They own the bully pulpit. They enjoy a mandate. They can move the votes. They dictate the debate. They write the legislation. They monopolize the coverage.
When it comes to politics, Democrats are U.S. Steel, Ma Bell and Google all rolled into one. And yet because of a mystifying cosmic event, they are also victims.
In a recent editorial in USA Today, Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and sidekick Steny Hoyer grumbled about how reactionaries are shutting down the voices of the enlightenment on health care. They accused town hall insurrectionists of being "afraid not just of differing views -- but of the facts themselves. Drowning out opposing views is simply un-American."
On one point, at least, Pelosi is correct: Many protesters are terrified of fact. Because the fact is every iteration of health care "reform" in Washington is intended to lead us to a single-payer system, which would not only wreck innovation and competition but also inject bean-counting bureaucrats into our health care decisions, from zygote to cremation.
But the notion that grass-roots opponents have the capacity -- even by acting boorishly at a smattering of town hall meetings (rudeness, last anyone checked, still is protected by the First Amendment) -- to "drown out" the voices of Washington is what our president might call silly.
Pelosi's party operates (in large margins) both houses of Congress, as well as the presidency. Elected fairly and squarely by the American people, no one can stop Democrats from passing any piece of legislation they desire, even if it controls and dispenses a good chunk of the American economy.
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