Democrats Face Hostile Homecomings at District Meetings

Janet Hook fails the objectivity standard in her piece, at the Chicago Tribune, "Democrats face hostile homecomings from health care reform critics: Health care reform critics get tougher at district meetings."

Could it be that Congress is failing Americans and folks are really mad? No Janet a congressman in effigy doesn't mean protesters are KKK:

An effigy of Rep. Frank Kratovil was hung outside his office on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Rep. Steve Kagen of Wisconsin was shouted down by angry constituents. Rep. Tim Bishop of New York had such a raucous experience with critics on Long Island that he is avoiding town hall meetings for more manageable settings.

The spark for the political firestorm surrounding these lawmakers has been President Barack Obama's effort to overhaul the health care system. The debate has gotten especially ugly now that Congress has adjourned for a monthlong summer recess, and critics have mobilized in force.

The intensity of the opposition is a pointed reminder of how hard it will be for Democrats to sell voters on a broad reworking of the health care system, even though they hold commanding majorities in Congress.

At the same time that Democrats are trying to show the need for change, powerful special interests are deep into a campaign to portray the legislation, which is still being written, as a government takeover of health care that will disrupt voters' established relationships with doctors.

Democrats say the disruption of lawmakers' meetings does not reflect broad public opposition to their health care plans. Rather, they say, it is arising from an orchestrated effort by conservative groups, GOP leaders and "astroturf" organizations that claim to represent grass-roots voters but are backed by special interests.

This is hardly the first time that lawmakers' town hall meetings have been swamped with emotional outpourings during a congressional recess. In past years, lawmakers got an earful about cracking down on illegal Immigration and on former President George W. Bush's plan for overhauling Social Security.

Still, the rancor this year is noteworthy.

Translation: Protests against George W. Bush good; protests against Barack Hussein Obama bad.

I'm generally not the biggest media critic, mainly because we need the press as an institution. But articles like this do nothing to inform the public, and they only feed the anger and cynicism that's erupting at all of these town halls.

Hook's piece is also at the Los Angeles Times (via Memorandum).

See also, The Hill, "Parties cry foul over spate of homestate showdowns" (via Memeorandum).