Following Rep. Foxx's lead, media conservatives compare health care reform to terrorism

On November 2, Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) said on the House floor regarding health care legislation before the House: “I believe we have more to fear from the potential of that bill passing than we do from any terrorist right now in any country.” Following Foxx's statement, Fox News' Glenn Beck compared health care reform to 9-11, and talk radio host Neal Boortz and the Fox Nation promoted Foxx's attack.

Foxx: Health care bill more dangerous “than any terrorist right now”

Speaking on the House floor on November 2, Foxx said:

FOXX: Thank you, Madame Speaker. Everywhere I go in my district, people tell me they are frightened. They are frightened about what is happening in this country. They fear for the future of our country. What they're talking about is that they fear for our freedoms, and they fear for the principles that formed this country and have always been the basis on which we've operated. I share that fear, and I believe they should be fearful. And I believe the greatest fear that we all should have to our freedom comes from this room, this very room, and what may happen later this week in terms of a tax increase bill masquerading as a health care bill. I believe we have more to fear from the potential of that bill passing than we do from any terrorist right now in any country.

Right-wing media echo Foxx's comparison

Beck: Fighting health care reform like “stand[ing] in line and tak[ing] our shoes off before the plane actually hits the tower.” On the November 2 edition of his Fox News program, Glenn Beck drew parallels between health care reform and 9-11:

BECK: Conservatives are awake -- 9-12ers are willing to do the hard things. We know what this means. We're taking time out of our busy lives, taking time away from their families. They're attending town hall meetings. Do you think they want to do that?

They are calling their representatives. How many times do we have to be yelled at by your people in Washington? They are reading 2,000-page health care bills on the weekend. The 9-12ers are willing to stand in line and take our shoes off before the plane actually hits the tower.

Boortz: “Rep. Virginia Foxx has it right.” In a November 3 update to his Twitter page, talk radio host Neal Boortz wrote: “Va. [sic] Rep. Virginia Foxx has it right. ObamaCare does present a greater threat than Islamic terrorism.”

Fox Nation promotes Foxx's statement. On November 3, Fox Nation linked to a video of Foxx's comments under the headline: “Rep. Foxx Fears 'Obamacare' More Than Terrorist Attack.”

Comparing Obama to terrorists is not new

Limbaugh: Obama worse than Al Qaeda. Appearing on Fox News' Hannity earlier this year, radio host Rush Limbaugh said of President Obama: “If Al Qaeda wants to demolish the America we know and love, they better hurry, because Obama's beating them to it.” Limbaugh went on to say that Obama is “beating” Al Qaeda to “demolish[ing] the America we know and love.” In April, Limbaugh explained how an unnamed friend of his believes “Obama is terrorist attack number 2; Obama is the follow-up to 9-11.”