Addressing != asking
Opponents of the Democratic plans keep shouting "No!" at the top of their lungs. To hear them talk, when they bother to make a coherent point (which may happen more than half the time, but it doesn't make the news) we have the best possible system in the world. Except, you know, don't let more people into it because there isn't enough of it to go around as it is.
My question is, if the current system is already stretched beyond capacity, where were all these screaming people last year? Where were the organized protests against the inadequacies of the system last year?
If people are quiet when a Republican proposes something, but scream in protest when a Democrat proposes the same thing, do you see why I might suspect that their concern isn't with the substance of the issue but with party politics?
That's why Barney Frank's response was so dead-on. He called the woman out as someone who wasn't experiencing the same reality as him, and who wasn't interested in an honest debate. She, like everyone else who didn't speak up until the Democrats started pushing reform, didn't have any credibility.
That's why yes, it does matter who is asking the questions. It's not worth the effort to debate policy with someone who is focused on ideology.
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Drew