Looks like another ambush in Wisconsin’s 8th district, at Rep. Steve Kagan’s town hall tonight at Green Bay. Hard to know precisely how coordinated or spontaneous this was from this report from a local Fox affiliate. But it has the looks of another Freedom Works-cum-Tea Bagger event.
In terms of who’s on top of the battle out in the districts, this struck me as the most revealing passage …
Kagen’s staff was surprised by the turnout and tried to calm the crowd before the event. Kagen said he knows everyone is not on board with health care reform, but he’s hoping to find common ground.
All the GOP astroturfing aside, it’s a little hard not to get the sense that the Dems don’t quite have their ducks in a row. ‘Surprised by the turnout’? Sheesh.
Late Update: More from the latest tea party/birther riot (from the Green Bay Press Gazette) …
The vast majority of people attending the event appeared to come in protest of the health-care legislation, and they repeatedly disrupted the event by shouting.
The crowd’s size and vocal frustration grabbed the attention of Green Bay police, who arrived soon after the event began to keep the peace. Capt. Rick Demro said no one was arrested.
Kagen never battled the crowd’s volume, but voiced his concerns several times about its attitude.
“You can talk, but I can’t listen to 100 people at the same time,” he said. “This is not a shouting contest. This should be a discussion.”
If the event were a shouting match, the mob won. Kagen tried talking about the health-care bill, but the roaring chants deafened his attempts. Several elderly people covered their ears and grimaced at the level of noise.
