The lunacy of the American Right appears to have reached new heights with last weekend's protest in Washington against Obama's healthcare package. The Guardian reports that protesters deemed it necessary to compare the President to Hitler and portray him as a terrorist.
The report notes:
"The organisers of the march represent a ragbag coalition of disparate groups, joined at the hip by their hatred of Obama's perceived radicalism. They include right-wing thinktanks such as the Heartland Institute, small government campaigns like Americans for Tax Reform and Tea Party Patriots, and internet-based protest networks such as ResistNet."
The debate over healthcare reform has drawn out some unsavoury remarks from Republican ranks in recent months, with a concerted effort to portray Obama as a "socialist" - a threat to the American way of life.
But the real threat comes from the political establishment. The Democrats, as usual the wet blanket party of American politics, have allowed themselves to be intimidated by both the Republican party and the fringe fanatics who bang the rightwing drum. Already the plans are being watered down as a result of threats from fiscally conservative "Blue Dog Democrats" that they will withold support for reform if Obama's plans are seen as too "radical."
The Guardian notes:
"Democratic commentators were quick to dismiss the protest as the ranting of an intensely motivated but electorally marginal rightwing alliance. The Obama administration is intent on pressing ahead with selling health reform to the US public, despite all the rightwing noise."
But Obama must realise that his own ranks may prove far more dangerous than this rabble in the long run.
The report notes:
"The organisers of the march represent a ragbag coalition of disparate groups, joined at the hip by their hatred of Obama's perceived radicalism. They include right-wing thinktanks such as the Heartland Institute, small government campaigns like Americans for Tax Reform and Tea Party Patriots, and internet-based protest networks such as ResistNet."
The debate over healthcare reform has drawn out some unsavoury remarks from Republican ranks in recent months, with a concerted effort to portray Obama as a "socialist" - a threat to the American way of life.
But the real threat comes from the political establishment. The Democrats, as usual the wet blanket party of American politics, have allowed themselves to be intimidated by both the Republican party and the fringe fanatics who bang the rightwing drum. Already the plans are being watered down as a result of threats from fiscally conservative "Blue Dog Democrats" that they will withold support for reform if Obama's plans are seen as too "radical."
The Guardian notes:
"Democratic commentators were quick to dismiss the protest as the ranting of an intensely motivated but electorally marginal rightwing alliance. The Obama administration is intent on pressing ahead with selling health reform to the US public, despite all the rightwing noise."
But Obama must realise that his own ranks may prove far more dangerous than this rabble in the long run.
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