Which is wackier — fiction or fact? As for the former, the indomitable and hysterical Iowahawk channels Arlen Specter and Kathleen Sebelius reacting to their bruising experience at a town hall:
Enough is enough. It’s time for us to get out our pitchforks and tell the Outside-the-Beltway gang that we’re mad as hell, and we’re not going to take it any more. We are the little guy, the junior senator from some godforsaken Nebraskansaw, just looking to make that subcommittee with the big contributor action. That fresh young regulatory agency head who only wants to test that bank nationalization idea from her Harvard term paper. We are the people who get up every day, work hard, and play inside the rules. Most of the time. And if one of us accidentally plays outside one of those rules, then, by golly, the rest of us will make sure to modify that rule so he’s still playing inside the rules. And we’re tired of getting pushed around the town hall by the likes of you, Big Voter.
OK, that’s a lot of fun (read the rest), but it is not so wild as what is actually going on as we head into the August recess. First, the White House has declared war on the voters — accusing the insurance industry of “manufacturing” anger. So naturally, they call for informants. The customer is never wrong, but in this case the voters plainly are, according to the White House brain trust, so it’s time to call them out on it.
Meanwhile, left-wing groups and the Democratic National Committee have declared war on Democrats who won’t go along with ObamaCare. The Wall Street Journal recaps what’s going on. Democracy for America and the Progressive Change Campaign Committee put out a “rapid-response ad” against Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson for daring to oppose the public option. “Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus is another target because he’s negotiating with Republicans.” We also learn the DNC is going after 12 Democrats on Henry Waxman’s Energy and Commerce Committee with another hit piece. MoveOn.org is running ads against other Blue Dogs. And then “Organizing for America, which is officially a wing of the DNC, is running ads to press Democratic Senators in Arkansas, Indiana, Florida, Louisiana, North Dakota, Nebraska and Ohio.” The editors conclude:
This intraparty smackdown is all the more remarkable because, by winning in swing or GOP-heavy districts and states, these Members have given Democrats their governing majorities. If there’s a voter backlash in 2010, these Members will also be the first to be washed out to sea. Yet it’s becoming clearer by the day that Democratic leaders view these moderates as mere cannon-fodder footsoldiers in the great liberal revolution of 2009. And if you have to shoot a couple of them yourself to keep them all marching straight, so be it.
Blame the voters and attack your own — reality may put Iowahawk out of business. Actually, it may put the Democrats out of business unless they can convince Big Voter to pipe down, get off their back, and get back to the living-room couch.
