The media has focused on sensational items like town hall stunts (yes, stunts), blatant rumormongering lies, and exploited people's fears over the economy in place of an actual policy discussion. It's always hard to get people to focus dispassionately on the issues rather than throwing around the words 'socialism'. You rarely hear these ideas coming from the MSM, because they benefit from the theater and often are the theater. Which is why I was heartened when Katie Couric in her Notebook Friday called out the so called "sleeping giant" as a hornet's nest.
At a town meeting hosted by Senator Arlen Specter, a Pennsylvania resident stood up to say that the health care debate has awakened 'the sleeping giant'. Not exactly. What it's done it seems is stirred up a hornet's nest and uncovered disturbing attitudes and emotions that have nothing to do with policy. Are we really still debating health care when a man brings a handgun to a church where the President is speaking? How does a swastika spraypainted on a Congressman's office further a discussion about Medicare? These are tough and challenging times and lots of people are scared about their jobs and the economy. But we can't let fear and frankly ignorance drown out the serious debate that needs to take place about an issue that affects the lives of millions of people. It's time for everyone to take a deep breath and focus on the task at hand, before this sideshow drowns out the main event.
This is what the right wing does every time. Turn a serious debate into a circus. First they did it with the Swiftboats to Kerry, they tried to do it to Obama with Palin. Now they have done it again. Unless we progressives realize that politics is nothing but theater and act accordingly, we will not learn.