WASHINGTON — An effigy of Rep. Frank Kratovil Jr. was hung outside his office on the eastern shore of Maryland. Rep. Steve Kagen of Wisconsin was shouted down by angry constituents. Rep. Timothy H. Bishop of New York had such a raucous experience with critics on Long Island that he avoids town hall meetings for more manageable settings.
The spark for political firestorms around these back-bench Democrats has been President Obama's effort to overhaul the healthcare system. The debate has gotten especially ugly now that Congress is adjourning for a monthlong summer recess and critics are mobilizing in force.
Much of the fiercest opposition has been fanned by talk radio and conservative advocacy groups. But the bitter intensity is a pointed reminder of how hard it will be for Democrats to sell voters on a broad reworking of the healthcare system, even though they hold commanding majorities in the House and Senate.
The challenge for Democrats is particularly tough because the healthcare system is little understood by most people, and the legislation contains a large number of elements that conservatives can seize upon. An overhaul could reach far into the lives of many Americans, affecting such matters as what prescription drugs they could get and whether abortion would be more or less available.
At the same time that Democrats are trying to show the need for change, powerful special interests, such as health insurers, are arguing that altering the healthcare system could hurt. And some of the party's more conservative members are having second thoughts about the cost of the overhaul.
Democrats had hoped that this month's congressional recess would give lawmakers a chance to explain the healthcare legislation and tell voters what's in it for them. But critics got a jump on that debate and are already deep into a campaign to portray the legislation, which is still being written, as a government takeover of healthcare that will disrupt voters' established relationships with doctors. Absent definitive legislation, critics have been able to demonize provisions that may not be in the final bill.
This is hardly the first time that lawmakers' town hall meetings have been swamped with emotional outpourings during a congressional recess. In past years, lawmakers have gotten earfuls about cracking down on illegal immigration and on former President George W. Bush's plan for overhauling Social Security.
