When the House Republicans passed their version of the American Health Care Act, they set off a minefield. Reactions ranged from berserk to boneheaded.

First, let’s look at the Boneheaded.

Rep. Raul Labrador of Idaho, a member of the Freedom Caucus, held a town hall on Friday where he said this:

First of all, the woman’s claim that “you are mandating that people on Medicaid accept dying” is downright ridiculous. But Labrador’s reply was just as silly. No one dies for lack of health care? Yeah, ask the people in Venezuela about that.

I’m pretty sure the Congressman meant to say “health insurance” instead of “health care,” but in a moment of frustration he tripped over his words. Still, that’s gonna leave a mark. I don’t know how safe Labrador’s Idaho district is, but the media are crowing over the possibility of GOP seats going bye-bye in 2018.

And now, the Berserk Haters.

They dominate entertainment and the media, but one source guaranteed to push wild-eyed inaccuracies about Republicans is Salon.com. Here’s their screed they published on Saturday:

Then Salon made assertions like this:

The Republican Party’s plan to punish the sick and to kill the “useless eaters” has expanded its targets to include women who have been victims of sexual assault or domestic violence or suffered from post-partum depression. The Republican plan will also hurt disabled people, senior citizens, new mothers, pregnant women, children in special education programs and babies. It is estimated that at least 43,000 Americans a year will die if the Affordable Care Act is repealed.

Oh, please. Just chill and get a grip. Even liberal Buzzfeed.com countered those arguments. Yes, Buzzfeed!

No, Republicans are not sociopaths. And we’re all going to die eventually, with or without health insurance.

I believe there are two main impediments to fully changing health insurance in the U.S. There are many others, of course. But here are my humble observations, and they have to do with American attitudes.