OK, here's the deal. We have yet to see any kind of civilized discussion at too many of these health care town hall meetings around the country.
Protestors usually consist of real or faux hysterical people yelling at representatives, playing more to the camera than seeking any kind of answers.
And the cameras dumbly record it and dumbly spit it out in the endless , non-discriminating 24/7 news cycle.
Lost in the noise machine is any reasoned discussion of healthcare, its reform and the options being discussed. So it comes as no surprise that when word got out that Rep. Jim Cooper was going to speak on the first day of the school year at West End Middle School, the tea party crowd got revved up. Never mind that the event was about SCHOOL.
So, not wanting to be a disruption on the first day of school for 13 and 14-year-old kids, Cooper bowed out.
But the tea party crowd won't let a good photo op go to waste. So they will be there anyway on Friday. Oh boy.
Above, Rep. Cooper explains about ALL of the options being discussed for healthcare reform - without the noise machine drowning him out.