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In an oped in USA Today titled “‘Un-American’ attacks can’t derail health care debate,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., attack those who’ve been raucously protesting health care reform at town hall meetings.

“These disruptions are occurring because opponents are afraid not just of differing views — but of the facts themselves,” the write. “Drowning out opposing views is simply un-American. Drowning out the facts is how we failed at this task for decades.”

Pelosi and Hoyer say “an ugly campaign is underway not merely to misrepresent the health insurance reform legislation, but to disrupt public meetings and prevent members of Congress and constituents from conducting a civil dialogue. These tactics have included hanging in effigy one Democratic member of Congress in Maryland and protesters holding a sign displaying a tombstone with the name of another congressman in Texas, where protesters also shouted ‘Just say no!” drowning out those who wanted to hold a substantive discussion.”

On Fox News Sunday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said, “I don’t think either side ought to be trying to engage in disrupting meetings, either the Democratic side or the Republican side. We ought to focus on the issue. And to demonize citizens who are — you know, who are energetic about this strikes me as demonstrating a kind of weakness in your position — in other words, you want to — you want to change the subject. And rather than talk about the half a trillion dollars in Medicare cuts, let’s talk about somebody at some town meeting who misbehaved. It strikes me that’s missing the point.”

McConnell repeated: “attacking citizens in our country for expressing their opinions about an issue of this magnitude may indicate some weakness in their position on the merits. … Frankly, the truth of the matter is we don’t know who’s organized and who isn’t. The point is the issue, the substance. They need to deal with it. Americans are concerned about it.”

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