Rep. Ryan critical of health insurance debate violence and misinformation — from the left?

Rep. Paul Ryan released an open letter to the public this morning. He wants Wisconsin’€™s 1st District to know that he will be changing the venues of some of his listening sessions in anticipation for larger crowds. Cool. But he also wants you to know that he condemns the ‘€œwidespread disrespect, and even violence’€ coming out of the health care debate and is disappointed by the attacks’€¦ coming from the left.In a sorry attempt to make the conservative mainstream extreme who don’€™t want health care for all Americans look half decent for thinking so and being extreme about it, Ryan tries to say that the disrespect, violence, and misinformation is coming from both sides. And to boot, he condemns the left for criticizing the right for being oh-so misinformed.

Let’€™s be clear. And let’€™s be honest. The widespread disrespect, violence, and misinformation is coming from the conservative front. Not both sides. After all, it wasn’€™t a liberal wanting affordable health care for all Americans who carried an assault rifle to a President Obama town hall. Nor was it a liberal who shouted ‘€œHeil Hitler‘€ to a Jewish health care reform supporter from Israel. And it wasn’€™t a liberal who carried a ‘€œKILL THE BILL MY NOT MOTHER‘€ (sic) sign to a Gwen Moore event in Milwaukee last week (and the former ½ term governor of Alaska that started the whole ‘€œdeath panel’€ rumor wasn’€™t a liberal either).

Instead, these people are part of the conservative mainstream extreme that are’€”despite what Rep. Ryan writes’€”being intentionally misinformed by corporate special interests and are reading talking points drafted by the likes of Americans for Prosperity and FreedomWorks.

And rather than cooling the air for upcoming listening session with an open letter explaining the realities behind the scare-tactics and myths, Rep. Ryan expresses disappointment in alleged White House ‘€œattacks’€ on what he calls ‘€œlegitimate concerns’€. The cost of private health insurance and uninsured Americans are legitimate concerns for the health care debate, not death panels and socialism.

What IS disappointing is that the lies and misinformation about the public health insurance option are spreading. A recently released NBC poll indicates, for instance, that nearly half of those surveyed believe in those so-called ‘€œdeath panels”. Check out the rest of the poll findings in regard to debunked myths here.

The open letter from the Janesvillain was ridiculous. The good, decent people that want to see a public health insurance option pass Congress are not the part of the lot that show up at these events armed with corporate special interest talking points and shout profanity, hate-speech, and ridiculous rumors.

To show your support the public health insurance option, click here.

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