Tea Partiers "Storm" Congress
Some 80 Tea Party activists gathered on Capitol Hill this morning to protest the "unconstitutionality" of the healthcare reform bill currently before the Senate. The Tea Partiers threatened to "storm" Senate offices and stage a "die-in" -- or, as their press release put it:
...Play out the role of patients waiting for treatment in government controlled medical facilities. As the day goes on some of us will pretend to die from our untreated illnesses and collapse on the floor. Many of us plan to stay there until they force us to leave.
Their hope to "expire" in front of President Obama -- who was scheduled to meet Senate Democrats on the Hill today -- was dashed when the President moved the meeting to the White House.
And by high noon, there'd been no sign of a die-in or even a "storming": Instead the activists broke into their own rendition of the Twelve Days of Christmas. Then a group of Tea Partiers went to Georgia Republican Senator Johnny Isakson's office, where they demanded a meeting. They got their wish with little fuss. After about a half-hour wait, the Senator dropped by to take some questions.
He received a friendly reception, with some of the activists even applauding the Senator after he discussed the Republicans’ plan to delay the passage of healthcare legislation. “America is looking for heroes right now. Thank you for being one of them!” said one tea party protestor.
But perhaps the biggest applause of the informal, half-hour meeting was reserved for when Sen. Isakson said that several Democratic Senators would likely lose their seats when they come up for re-election due to their roles in healthcare reform. “Chris Dodd is done – he’s cooked his own goose, and Ben Nelson too” said Sen. Isakson. “And Blanche Lincoln is finished, and that’s a tragedy in a way, she’s a nice lady, but she’s completely wrong.”
The Tea Party activists plan to reassemble at about 1 PM today. One organizer told FrumForum that they expect around 15,000 protestors to come. DEVELOPING....
FrumForum Photos: Tea Partiers Storm Congress (Flickr)
Tea Party Rendition of Twelve Days of Christmas: