Congresswoman: August health protests just a 'YouTube phenomenon'

The boisterous protests that plagued lawmakers' town hall meetings in August were primarily a "YouTube phenomenon," one Democratic congresswoman suggested Tuesday.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) said that many of the outbursts at town halls have been manufactured, and accused the Republican National Committee (RNC) of "trying to put fear in seniors' hearts" in a new television ad to air in Florida.

"Mostly we're dealing with a sensational reaction as a YouTube phenomenon," Wasserman Schultz said in a conference call organized by the Florida Democratic Party. "A lot of these antics at the healthcare town halls...have been manufactured."

The Florida lawmaker, a chief deputy whip in the House Democratic leadership, said that the RNC's new ad touting its "Seniors' Health Care Bill of Rights," which will target senior citizens in Florida, are "nothing more than a scare tactic."

"They are trying to put fear in seniors' hearts, and scare them into believing somehow they're going to lose their benefits, which simply isn't true," she said. "It's clear that Republicans don't care about reform, they care about politics."