Dickerson writes:

"The health care reform legislation moving through Congress goes by several names, such as Obamacare and socialized medicine."

Uh, well if you're a right wing Republican extremist perhaps. "Obamacare"? "Socialized medicine"?

Oy.

I realize that this may have been meant lightheartedly but you still might want to include some of what the plan is called from the other side of the divide-- you know, the side that most people are on, rather than the 20% or so remaining as Republicans. To those, the plan is known as "Not nearly enough" "A weak attempt at mild reform that even in its weak form is being called Socialism by the right wing noise machine and insurance companies" -- and so on.

The GOP hasn't completely suceeded in defining the issue.

That's what the noisy town hall meeting were intended to do.

Serve the insurance industry by hijacking the debate and making it about any non sequiter that could be drug up.

The problem with the strategy, it that it involved rallying the lunatic fringe, a group that can be incited to act out, but can't be as well controlled as powerful interests like the insurance and pharma lobbies would like.

So, a carefully orchestrated campaign that rested on a couple of well placed lies intended to scare people. instead brought out all the right wing lunatics, and the issue wound up being a referenedum on change.

The nation quickly tired of these antics. The 2008 election made it clear that this is a settled issue, even as the lunatic fringe refuse to acknowledge it.

The industry lobbyists trusted GOP public relatations and political operatives to run their campaign for them.

This will turn out to have been a major miscalculation.

The problem with the GOP noise machine is that it's a one trick pony (actually it's several tricks combined under the same largely dishonest umbrella).

The insurance industry campaign was focused on fear mongering (just as it had been in 1993).

But instead of Harry and Louise, the industry wound up being represented by gun toting wingnuts at Town Hall meetings.

These are the people who showed up at Sarah Palin rallies in 2008, and have helped redefine the GOP as the party of the backward lunatic fringe.

The noise machine hasn't helped itself either. Over the course of this year, a series of its stars, form Rush Limbaugh to Glen Beck have been competing with one another over who can provoke the most outrage.

This is the stuff of shock disc jockeys, not poltical debate.

The public has gotten wise to these buffoons, dispite their high profile noise. Their self aggrandizing may get them the limelight in the short run, but it is fanning the polticial extremism of the fringe.

People are scared now. But their not scared of the government, the bogey man, or of death panels.

They're scared of the sorts of people who show up at Tea Bag rallies with pictures of the President hanging from a noose.

This is not the America that most Americans want.

So are there no legitimate concerns about the legislation? Is every objection that's been raised, every question that has been asked, extremist partisan fear-mongering?

...uh...yeah...? ...next question please...

"So are there no legitimate concerns about the legislation? Is every objection that's been raised, every question that has been asked, extremist partisan fear-mongering?"

That's what's pissing the rest of us off. the limbaugh's becks, and FOX spews have assured we can not have an intellectually honest debate on this subject, and the intellectually bankrupt cowards of the democratic party thank them for it.