There is a lot of talk about the outrage we are seeing in these town halls and that is a good thing. Unfortunately though, the Left has taken the position of labeling those who disruptively oppose ObamaCare with names like ‘un-American’ or ‘rabid right wing extremsists’. And while their claims of astro-turfing are largely unfounded, they are setting themselves against the american people with this new rhetoric.
But it seems to me that they have no one to blame but themselves.
The underlying issue that sits at the base of these town hall protests is an extraordinary mistrust of our government and this administration. We are seeing this across party lines among normal people who believe they don’t have a voice in the governance going on in our country. And at this point people just want to be heard, and some are speaking louder and louder because congress seems so ‘deaf’.
Take for instance, the stimulus package. It was passed in a matter of days with promises being broken about transparency that were literally made a few days before:
“Let me say it as simply as I can: Transparency and the rule of law will be the touchstones of this presidency.
Our commitment to openness means more than simply informing the American people about how decisions are made. It means recognizing that government does not have all the answers, and that public officials need to draw on what citizens know. And that’s why, as of today, I’m directing members of my administration to find new ways of tapping the knowledge and experience of ordinary Americans ‐‐ scientists and civic leaders, educators and entrepreneurs ‐‐ because the way to solve the problem of our time is ‐‐ the way to solve the problems of our time, as one nation, is by involving the American people in shaping the policies that affect their lives.” – President Obama on Jan 21, 2009
But instead of transparency, we get the biggest spending bill in our history that is passed so quickly that no one even has time to read it. In fact, we were told if it didn’t pass that quickly then unemployment would rise above 8%, which is now at 9.4%. And that promise to put a bill up for 5 days or so before it gets voted on in order for the American public to read? Well that promise sank like a submarine with a screen door.
And then we have this MASSIVE overhaul of health care, which the president was trying to get passed before August. It wasn’t even published until mid July. To mention the sentiment of a town hall protester: the president took longer to pick a dog than he is taking in trying to overhaul our health care system.
The point is that most americans feel like the conversation that the Left is trying to have with the public is no conversation at all. In fact, if the Left wanted to have a meaningful conversation about health care reform, then they would have held these town hall meetings before they wrote a bill and tried to ram it through congress. Instead, now that the bill didn’t pass, they want to hold these ‘fake’ conversations so that they can tell you how wonderful this new health care bill is and rally support behind it so that they can ram it through congress in September.
And now that Americans are responding in a loud and unruly way, the Left is trying to demonize them as un-American. It seems to me that there is only one un-American group in this country, and they live in Washington.