All week long we've been seeing unruly protesters, organized by insurance company lobbyists and other right-wing douchebag groups. We complain about their bullying, their desire to drown out discourse and to shout down any opposition to their way of thinking.
But instead of complaining about them, shouldn't the bigger question be: Why aren't we doing it?
We're liberals. We're the masters of the protest. In 2000 and 2004, liberals protested Bush's inauguration to show that we believe his Presidency to be illegitimate. Most of us have been to an Iraq war protest at least once in our lives. So why aren't we protesting for universal healthcare?
I know we're all tired. We've been fighting for years. We fought to get rid of Bush in 2004. We spent the next two years after that fighting to derail Bush's agenda and get a Democratic majority in Congress. We worked our asses off to get Obama elected. We've worked hard these past few years. But like it or not, the fight isn't over. The right wing hasn't gone away, and our politicians can't be expected to pass health care reform if we leave them at the mercy of the right-wing.
We need to be doing more than merely stopping their protests. We need to be having our own.