So what to do about Claire McCaskil? Look, I generally like her. I do. She isn't super liberal, but for the most part she tries to be fair. I can live with that. I appreciate that she uses the technology out there to touch base with her constituents. That said, last night I saw a few of her tweets that I found at first, sad and misinformed. Putting them in chronological order, let's take a look:

Not Manufactured? For real? When I saw that, my jaw dropped. Is she that out of touch? Did she miss this? Now I'd like to give her and other representatives the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps she is not talking about these crazy yelling screamers. I am more than sure that the threatening of a representative's life is just a few independent people who are nervous about Health Care Reform, right? How about the effigy hung of representative Frank Kratvol by an "anti health care reform" protester? OR maybe the audience shouting down HHS Sebelius and Senator Specter at Health Care Town Hall? Or a crowd stalking Senator Carl Levin? How about congressperson Castle and the crazy birth certificate lady? These are not people who just disagree. These are people who have been whipped up into a frenzy over a lot of lies. For all the good work our representatives are doing, to dismiss the good lot of the protesters as plain old folks who disagree, is misinformed at least, dangerously ignorant at best.

Could Senator McCaskill REALLY be that out of touch and that out of the loop? Senators Durbin and Schumer called them the fringe. Does she somehow think her fair state has no crazy fringe elements? Or -- Does she think that only the left has fringe? Let me give her (and others) the benefit of the doubt. Maybe she knows what she is doing, maybe this is her way of trying to separate the people out there who are TRULY concerned about health care reform from those that would just disrupt, by shouting yelling and simply not listening. One thing is for sure, constituents don't want to be called liars or mistrusted. There is something to be said about diplomacy. She represents an entire state of both D and R's. Somewhere in this debate, that is a fact that is getting lost. Not all protesters are Teabagging birthers. Just like not all Anti-War protesters are raging 9-11 conspiracy theory latte liberals, there are some people who are actually going to truly protest health care reform.

One thing is for sure, the disrupters are not just hurting those that WANT Health Care Reform, they are hurting those that truly are not sure and rely on our elected representatives for answers. That is the real shame in all of this. Those of us who WANT health care reform ARE getting our message out there. We will go to townhalls prepared for the astroturf, but willing to show and give our support, and knowledge on the issues to those who TRULY want to learn more. We ARE informed. It is those that NEED the information that are most being disenfranchised. The key is about what is being lost in all the shouting. There are actually going to be people at these townhalls to decry Health Care Reform, which is their right as an American. The saddest part of that? They will now be lumped in with the likes of the poutrageous Tea Baggers and the Birthers. Until rational Republicans step up and take their party back, this is how it is going to be. How sad.

and
Raine