If any political prognosticators wanted proof that President Obama faces a tough sell on his health plan, they merely needed to show up at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia yesterday.
A raucous standing-room-only crowd of more than 400 cheered, jeered, and booed Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter.
"I'm happy to see democracy is at work," Sebelius said, no detectable irony in her voice.
As each side battled for volume ("I think the boos were louder. That's my opinion," said one in the crowd, Diana Reimer of Lansdale), Sebelius and Specter managed, barely, to impose a tenuous civility on the hour-long meeting titled "Health Insurance Reform - What's in it for You."
"We can shout at one another, or we can leave the stage," Sebelius said. "It's up to you."
Don't get mad, Mommy.
An amateur videographer captured some of the event. The camera work is shaky, but the message from the voters comes through pretty clear:
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2 comments:
From what I saw on the video the members of Congress really don't get it that We The People are not in favor of what they are trying to ram down our throats. There are in such a hurry to rush this bill that they really don't have a clue what all is in the bill, and yet they will stand up and try to defend the bill as something we need. These people should all be voted out of congress. and the administration!
The NewsHour is running on our tv in the background, and it just featured a genteel discussion of health care. They don't make any reference to Town Hall meetings like this -- it's as though they don't exist! People booing Arlen Specter? The NewsHour never heard of it.
I used to watch that news program regularly, but I've seen a big change. Perhaps it began with Gwen Ifill moderating one of the debates after it was revealed that she wrote a book about Obama whose publication date was inauguration day.
So, now I get my news from the internet. And some of it from Holycoast!
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