Town Hollering
Wednesday, August 26 2009
Yesterday I decided to see what all the fuss was about, so I went to the “town hall” my Congressman, Jim Moran, held in his district. The district is pretty solidly Democratic, and our Congressman is definitely pro-reform. He even invited Howard Dean to speak at the town hall.
Unfortunately, the event was clear on the other side of the district. I arrived an hour and half before it started, but there were hundreds of people already in line. While we waited for the doors to open, groups of demonstrators marched up and down the line, waving signs and flags. One guy had a megaphone, and was wearing a “come and take it” flag (the M-16 version) like a cape; he was using the megaphone to rant about the war in Afghanistan, and nothing he said had anything to do with health care. I think maybe he had the megaphone, and was just looking for an excuse to use it. (You know who else puts guns on flags? Mozambique. Hezbollah.)
The LaRouche people were there, too – with their Obama moustache posters. They all have crazy eyes, and they’re impossible to talk to. Not that I tried. A couple of Planned Parenthood demonstrators marched around with “Save Roe” signs, I think because anti-abortion activists had announced their intent to attend the event. One man had a sign reading “First, do no harm”; I have no idea whether he was opposed to or in favor of reform.
When the doors opened the line slowly advanced up the hill, as the various demonstrators continued their business. Aides to the Congressman handed out address forms, telling us that district residents would be given priority on seating inside. I filled mine out with a borrowed pink highlighter.
As we got closer to the doors, the demonstrators were more vocal. There was a knot of anti-reform protesters – possibly bussed in from somewhere else – right at the doors. They waved signs and shouted at people in line. One even had a megaphone, which he used to heckle the line. I’m not sure if it was the same megaphone on a different guy, but I’m guessing it was a different megaphone.
The event was supposed to start at 7pm, but I was still in line at around 7:15. In fact, I was still a few people short of the checkpoint, when the aides announced the auditorium was full. If they had let twenty more people into the building, I would have been among them. Instead, a couple of Sheriff’s deputies instructed us to disperse, which I did. There were still maybe a thousand people in line behind me at that point.
Lots of folks stayed to chant and march and wave signs. I drove home and watched the event on C-SPAN over dinner. They ran the whole video live, and again this morning. You can watch it on C-SPAN’s website, if you’re super bored. My impression is that Mr. Moran was quite fair in acknowledging and responding to those opposed to reform, while making clear his own unstinting support. He gets my vote.
I would say about 60% of the signs I saw were pro-reform, and 40% some flavor of opposition. 98% of the folks there were polite and civil; there were a few discussions up and down the line among folks who disagreed. I don’t know that any minds were changed, but at least they were able to have that dialogue. That leaves about 2% of the people there who were malicious and venomous – all of them anti-reform. Oh well. As far as I know, there was no violence, and nobody was brandishing actual firearms or being threatening.
If I went again – and I would, if the chance arose – I would make my own sign. As it was, I had to bum a sign from an Organizing for America volunteer. There were a lot of catchy but perplexing slogans out there – e.g. “Don’t Socialize My Death Panel” I would keep it simple. “I need a public option!” or something like that. Also, I would try to arrive at least ten minutes earlier.
Oh, Duncan, it was disgraceful inside. So many disruptions and heckles throughout, especially when Howard Dean took the podium. And, I never did see where they were collecting questions, otherwise I would have thrown mine in the hat.
You must have been waiting in line at a different door than I. Since parking was basically non-existent when Rob and I arrived, he dropped me off in line (in the smaller teacher’s lot) just before 6PM. Then, he looked for a place to park, gave up, and drove home, parked there, and walked the 15 minutes back to the school. He arrived, just a few minutes before we were able to enter the door to the building at around 6:30PM.
I thought that Jim Moran did a good job making his points….and he was rather courteous and patient with the disruptors. It was very sad to hear the questions which were asked during the Q&A. Maybe only 2 were what I’d say intelligent and well thought out. Some folks obviously looked like they were just reading a question someone told them to write down.
Very sad to see “democracy” in action.
P.S. I didn’t know that we’re in the same voting district, although it is very gerrymandered and spread out. Now we know.
Lisa – I should have emailed you to ask whether you would be going. Then I too could have joined the shorter line.
The C-SPAN video showed some of the ruckus inside, but maybe not as much as you experience. I think the way they had it miked made it sound not as loud as it probably was.