Sometimes a picture is worth more than a thousand words. This one was captured during the course of the GOP protest today:
This will not be a long diary, but rather a brief observation of what I am witnessing from the REALLY hard Right:
I have no problem with principled, respectful conservative ideology. This nation wasn't meant to operate under one line of thought - and regardless of how we may feel about various viewpoints, spirited debate featuring pluralism makes for a more robust polity.
That being said, the level of classlessness on display at the conservative D.C protest, while not entirely unsurprising, continues to be appalling and completely useless to the process of formulating and implementing public policy solutions - particularly where the health care reform debate is concerned.
Take this photo, courtesy of the aforementioned protest:
Their party was just chided by the American public (and even some within the GOP) for Joe Wilson's juvenile outburst during President Obama's congressional address. Listening to the true Republican party leaders (i.e. Limbaugh, Hannity and Beck) and observing GOP loyalists like this should make the general public think twice about opposition to the Democratic reform proposals. In that respect, there is a genuine opportunity for Democrats to stay on message and close the deal regarding health care reform - including a true public option for the American people.
If there is a lesson to be learned on the part of Democratic Party supporters, it is this: You are not, and never will be, those people. Hit your opponents hard based on the fact that your policy solutions are just and equitable, but never make the mistake of believing that reciprocal actions and sentiments will ever land you and your policy agenda anywhere but in the minority.
As the GOP is finding out, you risk becoming (and remaining) a severe afterthought if you cannot win a debate based on the merit of your policies. As Marcus Licinius Crassus stated in the great movie Spartacus:
We've already been made to look the fool. Let's not add the trappings of a clown.
They have now accomplished both feats. Democrats need only stick to policy solutions to enact social and economic change and remain the premier political force for decades to come.