Health care reform and a tale of two town halls
A health care meeting led by Rep. Paul Broun had a different vibe from Rep. Hank Johnson's
By all accounts, last night's town hall meeting on health care reform in Clarkston, hosted by U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson, D-DeKalb, proceeded very amiably. (Presumably, young Tom Wheatley will be posting his account soon.)
Johnson set the tone for the evening when, from the stage, he said, “We are here to have an open and respectful dialogue.”
In the main auditorium that held 500 people, applause for health care reform clearly outweighed any boos or jeers. Some people attributed that to the demographic of this area.
Some people said there are numerous people in this area who live on the margins and need universal health care.
But among the 1,000 people in a nearby gymnasium where there was a close-circuit feed and among the more than 500 people milling outside, there were active, respectful debates.
Respectful. Civil. And clearly weighted in favor of health care reform. Keep in mind this was in suburban DeKalb.
Over in suburban Augusta, however, with U.S. Rep Paul Broun, R-Fruitloop, setting the tone, it was a different scene, according to the Augusta Chronicle:
Dr. Broun called the pending Democratic legislation an "abomination" and "a stinking rotten fish" and said Democratic efforts are the "steamroll of socialism." He did offer up his own idea for reform, including a Medicare health savings account that would follow the beneficiaries, allowing them to spend what Medicare would have spent on them in their own way.
"America is mad as hell, and we're not going to take it anymore," said Joyce Jamison of Evans.
The crowds at the Columbia County Board of Education building — organizers had to add a second event to accommodate the hundreds of people initially turned away — egged him on.