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Aug
28
Maria is right – you probably haven’t seen clips of this townhall or read about it anywhere else, certainly not in as well-written a description as she offers.
Go read the whole entry. Again, just because we can engage in ways that push the envelopes of decency and legality, doesn’t mean we should.
I also think that the lesson of the Massachusett’s Democrats who thought they were outsmarting former Gov. Mitt Romney by changing the law so that he could not appoint anyone to a U.S. Senate vacancy should be a lesson to everyone who makes stands on pure personal politics, rather than on reason and what’s best for the stability of our social and political contracts. Difference of political ideology is one thing. Setting law that could exist in perpetuity solely to gain or maintain political advantage will come back at you in the end.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 10:17 am August 28th, 2009 in Civil Rights, Debates, democracy, Democrats, Government, Health Care, leadership, Mitt Romney, Politics, Social Issues, Statehouse
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Jill, it’s so easy to see why Stark’s town hall didn’t get coverage. As Maria notes, this is an atypical Congressional district. It’s easy to see why the Republican would be suspicious that astroturfed Obamacare supporters would be bused in for the event, as that’s what I observed at a town hall event I attended on Tuesday night.
I drove myself to the town hall, and when I parked my car, others who’d carpooled asked each other “Is this the right place? I’m not sure, because I’m not from here.” They’d traveled for over an hour from outside the Congressional district to be there. Then they swapped jokes about “birthers” and “deathers” as they trudged their way to the stadium. When I got to the stadium, I saw many signs. More often than not, Obamacare supporters had slick mass-produced signs, while Obamacare opponents had hand-crafted signs. I took a seat near some individuals who had homemade signs. Since I didn’t have a sign, they weren’t sure if I was a kindred spirit or not. I assured them that I wasn’t astroturf, that I indeed lived within the boundaries of the Congressional district, and they jokingly said “Well, we ARE astroturf, even though we also live in the district, because Obama, Reid, and Pelosi say opponents are astroturf, and we’re opponents.” For much of the night, the chants back and forth between the two camps were nearly evenly split. Because so many were in attendance, and because so many wanted to ask questions, the Congressman extended the evening well beyond the scheduled ending time to accomodate more dialogue. As the hour got later, a number of people began getting up and leaving the stadium even though the Congressman was still engaging the crowd. Someone near me asked “What’s going on?” as those with the slick mass-produced signs were filing out. I joked. “Their bus is leaving.” Then, it turned out it wasn’t even a joke! To one end of the stadium, we saw a bus clearly marked “SHUTTLE” in big letters as a crowd was hopping on board. We laughed all the more because I’d hit the nail on the head. The remainder of the evening, the remaining crowd of locals was very much opposed to Obamacare, even though the Congressional district as a whole has a solid history of voting Democrat. Many of the individuals asking questions critical of Obamacare at this point were identifying themselves as Democrats who’d never involved themselves in politics before. These were Democrats who believe in democracy with a little “d” who sense that Washington DC is railroading them instead of empowering them.
As for engaging in reasoned and civil dialogue between differing points of view, I’m up for it. I realize I can only be in one place at one time, but within me, a voice welcomes the debate with the refrain of “Anytime. Anywhere.”
Yup, you sure are, “Obamacare” pretty much says what you say you aren’t saying. You’ve amused me with anecdotes about supposed lefty astros and said not squat about your stance or why, just Obamacare.
You’re ready for a debate anytime and anywhere in civil terms and this is what you bring to the table? Sorry, I scoff, I mock, you bring as much good faith as the liars about Birth, Death Panels, and Evul Soshalised Medsin. Just so you can be really offended, I’m flat out ashamed that they took single payer off the table, yes, Medicare for all.
Our hostess is much too polite to call you out, I’m another breed of cat.
LOL, Chuck Butcher, calling me out? Jill didn’t call me out for being silent about my health care views, because she knows I haven’t been silent.
I’ve been talking about health care for years.
You want to know where I stand on the issue? Well, here’s a starting point.
http://buckeyerino.com/2008/04/30/djw-has-a-health-care-plan/
Note the date on that blog entry pre-dates Obamacare.
Rather than turn this comment into a full-fledged link farm, I’ll assure you that there are other health care posts at Buckeye RINO, if you care to browse.
Congressman Stark is getting some national blog coverage, from Michelle Malkin, but it’s not pretty.
http://michellemalkin.com/2009/09/03/video-rep-pete-stark-tells-interviewer-get-the-fk-out-of-here-or-ill-throw-you-out-the-window/