Via Think Progress:
At times tempers flared at the forum, with constituents shouting at one another.
LeRoy Schaffer, a St. Francis city council member, dressed in a tuxedo and top hat for the occasion. Shaffer got visibly emotional asking Bachmann about the future of health care and the role of special interests in Washington.
“I’ll be danged if I am going to give up my Social Security because of socialism,” Schaffer said, before being booed by the crowd.
UPDATE: You can see the exchange here.
A city council member, no less....
This suggests that Texas isn't the only place where the constituents are as crazy or crazier than their representing politician....
Posted by: montag | August 28, 2009 at 01:27 PM
A tux and a top hat?
Are we sure this ain't political theatre? Someone saying something that stupid in such a get up ... I'm hoping that some smart liberal convinced him to do this just to make a point.
Posted by: DAS | August 28, 2009 at 01:40 PM
Doesn't he realize it has the word "social" right there in the name?!??! It doesn't get much dumber than that.
DAS has to be right. He had to be going overboard to make a point.
Posted by: FastMovingCloud | August 28, 2009 at 02:09 PM
you can see for yourself here.
Posted by: watertiger | August 28, 2009 at 02:22 PM
When a person sitting on a city council doesn't understand who runs a 75-yr-old program that they pay into, is it any surprise that only 37 percent of an AARP poll's respondents correctly identified the public option from a list of three choices?
This kind of rank ignorance is directly attributable to the quality of news information provided by our Glorious Media.
The really sad and sick thing is, there are many on the never-right who think that this guy is exactly the kind of person who should be the rule rather than the exception in politics. I spent most of the day yesterday going through Palin's Facebook Wall. A more frightening group of dittoheads is hard to imagine. Many of them advocate strict term limits (one term) and no "professional" politicians, only "regular" people need apply.
Posted by: karen marie | August 28, 2009 at 02:38 PM
a propos of nothing:
what did the nay-saying, worn half-hitch say to the unstable sheepshank?
"I'm a frayed knot."
Posted by: punaise | August 28, 2009 at 02:40 PM
I just read (on Atrios or Think Progress) that the man was actually defending Social Security and Medicare, saying he "wouldn't give them up" for anything. So I'm not sure if he is really as ignorant as the shorter quote makes him sound.
Posted by: Pat | August 28, 2009 at 03:20 PM
The "birthers", "deathers", "teabaggers" and "plug pullers" have been having all the fun, next up at one of these townhalls... "The Afterbirthers"
Posted by: sukabi | August 28, 2009 at 03:24 PM
big surprise: Glenn Beck can't spell
Posted by: punaise | August 28, 2009 at 03:37 PM
“I’ll be danged if I am going to give up my Social Security because of socialism,”
Yup.
Posted by: Monica_A: Winner Like Quinner | August 28, 2009 at 05:02 PM
I think even Michelle (Brainiac) Bachmann thought that was stupid!
Posted by: queek | August 28, 2009 at 05:58 PM
Queek,
I don't think so. She probably wrote the line herself.
Posted by: Rene ala Carte | August 28, 2009 at 10:39 PM
I believe that it might be a good idea to go back and actually listen to everything that Mr. Schaffer was saying in context.* I think that some here (and elsewhere) have missed the boat. I believe that what Mr. Schaffer was trying to say was that he wasn't going to let claims of "socialism" get between him and his Social Security/Medicare. It just didn't quite come out that way.
Keep listening to the speech he gave at the YouTube link that was posted. He's clearly saying that the Fortune 500 and big money lobbyists are running our government and is telling people that if they look up who is giving large sums of money to these politicians, they will know how these politicians are going to vote.
Short version: Schaffer is actually IN FAVOR of reform. He was criticizing people that make claims of socialism to attack programs like Social Security and Medicare.
*ThinkProgress has posted a link to the Star-Tribune (http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/house/55421247.html?page=2&c=y) where Schaffer is quoted as saying "I'm on Social Security and I've got Medicare. I have socialized medicine. I wouldn't give it up for anything in the world."
Posted by: Roman Berry | August 29, 2009 at 12:03 AM
yes, roman berry is right. think progress has misrepresented what happened. you should watch the video. the man does not say he won't give up his social security because of socialism - he says he won't give it up [just] because it IS socialism. he goes on to argue against bachmann.
Posted by: nell fenwick | August 29, 2009 at 09:05 AM
wha is we called it national?
Posted by: pansypoo | August 29, 2009 at 02:31 PM