"When I watch the news people stand here and tell me that I am a member of a hired mob, that I've been called up by the Republican Party, they only wish they could have done something like this. I've never been contacted by any organized group."
So fabulously stated a caller during Saturday's "Washington Journal" on C-SPAN in a monologue that is likely to go viral throughout the Internet and possibly make the speaker America's next Joe the Plumber.
But that's only the tip of the iceberg, for Leah from New Hampshire's declaration about what's really going on in the country, Congress, the media, and at these town hall meetings perfectly encapsulated what most so-called journalists are either ignorantly missing or dishonestly ignoring (video and transcript below the fold, h/t Ed Morrissey via Bob Hicks):
LEAH IN MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE: Hi, yeah, I just wanted to clarify a few things about these "manufactured, angered crowds." I've never been politically active in my life. I've never done anything like go to a protest ever. I started going to protests, these Tea Parties back on the Fourth of July, and the reason that you're seeing the numbers grow and swell and become bigger and bigger is not only because of the healthcare legislation, but like you said earlier, all these massive bills, thousands of pages long that are passed with almost no debate, no time for us to see what's in it, in direct controvertion (sp) of what was promised about transparency and a near era and we're going to know what we're doing in advance. I see, I see politicians admit on TV that they can't read it, that they can't understand it because of its complexity. Lawyers who are writing these bills say they need lawyers to tell them what's in the bill.
Now, when I watch the news people stand here and tell me that I am a member of a hired mob, that I've been called up by the Republican Party, they only wish they could have done something like this. I've never been contacted by any organized group. This is an organic movement, and when people stand there, and lie to me about what I know is going on, how can I trust them when they tell me it's going to save money when the Congressional Budget Office says it isn't? That it's going to cover everybody when the Congressional Budget Office says it isn't? That it's going to let me keep my, my healthcare when common sense tells you that's not what's going to be the end result of this when the government ends up providing all the healthcare which the man who wrote the bill in the beginning says. Go watch it, Jacob Hacker who wrote this says that in time, and President Obama said it, we will all be swallowed up in this government plan.
When people lie to us, we don't trust them when they give us platitudes about what's in the bill.
ROB HARRELL, C-SPAN "WASHINGTON JOURNAL" HOST: Leah, are you planning to, are there any town halls planned in your area, in your neck of the woods?
LEAH: No, my, my Congressmen are afraid. Now they won't even come out and meet us face-to-face. They want to do some phony telephone thing so that we can't judge their facial expressions. We can't say with a follow-up question, "I'm sorry, that didn't answer my question. Could you please?" You know, yes people are getting angry. That doesn't mean it's fake. That means it's real. And by the way, about the caller who says it's all racial, the only person I've seen that's been attacked, physically attacked, is a black man who was attacked by SEIU, and he says they were black. So, I'm getting tired of the race card. I'm getting tired of the lies. I'm getting tired of the media not telling us what's in these bills but giving us a bunch of "Republicans says this, Democrats say that." I don't care.
Brava, Leah! Brava!!!
Exit question: Is Leah the next Joe the Plumber?
—Noel Sheppard is the Associate Editor of NewsBusters. Follow him at Facebook and Twitter.
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Awesome
August 9, 2009 - 12:02 ET by GDAV05Leah gets a 10 on a 10 scale for that call.
we should be able to stop the soi dissant Healthcare Reform.
August 9, 2009 - 12:13 ET by Free StinkerThis is proof that we should be able to stop the soi dissant Healthcare Reform.
In Iran, they used to pass around copied VHS tapes with "outside" news, and in Cuba they now do the same thing with computer thumbdrives.
We have Newsbusters, Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, C-SPAN, Telephones to call our Congressman/Senators, talk radio, and the right to assemble (for now).
If the country is too lazy to stop this phony healthcare reform, then maybe we deserve it. (Not those of us that our trying)
Leah gets a big old "Shack!"
August 9, 2009 - 20:18 ET by BDLeah gets a big old "Shack!"
She's right.
August 9, 2009 - 12:04 ET by superconThe left wishes they could have crowds like the Tea Partiers have. Never on their best surrender, war protesting day did they ever have a crowd that looks like these protests. It is the left that bussses in the protesters and the rent-a-mobs. It is the left that uses well financed,well organized political groups that pretend to be grassroots.
When Democrats try to counter the protesters at theses meeting they have to call on one of the largest labor unions in the country to get anyone to show up for their side. That's a rent-a-mob.
" if Republicans are able to stop Barack Obama on health care, 'it will be his Waterloo, it will break him...." -Sen. Jim DeMint
Lookout Leah!
August 9, 2009 - 12:11 ET by averageschmoeYou will soon be audited and will have Katie Couric and her cronies calling you a racist, bitter white woman on the nightly news.
No Doubt
August 10, 2009 - 10:44 ET by Wildcatter1980Once the NSA "wiretaps" so opposed by the left until they got into power ID her.
--
We need to stop calling them "Progressives" when in reality they are big government "Socialists" who no longer value the individual's rights to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.
not it wil not JUST an
August 10, 2009 - 06:01 ET by red_dragon311not it wil not JUST an audit.... It will be a level 5 IRS colonoscopy.
lib-think:
Male/female gender roles, especially the desire of women to be mothers, are purely social constructs. But homosexuality - and every other sexual proclivity - are immutable, ingraned biological desires that cannot be questioned
The name calling is of the Democratic Party leadership
August 9, 2009 - 12:11 ET by Gary HallThe name calling is of the Democratic Party leadership - no big surprise that the MSM is so prepared to comfortably follow the lead.
While there are now so many examples of this - including Speaker Pelosi's recent hate speech - this one caught my attention just about a month back. The topic is speaking out against tax increases at the California state level. Karen Bass is the speaker of the CA State Assembly. The interview, by an angry leftist staffer, Pat Morrison, appeared in the Los Angeles Times.
Personally, that seems to be a more fitting description of the Democratic leadership -- and of the current White House standard operating playbook.
Well, I wasn't on talk radio on that topic, but personally, I was very much actively involved in fighting against the numerous tax increases (and perhaps instrumental in getting the gas tax taken out of the ballot measures) the D's and the LA Times wanted to push on the poor working people in the collapsing State of CA.
Therefore - my state assembly woman was calling me a terrorist. She was accusing me of terrorizing others.
And she wonders out loud if my views should be allowed? The Los Angeles Times does not see a problem here.
Let me tell you America - the Democratic leadership, and the national news media, have no issue with the people loosing their voice.
(;~/ gary
Oh, I think the
August 9, 2009 - 12:17 ET by nwahsOh, I think the incompetence in the media and in government is showing. The would be kings are being exposed for the inaccessible tyrants they are. Its a huge mistake to paint the majority who are against this particular reform as an ignorant mob.
Most people just want a responsible debate, and not a rush job like the stimulus BS. People want good reform not fast reform. Whats the rush?
What a shame our little kings and queens in Congress are so far removed from their peasants.
I am the mob. Don't tread on me.
Hey There!
August 10, 2009 - 10:45 ET by Wildcatter1980Don't you know they [elected officials] are just "better" than us. They deserve to fly in Gulfstream executive jets and to have the best--and, of course, free--health care without any waiting or having bureaucrats outside the doctor-patient relationship decide what procedures or tests you can and cannot have.
You see. We are only mushrooms to them. Bury us in sh*t and we're supposed to be happy!
<wink>
--
We need to stop calling them "Progressives" when in reality they are big government "Socialists" who no longer value the individual's rights to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.
August 9, 2009 - 13:00 ET by jessieHI refuse to play the game with congress. I urge everyone not to "call in". This isn't a talk show. It's our lives. If it were up to me every last one of them would be in Gitmo. Such blatant contempt for the people is treasonous. congress doesn't deserve ANY respect.
Keep up reporting lies, State Run Media...
August 9, 2009 - 13:05 ET by Red Jeep...but don't be puzzed by declining sales, subscriptions or viewers.
This will be extremely
August 9, 2009 - 13:23 ET by SnappyThis will be extremely interesting. Whether this bill passes or doesnt the outcome will be worth taking note of. Are the people being heard? Yes I beleive so, but are they being taken seriously? That is what remains to be seen....and this holds for both sides of the aisle, the panty waisted Republicans that are trying to jump on the bandwagon late in the game are fooling no one. So lets see how this next election cycle and these next bill votes go. I beleive we are on the cusp of some major political upheavals in this country. The one area where Oboma may have been correct was in his message of change..... However I dont think the change that is occuring is one that either side saw coming.
Notice how basic common
August 9, 2009 - 13:28 ET by mattmNotice how basic common sense completely flabbergasts the elitists? Priceless.
No Grand Parent Left Behind
August 9, 2009 - 14:33 ET by Retired GeekWill Barack Obama 'Partner' with 'Planned Parent Hood' to create a new Obama subsidized entity known as 'Planned Grandparent Hood'?
Will the 'Mission Statement' of 'Planned Grandparent Hood' be "NO GrandParents" left behind?
Now they can find LOTS of those here on the Cape! I think I'll
August 9, 2009 - 21:56 ET by Cape Conservativego back to coloring my hair to try to escape the granny roundup! My hubby is a lost cause...gray hair, gray beard! We'll just have to sic our monster dog (all of 10 lbs) on ACORN when they come knocking ;-)
This comment comes from a proud Tea Party attendee, otherwise designated by Homeland Security as a Domestic Right Wing Terrorist! It is no dishonor to be in a minority in the cause of liberty and virtue ~ Sam Adams
Even Brain Dead Liberals should question this
August 9, 2009 - 14:39 ET by Retired GeekEven 'Brain Dead Liberals' should be questioning why ACORN members who are funded by the Barack Obama "Government" are the ones shouting down and causing problems at the Town Hall meetings.
ACORN paid Obama protesters, versus American Citizens who are forced by taxes to pay the salaries of these ACORN Obama protesters?
This is called Barack Obama fairness?
ACORN isn't exercising 'Free Speech', ACORN is exercising Obama 'Paid Speech'.
Still waiting
August 9, 2009 - 14:42 ET by KC MulvilleStill waiting for any proof behind the Democrats' accusations. They're assuring the public that angry citiziens are just faking it. They've pointed to websites that encourage people to protest. But that proves nothing.
They have yet to prove that any angry citizen went to a town hall because a website or GOP leader asked them to fake anything. What's happened is the usual Carville and Begala-style spinning; they throw out the accusation without the slightest shred of proof, because they know the media won't challenge them. A week from now, the liberal pundits will take it for granted that it had all been proved to be fake -- without any proof ever being advanced. It'll just coagulate into yet another liberal assumption. Accusations were made, and soon enough, the mere accusation will be taken as proof.
By the way, the burden of proof is on the Democrats. Show any evidence that these angry protests are really fake. Prove it. Pointing to a website means absolutely nothing; it doesn't even prove that the protesters saw the website, or manufactured fake anger at the website's request. If anything, the website simply asked people to take the anger that they were already feeling and direct it where it was most efficient politically.
You want proof KC?
August 9, 2009 - 14:52 ET by BKeyserTurn on NBC, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, and CNN. Not enough? Check out HuffPo, DKos, DU, and TP. Need more? Try NYT, WashPo, or almost any other major newspaper.
Proof? We don't need no stinkin' proof! We'll just keep repeating it over and over and over again and about half of the sheeple will believe it.
Economics Teacher: Bueller?
August 9, 2009 - 15:52 ET by seaniepEconomics Teacher: Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?
Simone: Um, he's sick. My best friend's sister's boyfriend's brother's girlfriend heard from this guy who knows this kid who's going with the girl who saw Ferris pass out at 31 Flavors last night. I guess it's pretty serious.
Economics Teacher: Thank you, Simone
with apologies to the late great john hughes
I hate the New York Times more than it hates the US Military
LOL - Exactly!
August 9, 2009 - 16:26 ET by KC MulvilleDid you ever hear a flashing news story that begins, "The AP is reporting ... "? I once heard a reporter claim that when they start the segment that way, it allows them to legally claim a truth (that the AP reported it), even if it leads to the false assumption that the AP has verified what they're reporting.
In other words, one media outlet uses another media outlet as the "verification" of any rumor that both of them spread.
And the congregation said
August 9, 2009 - 14:46 ET by RD KingAmen Leah.
"No Recovery until Nobama!!!!!" me and at least 59,934,790 other Americans.
Leah does not want to be the
August 9, 2009 - 15:43 ET by NL207Leah does not want to be the next Joe the Plumber. To be that means to have her privacy invaded by Democratic Party hacks violating privacy laws and misusinig government authority.
Noel Sheppard...I love
August 9, 2009 - 16:00 ET by bigtimerNoel Sheppard...I love you!
I caught Leah this morning...I was so tickled I did....I am now so happy I cannot stand it...I cannot believe you have this here and evidently it is going viral...and it will with my help to!
Thank you Noel, more than anything, I was thanking Leah this morning...YOU GO GAL I was yelling!
She spoke for millions of us...succinct, with conviction...every word the TRUTH!!!!
It was about time too on C-SPAN...I was praying she wasn't going to be cut off...as they love to do with the right, depending on the host.
I'm writing too fast I know...I'm just so happy this is here!
Btw...when she said...
Now, when I watch the news people stand here and tell me that I am a
member of a hired mob, that I've been called up by the Republican
Party, they only wish they could have done something like this.
It doesn't get much plainer than that now does it?
Plus that guy, I can't remember his name that was the guest, was looking mighty sick, and seemed to want the noise to stop....or he was nervous, either way, I got a kick out of this this morning.
Obama's a Community Agitator, a walking, talking destroyer. ~ Rush Limbaugh
Noel - bt - I'll get it going along my list, too...let's cover
August 9, 2009 - 20:16 ET by Cape Conservativethe country/world with the voice of the American people - this is just one more vivid example of the COMMON SENSE that is inherent in most of us. It is more proof that the ORDINARY American has more sense than most of the current politicians combined! Thanks, Leah for calling in...I only wish I had heard it live, but SO VERY MUCH appreciate ALL Newsbusters does to keep us informed!!!
(Just between us, I think Liberals were standing behind the door when common sense was being handed out!)
This comment comes from a proud Tea Party attendee, otherwise designated by Homeland Security as a Domestic Right Wing Terrorist! It is no dishonor to be in a minority in the cause of liberty and virtue ~ Sam Adams
I don't think anybody here
August 9, 2009 - 16:02 ET by RR GOPI don't think anybody here could have said it any better.
That these polticians and politicos refuse to admit the logic in what she (and many, many others) are saying about all this, is just further evidence to me that they are attempting a huge Socialist power grab.
And the GOP needs to get their heads out of their a$$es before they become extinct as a political party. If they even really care anymore that is.
One of the 34% who thinks George W. Bush was a great President. One of the 86% who wants to bring back the stock and pillory.
Not a factor!
August 9, 2009 - 17:20 ET by NewHampshireWe sort of laughed at the ad that told people to call the GOP and complain. Poor GOP! They are taking the blame for something they are not even involved in.
Unfortunately, I can tell you firsthand as an organizer for NH-TPC, they don't have ONE THING to do with this.
We are WE THE PEOPLE.
www.nhteapartycoalit...
Noel--I echo the compliment--
August 9, 2009 - 16:10 ET by misterbillBrava, Leah, brava and thank you for so honestly and bravely putting it into words the facts with which we all agree....
I have posted, many times , that there may be blood in the streets since this chaotic situation came to be. The people in office are doing the worst thing they can do--they are ignoring the electorate--they are, essentially telling the voter, the people--you don't know what you are talking about and we do and we will make the decisions. Then they openly admit they do not have the time to read the bills or to understand them.
Brava, Leah, brava!! A real American.
Caller
August 9, 2009 - 16:26 ET by Joseph BrownJust call me Joe the Gearhead, because I agree with everything Leah said, only double!
Even worst then that Mr Bill
August 9, 2009 - 16:42 ET by general companyNot only are they ignoring us, but they are inflaming it with name calling and lies
My Gov. thinks I am dangerous, so be careful
"Television is a freak show" Bernie Goldberg
This is an oligarchy
August 9, 2009 - 16:25 ET by InfidelphiaMy representative (Nita Lowey D, NY-18th) has refused to hold a town hall meeting to discuss health care. We're trying to get a petition together to request a meeting with her. Nice eh?
Noel, you forgot to tell us
August 9, 2009 - 16:26 ET by ckc1227Noel, you forgot to tell us Leah's opinion on global warming. :)
If Leah does turn out to be
August 9, 2009 - 16:33 ET by SickofLibsIf Leah does turn out to be the next Joe The P, she had better grid her lions quick, b/c they're gonna be coming for her real soon if this gets any traction. (Which I doubt.)
NH Tea Party
August 9, 2009 - 17:17 ET by NewHampshireLeah is speaking as the other hundreds of member of the NH Tea Party Coalition a bona fide grassroots group, countering the paid goons from out of state of the SEIU/ACORN/OFA/DNC
www.nhteapartycoalit...
We will NOT STOP!
Our three 'Deathocrats' will not meet with us and the NHDP keeps calling us a "tiny minority" when we have been the majority every place we've picketed.
There is a huge event with Obama in Portsmouth, NH on the 11th at 11:00 AM.
And more events all week. Come join us!
Gosh, she's well-spoken.
August 9, 2009 - 20:10 ET by ekslibThanks for making this impressive call available for us to hear.
→ Was that you Liz Cheney?
August 9, 2009 - 20:22 ET by Cool ArrowThat voice and that command of facts sounded a whole lot like Liz Cheney.
Oh, I'm not complaining. Not by a long shot. I'm sold on the idea of having my country led by a competent woman.
I'm just sayin' she sounded familiar.
LYDSEXICS UNTIE!
That wasn't Liz, although
August 9, 2009 - 20:30 ET by bigtimerThat wasn't Liz, although they share the same sentiments and let you know it succinct with conviction, fire in the belly...but Leah spoke for all of us as well as Liz does...it was priceless.
Obama's a Community Agitator, a walking, talking destroyer. ~ Rush Limbaugh