Well, I made it yesterday morning to the second row of Senator Arlen Specter’s Town Hall Meeting at Harrisburg Community College in my childhood hometown of Lebanon, PA. I arrived there to stand in line at about 7:15AM for a 9AM door-opening and a punctual 9:30AM start when the Senator and his entourage arrived. I can tell you from the ground, there was no appearance of a consolidated conspiracy to undermine the House’s current version HR 3200 healthcare bill. There was, however, an outpouring of passion by concerned Americans about the direction that this bill and many others which have been and are currently being pursued by Congress are taking this country. It was not the radical, organized, anti-American “Nazi”, “KKK”, so-called “astroturf” “mob” being portrayed by liberal congressional Democrats and echoed by the mainstream media. It was just average Americans, who wouldn’t even be there had they not been “awakened”, exercising their 1st Amendment constitutional rights in voicing their displeasure with the Obama Administration and this Congress. For this they are being demonized and marginalized despite their numbers, which cannot be ignored.
The response was overwhelmingly in opposition. In fact, out of 31 citizen speakers, only 1 indicated any favoritism at all to the healthcare bill in its current form and/or the path on which the federal government is leading us, in general. A professional colleague of mine, even got an opportunity to express himself (he’s the one in the red shirt, the final speaker shown in the video that follows). Here’s a news video…
http://www.necn.com/Boston/NECN-Extra/2009/08/11/Specter-faces-angry/1250003127.html
The Democrats, however, appear to be indignant and in denial to the reality that confronts them. Either that, or they are just so set in their ways that they believe they can, in partisan fashion, do whatever they want to do due to their numbers in Congress, regardless of the desires of their constituency. Post town hall statements by Specter and PA Governor Ed Rendell substantiate this fantasy…
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20090812_Specter__Town_hall_protestors_
are_not_representative.html
Specter did apparently, however, take to heart the healthcare referendum recommendation made by one of the Lebanon town hall speakers…
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/08/11/sen-specter-says-hell-pitch-fascinating-option-health-care-referendum/
I’d say congressional Democrats had better wake-up. No one can force feed such significant liberty infringing legislation upon American people who have this much animosity toward it, without suffering retribution by those same passionate Americans. My prediction is that, unless the Democrats experience a near-term epiphany and respond accordingly, they will find themselves at a significant numeric disadvantage in Congress following the Nov-2010 mid-term elections.
Healthcare or Cap-and-Trade legislation passed anywhere close to their current forms will be not only a death knell for America as we know it but, as well, the political aspirations of many career politicians. Who knows, maybe fending for themselves in the private sector is just the dose of reality they need to become productive citizens as opposed to the condescending, elite royalty of which they currently believe they are the benefactors?
