It’s refreshing to see that while Republican, mostly white, right-wing, anti-Obama hysterics once turned out at town halls to spread biliously false health insurance company propaganda, and a rasher of lies about the health reform plan, there are other Americans concerned enough about their own self-preservation that they will straightforwardly question explicit details of the House GOP’s deficit reduction plan, aka The GOP Plan to Wipe Away 75 Years of Progress and the Nation’s Safety Net to Preserve Tax Unaccountability for the Nation’s Wealthy.

What’s not refreshing is to see that major media have only provided glancing coverage of the current town hall ruckus. Whatever cryptic process editors and producers have for determining whether a story fits an ongoing narrative, dynamic, plot or drama, or warrants one of its own, I’m personally unaware of any prominent cryptologist who has nailed it down.

It was duly reported on at least once in my local LA Times, and it has seeped out enough to be noticed in MSNBC prime time. But anything approaching headline status eludes it.

Still, whether it was Rep. Charles Bass in New Hampshire or Rep. Lou Batista in eastern Pennsylvania or Mary Bono Mack in Palm Springs, constituents arrived in numbers for the purpose of calling Republicans out for their endorsement of Ryan’s plan, and to challenge the plan itself.

Constituents armed with actual facts grilled them, knocked them back, doubted them, condemned them and in the end shredded them for egregiously weaseling answers.  Paul “Einstein” Ryan, the mad genius responsible for creating this new budgetary Flubber, got loudly booed to his face in his own district. These particular Americans understood well that despite Republican grandiosity about putative goals and intentions, all it came down to was screwing them out of their Medicare in the phony name of debt reduction, while cutting taxes AGAIN for the wealthiest Americans.  Not only is this the long trotted out one-trick Republican pony, voters increasingly are seeing that the poor old lame thing limps.

This is especially noteworthy since conservative hegemony in economic policy for several decades has depended upon convincing a sufficient number of Americans to vote often enough against their own economic interests, through a mix of baiting, scaring, dubious information and brazen lying to keep the policies afloat. But in this case, wiping out Medicare in all but name only and convincing people it was for their own good was shit that couldn’t be sold as shinola.

Americans overwhelmingly oppose changes in Medicare, and Americans overwhelmingly favor raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans. Lest that escape the notice of our crackerjack media, or should it fail to register through the thick membrane of the conservative reality bubble surrounding Republican politicians, the word will get out  that there is visible and voluble outrage at this Republican attempted flim-flam.

UPDATE:

On last evening’s Rachel Maddow show, Rachel noted that over the weekend various media outlets, among them Politico, Roll Call and ABC finally addressed the outbursts over the Ryan Plan at congressional town halls. This is a positive development. One hopes the story will be one deserving to be judged and subsequently judged by media decision-makers as “having legs”.