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Town hall meetings gone wild; ordinary Americans speak out
Tony Ondrusek is founder and publisher of Insurance & Financial Advisor and IFAwebnews.com.
Some Democrats are calling them “angry mobs” and dangerous “extremists.” Other fellow citizens might call them Americans exercising their right to free speech.
Any way you slice it, ordinary folks are showing strong opposition to the efforts of President Obama and Congress to overhaul the U.S. health care system and begin its implementation of a single-payer, public health plan. (That’s not my interpretation, that is directly from the president’s lips. Click here to listen.)
Some of the town hall meetings set up by senators and congressman have been overwhelmed by folks who are frustrated that Washington is not listening to them, and will change America for the worse. This is no small issue; our entire culture might be changes.
My prediction is that in the face of escalating opposition, the town hall meetings will cease. Congress surely doesn’t want light shed on the fact that Americans as a whole are unhappy with their performance.
Here are links to videos of some of the town hall meetings that are giving Democrats indigestion:
1. Congressman Tim Bishop (Bishop has said he won’t hold any more town hall meetings)
2. Senator Arlen Specter and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebilius
4. Senator Ben Cardin (Cardin announced that future town hall meetings will not be open; they will be by invitation only with pre-approved questions)
6. Senator Claire McCaskill…..
There are lots more, simply search Google.
5 Responses
- Richard Blumenthal Says:
August 5th, 2009 at 6:54 pmHere’s another reason for Tim Bishop of NY to fear his constituents. http://shouldirun.com displays screenshots (link is on the left column) of “stimulus” projects in New York’s 1st Congressional District that were supposed to create jobs, but the monetary awards are to out of district companies! This is probably true for other districts, too.
- IAnthony F. Vanella Says:
August 5th, 2009 at 7:49 pmI cannot believe you elected officials… Remember you are supposed to be servants of the people. Someday, maybe soon, you will no longer be a senator or congressman. Do not vote for the healthcare reform !!! There are over 1000 pages upon which is a lot of underhanded proposed legislation that OBAMA does not want the public to know about. Don’t rush it, READ the bill!!! I am one of many citizens who do not want BIGGER GOVERNMENT!!!
- mjackson Says:
August 5th, 2009 at 9:22 pmI want affordable health care. I want to feel confident that I won’t be dropped if I get sick. I don’t see why you are so freaked out by the idea of changing the current system. I suspect you are being lied to and manipulated by big drug companies and greedy insurance companies. I am an “average” american who is being crushed alive by wildly expensive health insurance premiums. My premium is almost as expensive as my rent, with a deductible of many thousands. This stinks! I say Fix it. Don’t listen to the fear mongers!
- Tony Ondrusek Says:
August 6th, 2009 at 9:44 amIn reply to mjackson’s comment on aug 5 (above), I agree 100% with the writer’s assertion that the problems with insurance and health care delivery need to be fixed. I also want affordable health care. I also don’t want to get dropped if I get sick.
But what you write is completely contradictory. First, you say we should not be afraid of “changing the system.” Then, you say we should “fix it.” Which one do you want?
I think that fixing the current system is the better way. Make insurance affordable for eveyone by controlling whacked-out judgments against doctors so that they don’t have to pay $250,000 a year for malpractice insurance; stop strict underwriting so that EVERYONE can get insurance (they already can…that is what non-proifts such as many Blue Cross plans are for, but that is another issue); get rid of mandates that force people to pay for coverage that they don’t need (such as in some states, where elderly women are forced to pay for birth control coverage and 18-year-old men are forced to pay for hair replacement coverage) and create more of a “cafeteria-style” system; stop all the unneccesary testing by making doctors feel secure that they won’t be sued for everything; create more transportable records to save billions of dollars in administrative costs; charge people lots of money (even fines) when they use the ER for ordinary stuff instead of going to their family doctor; etc., etc.
But doing away with the system we have now and reploacing it with a government system will mean that we will wait in line just like we do at the motor vehicle facility when we get our license, that we will have no one to complain to when care is negligent or inefficient (what are you going to do, sue the federal government? good luck with that), and that we will create a new federal agency the size of a Super Wal-Mart, that will make Medicare and Social Security look like a 7-Eleven.
Food is a neccesity. Why don’t we have the government take over all the grocery stores so that costs are controlled. Well, in that case, the government has gotten involved by regulating things such as the price of milk and how much corn is produced. That keeps prices even and fair for everyone, and ensures that the food is of quality and won’t get people sick (that is why the FDA recalls bad meat, etc).
But the government doesn’t take over grocery stores. Instead, they work within the current system to make it better. We can do the same for health care.
Pages linking to this article:
- Why the uproar from Democrats over contentious town hall meetings? | IFAwebnews.com
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