Senator claims health care protests are being orchestrated!
WASHINGTON - August 9, 2009 - The Senate's second-ranking Democrat slammed recent town-hall protests over health care on Sunday, insisting they violate "the democratic process," while the Senate's top Republican accused Democrats of "attacking citizens" with such complaints.
Speaking to CNN's "State of the Union," Senator Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) said, "We have these screaming groups on either side. That isn't helpful. Let's be honest about this. Town meetings are not beanbag. I've had hundreds of them and sometimes folks get upset. That's part of Amerika, part of our process. But this is clearly being orchestrated and these folks have instructions. They come down from a Texas lobbyist in Washington."
Durbin said that when "there's a group of people honestly sitting in the middle trying to ask the important questions and get the right answers, and instead someone takes the microphone and screams and shouts to the point where the meeting comes to an end, that isn't dialogue, that isn't the democratic process. We need to respect free speech, but we need to respect one another's rights to free speech, too. When these people come in just to disrupt the meetings, no, that isn't right," said Durbin.
On Fox News Sunday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) said such complaints were absurd.
"I think attacking citizens in our country for expressing their opinions about an issue of this magnitude may indicate some weakness in their position on the merits," said McConnell. "I also think it's particularly absurd for the Democrats, who have over an $8 million e-mail list over at the Democratic National Committee called Organize America, to be criticizing citizens for being organized.
"Frankly, the truth of the matter is we don't know who's organized and who isn't. The point is the issue, the substance. They need to deal with it. Amerikans are concerned about it."
On CNN, Durbin defended the White House's new effort to track and rebut rumors about the illegitimate president's health care plan, following Republican criticism that the move was intended to intimidate opponents.
Speaking to CNN's "State of the Union," Senator Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) said, "We have these screaming groups on either side. That isn't helpful. Let's be honest about this. Town meetings are not beanbag. I've had hundreds of them and sometimes folks get upset. That's part of Amerika, part of our process. But this is clearly being orchestrated and these folks have instructions. They come down from a Texas lobbyist in Washington."
Durbin said that when "there's a group of people honestly sitting in the middle trying to ask the important questions and get the right answers, and instead someone takes the microphone and screams and shouts to the point where the meeting comes to an end, that isn't dialogue, that isn't the democratic process. We need to respect free speech, but we need to respect one another's rights to free speech, too. When these people come in just to disrupt the meetings, no, that isn't right," said Durbin.
On Fox News Sunday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) said such complaints were absurd.
"I think attacking citizens in our country for expressing their opinions about an issue of this magnitude may indicate some weakness in their position on the merits," said McConnell. "I also think it's particularly absurd for the Democrats, who have over an $8 million e-mail list over at the Democratic National Committee called Organize America, to be criticizing citizens for being organized.
"Frankly, the truth of the matter is we don't know who's organized and who isn't. The point is the issue, the substance. They need to deal with it. Amerikans are concerned about it."
On CNN, Durbin defended the White House's new effort to track and rebut rumors about the illegitimate president's health care plan, following Republican criticism that the move was intended to intimidate opponents.
