Alright Republicans, We Give Up

2) "DISSENT IS THE HIGHEST FORM OF PATRIOTISM!"

George H.W. Bush... check (sorry about the size)

Finn dAbuzz wrote:

2) "DISSENT IS THE HIGHEST FORM OF PATRIOTISM!"

Only during Democratic administrations.

WASHINGTON " The FBI and police were investigating after a swastika was painted outside Rep. David Scott’s district office in Georgia, an act the suburban Atlanta Democrat said reflects an increasingly hateful and racist debate over health care and should remind people to tone down their rhetoric.


Scott’s staff arrived at his Smyrna, Ga., office Tuesday morning to find the Nazi graffiti emblazoned on a sign bearing the lawmaker’s name. The vandalism occurred roughly a week after Scott was involved in a confrontational argument over health care at a community meeting.

Scott said his office immediately notified authorities, including the U.S. Capitol Police, who have warned lawmakers about potential threats stemming from the increasingly emotional debate over health care reform. An FBI spokesman said the bureau is investigating along with Capitol Police and the Smyrna Police Department.

The congressman’s office is located in a bank building and Scott said he was optimistic that surveillance cameras captured the vandalism.

I mean, old, white folks screaming at you during town hall meetings, angry with fears that have been stoked by the Republican party? It does sound rather according to the script.

Cycloptichorn

It seems to me that a national health care program has the potential to be absolutely wonderful, so that every single American has access to free, high quality health care from life until death, or absolutely horrific, so that you only have access to a long waiting list, and older people have a hard time getting anything except basic core treatment and palliatives.

but our heterogenous society is older than any of Europe's heterogeous societies, and the U.S. heterogenous society has a different history.

I don't see much of an actual argument from you george. I see scare tactics and inability to deal with what is actually in the bill.

So it is subject to change?
And it is possible that some rather despicable things could still be included?

In any event, they will be the folks running your health care and spending your tax dollars.

Debate over health care is becoming racist? I guess I'm falling behind times.

'Death to Obama' sign holder in Md. detained
By DAVID DISHNEAU (AP) " 19 hours ago

HAGERSTOWN, Md. " The Secret Service is investigating a man who authorities said held a sign reading "Death to Obama" outside a town hall meeting on health-care reform in western Maryland.

The sign also read, "Death to Michelle and her two stupid kids," referring to the first name of President Barack Obama's wife, said Washington County Sheriff's Capt. Peter Lazich.

Lazich said deputies detained the unidentified, 51-year-old man near the entrance to Hagerstown Community College about 1 p.m. Wednesday after getting calls from a number of people attending the meeting held by Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md. Obama was not at the meeting.

The sheriff's office turned the man over to the Secret Service, Lazich said.

Barbara Golden, special agent in charge of the agency's Baltimore field office, said Thursday that an investigation is ongoing but declined further comment. A spokesman at the agency's Washington headquarters also declined to discuss the investigation.

Police said there were no other arrests among the nearly 1,000 people, some carrying protest signs, who came to the college for the meeting or demonstrated off-campus.

Cardin's national communications director, Sue Walitsky, called the incident "unfortunate." She said she was unaware of it until Thursday morning.

The Secret Service may investigate a fax sent to a Democratic lawmaker that depicts President Barack Obama as the Joker and warns of “death to all Marxists.”

The black-and-white fax portrays Obama in makeup similar to that worn by actor Heath Ledger in his portrayal of the Joker in last summer’s “The Dark Knight.”

On Obama’s forehead is a communist hammer-and-sickle insignia, and beneath the image is the text: “Death to All Marxists! Foreign and Domestic!”

Top White House aides gave Senate Democrats a recess battle plan on Thursday, arming the lawmakers with tips for avoiding disastrous town hall meetings while showing them polling on popular aspects of the reform effort.

Senior White House adviser David Axelrod and deputy chief of staff Jim Messina told senators to focus on the insured and how they would benefit from “consumer protections" in the overhaul, such as ending the practice of denying insurance based on preexisting conditions and ensuring the continuity of coverage between jobs.

They showed video clips of the confrontational town halls that have dominated the media coverage, and told senators to do more prep work than usual for their public meetings by making sure their own supporters turn out, senators and aides said.

And they screened TV ads and reviewed the various campaigns by critics of the Democratic plan.

“If you get hit, we will punch back twice as hard,” Messina said, according to an official who attended the meeting.

The hourlong session was the last opportunity for Democratic leaders and the White House to prepare senators for what will be a crucial month in shaping public opinion on health care. With no final legislation to promote, senators have expressed concern about dealing with questions and criticisms about the almost $1 trillion overhaul. The spate of confrontational town hall meetings have raised the stakes.

“They are just helping us understand the fringe that is trying to mess up our meetings,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.).

Senators were urged to zero in on the insured, who need to be convinced that there is something in the bill for them. “The next five weeks is about closing the sale with the insured population,” Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said.

Axelrod and Messina also presented polling that showed the insurance reforms were popular with women and rural residents.

“There is unprecedented insurance reforms " things that have never been done,” said Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), a member of the Health, Energy, Labor and Pensions Committee, which approved its health care bill last month. “In our committee, we had to vote, and 10 Republicans voted against all those insurance reforms " every single one of them. Not many people know that but if I have anything to do with it, they will know it.”


The Senate Democratic caucus meeting followed a sitdown earlier Thursday at the White House between President Barack Obama and the six Finance Committee members who have been trying to negotiate a bipartisan bill.

The president urged the group to continue work on a compromise, but it also discussed the possibility of Democrats going it alone if the talks proved fruitless.

"If Republicans aren't there, it could get to the point where sometime after the recess. ... Democrats may have to go in a different direction," Baucus said. "I hope not, but we have to face facts."

But, he added, "I don't think it will become a reality."

The six senators met for about an hour with Obama and discussed policy issues including the expansion of Medicaid. For part of the meeting, they kicked their staff members out of the room, Baucus said. The group includes Baucus, Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) and Sen. Olympia Snow (R-Maine).

"He encouraged us to continue with the effort and we talked about what policies are better than some others, and how we should keep working through the August recess," Baucus said. "We may reach a point though where have to take stock when we get back. At that point, if things are going great, fine. If not then we may have to go in some other direction."

Snowe said they told Obama there would be no hiatus in their talks through the break, and they agreed to assess their progress in September.

“He is concerned about timelines throughout the fall,” Snowe said. “And he didn’t issue, frankly, any timelines, which I think we also appreciated. He understands there needs to be flexibility, but he obviously knows that time marches on. So he just wants to see what the standing will be at that point so he knows how to proceed himself in moving forward.”

I could be wrong, but I don't recall the anti-war Iraq war protesters carrying around death threats and the like directed at Bush or his family.