(TheHill).Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) claims the anger shown by demonstrators at town hall meetings across the country will make his job of electing GOP senators all the more easy.
Several Democratic lawmakers, back in their districts for August recess, have had events disrupted by protesters on healthcare reform.
Democrats say House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) and other Republicans are encouraging the protests, while Republicans accuse Democrats of seeking to silence legitimate opposition by highlighting a few extreme examples.
“Despite the headline-grabbing nature of these angry mobs and their disruptions of events, they are not reflective of where the American people are on the issues,” Democratic National Committee (DNC) spokesman Brad Woodhouse said Tuesday.
But Cornyn, the head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), defended the protesters.“They’re American citizens exercising their First Amendment rights. I don’t know of any reason to try to demonize them,” he said Wednesday.
And he insinuated that the anger at Democrats is part of the natural process for a Republican Party that had to drag itself off the mat after the 2008 elections.
“Fear, I would say, precedes anger, and I think there are a lot of people who tell me they are scared of what they see coming out of Washington in terms of spending and the debt and muscular federal intervention on everything from financial institutions to healthcare,” Cornyn said. “It’s almost like a part of the grieving process.”
What’s more, he said, disappointment — whether driven by fear, anger or any other emotion — with the Democratic agenda has given Republicans a better platform from which to launch their assault on the Democratic majority in the Senate.
“No one would have ever thought six months ago we would be where we are today. I see real opportunities for us,” Cornyn said at a meeting with reporters. “2010 did not look like it was going to be a particularly friendly year for us.”
Cornyn said the GOP would “continue to offer solutions” to problems facing the nation’s economy, but he said he thinks unemployment is likely to “get worse before it gets better.”
Though seven Republican senators have said they will retire at the end of the 111th Congress, Cornyn said the GOP is well-positioned in states where it initially was worried.
Several Democratic lawmakers, back in their districts for August recess, have had events disrupted by protesters on healthcare reform.
Democrats say House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) and other Republicans are encouraging the protests, while Republicans accuse Democrats of seeking to silence legitimate opposition by highlighting a few extreme examples.
“Despite the headline-grabbing nature of these angry mobs and their disruptions of events, they are not reflective of where the American people are on the issues,” Democratic National Committee (DNC) spokesman Brad Woodhouse said Tuesday.
But Cornyn, the head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), defended the protesters.“They’re American citizens exercising their First Amendment rights. I don’t know of any reason to try to demonize them,” he said Wednesday.
And he insinuated that the anger at Democrats is part of the natural process for a Republican Party that had to drag itself off the mat after the 2008 elections.
“Fear, I would say, precedes anger, and I think there are a lot of people who tell me they are scared of what they see coming out of Washington in terms of spending and the debt and muscular federal intervention on everything from financial institutions to healthcare,” Cornyn said. “It’s almost like a part of the grieving process.”
What’s more, he said, disappointment — whether driven by fear, anger or any other emotion — with the Democratic agenda has given Republicans a better platform from which to launch their assault on the Democratic majority in the Senate.
“No one would have ever thought six months ago we would be where we are today. I see real opportunities for us,” Cornyn said at a meeting with reporters. “2010 did not look like it was going to be a particularly friendly year for us.”
Cornyn said the GOP would “continue to offer solutions” to problems facing the nation’s economy, but he said he thinks unemployment is likely to “get worse before it gets better.”
Though seven Republican senators have said they will retire at the end of the 111th Congress, Cornyn said the GOP is well-positioned in states where it initially was worried.
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