Republican Town Hall media coverage in Normal, Illinois

[kevinbgoode]

It might be interesting here to note that at least some GOP congressmen are facing crowds as well, though it appears in this instance they were better behaved. Of course, that is also likely because Congressman Johnson is a conservative Republican, so he was going to play the crowd. But at least there were a few health care reform supporters there as well, at least according to this story.

One thing I'd like to point out here is that if we DO NOT SHOW UP FOR THESE MEETINGS, the teabaggers will take them over. And since these "meetings" are being played out in the media, the attempt to hijack the debate into nothing but recitation of right-wing talking points is more successful because there are no other viewpoints being aired or represented. This is about more than just controlling an angry mob of wingnuts following meetings around. . .we need to be angry about the need for health care reform - angry because this country has waited DECADES for something to be done about this mess AND have had it dashed innumerable times. We should be angry ourselves that this country would allow any citizen to DIE because they couldn't afford insurance - or their co-pays or deductibles. Americans are not stupid here - we all KNOW the insurance/health care system game is stacked against the people. . .and if we aren't angry enough to fight for needed reform, we'll have only ourselves to blame.

Note in this story that a large number of attendees were senior citizens. . .when we attend meetings with these people screaming "socialist" someone needs to be bold enough to ask if these seniors are willing to dump their medicare.

Anyway, the story. . .:

NORMAL -- A crowd of hundreds of people, most of whom appeared to vocally oppose President Barack Obama's health care reform proposals, packed a town hall meeting with U.S. Rep. Tim Johnson on Wednesday at Normal Public Library.

"This is democracy in action," the Urbana Republican said from the podium as he surveyed the standing-room-only crowd, which appeared to exceed 300 people. People spilled into the hallway and many more were turned away at the door.

Most who spoke during the hour-long meeting expressed unhappiness with Obama's policies in general and health care reform in particular. A minority held signs and spoke in favor of changing health care.

"I love my country. I love Illinois. Our country is going to be Marxist nation," said Pam Johnson of Restore Our Constitution, a Decatur-based group that organized as part of the "tea party" tax protest movement. "Where is the outcry from the Republicans?"

http://www.pantagraph.com/news/local/article_6bc9008e-823e-11de-b002-001cc4c03286.html?mode=story

Also, for those who read the comments to this story, note that they also want to barge in during a meeting with a congresswoman. . .I don't know if she is an R or D.

Now I've read some decent suggestions here about how to deal with these crowds, but the misinformation among the participants is outrageous, and I got the feeling while reading this story that the Republican congressman was just basking in the outrage. There are few things more powerful than word-of-mouth anger, and since we have NO MEDIA MESSAGES counteracting the barrage of anti-health care reform coming from the Right, we need to be thinking of ways to remind the public why most Americans WANT HEALTH CARE REFORM.

[orleans]

1. normal is a college town. where were all the youngbloods to stand up

for obama and demand health care reform?

[csziggy]

3. Summer break - at least that is where the students are in this college town

[DailyGrind51]

7. Bring back the draft and college kids will flock to the Democratic Party in droves!

[dysfunctional press]

8. not if it's done while the democrats are in power...

like now.

[Critters2]

2. The congresswoman they're talking about is Debbie Halvorson, a good Dem.

People I know who work in health care advocacy think she's good on this issue. I'm visiting my dad in WI, or I'd be there. I'll post info about her town hall in the IL forum.

[kevinbgoode]

4. I don't know if its a town hall or if she's kickstarting her reelection

drive...but they posted it TWICE in the comments on that story. . .and obviously plan on descending on that meeting. Someone needs to give her a heads-up and rally some supporters.

[Critters2]

13. Either way, they're planning on being there. I'm on vacation in WI,

but posted the info in the Illinois forum. Hope someone goes.

[opihimoimoi]

5. Where are the Police to enforce existing Laws prohibiting efforts to stifle Free Speech

At Town Hall Meetings, citizens line up to speak for 2 or 3 minutes, they can be dismissed if the subject matter is avoided.

Yelling is not Allowed....violators arrested and booked. They need Civics ReHab Courses mandated by a Judge/court order...

[MineralMan]

6. I married a Normal girl.

Just an aside.

[dysfunctional press]

9. ronald reagan campaigned in normal while i was in school there in 1980...

in an open limo.

kinda makes you think..."what if?"

just one grassy knoll, and the past 30 years could have turned out a WHOLE lot different.

[Critters2]

10. That was my last semester. He was in the homecoming parade.

I lived in Hamilton Hall, and had to be sniffed by a police dog on the way out of the dorm. My friends and I had always watched the parade from the walkway between the library/union and the quad. But we couldn't that day, because it was closed off for security reasons. It still pisses me off that he turned the university's homecoming parade into his campaign parade.

Oh, btw, hello, fellow Redbird! :hi:

[dysfunctional press]

14. that was my first semester at isu- as well as my last...

i transferred to u of i in champaign after that.
all of my friends were at u of i- but i had decided to go to isu for two years, because the program i intended to pursue at champaign didn't start until jr. year, and i thought i might be able to keep a higher gpa at isu for the first two years, which might have given me an edge in admittance to the program.
but- by the time i decided at isu, the dorms were full- and i got stuck in a small basement room in an off-campus boarding house- it was incredibly depressing. and i didn't know a single other person who was going there.
so- EVERY weekend(which started thursday after my 1pm class) i drove to cham-bana to party with my friends...and within 3 weeks, i was in the admissions office working on my transfer.

so- i was actually a redbird for only a very short time. :shrug:

and i voted for john anderson that year- my very first election.

[Critters2]

15. I loved it there. But then, a bunch of people from my high school were there,

and I got involved in the campus ministry pretty quickly, the French and history depts. Good times. And I got a good education. When I went out east to grad school, I had no problem holding my own with people who'd done their undergrad at Ivy League and Sister schools. My folks went to the U of I, but it seemed overwhelmingly huge to me, after my small high school. Probably wouldn't have made any difference, 20,000 or 30,000, but the campus seemed huge, and ISU's seemed manageable.

Sorry you had a bad experience. For me, those were good times.

Oh, and I voted for Anderson, too.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

11. I spent the 2nd and 3rd worst years of my life in that stupid town (ISU).

30 years later it doesn't surprise me in the least that the townies are still dumb as bags of hammers. Unlike a lot of college towns, the ISU campus wasn't an island of relief in a vast sea of stupid. There was no escape.

[Critters2]

12. I spent the best years of my life there. I worshipped at a progressive church,

became active in politics, and enjoyed the arts. The Joffrey Ballet Nutcracker every Christmas alone was worth being there for. I now live 1.5 hours away and go there every chance I get.

Life is what you make it.