With a big tip of the hat to GottaLaff at The Political Carnival, we've got video of Sen. Whitehouse and his statement about the GOP and the destructive spirit of the minority.
Whitehouse begins with a quote from SCOTUS Chief Justice John Marshall. Marshall referred to "those malignant and vindictive passions which rage in the bosoms of contending parties struggling for power."
He goes on to quote a fabulous essay by Richard Hofstetter titled "The Paranoid Style in American Politics." It is available online. You might consider reading it in full - it was written back in 1964, in the midst of the culture wars, the Civil Rights battles, and the beginnings of the Sexual Revolution.
But the modern right wing, as Daniel Bell has put it, feels dispossessed: America has been largely taken away from them and their kind, though they are determined to try to repossess it and to prevent the final destructive act of subversion.
Again, this was written in 1964. During the Goldwater candidacy. Whitehouse continues to cite Hofstetter in reference to a "sustained conspiracy". Here is Hofstetter's quote in full from his Harper's piece:
First, there has been the now-familiar sustained conspiracy, running over more than a generation, and reaching its climax in Roosevelt’s New Deal, to undermine free capitalism, to bring the economy under the direction of the federal government, and to pave the way for socialism or communism. A great many right-wingers would agree with Frank Chodorov, the author of The Income Tax: The Root of All Evil, that this campaign began with the passage of the income-tax amendment to the Constitution in 1913.
Whitehouse notes that contemporary efforts by his fellow Senators in the Republican Party mirror the wild, vindictive, malignant attacks of the paranoid style described by Hofstetter. As Whitehouse puts it, "Far from appealing to the better angels of our nature, too many colleagues are embarked on a desperate, no-holds-barred mission of propaganda, falsehood, destruction and fear."
(It is worth noting that Sen. Coburn this afternoon called for Americans to pray that a Senator would be unable to vote tomorrow, hinting at a prayer for some ill to befall a fellow Senator.)
Whitehouse then goes on to note that, far from simply fearmongering, there is a group of people in this country who go beyond the lies and deception and actually believe that their fears are justified. (As an addiction therapist, I'd refer to this as the "trap of self-delusion" or "believing your own commercials".)
"I ask my colleagues to consider how history will look back on this current spirit which has descended on the Senate. Let's look at what current observers are saying as a possible indicator of the judgment history will inflict."
He goes on to refer to an editorial written by the Manchester Journal Inquirer that says of the Republicans, "They don't want to govern. They want to emote."
He also mentions Maureen Dowd, who eulogized her colleague William Safire recently, lamenting the "vile and vitriol of today's pack of conservative pundits."
He notes that in the Washington Post, the wife of a former Bush administration official talked about the "appalling amount of misinformation" coming out about the House healthcare bill. She called it "a flood of clear, factual misstatements." And what's worse, "the falsehood peddling began at the top".
Whitehouse goes on to note that the head of the Mayo Clinic referred to the "scare tactics" of the right-wing opponents of the bill.
Whitehouse noted that while many in Congress felt President Bush was less-than-honest, none of his colleagues shouted "You lie!" during a speech in a joint session of Congress. And what's worse, 179 Republicans voted to support their "heckler comrade" in the House. Meanwhile, in the Senate, a colleague expressed regret, wishing, "Why didn't I say that?"
He quotes Paul Krugman: "The takeover of the GOP by the radical right is no laughing matter. Something unprecedented is happening here and it's very bad for America."
Whitehouse went on to talk about the fear tactics - death panels, etc. - "imagined horrors" about "socialized medicine" and "careening deficits".
He also noted that the bad behavior of the GOP has led to senseless wastes of time and needless delays that are totally unproductive - for example, forcing clerks to read the bill in its entirety. And he points out that this has wasted the time of staffers in the Senate who have had to give up holiday plans because of these delays.
Whitehouse also notes a Republican tactic of "playing the refs" (my term, not his) by attacking the nonpartisan parliamentarians. "Attacking them is worse than kicking a man while he's down. Attacking them is attacking someone who is forbidden to hit back. It is dishonorable."
Then Whitehouse goes on to attack the Republican tactic of refusing to fund the troops - the same troops deemed necessary by the Republicans. "As a device to stop healthcare, they voted to stop the appropriation of funds for our soldiers. There is no excuse for that."
He notes that the Republicans are "desperate to break this new, young President". The supporters of these Republicans are "nearly hysterical" at the election of Barack Obama. He names the birthers, the right-wing militias, and the Aryans specifically.
But he notes that that is just one reason - not the only one.
Whitehouse then pivots to the tactics of the insurance industry. He notes that the powerful lobby of the insurance industry is in its "last thrashing throes" as "its business model dies". He notes that the murder-by-spreadsheet industry (nyceve's term, not the senator's) - which won't cover people who have been sick, or if they think you might get sick - can no longer engage in the same kinds of tactics that put profits ahead of patients. And Whitehouse points out that it's not only patients who suffer - it's also hospitals and doctors whose payments are delayed as long as possible, and whose treatment recommendations are questioned, scrutinized, questioned, and denied.
"Good riddance to that business model... it deserves a stake through its cold and greedy heart."
(At this point, I stand up and cheer.)
"But the biggest reason" for the attacks from the right "is that we are gathering momentum." Whitehouse rightly points out that the GOP is trying to delay reform as a political tactic because the Democrats are energized, unified in commitment to healthcare reform, and capable of passing reform without GOP support or assistance or interference. He notes that we're on the verge of passing legislation...
"and when we do ... when we do, the lying time is OVER. The American public will actually see what comes to pass ... the American people will see the difference between what is and what they were told. Facts ... are stubborn things."
"There will come a day of judgment about who was telling the truth."
Whitehouse notes that you can't lie about it when people can see it for themselves that reform is working, saving them money, and offering them a pretty good deal.
The opposition, Whitehouse notes, wants desperately to see reform die because they don't want to have to acknowledge that they were misleading the American public and their constituents.
And that, of course, is a pretty good reason to pass ANY bill as long as it's better than the status quo.