John Stewart and Rachel Maddow fit the John Dewey model of 'reflective thinking'. Rather than a passive process of receiving and handing down ideas and information that is often likened to the average news anchor, John Stewart and Rachel Maddow are active, as they take in the same information as other networks and programs, but use reflection and analysis to turn the same serious subjects into humor and satire. Maddow, for example, "has a field day with Sarah palin's penchant for falsehoods," as a major draw of Maddow and Stewart's shows are actual, active commentary, which generally consists of critiquing and poking fun of the lies and idiocies that are common in politics and mass media outlets that cover politics.
The slurs lobbed at Barney Frank and John Lewis, then, cannot fall under the John Dewey model. Dewey's idea of critical thinking implies that we do not jump to conclusions or make snap decisions, which is what the 'mobs' appear to do when they are faced with the health bill. They liken it to a part of an ongoing destruction of America. Rich argues that the health care bill is not the main source of anger, but rather an opposition that is aimed toward the administration that would be there whether the issue at hand was health care or not. I don't think that this mode of thinking does not fall under one of Fisher's categories, as the behavior appears to be more of a jump to conclusions and an underlying feeling than any form of careful, reflective analysis toward the healthcare bill, or Frank and Lewis.
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