Blog post

March 24, 2010 [LINK / comment]

Health care fallout gets ugly

In Virginia yesterday, some idiots responded to a call to put heat on Rep. Tom Perriello for voting in favor of the Democrats' health care bill. They showed up at what they thought was the congressman's home, but it turned out to be Perriello's brother. One of them severed the gas line leading into the house, which could have caused an explosion. The FBI is investigating this incident, which occurred in the midst of a surge of hate mail and hate telephone calls aimed at members of the House of Representatives following their controversial vote on Sunday. As reported by the Charlottesville Daily Progress:

Two members of the conservative Tea Party groups in Lynchburg and Danville posted the address on the Internet on Monday so opponents could 'drop by' and 'express their thanks' for Perriello's vote in favor of health care reform.

Now, we shouldn't leap to conclusions, because you never know when acts of political violence or vandalism are perpetrated by the opposition or by people who are acting as provocateurs. (A similar question arose during the Tea Party protests in Washington over the weekend.) If I had to guess, however, I would say they were probably right-wing extremists. You wonder if those hooligans are intelligent enough to realize that Perriello will certainly get a boost in the polls because of that. If you ask me, whoever is guilty should spend a long time in jail.

Is Obama is a Socialist?

Many Democrats resent that President Obama is often labeled a "Socialist," but one of their most prominent leaders said exactly that earlier this week. Rev. Al Sharpton, admittedly not the most reliable source, blurted out on Fox News that the American people gave a clear mandate for socialism when they elected Barack Obama as president. Well, isn't that special? See realclearpolitics.com.