Things got tense Wednesday night on Fox News' "The O'Reilly Factor," when New York Democratic Congressman Anthony Weiner— an outspoken advocate of universal health coverage — repeatedly shouted that host Bill O’Reilly was "making stuff up" about the enforcement of the law. At one point, Weiner glowered silently on camera, then shouted "Watch this" to O’Reilly, pointing to his mouth in the course of explaining that the IRS was not going to assess fines on citizens refusing to comply with the individual mandate to obtain health insurance.
In her weekly Capitol news conference Thursday morning, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi addressed questions on the reported stream of threats against lawmakers who voted for the bill. One reporter asked her about her emotional response to the harsh rhetoric, given that her home district in San Francisco suffered the 1978 assassination of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay member of the city’s Board of Supervisors. After a moment's pause, Pelosi replied, "I believe that words have power. They weigh a ton. They are read differently by people depending on, let's say, their emotional state."
On the other side of the aisle, House Minority Whip Eric Cantor of Virginia blasted Democratic leaders for what he said was "reprehensible" exploitation of the incidents for their political gain. He called out Maryland Rep. Chris Van Hollen, who heads the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and former Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, who heads the Democratic National Committee, for "dangerously fanning the flames" of violent confrontation. Cantor said no one was condoning violence, but the GOP was not to blame. He said he's received numerous threats since taking office and someone recently fired a bullet into the window of his Virginia office.
The lawmakers' remarks follow reports that the brother of Virginia Democratic Rep. Tom Perriello had the gas line to his home severed after a Web site run by Tea Party activists mistakenly listed the brother's home address as the congressman's. Meanwhile, Democratic House Whip James Clyburn of South Carolina, an African-American, has fielded faxes bearing the image of a noose. And a coffin turned up on the lawn of Missouri Democratic Rep. Russ Carnahan. Officials with the Capitol Police, Secret Service, and FBI are investigating the incidents. The liberal Web site Talking Points Memo has launched an interactive map tracking reports of harassment and vandalism targeting Democratic supporters of the health care legislation.
In a CNN interview, Congressman Perriello took vigorous issue with House Minority Leader John Boehner’s statement on the damage to his brother's home. Boehner had denounced violent tactics as counter to the American way, but went on to say that "we need to take that anger and channel it into positive change." Perriello shot back that the remarks were "fairly outrageous."
Perriello continued: "What he was saying was 'For those of you who are threatening other people's children, we want you to channel that anger into the campaign.' No, we want those people to go to jail."
All the heated rhetoric and threats to personal safety that now surround the legislation increase the pressure on President Obama to make a strong case for the public to rally behind the health care law. He kicks off his nationwide tour promoting the new health care system Thursday.
David Mikael Taclino
Inyu Web Development and Design
Creative Writer
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