“Brooks Brothers brigade” is cute alliteration, an upgrade on the 2000 “Brooks Brothers riot” somebody used to describe the snarling, screaming Republican out-of-town operatives who shut down the controversial presidential election count in Miami-Dade.

It was clear in the 2000 case that the characterization was intended to emphasize the out-of-town aspect, because Miami is not Brooks Brothers country. It's more Banana Republic and Victoria's Secret, and always has been, even though we had our button-down Brooksie pockets in the buttoned-down '50s. So those rude folks had to come from elsewhere.

Brooksies were calm folks with Ivy League aspirations who wouldn't dream of causing a scene. Probably they still are. Not fashion-forward, you understand, but always tasteful. (OK, call me petty, but I take offense on behalf of the pale pink button-down Oxford cloth shirt.)

Apologies to White House press secretary Robert Gibbs, who seems like a decent guy, but the new Brooks Brothers brigade appellation is just plain wrong.

Today's disruptors of town hall meetings on health care are not strangers. They're our neighbors (or maybe pod people replacing our neighbors?) who come to those meetings to parrot the instructions they've gotten from the public relations consultants for interests which will not benefit from health care reform. Interests like insurance companies which now routinely deny health care to their customers and pharmaceutical companies which won't continue to profit quite so much from widespread preventive care or regulated costs of their pills.

Conservatives for Patients' Rights is a major player in organizing the anti-reform brigades. They work with the conservative PR firm previously known as Creative Response Concepts, the firm "that masterminded the 'Swift boat' attacks against 2004 Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kerry," the Washington Post reported.

Along with other groups friendly to “tea parties” they are advising their sympathizers on how to manufacture apparent grassroots objections (or Astroturf) to health care reform. One memo suggests that tea partiers should "pack the hall ... spread out" to make their numbers seem more significant, and to "rock-the-boat early in the Rep's presentation … to yell out and challenge the Rep's statements early.... to rattle him, get him off his prepared script and agenda ... stand up and shout and sit right back down."

So much for civil discourse or informed dissent.

“Brown shirt brigades” seems more appropriate for these folks, in recognition of their similarity to the 1920s and 1930s pro-Hitler storm troopers who specialized in intimidation and starting fights.

That has pretty nice alliteration also, and doesn't insult a stalwart of American fashion. (Or the beloved shirt.)

Sophie Jensen is a retired journalist. She lives in Lucerne.