Town Hall meeting with Sen. Mark Begich - Tales from a Survivor - MUDFLATS

[Blue_In_AK]

http://www.themudflats.net/2009/09/26/town-hall-meeting-with-senator-mark-begich-tales-from-a-survivor/

Rush hour traffic, and the fact that the location of Mark Begich’s Town Hall Meeting on health care reform was located on the exact opposite side of town from where I started, made me late. I parked in the lot behind Bartlett High School, and noticed 4 or 5 police cars parked by the entrance.

By the time I found my way to the auditorium, signed in, and entered the room, I was mentally prepared for a hostile crowd, an obvious police presence, and general mayhem. Instead, I felt like I was teleported back to a Ross Perot speech. Before you think that’s a bad thing, you should know that I love a good chart.

We found a couple empty seats near the back, and I noted that the turnout for this health care town hall was probably almost quadruple the number of attendees that came to the one in June. That crowd was overwhelmingly in support of a public option, which raised the eyebrow of the Senator at the time.

He finished up with the charts and graphs. There was no new news there, really. The cost of inaction is high. We must do something.

Here is what the Senator feels that any bill must include to have his support:

No Discrimination for pre-existing conditions
No Exborbitant out-of-pocket expenses, deductibles or co-pays
No cost-sharing for preventive care
No dropping of coverage for the seriously ill
No gender discrimination
No annual or lifetime caps on coverage
Extended coverage for young adults
Guaranteed insurance reform – companies must renew of patient pays in full, and cannot refuse renewal because someone becomes sick.

That’s what it said on the hand-out. It also included some alarming statistics like the fact that every day 20 Alaskans lose their health insurance. That may sound small, but in a state like Alaska, it isn’t. Even one is big, if it’s you.

Then he went on to say that he would like it if every American got the same health care coverage that he enjoyed as a member of the Senate.

And finally, it was time to take questions. The first guy right out of the box said, “Well you’re a politician so right away we know you’re a liar.” And you’re a lapdog for the DNC, and a thief. The first thing we have to deal with is tort reform. So “man up.” And then the punchline… “with all due respect.” This was not a good way to start.

It was then that I first noticed that the woman sitting in front of me did not share my sensibilities. The “we know you’re a liar” line was met with cackling laughter, loud applause, and a knowing glance at the man sitting to her left. I was sitting at six o’clock to a teabagger. Teabag lady appeared to be in her 50s. She was practically bristling with negativity. Whenever someobody said something critical, she clapped furiously. Whenever someone said something nice, she folded her arms and shook her head back and forth. I took a seminar in college called “Non-Verbal Communication,” but you certainly didn’t need any background to recognize that Teabag lady had already made up her mind exactly how she felt about things.

<SNIP>

As I walked down the hall, I could still hear what was happening inside blaring from speakers outside the doors. One guy was saying something like, “You know, when you come here and talk, you sound like one of us.” And then something about shooting moose, and about how can we trust him to be this way in Washington…

And it occurred to me what a strange situation this Democratic Senator faces. The Democrats are frustrated because someone that they don’t think is quite left enough gets shredded for being too left. And the people who are politically engaged and passionate are often those on the far right. There’s no pleasing everyone. There are times when I want to hug him, and times when I want to thwack him, but the first scenario always outnumbers the second. One of the people at the meeting had said “I never felt like I had a Senator who spoke for me until now.” And I thought of Ted Stevens, and what his town hall meeting might have been like. And I know I wouldn’t trade places with my new senator for anything. OK, except when he gets to have lunch with the President. But other than that.

Outside it was cool and raining. Spouse got to listen to a couple really good rants in the car about Teabag lady and Socialism girl. It was kind of like the old days before I had a blog. And finally there was nothing left to say, and I listened to the windshield wipers, and started to look forward to the “True Diversity Dinner” which was just beginning. It would be good to be among friends.

[Arctic Dave]

1. Arctic Jodie said the place was packed and they were turning people back.

It must have been a hell of a crowd.

[Blue_In_AK]

2. It was a busy day yesterday for Anchorage progressives.

I was only able to make it to the diversity dinner, but this is a good report from AKMuckraker. Somehow she managed to make it to both events. People were turned away at the diversity dinner, too.

I haven't seen any reports from Dan Sullivan's "unity" dinner, have you?

[Arctic Dave]

3. Here's my recap: Sychophants and Assholes converge on hotel to discuss different levels of pale.

I'm pretty sure that's what happened. :)

[MarjorieG]

4. I really like Begich. He's trying to straddle the moderate thing, public option not

a dealbreaker. More publicity it's cost savings then he'll be on board. When I visited Alaska pre-Palin campaign, I didn't sense this crazy conservatism. We'd joke about returning, moving there, we have a friend here in Brooklyn who lived there for twenty years and still goes back. Missing it. Now we don't know how welcome we'd feel.

[Blue_In_AK]

6. Marjorie, you'd be very welcome.

We have our loudmouth conservativess, of course, but our progressive community is strong and unbowed. I do believe there's hope for Alaska.

[Pirate Smile]

5. Reminds me of the post below from today. Dems who want to be angry with their

Dem Rep or Senator but go to a town hall and see all the crazies which makes them feel sorry for them and/or somewhat protective.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x8671768#8671911

[Blue_In_AK]

7. Exactly.

I generally like Mark Begich, but a lot of us wish he'd be more progressive about certain things. I think Mark probably just feels lucky that Ted Stevens had his "issues," and he was able to slip into the slot. It must be rather intimidating to be the first Democratic senator from Alaska since Mike Gravel lost his seat in 1980.