Keith Olbermann talked to the Huffington Post's Amanda Terkel about the tables being turned on these Republican members of Congress who just two years ago were urging their constituents to get out there and make their voices heard at local town hall meetings. Back then, it was these AstroTurf "tea partiers" out there screaming about the health care bill. Now as they discussed, the tables have been turned and Republicans are starting to get the message that their constituents aren't too happy with talks of privatizing and making cuts to Social Security and Medicare.
As they noted, Sen. Chuck Grassley just an earful at one of his recent town hall meetings -- Grassley, Who Is Pro-Privatization, Says He Knows Just ‘One Member Of Congress’ Who Wants To Privatize Social Security:
During a town hall in Carroll, Iowa last night, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) fielded question after question from constituents who were furious at Republican efforts to weaken Social Security. Midway through the event, one Iowan stood and told Grassley his personal story about retiring in 2008 just as the stock market cratered, decimating his IRA and 401k retirement plans.
He implored Grassley not to privatize Social Security, asking if he should expect “to live on whatever the stock market leaves me?” After the crowd gave the constituent loud applause, Grassley responded that he only knows of “one member out of 535 who wants to privatize Social Security.”
Grassley was also asked by a small business owner why Social Security taxes are capped at $106,800.
Sen. John Thune also seems to be getting the message on cuts to our social safety nets, but as Terkel pointed out, how members of Congress behave and vote when they return from vacation will tell us if they're actually paying attention to their constituents or not. Here's more on that from Think Progress as well: Thune: Top Message I Got From Town Halls Is ‘Don’t Cut My Social Security And Medicare’.
And as the Orlando Sentinel reported this week, Rep. Dan Webster who knocked our friend Alan Grayson out of office last election is having a rough time of it as well -- Angry crowd at town-hall meeting could be the norm for Dan Webster.
And as we reported here, it looks like Webster was helping his friend Rep. Tim Griffin with his watch list of town hall attendees -- Rep. Tim Griffin Intimidation Watch List's Likely Origin is Rep. Daniel Webster's Office.
And then we've got members of Congress like Rep. Todd Akin, who won't even hold them -- Rep. Todd Akin Refuses to Meet With Constituents and Defend Vote to Eliminate Medicare.
Terkel has been following some of the recent town hall debacles over at the Huffington Post as well, and here are a couple of her recent posts there.
Rep. Chip Cravaack Agrees To Hold Town Hall Meeting In Response To Demands From Protesters (VIDEO)
Rep. Steve Chabot Criticized By Tea Party Activists For Seizing Cameras From Democrats At Town Halls
