GOP is way better organized and impassioned at town hall meetings

[BirminghamExaminer]

I went to one last night in Birmingham, hosted by Republican Congressman Spencer Bachus (of "there are 17 socialists in the House" fame).

There were cars there with Texas tags and Georgia and other states. Two guys came with a giant box of slick "NO Government Health Care" signs that were about 2' x 3' in size. They passed them out to everyone who wanted one until they ran out.

I was there early. A guy in front of me was an insurance salesman. He talked a lot about illegal immigration. Another guy in front of me said he would go wherever they send him next.

The few Democrats and or liberals in the house except for me, my friend and exactly one other person, came very late and were mostly relegated to standing in the back of the crowd.

I got flyers from people for future bus trips to town hall meetings.

One of the first things Bachus said was that the Town Hall meetings were working because 'they' had taken public option out of the bill but then murmured it might go back in. I don't know what he was talking about exactly but half of the time he rambled with long anecdotes about watching illegal immigrants trying to cross the border.

There was a lot of talk about illegal immigrants.

One woman was holding a sign that read, "We're not astroturf" which of course means she was.

We, the few Democrats who were there tried to get our voices heard and I have to admit that Bachus hushed the hostile crowd in order to let that happen. But then he never answered a question correctly. One woman went into a horror story about her health (the crowd booed) and asked why the insurance company BCBS got to decide her health care instead of her doctors and Bachus told her that was because of government interference.

Former chair of the department of Medicine at UAB mentioned the high infant mortality rate and Bachus said the U.S. had a high infant mortality rate because there were so many drug addicted mothers.

The man was an idiot but the crowd were like his supplicants, nearly weeping with joy at every inaccurate thing he said.

[AlinPA]

1. Plus they bring guns.

[ourbluenation]

2. temporarily...read this...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/18/reform-supporters-outnumb_n_262425.html

Reform Supporters Outnumber Critics At Town Halls

While television cameras have focused on vocal opponents to health care reform, in many cases they have been outnumbered by supporters of the legislation in general and a public option in particular.

In Phoenix, Arizona, "Pro-Obama demonstrators appeared to outnumber the anti-Obama ones, with Phoenix police estimating the crowd at 1,200 to 2,000 at locations around the convention center."

In Boulder, Colorado, "a few hundred residents of one of the nation's more liberal congressional districts turned out Monday night to tell their congressman, Democratic Rep. Jared Polis, to keep that public option, however controversial politically, in the final bill."

"It's the most essential part of the bill," said Leigh Kirkland, in direct response to Sunday's statement from U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius that the public option "wasn't the most essential" part of the reform package.

In Fork Union, Virginia, Rep. Tom Perriello faced a more divided crowd, "with roughly half the crowd apparently in favor of reform and the other half opposed.

Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) "held a spirited but civil town-hall meeting Monday night inside a union hall where his supporters outnumbered critics."

And when Rep. Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.) held a forum on health care reform he drew an overflow crowd, with a majority on the Democratic lawmaker's side. "A large majority of those present at the first discussion applauded Lujan when he stressed several times that he was in favor of a public option and when Lujan and other panelists criticized insurance companies."

[The Wielding Truth]

3. Not for long. We are sick of these liars. We are bringing the truth.

The Left wing is ready to give the real story in every town hall and every conversation. We can take it and we can give it. It is time to give.

[Walk away]

4. The republicans aren't even in this fight except in their own minds.

I guess it keeps a lot of old white folk busy.

[ddeclue]

5. Not in Orlando last night - we gave them a solid smack down,.,,

:rofl:

[zbdent]

6. when your priest or minister is telling you something, you generally don't

believe he's going to lie to you, right?

Church and guns ... bitter old folks, all right ... they managed to get one black conservative guy to be "beat down" (tripped over a union guy whose shoulder got dislocated) ... and after walking away, he shows up now in a wheelchair ... MSM doesn't bother to question ...

[GreenTea]

7. They republicans have tons & tons of insurance money & strategist behind them leading the way.