Dingell to host health care town hall; teabaggers organize heckle campaign

Police are prepared for disruptions at a town hall meeting on health care to be hosted by Democratic U.S. Rep. John Dingell in Romulus tonight, the Detroit Free Press reports.

Protesters have disrupted meetings held by other Representatives around the country and Think Progress reports that lobbyist-run groups are organizing an aggressive campaign aimed at creating the impression of mass opposition to health care and clean energy reform.

A memo titled “Rocking the Town Halls — Best Practices” is circulating on tea party listservs and provides directions for activists on how to disrupt the town hall meetings.

From Think Progress:

The memo above also resembles the talking points being distributed by FreedomWorks for pushing an anti-health reform assault all summer. Patients United, a front group maintained by Americans for Prosperity, is currently busing people all over the country for more protests against Democratic members. Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX), chairman of the NRCC, has endorsed the strategy, telling the Politico the days of civil town halls are now “over.”

Meanwhile, AHIP, the trade group and lobbying juggernaut representing the health insurance industry is sending staffers to monitor town halls and other right-wing front groups are stepping up their ad campaign to smear reform efforts. The strategy for defeating reform — recently outlined by an influential lobbyist to the Hill newspaper as “delay” then “kill” — is becoming apparent. By delaying a vote until after the August recess, lobbyists are now seizing upon recess town halls as opportunities to ambush lawmakers and fool them into believing there is wide opposition

Right Michigan has this account of how the TEA Party of West Michigan organized to crash a Kent County Democratic Party Picnic where Democratic Senator Carl Levin was speaking Aug. 1.