Princeton professor and Nation contributor Melissa Harris-Lacewell talks to Keith Olbermann on Countdown about the threat of right-wing violence in the healthcare debate. Olbermann references Joe “the Plumber” Wurzelbacher’s speech in which he said he’d like to “beat the livin’ tar out of” politicians like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and the growing number of people carrying guns openly to Obama rallies. Harris-Lacewell notes that “political violence is not the exclusive domain of any particular political ideology” and points out that even while Democrats call for compassion and collective responsibility on healthcare, the administration is still carrying on two wars. She stresses, though, that rhetoric such as that coming from Wurzelbacher and others has the effect of “dehumanizing the enemy” and that it “sets the stage for the possibility of violence” and that the best thing to do is note that while violence is part of our history, it is part that we can rise above.

—Sarah Jaffe

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