Gurwitz divorced from reality

In Jonathan Gurwitz’s story, “Dissent OK, unless it's against Obama's plans”, he claims that the Democrats are the ones using thuggish tactics to shut down debate on health care reform. Apparently he isn’t aware of Congressman Henry Cuellar’s town hall meeting in McQueeney a few weeks ago where he could hardly open his mouth without being shouted down by anti-reform protestors. Supporters of health care reform at the event found many of the comments crude and the thuggish behavior frightening. Mr. Gurwitz also failed to see the stories in the Express News and elsewhere of anti-reform protestors threatening behavior toward Congressman Lloyd Doggett in Austin. How Mr. Gurwitz sees these folks as peaceful protestors when some of them have started bringing guns to town hall meetings, at the suggestion of some in the media, is beyond my comprehension.

Mr. Gurwitz’s claim that an Internet tip line the White House setup for citizens to report “fishy” criticism of health reform legislation is really for nefarious purposes shows he is as divorced from reality as the birthers he previously decried and Sarah Palin is regarding her “death panel” claims. The White House website is simply a takeoff on the Obama campaign’s “fight the smears” page that sought to debunk the same kind of falsehoods that were so common prior to last year’s election.

Perhaps if real health care reform legislation is passed this year Mr. Gurwitz will be able to receive the psychological counseling and medication he so obviously needs.