McConnell: White House 'Demonizing' Health Critics

(Newser) – The White House is “demonizing” the fiercely outspoken critics of its health care reform, Sen. Mitch McConnell told Fox News Sunday today. “To demonize citizens who are energetic about this strikes me as demonstrating a kind of weakness in your position,” the Senate minority leader said, but Sen. Dick Durbin countered on State of the Union that the outrage is “clearly being orchestrated.” On This Week, Newt Gingrich advised congressional members to simply let angry attendees “get it out of their system.”

Terrorism and rogue states were the talk of the Sunday shows today:

• Gingrich added that "communal standards" is a dangerous concept, "when there are clearly people in American who believe in establishing euthanasia."
• Calling for greater resources in the fight against the Taliban, Sen. Lindsay Graham told Face the Nation, “Let’s not Rumsfeld Afghanistan,” invoking the name of the former Pentagon chief who invaded Iraq with minimal US troops.
• National Security Adviser Jim Jones assured Fox that Washington made no promises to North Korea to secure the release of two American journalists caught crossing its border.
• Also on CBS, Sen. Carl Levin suggested those who oppose moving Gitmo detainees to domestic prisons are being “cowed by terrorists."
• On CNN, US ambassador to the UN Susan Rice accused Iran of holding “show trials” that ultimately demonstrate its disconnect from the Iranian people on the validity of the presidential elections.