Democrats all over Capitol Hill are whining that the American people are mad at them. They are pointing to some rare and frankly minor examples of that ire going too far. My question is: What did you expect would happen when you “Stupaked” the American people? Did you not think they would be a little upset? There are two major things wrong with this scenario: (1) you’re blaming the victim, and (2) you’re exaggerating.
First, polling data for a solid year from every credible source known to man has shown that the American people overwhelmingly did not want the President’s version of health care reform. However, the Democrats (except for a notable few) think they know what’s best for the rest of us. Instead of focusing on improving the best health care system in the world, they radically changed it, costing us billions, perhaps trillions of dollars to insure a few more of us. Yes, we are upset! We’re just not excited that you’re going to send us to prison if we don’t buy into your health insurance scam and that you’re forcing us to pay for abortions with our taxes.
No, the real story here is not a few impolite people on the right. The real story is the restraint Americans are showing. In most countries there would be rioting in the streets over this kind of raw power grab by government. No, Concerned Women for America does not support bad behavior or violence. We will, in our own very ladylike way, NEVER FORGET!
Secondly, anyone in the public eye has war stories. I have personally had everything from death threats, Web harassment, and vile epithets left on my voice mail. Man up guys! You know this is part of the job, and you get it all the time. I am sorry that Congressman Perriello’s brother’s gas line to his outdoor grill was mysteriously cut/slipped off. Gasp! What are they going to do with the steaks they thawed out already? Tsk tsk! Just when the weather got nice. Now that is a travesty!
I know someone said something unkind to Bart Stupak on his voice mail, but I’d trade what his guy said with the truly ugly word I got called any day. I am sorry it hurt his feelings. (For the record: Before Mr. Stupak joined the dark side, CWA asked its members in Michigan to contact him to thank him politely for his then-pro-life stand, as he was taking the heat from the nasty folks on the other side of the abortion issue. Maybe they weren’t as nasty as he led us to believe.)
This is bush league. What’s really going on is that Members of Congress are trying to distract the public from the arrogance of power by creating sympathy. It’s an old trick and wouldn’t work at all except that the mainstream media is complicit in the charade. I was at the Capitol on Sunday, and Tea Party folks were yelling at anyone in a suit, including me, but they weren’t yelling vulgarities. People who say they were are probably lying, but we will never know because the media didn’t bother to ask them to corroborate their stories. The media would have demanded several witnesses if any conservative had made those claims.
The same media so excited to rush to protect the “defenseless” Congressmen barely mentioned that someone set Sarah Palin’s church on fire or that private citizens in California were personally harassed and targeted for simply suggesting that there should be a ballot initiative on marriage. The game being played here would be funny if it weren’t for the fact that these guys thwarted the will of their constituents. I would, however, suggest that the best way to handle this is to be patient. After all, isn’t revenge best served up cold? Isn’t there a Biblical quote about that?
Update: I’ve just learned (12:50 p.m., 3/25/2010, Thursday) that someone fired a gun into Republican Congressman Eric Cantor’s (R-Virginia) Richmond office last Monday. Rep. Cantor didn’t whine, and thus, it’s just now getting reported. Notice that it’s an attack on a conservative who opposed ObamaCare, but that wasn’t news till now. I just want to re-emphasize that violence is not the answer. There are better ways to deal with bullies.