The Left is playing a dangerous game. At town halls all over the country, Senators and House Representatives are facing the anger of their constituents over what is perceived to be a government takeover of health care. Democrats are reacting by calling them organized mobs, saying that its manufactured anger, and calling these demonstrations a “violation” of the democratic process. The first problem I have is that these Democrats are quick to brand non-liberal demonstrators as a mob, but when the anti-Bush and anti-war protesters came out, camping outside the president’s home and causing disruptions, they did not make similar accusations. Just as other people have pointed out, it seems that for Democrats, it’s OK for liberals to protest, just not conservatives or libertarians. This is beside the point though, a lot of politicians are hypocrites and that’s just a fact.

The second issue is that Democrats are really missing the point here. They say that the mobs are organized by the Republicans, well then why didn’t the Republicans mobilize these people on November 4th? In fact, if I recall correctly, it was the Democratic Party that was very adept at mobilizing people, not the Republicans. The truth is that many of the people who are going to these town halls are not even Republicans, because the reality is that the backlash is not only conservative, it includes many independents and most libertarians. The Democrats simply do not understand that their actions in Washington run contrary to the very spirit of America. They continuously repeat that they were given a mandate by voters last year, but they misunderstand the mandate or maybe the voters misunderstood it. When Democrats say that we voted for “change” they confuse the true intent: Americans voted for “change from” Bushes, Clintons, etc., they did not vote for “change to” bigger government, more spending, and more taxation.

The outrage is not “manufactured” or “organized,” it is spontaneous and it is very real. Just look at what has happened: Obama explicitly states that he believes spreading the wealth around. His citizenship is questioned because a) his grandmother said that he was born in Kenya and b) because Obama has not shown his long form birth certificate. Pictures of him not holding his hand over his heart during the national anthem while everyone around him is. He vows to raise taxes on the rich but gives conflicting indications of what he considers “rich” to be. He passes a nearly ineffective stimulus package that does little to put Americans back to work but increases the burden on the taxpayer to unprecedented level. He proposes plans [Cap-and-Trade] to “bankrupt” [those are his words, not mine] the coal industry and heavy industry in general at a time when we are in a recession. He travels around the world, apologizing for America everywhere, essentially insulting the American people for their electoral choices over the last few decades. His policies of negotiating with the terrorists and tyrants have only resulted in giving them more time to develop and perfect their nuclear weapons and missiles. Congress falls under complete Democratic rule and the promises of bipartisanship are betrayed. Now, Congress is not listening to its constituents, instead branding them as members of an organized mob. In spite of all this, Democrats still do not understand why people are angry.

Add to everything I just mentioned the fact that Washington is now trying to insert government into health care and you just get more intense anger. The Democrats are making the average voter feel powerless to stop them and worry about what government-run care will entail: senior death notifications, the eventual rationing of health care, taxpayer-funded abortions, taxpayer-funded sex-change operations? All of these things are real concerns and while some in Congress have indicated that they would not do these things, but certain language in the bills and amendments being kicked around leave the door open for several objectionable things.

So, what we are witnessing is spontaneous popular outrage over what is being viewed by many as a government takeover that will affect everyone’s personal lives. This is not a calculated political move. No one from the RNC delivered instructions to me so that I could write this in my blog. That said, for those getting rowdy at town halls (both left or right): try to keep it civil, the last thing we need is for Congress to say “these protesters are crazy” and then dismiss the real and important concerns of Americans all over. On the other side, Democrats need to realize that Americans will not allow their country to be hijacked and changed beyond recognition. We are a free society of individuals, not a commune or a bunch of children that need a nanny-state to care for us. The message that politicians need to hear is this: Respect the American Citizen.

-AG