When Opposition Crosses the Line

After a long season of angry rhetoric, waved guns, and media fury, there were real bricks flying last week, through real windows, of sitting congressmen and women.
Death threats. Lynching threats. White powder in the mail. A gas line cut.
Democrats charged a line had been crossed, and Republicans agreed. But the hot language kept coming, from “baby killer” on the floor of the House to Sarah Palin’s call to “Reload!”
This hour, On Point: vandalism, threats, vigilantes and violence after the health care bill.

Guests:

Joining us from Columbia, S.C., is Rep. Jim Clyburn, Democratic congressman and House Majority Whip.  He has spoken out strongly against threats of violence directed at lawmakers after the passage of the health care reform bill.

Joining us from Newark, N.J., is Eric Boehlert, senior fellow at Media Matters for America, a nonprofit watchdog organization that tracks what it calls "conservative misinformation" in American media. His latest book is "Bloggers on the Bus: How the Internet Changed Politics and the Press."

From Washington, we're joined by David Winston, a Republican pollster and strategist. He's president and founder of the Winston group. He served as director of planning for former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and was chief information officer for the Republican National Committee from 1989-1993.

And from Princeton, N.J., is Julian Zelizer, professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University. His latest book is "Arsenal of Democracy: The Politics of National Security - From World War II to the War on Terrorism."