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Threats to US Congress Reps Triple Since Health Care Bill Passed
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by Karen Hatter | April 9, 2010 at 05:42 am
360 views | 20 Recommendations | 13 comments
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Rep. Alan Grayson: Death Threat Heard by His 5 Year Old Son
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The passage of the health care reform bill has resulted in a threefold increase in serious threats to members of Congress according to Federal police enforcement officers.
Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Terrance W. Gainer says nearly all of the threats are from opponents of health care reform. The threats range from the merely vulgar to death threats.
The threats, which have led to at least three arrests, have not abated since President Obama signed the measure into law March 23. The Capitol Police have contacted the FBI about such threats even more often since the law was signed, said Lindsay Godwin, an FBI spokeswoman.
On Wednesday authorities accused a man in San Francisco of making dozens of threatening calls to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) home and office.
In response to the threats, Capitol officials have been working to ensure that the 454 Senate offices across the country are secure.
Some of the offices, a quarter of which are in federal buildings, are receiving additional equipment to help with the screening of mail. In other instances, law enforcement officials are recommending new locks and surveillance cameras.
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Karen Hatter
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Recommendations (20)
stejeb
United Kingdom
Rhonda J Mangus
North Tonawanda, New York, United States
Susan Marie Kovalinsky
Ledgewood, New Jersey, United States
hussain
All Places, Pakistan
t k kidwai
Lucknow, India
Amy Judd
Vancouver, Canada
Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (13)
at 07:19 on April 9th, 2010
Strange way to react to something meant to help people.
at 09:04 on April 9th, 2010
The entire exercise from start to finish has been strange, Stejeb.
at 08:12 on April 9th, 2010
I can't believe these threats, has there ever been anything like this before?
at 08:58 on April 9th, 2010
I can't recall this occurring over health care, Amy.
I think most of us would agree it is the more unhinged among us that would engage in this type of behavior. All of the misleading rhetoric about death panels killing Grandma and Grandpa and the rest of it haven't helped things.
Of course, about fifty years ago, a similarly ugly atmosphere, also charged by feared change and race, saw this type of behavior during efforts to enact civil rights legislation.
Even more dramatic, in 1856, anti slavery advocate Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner was beaten unconscious on the floor of the Senate by a member of the House of Representatives, South Carolina Representative Preston Brooks.
Source: senate.gov
Let's hope that behavior isn't soon repeated.
at 17:04 on April 9th, 2010
I was totally about to mention this. But I doubt and indeed hope in todays society there are those with enough ethics and decorum to prevent such a parallel occurence.
at 08:42 on April 9th, 2010
Every where reactionary forces act same way.The health care reform bill was passed by a majority and thus must be accepted even by those who were opposed tooth and nail to this bill.
Neo-cons are out to destroy democratic traditions and institutions,are a serious threat and more dangerous than so-called fundamentalists who have always been used by neo-cons to counter progressive movements,reforms.Threats are like wake-up calls,act now to root out neo-cons.
at 09:11 on April 9th, 2010
Sadly, TKK, the tactics used to attempt to prevent the bill's passage has created a very dangerous atmosphere that is continually stoked, keeping the embers burning.
There are many within American society that cannot distinguish between rhetorical flourish that demands accountability in language that implies violence and actual calls for violent action.
A cessation of nuanced allusion to violence should be avoided by all who truly do not intend their words to be acted upon by some disgruntled, troubled individual.
at 18:44 on April 9th, 2010
Karen,thanks.The bill is passed and by virtue of that has become the law.The tactics resorted to by conservatives( mostly members of the Grand Old Jokers' Party)and tea party terrorists to oppose the law is lamentable and does not go well in a democratic society based on supremacy of law ,on one hand,and on other has begotten a dangerous tendency.And this tendency must be nipped in the bud by all means at the disposal of the state.
at 09:14 on April 9th, 2010
I notice that the 2 people arrested for anti-govt threats are both white, fat, old, bald, glass-wearing, ugly nerds. Not exactly a demographic cross section. Let's not let the 2% of the bell curve turn the nation into liberty-cracking scaredy-cats.
at 13:22 on April 9th, 2010
hidflect: Yes! " . . .white, fat, old, bald, glass-wearing, ugly nerds."
Just like me! HA! Unfortunately, for the more "progressively minded" such as yourself, we (the racist/xenophobic/homophobic/unenlightened ignoramuses that we are, account for substantially more than 2 percent of the bell curve as the bell curve pertains to U.S. demographics. Not to worry though, for we'll all be dead soon and then I'm sure that the world will be a much better place and without a doubt more to your liking.
BTW: If I said, here, 'I notice that the 2 people arrested for anti-govt threats are both black, fat, old, bald, glass-wearing, ugly nerds', I'd be in a heap of trouble. Not that I'd ever say such a stupid thing, mind you, because I have respect for all peoples.
at 19:27 on April 9th, 2010
And how many code pinks "threatened" congressman over the past 8 years? Seems Liberals know an awful lot about "threatening" politicians themselves.
at 01:41 on April 10th, 2010
Unfortunately, with the exception of Hatter, most of you need a history lesson. The United States of America is not a DEMOCRACY it is a REPRESENTATIVE REPUBLIC. In a true democracy we have mob rule. Thank God we don't have that here. In a RR persons are elected to represent the majority of their constituents in an assembly, in this case congress. They are bound by oath to do the bidding of their constituents. What we have presently, in both parties, is an attempt to hijack the people for personal gain. The truth will come out in November when, unless the president declares himself a dictator, we have a military coupe or some other disaster, most of congress on both sides of the fence will be looking for a job. Just because you think your idea is great doesn't mean everyone else will. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Why do you think Rome fell? Special interest groups, bad foreign policy and corrupt senators.
at 03:11 on April 10th, 2010
Doc,I don't agree with you without needing history lessons.Aldous Huxley was more than right when he said that'We learn from history that men have never learnt from history'.There is no such form of government which could be called democracy.As a matter of fact society consists of two kind of people:masters,and slaves.In democracy or what you call RR,although both are same,slaves choose masters.And in the entire annals of history masters were never bound by any covenants they entered into with the slaves.