We’re sympathetic to members of the House who find themselves getting yelled at by hecklers with less-than-pure motives, but calling that behavior “un-American” is probably ill-advised when you represent a body of government that famously had a committee by the same name.

They’re no Richard Nixon, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer might have found a better way to describe the staged outbursts at town halls across America.

Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer in USA Today:

These disruptions are occurring because opponents are afraid not just of differing views — but of the facts themselves. Drowning out opposing views is simply un-American. Drowning out the facts is how we failed at this task for decades.

Health care is complex. It touches every American life. It drives our economy. People must be allowed to learn the facts.

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