As I said in April, the whole point of the “tea parties” was to astroturf a movement into existence that could be used to attack progressive legislation. Republicans think they can beat health care reform with loud noises and a three-part plan for disruption at town halls:

The strategy may be working as theatre, but not as intimidation. Lloyd Doggett was positive and undeterred on NPR this morning. Senator Arlen Specter (?-PA) also dealt with disruption at a town hall with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius:

They yelled, shouted and jeered, and it was clear that they were not there to participate, but instead to try to disrupt the meeting and make it difficult as possible for anyone else to ask questions. They jeered from the moment the director of the Constitution Center stood to welcome everyone. For a few days leading up to the town meeting, e-mails circulated around Philadelphia warning that the “tea-baggers” were planning to protest the meeting and, although there were fewer of them than there were supporters–they made more noise shouting about “socialism,” “abortion,” and “assisted suicide.” (Emphasis mine)

Denise Dennis reported from the scene

The tactics didn’t work any better in Pennsylvania than they did in Texas:

When an angry woman approached the microphone and complained that health care reform would lead to “rationed care,” Secretary Sebelius said emphatically, “Rationed care is absolutely not something we condone,” and explained that today health care is “rationed everyday for people who do not have coverage.” To emotionally charged questions about abortion and assisted suicide, Sebelius calmly answered, “Abortion and assisted suicide are not a part of the legislation.” (Emphasis mine)

The Achilles Heel of the “noise strategy” is a Republican Party that’s woefully out-of-touch. The noise is a mask for their helpless idiocy when it comes to details: