I just don’t get this new strategy by the Democrats to attack the health care protestors head on.  If they are correct that the people showing up angry at these town hall meetings are just a fringe group organized by the Right, then this is hardly the kind of exciting information that’s going to inspire the rest of the electorate to suddenly say “Aha!” and decide to blindly support Obama’s plan.  Rather, all this noise and back and forth just looks–at best–like bickering to most people. 

But what if there really is a genuine grass roots element to all this?  This seems to be reflected by the polls, which show Obama’s health care plan floundering.  If the protestors were a fringe group, wouldn’t the polls show that?

So if the Democrats are going up against a legitimate populist wave, then they are, in effect, pouring gasoline on the fire by besmirching these people as ‘the mob’ or ‘the fringe.’   It’s an absolutely crazy strategy with very little upside.  As Peggy Noonan writes, the Democrats look increasingly desperate.

Finally, I find it hilarious that the Obama White House is complaining about the other side organizing.  Wasn’t Obama a community organizer?  When I used to work for a labor union, all we did was turn out rank and file members to show up at protests with prepared chants, speeches and signs.  It’s a process perfected by the Left and its allies.

I think the Democrats doth protest too much.  And I think it’s because they are scared that they have backed themselves into a corner on this issue.