Activists staged “competing rallies” outside of Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy’s (D-OH) district office yesterday, in a noisy, often confrontational attempt to influence the undecided congresswoman’s vote. At one point, a man with a sign saying he has Parkinson’s disease and needs help sat down in front of the reform opponents. Several protesters mocked the man, calling him a “communist,” with one derisively “throwing money at him.” “If you’re looking for a handout you’re in the wrong end of town,” another man said. Watch it (at approximately 0:51):
Those guys screaming about "handouts" would be perfectly at home at a rally in the 1990s, or the 80s, or the 70s and so on. This isn't new, and it's not original. The social and cultural currents running through this debate exist independent of the debate, and the anger can't be tempered or avoided by procedural figleafs that few people inside Washington understand or by better messaging. At the end of the day, even abandoning reform won't calm that kind of anger.