Leaders of the Democratic Party stressed that the desire to be free from oppression could pose a serious threat to the American way of life and urged everyone to ignore what has been happening in Iran to prevent it from happening here.

"This type of thinking is contagious," said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. "I wept when I turned on the news and saw what was happening in Tehran. It's frightening. I'm afraid of something similar happening here in our country. This desire for freedom and liberty could really destroy everything the Democratic Party has worked so hard for so long to build in America."

If the movement continues to spread unchecked, Democrats said, it could make it more difficult to maintain the oppressive hold the federal government has on the American people. "If the Ayatollah can be overthrown, there's no telling what could happen to us," said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. "Watching the Iranian people protesting to be free is a sobering lesson that we all must learn to keep it from spreading like a virus. Today, it's Tehran. Tomorrow, it could be New York, Philadelphia, or Chicago. We have to avoid this desire for freedom and keep it from taking hold in the U.S."

At publishing time, Democrats had reportedly called a closed-door meeting to address the danger of Americans rising up to stage a revolution to win their freedom.