Morning Bell: The White House Strikes Back

Conn Carroll / August 07, 2009

An overwhelming majority of Americans (72%) don’t believe President Barack Obama will keep his promise to overhaul the health care system without adding to the federal deficit, according to a study released yesterday by the Quinnipiac University. According to Gallup: “Americans are being asked to approve major new health care expenditures at a time when they are not yet convinced that the last massive outlay of government money — the stimulus — has made an impact.”

Yet the White House and their allies are trying to convince the media that the anger at townhalls across the county is being manufactured by special interests in Washington.  At a press conference, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) called the protests “phony”, holding up a swatch of Astroturf  to illustrate his point. And the White House is telling supporters “to punch back twice as hard” at anybody who dares to question their policies. Unfortunately, some Obama supporters are taking that call literally.

At a townhall last night in St. Louis, Kenneth Gladney, 38, a local conservative activist  said he was attacked by Obama supporters, one of whom used a racial slur against him before the attack. From the emergency room at St. John’s Mercy Medical Center, Gladney, who is black, told the St. Louis Dispatch: “It just seems there’s no freedom of speech without being attacked.” In Tampa, Florida, protester Barry Osteen was pushed in the face by Democratic Club Treasurer Karen Miracle, and union members allegedly assaulted another concerned citizen. Both of the events were organized by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). Asked about the possibility of people concerned about Obama showing up at their event, in Tampa, SEIU spokeswoman Kim Diehl told the St. Petersburg Times: “We’re prepared. We have strategies to deal with it if it should come up.” (more…)