Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) on Friday blasted conservative protesters for planning to burn Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Rep. Tom Perriello (D-Va.) in effigy at a weekend protest over health care reform.

“These shocking and despicable acts are becoming all too common at extreme right-wing Republican rallies,— said Van Hollen, who is also Assistant to the Speaker.

Van Hollen was referring to plans by the Danville TEA Party, which is in Perriello’s district, to close their “Fired Up for Freedom— rally with burning effigies as a way of expressing opposition to last week’s House passage of health care reform legislation. The event is scheduled for Saturday evening and is open to the public.

The Maryland Democrat called on GOP lawmakers to publicly reject the “violent expressions— of their conservative base that go “beyond the boundaries of a respectful debate.— Van Hollen called attention to a rally last week where House GOP leaders greeted “tea party— protesters with a sign comparing health care reform to a concentration camp.

Burning Members in effigy or “displaying images of Nazi concentration camps on the steps of the Capitol have no place in any debate and Republican Members of Congress must condemn these actions,— Van Hollen said.