Posted on 08/10/2009 9:42:19 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Three leading Republican governors on Monday defended the heated exchanges and vigorous protests taking place at health care town hall events across the country.
"I think you see a heightened emotion and passion and, you say anger, because people are scared," said Hawaii GOP Gov. Linda Lingle, during a conference call with reporters organized by the Republican Governors Association.
"You're talking about hundreds of billions of dollars in cuts in spending on Medicare, and that's why you see members of the AARP separated from their leadership on this issue, because they're scared," the Hawaii governor said. "The heightened anger is out of fear for what it's going to mean for their lives and the lives of their families."
Lingle was joined on the call by fellow GOP Govs. Sonny Perdue of Georgia and Haley Barbour of Mississippi, the RGA's chairman.
Perdue suggested that media coverage of some of the town halls has been overblown, saying what he has seen at the town halls is "democracy in action."
"For some Democratic legislators to call it anti-democratic is just ludicrous," said Perdue, seeming to allude to a column by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) published Monday in USA Today that called the protesters "un-American."
"These are citizens who are very concerned," said Perdue. "They just want answers to their questions."
"To be excoriated for asking those questions is just beyond me," he added.
Barbour was more tempered in his support for the protesters, choosing to focus his time blasting President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats for, according to the Mississippi governor, trying to rush through a massive health care overhaul.
"The American people realize this is too much, too far, too fast," he said.(continued)
(Excerpt) Read more at heartlandconnection.com ...
Palin: “This is wrong”
Barbour: “The scope is too large, the pace too quick”
Palin, yes. Barbour, no.
I'm not "scared" I'm angry. I'm sick of the slide into socialism. As far as I'm concerned we should END Medicare along with the other unconstitutional programs. If people want to live off stolen money they should be honest enough to to steal it themselves.
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