Don't believe her, she's acting.

Michelle Malkin posted a great video today (here) that shows a Massachusetts representative stumbling to explain to why she voted to opt out of the government-run health care she's selling constituents. Her irrelevant, rambling response is telling, just as is her inadequate explanation of how after five years, private insurance plans will be 'grandfathered in' under the new system and will be forced to comply with government standards/regulations or cease existing.

What is also interesting about this video is the dialogue between the health care opponents and supporters in the audience. The first man to stand up after Rep. Tsongas' inadequate response, calls out the dissenters as disruptive. This is despite the fact that during Tsongas' answer and while this man began asking his question, he was uninterrupted -- until he called other people out, criticizing them for doing just as he was, attending a town hall to make their feelings known and to engage on the issue.

Later in the video, around the 6:30 mark, a young woman gets emotional while speaking on the subject. On another topic, this could be seen as being too much, but this debate deals with the most personal, difficult decisions we face in our lives, and her emotions are not over the top or out of place in any way. As part of the audience cheers her on, when she says "we should have the choice in this...this is not speaking for the people", one man screams, "don't believe her, she's acting." She finally does get to her question, which is twofold: why won't she have a choice for herself and for her parents, and why is Congress (and this Rep. in particular) dodging out of the plan that they are imposing on her?

Despite how respectful and reasonable her question is, she couldn't get through it without being heckled and talked over during her exchange with Tsongas.

Compare this to the final comment coming from the audience. A young woman from the other side of the aisle, supporting Democrats' health care plans, refers to her personal situation. She has a grandmother that passed away from breast cancer after being denied care based on a preexisting condition. Listen closely in the video. Do you hear heckling? Do you hear anyone accusing her of acting, of lying? Do you hear any boos when people applaud after her question? None. Both the supporters and opponents of health care allowed her to say her part - peacefully.

Why is there such a difference between the reaction people on the left and right side of this issue got? There's no good way to answer that question, but it is important to take note of. And, when politicians like Pelosi, Hoyer and White House officials decide to castigate opponents rather than set the tone for a civil debate, scenes like this one could become even more heated - as we saw in St. Louis last week.