Why It's Worth Covering the Protests over Obama's Health Care Plan

The Poynter Institute ^ | August 6, 2009 | Al Tompkins

[Sam_Damon]

Members of Congress are having to face angry crowds who are protesting government spending, bailouts and health care reform, and who don't like the direction the country is heading in.

Some lawmakers say the protests that are popping up around the country are "fake." But a new national poll said the sentiments expressed in the protests are real:...

(*snip*)

...I recommend that journalists cover these protests and not write them off as the actions of a select few. Protests are an important part of democracies. It was not long ago when those who protested the Iraq War were being written off as lunatic fringe groups.

But I am less interested in the protests themselves than I am in what people are protesting about.

[Sam_Damon]

Frankly, I'm too stunned to comment. From the Poynter Institute website:

"The Poynter Institute is a school for journalists, future journalists, and teachers of journalism. Our students come here in a search for excellence. Our teachers provide focused instruction and personal support in that quest."

[icwhatudo]

Watch out for "swastika man". The left will be having their plants ready. If you are making homemade signs you might want to add something like this in case you need it:

[chuck_the_tv_out]

I would actually suggest preparing a few guys to hassle anyone with signs like that. Their photographers will carefully avoid such a sign.

We didn’t see it at the tea parties, because leftists are ugly weenies without the scrota, and they know half the people there are CCW

[Tublecane]

“It was not long ago when those who protested the Iraq War were being written off as lunatic fringe groups.”

They may have been portrayed as loonies, but at least they weren’t called robots. Even though they had cookie-cutter signs and were clearly mass-organized by professional protesting groups. Not all of them, of course. But a lot, and they were never called on it by the MSM, because the Democrats never told them to.

[virgil]

Anything to shut down any kind of debate.