valuable.
These actions have brought great shame to the union movement in this nation.
"To succeed, we will continue to elevate this conversation, distinguish ourselves from the opposition, and speak to our fellow Americans with respect and dignity. Where we disagree, we'll invite discussion. And when we agree, we'll work together toward a solution."
During a conference call with SEIU members and Pres. Obama's HHS Secretary, Dennis Rivera called the town hall protesters "radical fringe" and told his "army" to fight "terrorist tactics." Does that sound like respect, dignity, or working together to you?
People at the town halls are average citizens. My MIL attended one. She's 84 years old and has been a democrat her entire life.
The problem for the administration is that these people are making themselves aware of what is in this abomination of a health care bill, which isn't about health care at all. President Obama himself said he wants single payer and that it had to happen in steps.
Some of the items in the bill include:
*Pg 58 HC Bill – Government will have real-time access to individual’s finances and a National ID Healthcard
*Pg 59 HC Bill lines 21-24 Government will have direct access to your bank accts for electronic funds transfer
*PG 65 Sec 164 is a taxpayer subsidized plan for retirees and their families in Unions & community organizations
*Pg 72 Lines 8-14 Government will create an HC Exchange to bring private HC plans under Government control
*PG 85 Line 7 HC Bill - Specifics of Benefit Levels for Plans --- rationing of Healthcare
*pg 127 Lines 1-16 HC Bill - Doctors/ AMA - The Government will tell doctors what they can earn
*Pg 239 Line 14-24 HC Bill reduction of physician services for Medicaid
The American citizens are more aware of what is in this bill than our representatives, that's why the people are angry when the representative either does not know and is signing on anyway, or they do know but they are lying.
America is waking up and someone doesn't like it one bit!
It's so funny how companies like this are the reason America is heading towards a dark hole. Bush may have started the path we are on, but Acorn, SEIU, and Obama are going to be the reasoon America Sinks. These people have this attitude like they are owed something. We owe you nothing, you assulted the man in the video, and then you spin and lie. I hope you nor the government never control my healthcare. You guys can't even run a simple cash for clunkers program. AMERICA HATES YOU SEIU. You owe us an apology for being corrupt. I AM REPORTING YOU TO THE BETTER BUSINESS BEREAU, AND WILL BE HAVING MY A LAWFIRM AUDIT YOUR BOOKS.
clearing out comments?
When I was here earlier today, there were a LOT more comments!
Pretty much all negative towards SEIU…
Thanks for scrubbing your site clean of all comments, SEIU. While you're at it, why don't you scrub that ridiculous video full of lies. Here's the deal, if you truly want to "Stop the Violence at Health Care Town Hall Meetings", then don't allow your SEIU thugs to attend and beat up innocent people.
The video on this site is distorted propaganda. In reality, if you watch the full video of the incident, you will clearly see that the SEIU members attacked an innocent black man. You will also see that the SEIU members are the ones who are arrested when the police arrive. It's convenient that SEIU leaves that part out in its version of the video on this site. Since you scrubbed the video, I'll go ahead and post it again. Judge for yourselves.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqpfU_AC7Ls
Hmmm, there must have been a website malfunction because my previous comment disappeared. No need to restore from backups, I'll just post it again:
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Wow. I can't believe you included the St. Louis violence clip in your little propaganda video. You do realize, don't you, that the clip clearly documents an assault by one of your union members. If you replay the video a few times and watch closely, you can see that at 1:03, the guy in the blue union shirt rushes into the picture, grabs Mr. Gladney (in the brown) and violently throws him to the ground. An unmistakeable assault. Way to go!
By the way, you really ought to fix your website so that users don't get an "Internal Server Error" page every time they post a comment. That's why you're getting so many duplicates - people are retrying. Are you having trouble finding a qualified union software engineer to work on the site?
SEIU/ACORN has hi-jacked the system and will need to cease the non-sense if the Democrats expect any accomplishments. What has happened can not and will not be tolerated. It is very sad that we have been decieved as a party and elected an official whom refuses to follow the will of the people. Very,very sad. SEIU obviously does not have the support it claims and time will tell as the group disbands. What a shame!
Socialist
Evil
Invidious
Unscrupulous
Take it down again, thugs; I'll keep posting it.
Dissent is patriotic, not just for leftists.
You all are some out-and-our BLATANTA LIARS!! You must think everyone in america are SHEEP! The real victim of that attack was doing nothing more than trying to sell "Don't tread on me" flags. He was a black gentleman and one of your membvers (wearing your groups tshirt) instigated the attacl asling him "what kinds of N****R are you to not support this". Then SEVERAL of your members proceeded to beatt and kick him.
Who is the racist now you hypocritical SOB's!!!!
And your server is buggy, I only posted once and got 3.
You do know that posting with both Dr. in front of your name and M.D. after your name is incorrect...go with one or the other, not both.
Stop trying to impress people with your credentials...they have nothing to do with the SEIU.
A Texas Moderate (yes...we do exist).
I'm sorry but SEIU is totally at fault and I am appalled that my dues have paid for the goons that beat up Kenneth Gladney. I completely support Kenneth Gladney and I think my dues should also go towards paying for his medical expenses. Shame on SEIU!!
Edgar Macias Acosta
Local 1000
Wow, you guys at the SEIU are a bunch of liars! I like how you splice together these videos to make it look like you're a bunch of patriots, when I've seen video - uncut video - of one of your thugs beating an innocent protester, because she "attacked america"! Then you try to spin that incident to make the "teabaggers" appear to be belligerent nutjobs standing in the way of health care reform.
I'm a "teabagger" - to use your vulgar term - meaning I'm involved in local tea party protests, and I find it horribly offensive that you perpetuate these lies on your web site.
Why don't you simply try some intelligent debate, instead of classic Internet spin? Is it because you don't have any actual facts to back up your deeply flawed logic? I thought so.
Please stop assaulting my fellow protesters. We all have first amendment rights - not just you.
Thank you,
Jim Ryan
Amen, Jim. I can't believe I'm a member of a union that is going to this extreme to undermine what it worked for in the first place. I have excellent health care thanks to my bargaining unit. I don't understand why my union now wants to get rid of the plan I love and replace it with a mediocre government entity.
Ed Acosta
Local 1000
SEIU ACORN NCLR ETC... THUGS... BRAIN WASHED THUGS. WE ALL KNOW WE NEED HEALTHCARE REFORM... BUT WE DON'T NEED THE GOVERNMENT KILLING THE ELDERLY TO KEEP COST DOWN. THAT'S THE ONLY WAY TO SAVE MONEY. YOU BRAIN WASHED FOOLS DON'T UNDERSTAND ANYTHING.
SOCIAL SECURITY IS JUST ABOUT BANKRUPT. THE BIGGEST PONZI SCHEME EVER! BROUGHT TO YOU BY OUR GOVERNMENT. SO NOW THEY KNOW IT'S FALLING APART AND TO COVER THERE ASSES THEY NEED TO FIND AWAY TO TRIM THE FAT... HEALTHCARE... KILL OFF THE OLD SO MOST PEOPLE WON'T MAKE IT TO SOCIAL SECURITY... HMM... LESS HEALTHCARE EXPENSES... GOVERNMENT HAS TOTAL CONTROL OVER OUR LIVES. WHEN YOU ARE NOT CONTRIBUTING ANYMORE.. THEY OFF YOU... WHICH END RESULT WOULD BE MORE MONEY FOR THE GOVERNMENT AND ALL THERE PET PROJECTS AND TOYS THEY WANT TO BUY WITH OUR HARD EARN MONEY. YET THEY BENEFIT FROM A GOVERNMENT TAKE OVER WITH THE BEST HEALTHCARE MONEY CAN BUY AND NOBODY BUT THEM WILL DECIDE WHAT TREATMENTS THEY GET. SEIU ACORN NCLR WHAT WILL YOU DO IF THIS HEALTHCARE PASSES... EVERYTHING WE HAVE BEEN FIGHTING AGAINST COMES TRUE AND NOW ONE OF YOU LOVED ONES IS FACING A LIFE OR DEATH SITUATION AT 70YRS OLD AND THE GOVERNMENT DECIDES THEY ARE NOT WORTH IT? THEN WHAT? OBAMA STILL GOING TO BE YOUR SAVIOR? HE DOESN'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT US. ALL HE WANTS IS TO LEAVE HIS MARK. LISTEN TO HIS PAST SPEECHES... SEE WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE HE HAS SURROUNDED HIMSELF WITH HIS WHOLE LIFE... USE YOU HEADS... IT'S YOUR LIFE TO THAT MAY BE IN LINE FOR A LIFE OF DEATH DECISION AND IT WON'T BE YOURS TO MAKE.
obama is the apocalypse... the biggest threat America has ever seen... creating hate within the American people so he can have his little army of brainwashed follower for his agenda. you will not prevail obama! we the people are strong and will become even stronger as we unite to take down the evil empire you are trying to create in our homeland. we the people are the strength of this republic... we own you! you don't own us! remember that... this is America.. the land of the free home of the brave. you may have twisted a few minds but evil never wins... check our history player!
The mask has really slipped on this Administration, and your propaganda just won't cut it anymore. Informed Americans know the real truth about your cronyism with Obama and your thuggish tactics. Your video above is pathetic.
We are not as stupid as you think, love of country is a passionate thing. We will not be deterred by your lies and threats.
The purpose of a union, any union, is to secure for it's members the best pay, benefits, and working conditions that they can. That's it. Not to dictate for the rest of America what kind of health care system we ALL will have available, or to dictate what our children will learn in school(NEA).
BTW, who does SEIU think they're fooling by claiming the victim in this video is an SEIU member, when we can plainly see (thanks for wearing your SEIU shirts, guys) that the SEIU is the ASSAILANT?
No one needs an income of over 1 million a year. The government should tax anyone making so much money and put it to good use, like paying for healthcare for people like me who work at Wal-Mart.
Do all SEIU members misrepresent the truth, or just the ones who run this website? What are you afraid of? You did what you did, now be a real man and own up to it. You might even consider apologizing, if that doesn't burn your pride too much.
I've always thought unions, at least in their present form, were very bad for the American economy. Now I see they are bad for one of our most precious freedoms, the freedom of speech. I may have thought differently if the SEIU official website had apologized for a few bad apples, but that is obviously far from the case.
DON'T TREAD ON ME!
Stop worrying about what other people make and how you can steal it from them. If you don't like your salary working at Wal-Mart, spend your extra time and energy on more education or thinking of a way to better yourself and make more.
I am not insured now, but I'd rather have no insurance than the Obama plan. Yet he's going to try to force it down our throats because he thinks he knows what's best for us?
Who in the hell are you to say how much money someone should make? Someone else puts in the hard work and you want to take it from them so you don't need to work quite as hard.
Your video is absolutely comical! I welcome open debate! Your video depicts people shouting that they want health care! Well, I did not realize that doctors no longer accepted cash for visits. Why don't they change their chant to "we want we want FREE health care!"
To the SEIU thugs; STOP THE VIOLENCE! Think of your families. Justice can stike at any time, place, and form. Do NOT be fools and think "THE PEOLPE" will do NOTHIING against the violence directed at them! Yell and scream all you want. BUT STOP THE VIOLENCE! Your actions WILL be answered by counter-action. YOU WILL LOSE! Once again think of your families.
Hey Chuck from Tacoma. A fellow Pierce County, WA resident here! And to you SEIU thugs, you should be ashamed of yourselves, roughing up old women and attacking minorities just because they are not socialist zombies like you all are. If you don't understand why there is such a huge opposition to this bill by now and want to play stupid, I feel sorry for you. And you better believe if any of you pull that sort of brown shirt fascist crap in the Pacific NW, you WILL be met with opposition. It's one thing to protest or march on behalf of a cause you believe in, it's another to try to stifle the speech, physically attack, and try to intimidate the opposition. You think it's okay? Have you nutcases ever watched the movie "The WAVE"? If not I am providing a link, see how closely you numbskulls who are supposed to be adults resemble easily brain washed high school kids.
The Wave Part 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVRXXbU-z7U
The Wave Part 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXi71XBdh1o&feature=related
Watch those vids and see why you fools are useful idiots, apply the movie's moral to the current goose stepping orders you get from your beloved union boses.
GROW UP SEIU MEMBERS!!! THINK FOR YOURSELVES!!!
Down With The Purple Shirt Fascists!!!
SEIU is closely tied to ACORN and we all know that Obama is their poster-boy. The SEIU organization has obviously been promised large ‘stimulus’ monies through the healthcare bill and is currently using their pathetic strong-arm tactics on the common law-abiding citizens. Those fat sissy-boy skinheads from the pipefitters union you bussed to the meeting for Rep. Kathy Castor can sure hold their own against a cancer patient but all four of them together could not hold back one small woman. If a Union job turns men into wobbly stooges like that, it is no wonder SEIU needs Obama’s blood-sucking ‘redistribution’ of wealth to keep them alive. They just need to remember that the senior citizens they choose to rough-up have sons and grandsons who love them and would be wise to keep the debate verbal. Kate Thomas has got to be one dumb biach to think anyone is going to believe her taint-licking boss about an innocent ‘Reverend’ or even knowing what a real American’s deepest hopes are.
I took a look at the “Event Central” page and didn’t see anything for Louisiana. I wouldn’t advise you idiots to come down and try violent tactics on a country boy. Better bring a lot of bandages and sulfa powder with you on the bus.
Voicing Political opinions is the American way and it is our privilege and duty to do so. Sometimes we can only agree to disagree but fortunately Legislators are understanding that choosing Obama’s ideology over the will of their constituents will only lead to an early political retirement.
It has been my experience that unions - like Government- attract and employ the laziest people. Those who demand a 'break' to smoke, drink or otherwise waste their employers time at every opportunity and then DEMAND to be paid for a full days work - when they work less than half. Sometimes it's difficult to determine the Union workers from the Government ones when working together on a contract. Both equally worthless.
This isn't the 20's. This isn't Chicagoland. The usefullness of the unions died in the Depression. Unions today are seeking and supporting (blindly mind you)another group of equally worthless people - liberals and socialists. One and the same really. All are looking for a handout at the expense of someone else. Few of which could comprehend what an 8, 10 or 12 hour work day might be like. God forbid they actually work a 14 - 16 hour day; to run their own business; eek out their own way in life and support a family while doing it.
So it comes as no surprise when the unions - SLAVES to their union Masters really, would support and fight for a cause they know little about. Disgard the truth for a few snippets on you tube and make that your rallying cry. A cause that couldn't care less about them. A cause that is hell bent on eradicating small business owners - free thinkers - hardworking middle class families and turning them all into what you have already become. SLAVES to your Union Masters. SLAVES to a party of Elites whose votes affect all of us - but them. You like they, are a bunch of cowards. You hide from the real truth in order to fabricate your own.
Try something different - think for yourselves.
UNIONS = COWARDS = SLAVES
Dr. L. Toni Lewis, as most of her far-left sympathizers seems to love this word ‘tea bagger’. This word seems to resonate in their minds since it is most likely an act they fantasize about quite often. Most people may not know what tea bagging is and why Dr. Lewis, Obama, Pelosi and the rest of the far-left crowd toss the word around like Perez Hilton calling people gay. So to let you see what actions these lefties are excited about see- http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=teabagger.
I appreciate that you and the rest of SEIU went through the trouble of creating this post, putting together those clips, etc.
Unfortunately, it looks like most of my fellow commentators don't agree with me on that... Not only that, but it looks like most of them don't understand what's actually in the bill, and are just parroting opposition talking points they found elsewhere. Alas, such is the way of the internet...
Officials say the fast-growing union spent $85 million during the campaign season last year, and that it was well worth it: The Obama administration has appointed union officials to top posts and is backing legislation to make it easier for workers to organize.
"SEIU is on the field, it's in the White House, it's in the administration," SEIU President Andy Stern said in a video to members to mark the Obama administration's first 100 days.
why wouldn't they help put down the precieved threat.
Heer is a link to see seiu's finacial contributions againts McCain
http://query.nictusa.com/pdf/251/28992618251/28992618251.pdf
Seiu will do any thing obama tells them to do.
I also like how seiu alters the video.