Never the point. That anyone felt free enough to express should a vile thought is of some concern.
I guess the important word here is "free." On the OP's clip I heard only two men say "Yeah." I didn't hear "Let him die." But perhaps, as you say, this isn't the point. In a crowd there are likely to be a couple of loudmouthed jerks. And yes, up to a point, they are free to be jerks.
Somewhere earlier on this thread I posted that I had recently attended my newly elected Rep's local townhall meeting. Probably 350 people in the audience, lots of them in the "retired" age group. For the most part, the audience was very polite, but at the end, there were 2-3 guys in a back corner who mouthed off. Liberals, just FYI, who didn't like the conservative POV being expressed.
They were rude and irritating, and like others, I turned to glare and see where they were and what they looked like. Never did. Their rudeness made me so mad I could've socked them, and I wanted to shout, "Just STFU!" But I didn't, and nobody else did either, just nervously laughed. I don't think that we were wrong to continue to behave.
Some posting on this thread think that others in the GOP debate crowd should have done something--what? Become part of the problem? Create more of a disruption? Did we somehow morally fail because we didn't? Did the GOP debate crowd morally fail because they didn't? I'd say that civilized people ignore lone asshats unless they're so disruptive that they're led away by the cops.
But up to a point, people are free to be jerks. To shout "Yeah!" or even "Let him die!" (which, again, I did not hear on the clip).
BTW, my friends and I never said, "Wow, those progressives and liberals--they're just disgusting" because others of our friends who are liberals and Dems were also in that crowd and behaved civilly the way the vast,
vast majority of us did. Not fair to stereotype those who hold a particular political view because of 2-3 jerks.
The two guys in the GOP debate behaved disgracefully. But the bad's on them, not the entire Tea Party. Entertaining, kinda, to see those who hate the Tea Party trying to seize on this. And I know who flogged it all too because I Googled--the Huffington Post, Mediaite, and Kos. So there you go.