What made the lone, piercing cry of “You lie!” shocking was that it
breached a previously secure barrier. It was the first time that the violent
rage surging in town-hall meetings all summer blasted into the same room as the
president. Wilson’s televised shout was tantamount to yelling “Fire!” in a
crowded theater. When he later explained that his behavior was “spontaneous”
rather than premeditated, that was even more disturbing. It’s not good for the
country that a lawmaker can’t control his anger at Barack Obama. It gives
permission to crazy people.
The White House was right not to second Carter’s motion and cue another
“national conversation about race.” No matter how many teachable moments we
have, some people won’t be taught. (Though how satisfying it would have been for
Obama to dismiss Wilson, like the boorish Kanye West, as a “jackass.”) But there
is a national conversation we must have right now — the one about what, in
addition to race, is driving this anger and what can be done about it. We are
kidding ourselves if we think it’s only about bigotry, or health care, or even
Obama. The growing minority that feels disenfranchised by Washington can’t be so
easily ghettoized and dismissed.
As I written before, it's about guns, abortion, fundamentalism, immigration, economic crisis, and the crazed ideological promptings of Fox News and Rush Limbaugh, that is coming together in a perfect storm of paranoia. How dangerous is it? Well, probably not too dangerous, unless someone starts a series of suicide bombings or takes out Obama or Pelosi.
Otherwise, the rage will eventually be assuaged by declining popularity of the Democrats and electoral victories on the Right.
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