White House on town halls: 'We will punch back twice as hard'

As town hall meetings on health care erupt in citizen protest around the country, White House officials are giving guidance to legislators on how to prepare and respond.

Legislative town hall meetings on the controversial health care bills that have been circulating in both chambers of Congress prior to the August recess have been repeatedly disrupted by loud protesters who are opposed to the Democrats approach to health care. The town hall protests are a national phenomenon and have become a very big headache for the town hall organizers and for the White House. The White House has now begun offering guidance and coordination to legislators who are engaged in town hall meeting presentations, advising them to bring in large numbers of Democratic supporters. "Top White House aides gave Senate Democrats a recess battle plan on Thursday, arming the lawmakers with tips for avoiding disastrous town hall meetings while showing them polling on popular aspects of the reform effort," Politico reported. Senior White House adviser David Axelrod and deputy chief of staff Jim Messina have been meeting with senators and have been crafting plans on how to deal with the town hall settings. "They showed video clips of the confrontational town halls that have dominated the media coverage, and told senators to do more prep work than usual for their public meetings by making sure their own supporters turn out, senators and aides said." according to Politico. “If you get hit, we will punch back twice as hard,” Messina said, an official who attended the meeting told Politico. While Congress is officially on recess, the health care debate is raging at the state level - and legislators have been facing a very confrontational American public. President Obama's approval ratings now stand at 50 percent, and August is seen as a crucial month in moving the Democrats plan on health care forward.