Nation contributor and Princeton professor Melissa Harris-Lacewell talks to Keith Olbermann about the cultural anger behind the conservative mobs at healthcare town hall meetings. Harris-Lacewell explains that research has shown that in times of change, people’s anxiety about that change can be channeled into “racial, moral, and political intolerance.” She notes that in a crowd of people shouting angrily about one issue, there will be some who are just opposed to anything the other party proposes, some dealing with these deep-seated anxieties, and some with very personal financial stakes in the game. As Olbermann points out, people showing up to town hall meetings with healthcare industry T-shirts on or telling reporters that their local Republican party official told them to come are not exactly being secretive about their motivation.

—Sarah Jaffe

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