I previously posted about the latest rash of scandalous photos coming out of Afghanistan showing U.S. military atrocities under Obama’s command, and wondering if the media would pick up on it the way they did when it was Bush’s army… Well, here’s a twist I wasn’t expecting: yes, one of the U.S. media, Rolling Stone, [...]
Jeffrey Goldberg, a correspondent for the Atlantic, cast a spotlight on yet another disgustingly overt example of pure bias in the mainstream media, particularly at the anti-Semitic Reuters newswire. He points to a Reuters news item which contains the following despicable sentences: Police said it was a “terrorist attack” — Israel’s term for a Palestinian [...]
In the [sparse] reporting of the Palestinians’ massacre of the Fogel family, several newspapers stand out with their distorted sense of “balance”, i.e., where they feel overwhelmingly uncomfortable describing the barbarity of the Palestinians without at least taking a swipe or two at the Israelis, no matter how patently irrelevant or disgustingly disrespectful it comes [...]
Heat: Wrap-Up
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James Taranto’s Best of the Web Today has a great summary of all the heat the Democrat congressman are feeling now, coming home to their constituents, as well as a good take on the Democrats’ diversionary tactics in attempting to deal with all the heat:
Now you can see why President Obama was in such a rush to have his way with your health care. “Angry protesters shouted down Democrats at public events from Texas to Pennsylvania over the weekend, leaving the party only one real hope for getting its message out over recess: a backlash,” Politico reports:
In Austin, Texas, Rep. Lloyd Doggett was drowned out by a group of noisy, sign-waving demonstrators who shouted, “Just say no” as he tried to talk about health care reform.
In an e-mail to Politico Monday, Doggett called the group a “mob, sent by the local Republican and Libertarian parties” that “came not just to be heard but to deny others the right to be heard.”
In Morrisville, Pa., Rep. Patrick Murphy was forced to scrap plans for a one-on-one meet-the-congressman session when people in the crowd started shouting. Murphy switched to a town hall format mid-event and even then had to ask the audience at times to “be respectful.”
And at a health care event in Philadelphia, Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius were repeatedly interrupted by booing and heckling. “We can shout at one another, or we can leave the stage,” Sebelius said at one point. “It’s up to you.”
“Town halls have become town hells,” Bush White House veteran Mark McKinnon tells the Web site. A Politico report from last Friday described town halls as a “once-staid forum that is rapidly turning into a house of horrors,” featuring “screaming constituents, protesters dragged out by the cops, congressmen fearful for their safety.”
“Democrats are trying to push back, casting the town hall disrupters as right-wing extremists affiliated with anti-tax ‘tea parties,’ ” Politico reports today:
“The last place Republicans ought to be moving their party is even more to the fringe of the political spectrum,” said Eric Schultz, a spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
Added a senior Democratic strategist: “It may be out of necessity, but for Republicans, relying on the fringe elements of the party to be the face of opposition on health care is a dangerous game. The birthers and the tea party folks aren’t controllable, come off as angry and out of control and couldn’t care less about the issue at hand.”
It’s easy to understand why the Democrats are pursuing this rhetorical strategy, but it is a risky one. Yes, the birthers are wackos. The tea-party folks are . . . well, let us say highly enthusiastic. Angry mobs are at best an acquired taste.
But an awful lot of people have misgivings about ObamaCare. According to some polls, opponents already outnumber supporters. That means Democrats have a lot of persuading to do. Assume for the sake of argument that the Democrats make a persuasive case that Republicans are extreme and unhinged. Hell, assume for the sake of argument that Republicansare extreme and unhinged. Does this in any way advance the case for ObamaCare? Is there anyone in America who would turn his health care over to Washington just to spite the birthers?