Ok, here is what I don't understand: People on the left try this disruption stuff all the time. The protests at the conventions, the Codepink protests during hearings, etc. The difference is that when the left protests, people aren't shy about using force to shut them down. Call the police, drag them from the room, etc.

Why not do the same to the right-wing nuts that are there just to disrupt?

Exactly right.

Rachel calls this what it is: hooliganism.

Under Bush, however, this would have been called under another name: "jail time."

To be fair, the left has used disruption and "street tactics" in the past, though admittedly they at least had a rational leg to stand on when doing so.

The first rule of these meetings is a declaration by anyone who wishes to have the floor to state the town in which they live and their zip code. Some will say where they live honestly and others will lie. It will easily make the imposters evident who cannot match a town and a zip code. Many who came, not knowing the town and zip code will be silent. It should also be demanded there be only one voice at a time. Cheerleaders for otehr speakers should be asked to leave.

You just need to keep reporting on these tactics, expose it as an astroturf campaign by corporate and insurance lobbyists who like the status quo because it makes them filthy rich.

Now that Reps and Senators know about this, it is less likely to rile them up. This was a trick early in the internet where the Parents Television Council banded together mass emailing cmapaigns. They'd see something on television and send out a mass email to their members and have them contact advertisers, stations etc and complain about something. Early on advertisers and stations thought "Bloody Hell, a lot of folks from all across America are pissed off, that must have went across the line" However eventually they caught on that it was a small group disguising themselves as a much bigger group.

This is what they're doing here as 3-4 folks can spread out and then yell and shout and make it look like they have the support of the vast majority in the room.

However as I mentioned above, now that these tactics have been exposed Reps and Senators need to give interviews to covering news stations to publicize the link to insurance lobbyists and the astroturf campaign. Don't let the local news cover it like it's grass roots - it needs to be exposed as to what it is.

What these guys want is nothing more than violence to break out though - they want the headlines "A Fight breaks out at local Rep's healthcare meeting" in order to rally their side more.

Here's another thought on how to counter this crap: turn the light on them. Ask the people disrupting, "Where did you get the idea to act like this? Who told you how to disrupt Democracy?" Then start reading off that memo. After reading the memo, bring up who wrote it and who they work for. Then talk about what Freedomworks stands to gain from Insurance reform failing. Finally, wrap the whole thing up by turning the spotlight on the Teabagger's actions: "What you see here today is the desperation of an industry that doesn't want what's best for the American people, open and honest debate about health care. What you see here today are the tactics of intimidation and anti-democracy. What you see here today is shameful corporate malfeasance on a very personal level, one that attempts to pass itself off as your neighbor, as a concerned friend, as a person who shares common interest with you. Organizations like Freedomworks and the corporate interests they lobby for ought to be shown for what they are: Anti-Democracy."

blah blah blah yackety schmackety. I'm sure some speech writer out there could do a much better job of this than I have:P Basically, as many people seem to agree, it's important to show where these people are coming from and who told them to get out there. If the media won't come to TPM, they WILL come to these ridiculous shit-storms for ratings. Get the message out in the Town Halls. Video-tape them and post that stuff up on You Tube. Link it in your Facebook accounts, use MySpace, link to the videos through Twitter with @Freedomworks, @Teabaggers, @whoever is orchestrating this crap (or whatever Twitter account they're using) in there. The brighter a light shone on these people the better for proponents of honest debate and health care reform. The truth is they don't have the facts and they don't have the right, so let's show everybody that by letting them be who they are.

No need for counter-protests (that's what they're hoping for), no need for goon squads to shove them into the paddy wagons, just do some civic reporting and shine the light on them. If the mass media won't report it, get out there and flood every internet media spot there is. They'll get it eventually.