8/5: Democracy Or Mob Rule?

For the third consecutive day, the big topic in the blogosphere is the conservative activists who have been flooding townhall events and heckling Dem lawmakers over their support of health care reform. Liberal bloggers are decrying the tactics of these activists, calling them "angry extremists" and accusing them of "attempting to shut the other side down." Lefty bloggers are also criticizing the media's coverage of these townhall events. Meanwhile, conservative bloggers are arguing that progressives are only complaining about these protesters because they're desperate. Philip Klein writes: "The fact that liberals are reduced to whining thus suggests they're losing the organizing war, and that they know it."

What else is happening in the blogosphere?

• Conservative bloggers (Emanuel, Malkin, Jessup, Henke, Troy) are criticizing the Obama admin. for telling supporters, "If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov."
• Conservative bloggers (Ledeen, Klein, Allahpundit) are blasting the Obama admin. after WH press sec. Robert Gibbs called Iranian Pres. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad "the elected leader" of Iran.
• Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA) wrote a diary on Open Left asking the netroots to support his Senate campaign. Most liberal bloggers are excited about Sestak's candidacy, although some are lukewarm.

HEALTH CARE REFORM: This Isn't Democracy; This Is Mob Rule!

Liberal bloggers are decrying the tactics of the townhall protesters:

• Daily Kos' mcjoan: "It's [the] cynicism of this astroturf campaign that's particularly disturbing, because it's not about the rights of citizens to freely express their dissent. It's not a free exchange of views, it's one side attempting to shut the other side down. It's what the Republican party has been about since the [Ronald] Reagan 'revolution.'"
• dday: "It's ridiculous to suggest that this is some new-found passion on the right just bursting to the fore in reaction to a piece of legislation. These are the same people who crawled out from rocks and into Sarah Palin rallies last year, screaming that Obama was a terrorist and a Muslim. [...] They hung a Democratic congressman in effigy last week. They harass Republican representatives about the President's birth certificate. They are angry extremists, and it's fair to ask Republican leaders whether they support hanging Democrats, imagery of tombstones, birther fantasies, and the rest. This is not about policy. It's about incitement to violence."

Meanwhile, lefty bloggers are pleased that the WH and the DNC are criticizing these protesters:

• Daily Kos' BarbinMD: "This is the kind of pushback we need to hear from all Democrats."
• dday: "We have Robert Gibbs openly calling this the Brooks Brothers Brigade. That's a start."
• The Reality-Based Community's Mark Kleiman: "I'm glad the White House and the DNC are calling out the organized mobs dedicated to destroying town hall meetings. Next step: doing some organizing of our own, to make sure the teabaggers aren't the only ones who show up. Let's see if Organizing for America can live up to its name."

Conservative bloggers, on the other hand, are defending the protesters:

• AmSpec Blog's Klein: "If liberal organizations were succeeding in the current health care debate, they'd simply have larger numbers of people in support of their policies at all of the townhall meetings, allowing them to drown out the 'small number of rabid right wing extremists.' Instead, the meetings are being swamped by opponents of their proposals. Coordinated or not, the attendees of the meetings are real people with real concerns about what is being discussed in Washington. The fact that liberals are reduced to whining thus suggests they're losing the organizing war, and that they know it."
• Townhall's Meredith Jessup: "It's clear now that the Obama administration does not take kindly to an informed public. [...] Oh, the audacity of dissent! Of course the American people couldn't be smart enough to actually figure out what his plan means for the health care industry on their own; and of course people would never be vocally angry with a policy that would dramatically alter and affect their own health care!"

HEALTH CARE REFORM II: Is The Media Dropping The Ball?

Liberal bloggers are blasting the media's coverage of the townhall protests:

• Firedoglake's Jane Hamsher: "[O]rganizations like CBS and the New York Times do not report the news when it is right in front of them. They pass off these transparent lobbyist funded thuggery as a grassroots effort. They do not say who is organizing these violent uprisings, or how they are being funded. These media outlets are playing a critical role by telling the country that its people believe something that they don't. It is blatant propaganda being passed off as news, and it is to 'journalism' what David H. Koch is to 'grassroots.'"
• BarbinMD: "[K]udos to the reporters who have recognized what has been happening and are asking questions about it. But of course the question is, will they aggressively report on it or will they follow the lead of the New York Times and CNN's Candy Crowley and either ignore or dismiss it?"
• dday: "15 million people protested the Iraq war and the coverage was virtually nil. Lobbyists bus 100 people into a Congressional town hall and the media hypes the 'Tehran-like' atmosphere of them. Groups of people at town hall meetings are not perfect indicators of the overall attitudes of a population, and even among the town halls, traditional media highlights and politicians respond to very selective segments of those groups."
• Firedoglake's Scarecrow: "With the support and encouragement of the Republican leadership, one of America's most despicable political thugs, [ex-House Maj. Leader] Dick Armey, a corporate lobbyist funded by the 'health' industry, is organizing mobs to disrupt, harass and intimidate every public event organized to discuss the health care reform effort. [...] But instead of condemning such reprehensible behavior, the media writes absurd stories about the resurgence of the party, it's prospects for 2010-12 and who the next leader will be."

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: It's Not A Scientific Poll, But...

NRO's John J. Miller:

"What GOP presidential candidate do young conservatives prefer for 2012? I had a chance to ask this morning, during my talk at the national conference of the Young America's Foundation. The audience was about 250 conservative student activists. Their views are of course not representative of the general population, college students, or even conservatives. But they do represent something -- a level of energy and enthusiasm on the Right. They are an interesting micro-demographic. Their opinions matter.

Here's how we did it. I read a list of eight potential candidates: [ex-MA Gov.] Mitt Romney, Sarah Palin, [LA Gov.] Bobby Jindal, [MN Gov.] Tim Pawlenty, [ex-AR Gov.] Mike Huckabee, [ex-Speaker] Newt Gingrich, [IN Gov.] Mitch Daniels (a suggestion from the floor), and -- just for fun -- Gen. David Petraeus. I emphasized that nobody was committing to anything. This was not a swearing of allegiance. Instead, it was a snap poll on preferences today. Then I read the names a second time, one by one, and asked for show of hands.

The result: Romney was the easy winner, with Jindal clearly in second place. Each of the others had scattered support. I was suprised by Palin's poor showing. She was buried among the also-rans. Petraeus didn't win a big show of hands, but the suggestion of his candidacy was received with applause: Young conservatives are clearly open and intrigued by the idea and would like to know more."

LEST WE FORGET: Hush Falls Over Patriots Camp As Tom Brady's First 10 Passes Go 3 Yards

From The Onion:

"FOXBOROUGH, MA -- Excitement surrounding the return of quarterback Tom Brady devolved into mute panic Thursday as each of Brady's first 10 passes barely made it to the line of scrimmage. 'Oh, God,' said Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, breaking the silence that fell across the assembled players, coaches, and legions of fans who had just witnessed Brady's ninth pass flutter slowly from his limp hand and land between his own feet. 'Who's our backup? Does anyone know who our backup is?' When asked for comment, wide receiver Randy Moss said he doesn't care how poorly Brady throws the ball as long at it rolls in his direction."