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August 14, 2009
Roadblocks Devised to Push Back Against Health Care Town Hall Protesters
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Roadblocks Devised to Push Back Against Health Care Town Hall Protesters
Supporters of health reform say they are simply pushing back against opposition that is disruptive and designed to shut down debate while opponents say the tactics are underhanded and intended to undermine democracy in action.
Americans who want to express their opinions on health care reform at town halls across the country are encountering a host of roadblocks, ranging from fake schedules to a demand that they show their driver's licenses or photo identification.
Supporters of President Obama's plan say they are pushing back against opposition that is disruptive and designed to shut down debate. But opponents say the supporters' tactics are underhanded and designed to undermine democracy in action.
In Texas, DEMOCRAT Rep. Gene Green's office is requiring town hall attendees to present a photo ID that proves they live in his district.
On his Web site, Green says "due to a coordinated effort to disrupt our town hall meetings, we will be restricting further attendance to residents ... and verifying residency by requiring photo identification."
In Illinois, two Republican lawmakers sent a letter to Obama this week complaining that Democratic organizers scheduled meetings between them and their constituents without ever notifying them, misleading their constituents into going to town halls on the wrong day.
Illinois Reps. Mark Kirk and Judy Biggert wrote that their constituents had apparently signed up for meetings to discuss health care reform with them after receiving an Aug. 9 e-mail from BarackObama.com urging them to do so.
"However, the names of our constituents and the times they wished to visit were never communicated to us," the letter said.
As a result, the lawmakers claimed more than 20 constituents came to their district offices on Monday.
"When they learned neither the White House, the Democratic National Committee nor Organizing for America had passed their request to our offices, they were understandably confused and upset with the BarackObama.com e-mail they had received," they wrote.
They urged the organizers not to keep them in the dark in the future.
In response, Democratic National Committee Communications Director Brad Woodhouse issued a statement saying that the OFA members were not told to go to offices unannounced.
"They are mischaracterizing this -- which is not surprising if you look at the falsehoods Republicans are spreading on this issue," he wrote. "OFA sent an e-mail to all its supporters asking them to sign up for drop bys with every House and Senate office -- Democrat and Republican -- to drop off a flyer in support of heath insurance reform."
Woodhouse said the e-mail advised supporters that "they should call ahead to make sure the office was open and that if they wanted to do more than drop by the office they should schedule a meeting on their own."
Health Care for America Now, a coalition group organizing support for Obama's proposal, e-mailed a four-page memo to activists across the country on how to provide "cover" to lawmakers at the town halls. The group, whose members include ACORN, the Service Employees International Union and the National Council of La Raza, urged activists to contact lawmakers before the town halls to plan ways to preempt opposition.
"Ask the member's staff what would be most helpful and talk through a strategy for making sure the right messages don't get drowned out by chaotic protesters," field director Margarida Jorge wrote.
'Town Halls' a Chance for the President, Not the Public, to Vent
A look at President Obama's health care "town hall" Tuesday in Portsmouth, N.H., shows the president out-spoke his audience by a margin of nearly 9-to-1 -- hardly the kind of even-handed exchange of ideas that marked the town meetings of colonial America.
Much has been made of the chance for true, interactive democracy offered by the freewheeling town hall format that lawmakers are using in health care forums across the country.
But what the White House is calling a "town hall meeting" does not quite follow in the tradition of the public-driven forums that sprouted centuries ago in New England.
It's more like a press conference for the public.
In an orderly fashion, selected members of the audience pose brief questions, and the president elaborates.
And elaborates. And elaborates.
A look at President Obama's health care "town hall" Tuesday in Portsmouth, N.H., shows the president out-spoke his audience by a ratio of nearly 9-to-1.
Here's the scorecard.
Obama: 8,619 words.
Audience: 1,186 words.
That's hardly the kind of even-handed exchange of ideas that marked the town meetings of colonial America.
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Wild Thing's comment......
Hmmmm So according to the democrats and OBAMA, let me get this straight. Photo ID good at townhalls. Photo ID BAD when actually VOTING. Photo ID or any ID period good for peasant Americans but ID of any kind BAD for POTUS.
How about asking for Obama's id and SSN before they allow him to speak?
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....Thank you Richard for sending this to me.
Posted by Wild Thing at August 14, 2009 08:48 AM
Comments
They require Photo ID to get into a Town Hall meeting but not for voting if there is any question the potential voter is illegal...yeah this makes sense.
This should be the practice all over then. Kittanning, Pennsylvania held a town hall meeting. This is about 50 miles north of Gettysburg in farm Country, very, very rural.
Surprise, surprise two busloads of ACORN showed up and took up the seats in the small auditorium where the meeting was held. They didn't show any ID. Most were Black bussed in from Philadelphia. It was another Arlen Spector Town Hall. Philadelphia is about 4 and a half hours away.
The good news is Spector is lagging in the polls by -2 points. Before these Town Halls he was up by 6. Sounds like manufactured support for the Death Bill.
Posted by: Mark at August 14, 2009 10:26 AM
Mark, oh NO, talk about something totally
obvious for ACORN to show up there. sheeesh
they just won't stop.
Thanks for the info. on Spector too.
Posted by: Wild Thing at August 14, 2009 11:07 PM
