Lois Capps Responds To Debate In An UnPelosi Way
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and her trusty sidekick Steny Hoyer hit a sour note earlier this month when they characterized protests against their favored health care legislation as “simply un-American”. If using the word “unAmerican” weren’t so cloyingly Homeland Security in tone, I might be tempted to say that calling people unAmerican for engaging in political protest is itself unAmerican. Criticizing the content of a protest is one thing, but when powerful politicians criticize the act of protest in itself, it doesn’t come off well.
Lois Capps has used a more dignified tone in response to the health care protests. She starts out by expressing respect for the free speech rights of the protesters, even though she doesn’t agree with what they have to say. Capps has released a statement that begins,
“Freedom of speech and the ability to peacefully demonstrate are two of the central principles of our democracy and I completely support and respect the ability of these citizens to exercise those precious freedoms regardless of their feelings about our comprehensive health insurance reform bill. Americans have a strong tradition of thoughtfully considering and vigorously debating the most pressing policy questions of our time and the debate over comprehensive health insurance reform is no exception.”
Read her full statement.
