Oregon Tea Partiers invade quiet MoveOn picnic, break it up with threats -- and boast about it

[proud2BlibKansan]

Probably the most disturbing aspect of the multifarious effects of Fox News' right-wing propaganda machine and its Tea Party offspring is the way it has utterly taken over the lives of so many senior citizens, who lap up every word as the gospel truth and have become increasingly radicalized by talking heads like Glenn Beck.

Even as they project their own intentions onto the likes of the unions, the Fox acolytes and the Tea Partiers have effectively become a brownshirt corps of mean-spirited, vicious thugs. It's deeply disturbing to watch people in our parents' generation viciously attacking liberals with increasing venom and violence.

The latest example took place last weekend in the quiet little retirement town of Roseburg, Oregon. It's a pretty little burg on the I-5 corridor in western Oregon that is mostly populated with senior citizens of various stripes. Via Carla at Blue Oregon, we happened upon this story in the local paper:

A small political gathering of about 18 liberal thinkers at River Forks Park Sunday afternoon erupted in conflict when about 35 members of the conservative tea party intruded upon the meeting, waving flags and holding signs accusing the rival group of being communists, Marxists and socialists.

more . . . http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/new-mccarthyism-oregon-tea-partiers-

Try this link: http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/new-mccarthyism-oregon-tea-partiers-

[Mz Pip]

1. Stay classy.

Oh, wait. They can't. THe teabaggers sink to the lowest common demoninator - crass, petty and creepy.

[proud2BlibKansan]

8. They did similar things here

I hate these people. They invaded most of our health care reform rallies 2 years ago, walked into our group with guns on their hips and stuck video cameras in our faces. They tried to drown out our speakers with a bullhorn.

Our Dem congressman was forced to cancel his town halls after receiving death threats. The wingnuts then accused him of refusing to meet with his constituents.

They spit on Congressman Cleaver in DC. One of the best most honorable men I have ever known - and they spit on him and LIED about it, even though there was video evidence of the spitting.

When MoveOn sent out an email encouraging us to attend a town hall our congressman was having, the local GOP sent out an email calling MoveOn members "thugs" who wanted to disrupt the town hall. At the town hall, a Democrat told the congressman she was a Christian. The GOP supporters put up a video of the town hall and accused this woman of dominating the town hall (for asking ONE question) and called her crazy - because we all know Democrats can't be Christians?

Creepy is putting it mildly.

[freshwest]

2. The link is not working. Please fix! Important story.

[proud2BlibKansan]

3. Works fine for me

Here's a tiny url: http://tinyurl.com/3frqer9

[freshwest]

14. The two in the OP said 'page not found' but that one works fine. Thanks!

[jennpublic]

48. I reposted. View video here:

http://youtu.be/8L4pc_P7xhE

[Vanandric]

4. saw this earlier

these people always talk about THEIR freedom but what about EVERYONES freedom?

[proud2BlibKansan]

5. Liberals are not free to have a picnic I guess

But thugs are free to threaten liberals who are having a picnic.

[spedtr90]

6. LINKS that work!

http://www.blueoregon.com/2011/07/roseburg-tea-party-afraid-very-afraid/

http://www.blueoregon.com/2011/07/more-roseburg-incident/

[MissB]

12. Yep, everyone should read the comments in the first link.

The tea party guy seems more than a bit rude.

[freshwest]

17. Thanks will post all three.

[johnd83]

7. Lord of the flies

They are going "Lord of the flies" on us. I imagine a lot of the tea party people don't have a lot of power in their lives and probably believe things that have not been PC before they found each other. An angry, disenfranchised group that does not have a leader with a good conscience can do some awful things.

[freshwest]

18. Like the Tea Partiers in Columbus, OH going after the guy with Parkinson's' disease. Also matches

The description of third reich mobs. People who were angry at those with more education, or whatever, and attacked them. To feel powerful at last, did all kinds of atrocities. This has always been tolerated on a certain scale but is literally being taught by pundits such as Rush, Hannity and Billo.

Welcome to DU.

[Snoutport]

39. Lord of the FLEAS is more like it

because they go home and suck their money from social security, their kids go to school, they use the roads and the public pools.

[Dawson Leery]

9. ...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1554576

[proud2BlibKansan]

10. Wow.

Not surprising though.

[lifesbeautifulmagic]

11. from the link

"Roseburg resident Lillen Fifield, 70, called the group's actions an “act of domestic terrorism” and said she was appalled that a peaceful gathering — mostly of women older than 65 — was interrupted."

Really, teabaggers, you are harassing a 70 year old woman, really??? What a bunch of cowards, and I REALLY want to know what took the police so long to respond.

[ctsnowman]

27. The Sheriff is a TP guy

Or so I've read.

[guitar man]

13. I saw that

So they pick on a bunch of older women and run them out of the park. Oooh, big tough guys! :grr:

If anybody is planning a progressive gathering in the Oklahoma City or Tulsa area and needs someone to serve as Sgt at Arms, let me know, I'll be happy to come do it for you and bring some harsh and unpleasant characters I know along with me.

I guarantee all you have to do is say the word and we will make damn sure the only people getting run off will be the baggers :evilgrin:

[Kennah]

20. +10

I don't look for fights or confrontations, but I also won't sit still while someone is being abused, threatened, or victimized.

I'm not espousing "the Chicago Way", but Teabaggers have to be faced down.

I may not be Bullet Tooth Tony, but I also ain't Vinny or Sol.

[guitar man]

23. I don't look for fights either

But what they did to those ladies in the park was as wrong as it gets. No one has the right to bully anyone else off of public property like that. The more they get away with it the bolder they'll get with it. Standing up to them is the only real option.

[Kennah]

24. And it's been my experience, once you stand up to a bully ...

... they often don't want to fight someone willing to fight them.

[xmas74]

25. I wondered where the public was in the park

and why someone didn't jump in?

I'm 5'2" and though it wasn't my fight I would have said something if I felt a group of thugs were harassing a peaceful group. I also would have called the police and written down license plate numbers.

The difference between me and this group? If the local tea party were at a park, having a peaceful picnic, and were interrupted by a group of thugs I would have said something and I would have called the police. I don't care if it's the damn KKK or a neo-Nazi group-if they are peaceful and not causing any harm they have every right to have a picnic in a public park and I'll do what I can to allow it to happen.

[WheelWalker]

15. "Raynor said the group believes MoveOn.org is a communist front and said he would not

would not stand for America becoming a fascist nation."

Dumb as a Hemlock stump.

[proud2BlibKansan]

21. Dumb as a Hemlock stump.

LOL!! :rofl:

[Rex]

16. 'communists, Marxists and socialists'

whenever I hear anyone mention those three and spit like they have any fucking clue...I roll my eyes. Stupid motherfuckers...don't be scared of words! I notice stupid people scare easily.

[napoleon_in_rags]

19. Glenn Beck's show has many senior citizens watching it.

Many on social security!!! And they've all been prepped with information about how the liberals are planning on crashing the current system...The system the right is about to collapse. Its pretty damn amazing.

[muriel_volestrangler]

22. The teabaggers ignore the reality in front of their eyes in favour of their paranoid delusion

From the local paper report:

Sutherlin conservative Karen Meier said she posed as a MoveOn.org member and infiltrated the group's meeting prior to the confrontation. She said she found many of the liberals to be pleasant.

“Obviously, they don't really know what MoveOn is and who it entails,” Meier said.

http://www.nrtoday.com/ARTICLE/20110720/NEWS/110729987/1063/NEWS

They go to the length of 'infiltrating' the group (showing their paranoia in the first place), and even when she find out the members are pleasant, she still insists there must be some horrible hidden conspiracy going on. And gets her fellow brownshirts to come and harass a picnic.

[xmas74]

26. I should have known it was Roseburg.

I have family living there and one of them would be proud to be a Bircher.

[WheelWalker]

36. Then there are the 20,298 Douglas County electors (30.34%) who cast a ballot for Obama.

Yes, there are still John Birchers here. But there is also MoveOn. Hope springs eternal.

[xmas74]

45. Glad to hear that.

My family residing there were not part of the 30.34 percent to cast a ballot for Obama. They were more likely to make a racist joke.

Honestly, I wouldn't have blinked if one of the tea baggers had been a relative. I secretly expected to see one on the video.

[LongTomH]

28. Kicking this......it needs to remain on page one of GD

:kick:

People need to be reminded of the potential for RW violence INHERENT in the Tea Party!

[stevedeshazer]

29. Roseburg is Oregon's armpit.

Take it from a lifelong Oregon resident: Roseburg sucks.

Roseburg is unrivaled in Oregon for right wing nuts. Well, maybe Grants Pass.

I've been there many times and it never fails to amaze me how stupid and bigoted these people are.

Even back when I was in high school in the early seventies in the Oregon Panhandle, we had a band exchange program with Roseburg. I'd never been around such bigoted folks in my life, and these were the kids in high school back then. Now, they're the same gun-toting morons except they're fat grandparents.

Roseburg is the worst place in our state. Mullets, pot guts and monobrows.

Excuse me, I have to go into the bathroom and turn on the fan and take a huge Roseburg.

[WheelWalker]

33. I agree it's difficult to have a conversation in this county.

[stevedeshazer]

41. Well, if you're a sane person from Douglas County, I apologize if I offended you.

I know there are rational people there and I don't mean by my rant that I don't empathize.

I grew up in Columbia County, btw.

[WheelWalker]

42. You didn't offend.

Blessings.

[Odin2005]

30. Fascist jack-booted thugs.

[GoneOffShore]

31. There is no doubt that the Tea Baggers are Fascist thugs

wrapping themselves in the flag and carrying bibles.

[guruoo]

32. Well now they have a new hero to boast about

While their keepers work 24/7 to deny the connection.

[TheKentuckian]

34. Like all bullies, if you bring it back hard in their grills they back down and slink away

There is nothing "adult", "advanced", "smart", or "sensible" about rolling over for these pieces of shit. All it does is encourage them.

They need to be made to disrupt staring down a barrel and I bet they find a little civility.

[saras]

35. Sad but true, and the reason liberals let themselves get bullied...

Bullies respond to superior force. Period. And they tend, individually, to be weaklings.

AFTER they have responded to superior force, and abandoned the whole mindset of bullying, then perhaps they can be reasoned with, or otherwise interacted with.

[nadinbrzezinski]

37. Freikorps.. this is what this reminds me off

and that is not a good thing.

We will see more open violence soon. Am afraid we crossed the darn rubicon a while ago.

[AsahinaKimi]

38. Oh i see it...

Gawd, what a bunch of Dorks, those Republicans are..

[marmar]

40. Did they wear their jackboots?

nt

[Initech]

43. I hate to bring up the comparison but they are the brownshirts.

[alfredo]

44. We need to play up their corporate ties, and ask the

question "who is calling the shots in the Tea Party." Are such act at the behest of their benefactors?

[GoneOffShore]

46. They are Tea Baggers and fascists.

[SaveAmerica]

47. Wish I lived on the West Coast, I would love to provide reinforcment to these lovely people!!

I think more meetings need to be scheduled, more folks called to join in and then when the thugs show up, sit silently until they leave. Bullies don't know what to do without and fuel to their flames.

Good luck Dems of Roseburg!!!