Health Care Debate Seen as "Rude and Disrespectful"

"Rude and Disrespectful"

Quote:

Most Americans say the tone of the debate has been negative. According to the latest weekly News Interest Index survey, conducted September 11-14 among 1,003 adults by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, 53% say the tone of the debate over health care has been generally rude and disrespectful; 31% say it has been generally polite and respectful and 16% do not offer an opinion. Among those who say the debate has been rude and disrespectful, most believe that opponents of the health care legislation under consideration are to blame. By a 59% to 17% margin, more blame opponents than supporters of the legislation; 17% volunteer that both groups are to blame. There is disagreement between partisan groups when it comes to the tone of the debate, and – among those who say it has been rude – over who bears the blame for the negative tone. While a clear majority (65%) of Democrats say the debate has been rude and disrespectful, Republicans are more divided: 44% say it has been polite and respectful, while 40% say it has been rude and disrespectful. By a 53% to 31% margin, independents say the debate has been more rude than polite. Among Democrats who see the debate as rude, 85% say that opponents of health care legislation are to blame for the tone. By contrast, 18% of Republicans put the blame on opponents, while many more (45%) say supporters are to blame. Another 27% say both supporters and opponents are to blame. Among independents, 49% blame opponents, 20% blame supporters of the legislation and 24% blame both.

Has politics ever been polite ?

Attempting to stop dialogue is unacceptable. It doesn't matter which political party or person uses those child-like tactics to do so. That is not what democracy is about. William F Buckley purposefully weeded those type of hooligans and fascists out of the Republican Party.

Today he would be confronting and denouncing the media whores of the far right, like Rush Limbaugh, and then turn to engage his opponents in meaningful dialog. I may not have liked some of Buckley's' views but they were presented in a succinct, knowledgeable, and quiet manner. His points were always well made and I always felt he had some credence when watching him debate another pundit or politician.

It is one thing to demonstrate noisily outside but when inside, where the dialog must occur, adults must conduct themselves in a civil manner and with decorum.

Someone in the Republican leadership needs to take a stand, show some gonads, and start to denounce the right-wing and left-wing zealots who only bang the drum loudly in an attempt to drown out democracy.

Mikhail