The health care debate is getting out of hand. Everybody needs to dial it down now.
In keeping with the policy of this blog, innuendo, personal attacks, and allegations take a back seat to substance. Reasonable minds can disagree. My concern is that the health care debate has caused people to go bonkers.
I have said that the bill is a bad bill. It will lead to higher taxes, higher costs, and less choice and competition. Obama sycophants can protest, but unless the laws of numbers no longer exist, this is a fiscal train wreck. It also has the IRS enforcing a mandate to force people to buy insurance. That should not withstand constitutional scrutiny.
As awful as the bill is, I refuse to demonize the supporters. I believe that they truly believe this is a good bill.
Several instances in the last few days have me concerned.
First there were allegations that several members of Congress were subjected to bigoted slurs.
(I have not seen the tapes yet)
While what little footage I have seen shows angry people shouting, the allegations of slurs remain unproven. The stakes have just been amplified.
SE Cupp has just announced that Andrew Breitbart wants people to put their money where their mouths are.
(Full disclosure: I used to write for his site Big Hollywood. I have also interviewed SE Cupp but have never met her. I have met Breitbart many times and currently do not write for him.)
Breitbart, according to Cupp, is offering $10,000 for every slur uttered at Congresspeople on the tapes in question. 15 slurs would mean $150,000. Breitbart is either going to take a financial shellacking, or the allegations of slurs are totally bogus.
Would these Congressmen lie? Of course they would. Bigotry is toxic, and so are fake allegations.
I just want the truth.
All I ask is that if a charge is made, that proof to substantiate the charge exists.
Yet one tape recorded conversation did happen. A woman called up Bart Stupak and called him a “piece of (redacted).”
Could the tape have been doctored? Yes. Could it have been a liberal subversive? Yes. Was it? No.
While I believe the left is usually wrong, if I say they are wrong 100% of the time, I lose credibility.
How could anybody call up a congressman and say that? That is horrendous. There is no excuse for it.
Conservatives must disavow this behavior.
Those who love O’Reilly, Beck, Hannity, and Limbaugh should understand that they do not advocate violence. Limbaugh goes out of his way to say be cheery and optimistic. O’Reilly constantly cautions respect. Hannity and Beck make it clear not to get personal.
I fiercely disagree with this bill. Yet calling Obama a Nazi, Fascist, Communist or any other slur does nothing to advance conservatism.
I don’t even call him a socialist. I say that he admires many aspects of European style social democracies. That may seem like semantics, but words matter.
The left offers pure poison. They compare Bush to Hitler and wear “abort Sarah Palin” t-shirts.
We cannot become like the left. They will never treat us like we are human beings. Yet this is why they are discredited.
Congressman Eric Cantor, the house minority leader and top Jewish Republican in the country, has had a bullet fired at his campaign office. He has received death threats and has turned those threats over to the police.
As for Republicans, If we do not channel our anger into something productive, we may hurt ourselves in 2010. Americans are reasonable people. They are upset with Obama (despite liberal protests to the contrary), but they do not hate him. They want him to succeed.
We have to calmly and fiercely offer a competing vision. We must also be optimistic.
Reagan was an optimist. Limbaugh is an optimist. They both succeeded. Anger is valid when channeled properly, but anger without anything else leads to failure.
We should be enraged about this bill. It is that awful. Yet America has not been destroyed. I woke up today and the sun was shining. I continued living my life. I will work to defeat the bill and much of the Obama agenda. I will not denigrate him personally.
The left will take one or two lunatics and try to blame all conservatives for the bad behavior. They can only get away with this if we let them. The left has totally failed to rein in their basket cases. Heck, the left happily unleashes them. We need to take our worst elements and tell them to knock it off and dial it down.
We can yell “kill the bill.” We cannot and must not threaten human beings.
If we make sure we get this right, the next time the left plays the race card, we can expose them for the frauds and liars they are.
I hope Andrew Breitbart keeps his money, because it will prove that the left lied, committed fraud, tried to slander the right, and got caught doing it.
The left will never dial it down, which will allow the right to keep hammering them and be justified.
The left says both sides do it. No, they don’t. The left does it. The right has far fringes. The left is their far fringe.
I have had enough evidence in my lifetime. Contra evidence will not be forthcoming.
I hope everybody dials it down. I expect the left to reject this advice. The right does not want unilateral disarmament.
The left has corroded the discussion. The right needs to fight back the right way. Otherwise, the corrosion will continue.
eric
Update: White powder has just been discovered in an envelope to Rep Anthony Wiener of New York. I don’t care if the substance turns out to be something harmless like sugar or foot powder. This is an act of terrorism. The madness has to stop, and the law enforcement needs to crack down now on the bad guys.
I decided to put my money where my mouth was. Although I never call congressional offices, I made an exception today. I called Anthony Wiener’s office and spoke to a very pleasant lady. I asked if he was ok, and she said yes. I told her that while I was a conservative Republican that was totally opposed to the health care bill, I was horrified at what was done to him. I told her I would say a prayer for his safety, and that I wished him a happy and peaceful Passover.
eric
Wow. All over the Rightwing blogosphere and punditocracy there is talk of “agent provocateurs” and pols “lying” about the slurs and threats and violence. I’m am completely certain, if it was Repblicans who were facing this onslaught, the tone of these Rightwiong blogs and pundits would be very different.
First – This blog is pretty civil and the below doesn’t really apply to it or our good host.
Second – If you think this sort of thing is more prevalent from the Left, then you were born yesterday.
Third – Rightwing rhetoric has been waaaaaaay overheated lately. The GOP pols and pundits have CREATED this problem.
Fourth – It’s too late now. The GOP pundits and Pols unlocked Pandoras Box, created the Frankenstien’s Monster, opened the can of worms, smacked the hornets’ nest with a stick. They’d better just man up and apologize, or as I and ourt good host have pointed out here and before, it’s the GOP that will pay for this come November.
JMJ
Hello! It’s been awhile, eh? Well, I happen to disagree with both of you on this one! It isn’t just the healthcare debate, it is much more. It is not the GOP that will pay in Nov…it WILL be the DEMS! When I, as a simple, somewhat educated woman reads, listens to all sides; can discern in my ole mind truths/untruths of deeds and words, lies/deceptions, ole wool over the eyes, ole blah blah blah same ole; well, gentlemen the story gets old indeed. I refuse to point fingers, to lay blame on anyone. “This is a fine predicament we have gotten ourselves into Willy!” Eric, you can’t tell a hornet (ala JMJ) to stop his buzzing dance. I do NOT expound violence/threats, however, when those hornets are backed into a corner with no hope of escape (i.e. Congress listening/acting on behalf of their constituents, adhering to the Constitution) they will eventually sting hard. Now I can hear both of you now, “No, Jan. You didn’t hear us well enough on this.” I did hear and believe firmly and with conviction…Obama etc al has divided the USA like no other and if he were not an egotistical, self-centered man, he would have the knowledge and wisdowm to see/accept what damage he truly does to this great Country of ours and RESIGN, fire all his so called “czars” and let freedom and democracy ring! (sorry I got a lil carried away here) God save America!
lol I meant Ollie….duh me!
Summa, Obama has cut taxes more taxes in one year than Bush ever did, he inherited a huge mess and has handled it well, he has lived up to most of his promises, he has continued the War on Terror, and on and on. The fact of the matter is that most of the people who are so against him, so convinced that he has “divided” the country, are morons. He hasn’t done anything bad to them at all. Their lives will be better for Barack Obama. Their taxes will go down. Their credit card and education bills will go down. The likelihood that they will lose their homes or go bankrupt will go down. YOUR life, Summa, will probably be better because of Barack Obama. He has not divided anyone. It’s a MYTH that sleazy lying demogogues have sold you. It’s time Americans grow up, think like adults, and realize this.
JMJ
Sorry I still disagree with you Jersey…name one tax? I only see mine going up! As to his promises…..the only one he kept was, cough, change. TY for calling me a moron. My life will not improve because of him and I do not understand where you pulled that out of. Taxes up, umemployment up, the citizens of the USA torn asunder/divided, the economy in shambles (take care of business first), housing/mortgages a disaster…oh wait…is cash for caulking still on? I will, however, send you a post card from jail when the IRS/govt comes for me cuz I can’t buy “their” insurance, but wait….hmmmm I will have health insurance then, won’t I? The choice should be mine, yours….not the gov’ts. I see the division here in MD daily and it grows. I believe it’s time to take off the rose colored glasses and once again embrace our history, democratic values and ideals, adhere to our Constitution, read the Bills (omg, which btw he promised to give the public 5 days to read before he would sign any Bill),. I am grown up Jersey and I do think and act like an adult. I see we need best agree to disagree.
Summa, c’mon now. 282 bil of the Recovery Act was TAX CUTS. Where’ve you been? I don’t feel sorry for you if you’re among the 5% of American’s that did not get yet another tax cut. But your taxes, from the federal gov’t anyway, did not go up. It’s a lie. You’re believing the lies. Unemployment has levelled off. While I wish Obama and the Dems had directed more money for infrastructural development, which would have created lots more jobs, I certainly didn’t see any Republicans standing tall and demanding that! Obama didn’t create the messes. You’d really have to be born yesterday, or at least no more than 14 months ago, to think otherwise. Obama didn’t “divide” the country either. He hasn’t done anything to do that. Let’s get real here.
Embrace our history? Adhere to the constitution? Read the bills? WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? You sound like a five second sound bite from a Fox news-opinion host!
Look, we have REAL problems in the country – problems we’re not going to solve with simplistic, broad cliches. There’s nothing to agree or disagree with what I said. Obama cut taxes, he didn’t divide anyone or anything, and he most certainly did not cause any of the strife we’re suffering today. Get real. I know consrevatives live in a comic book universe and need good guys and bad guys, black and white plots, and easy answers, but here in the real world things just aren’t that simple. As long as good people like you allow yoursleves to be pawns of a crooked corporatocracy, this country will continue down the road to ruins. Wake up, grow up, pay attention, get an adult grasp on the issues, and then form opinions. Don’t just be another uselesss conduit of the powers that be.
JMJ