According to Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer.

In the meantime, as members of Congress spend time at home during August, they are talking with their constituents about reform. The dialogue between elected representatives and constituents is at the heart of our democracy and plays an integral role in assuring that the legislation we write reflects the genuine needs and concerns of the people we represent.

However, it is now evident that an ugly campaign is underway not merely to misrepresent the health insurance reform legislation, but to disrupt public meetings and prevent members of Congress and constituents from conducting a civil dialogue. These tactics have included hanging in effigy one Democratic member of Congress in Maryland and protesters holding a sign displaying a tombstone with the name of another congressman in Texas, where protesters also shouted "Just say no!" drowning out those who wanted to hold a substantive discussion.

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.

Never mind that drowning out speakers is a time-honored Leftist tactic (ask any conservative speaker), and that just a short time ago it was considered the highest form of patriotism.

Pelosi and Hoyer have the nerve to talk about "substantive discussion" and "dialogue between elected representatives and constituents" when their original plan was to grease this dog's breakfast through Congress on a party-line vote and get it to the President in a matter of days without any serious debate, opposition input, or even reading the damn bill.

Pelosi and Hoyer have the nerve to talk about "facts" when every new fact, from the CBO and other sources, shoots another leg out from under this plan.

The truth is that the last thing on Earth the Democratic leaders wanted to see was "dialogue between elected representatives and constituents." The last thing on Earth they wanted to talk about were the numbers and facts, as witness the angry responses to the CBO reports.

This was so obvious a few weeks ago that they can't possibly be kidding anyone now.