News Features

Health-Care-Reform Town Hall All-Stars

Plumb and Dumber Dept.

By CHRIS FARAONE | August 20, 2009

Shamelessly successful political-smear campaigns yield exalted martyrs. And no such recent hero tops Samuel "Joe the Plumber" Wurzelbacher, who was tapped by John McCain himself to con fools into defending oppression and opposing progress. Now, with the Town Hall–disruption craze inciting the nation and consuming news cycles, it seems there's a fresh crop of potential poster children powering the increasingly aggravated right-wing noise machine. As such, we sized up some select stand-out Americans to determine which are proudly ignorant enough to potentially seek careers in punditry — or even politics. Should they pursue either, we conveniently assigned them catchy handles and ideological tag lines to use on the talk-show circuit.

LISTEN: Podcast of Barney Frank's complete town hall health-care debate [mp3]

READ: Dispatch from Barney Frank's Badass Town Hall Meeting in Dartmouth

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Hillary, Barack, and Iraq
If prescience about the disaster in Iraq were a prerequisite for presidential front-runner status, former Vermont governor and current chair of the Democratic National Committee Howard Dean would be the donkey to beat in his party’s race for the White House.
Rhode Islanders vie to make difference in NH
With less than 50 days until the presidential contest between Barack Obama and Sarah — whoops — John McCain, there is good news and bad news for Democrats.
Hope restored
Barack Obama's election has sparked international wonder. His task, however, is great.
More

Hillary, Barack, and Iraq
If prescience about the disaster in Iraq were a prerequisite for presidential front-runner status, former Vermont governor and current chair of the Democratic National Committee Howard Dean would be the donkey to beat in his party’s race for the White House.
Rhode Islanders vie to make difference in NH
With less than 50 days until the presidential contest between Barack Obama and Sarah — whoops — John McCain, there is good news and bad news for Democrats.
Hope restored
Barack Obama's election has sparked international wonder. His task, however, is great.
The battle of the smallest state
Clinton bathed in the intense affection of an adoring crowd, her every statement punctuated by wild applause, chants, and a rising sea of blue signs touting her campaign.
Super Tuesday: Pretty much as expected
Things turned out more or less as anticipated: John McCain bolstered his frontrunner status on the Republican side, and dueling Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama will keep fighting.
Queen Hillary
There’s a strange debate dominating the Democratic campaign so far.
Too scared to win?
What people want is someone who knows what he believes, says so, and stands up for it even in the face of criticism.
Hoover? Damn!
It doesn't matter how many negative ads are broadcast or how many moose are slain on the tundra, candidates and their actions don't transform our politics nearly as much as outside events and circumstances do.
About-face time
Conventional wisdom says that debates help everyone but the front-runner in the polls, because they give the pack exposure and face time next to the leader.
Gold muddle
President Bush’s decision to score a historical footnote and be the first sitting US president to attend an overseas Olympic Games seemed like a good idea at the time.
Peacock problem
A recent Rasmussen Report poll shows that about half the country thinks the press is out to get Sarah Palin, with a full quarter saying this makes it likelier they’ll vote Republican.
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