It is hard to tell from this picture. It might look like these two people are shouting at each other, but they are not. They are two people with very different views on proposed health care reform discussing the issue respectfully.
The conversation took place after the Health Care Town Hall meeting held by Representative Pete Stark (D - CA 13) in San Leandro today. The gentleman on the left approached the women on the right and asked if he could ask them about the meeting as he was one of the hundreds who had been unable to get in. My mother, aunt and I are standing to the side as part of the circle he joined. He began by saying that he is Republican and a born again Christian and that his faith teaches him to be respect all God's children before himself. She responded that she is also a Christian. Some common ground and language established, the conversation continued. As a man of faith he believes in helping the truly needy and believes that we must do something as a nation to cover those without. However, as a Republican he is somewhat distrustful of the abilities of government to address problems. Her t-shirt identified her as a Democrat supporting President Obama and health care reform
What the gentleman would like is a more cautious, limited approach. Instead of a comprehensive bill he would like to approach the various problems with the current health care system in a step-by-step manner, allowing for plain English text being made available to citizens to evaluate and scouring proposed legislation to safeguard against unintended consequences. Essentially he is worried that Congress is moving too far, too fast.
At one point someone in the group suggested looking at analysis done by the Kaiser Family Foundation (which is a non-profit, non-partisan source of policy information separate from the Kaiser HMO health plan) for comparisons between and explanations of different proposed legislation. The gentleman expressed mistrust of even non-profit, non-partisan organizations because in his experience working for them, there's always an agenda. When I asked him who he would trust, he replied that he would trust dialogue, like we were having, amongst ordinary Americans, coming from all points of view, working through the issues. When we left, my aunt, mother and I all hugged the woman in the picture and, just as we had with Rep. Stark, we shook that gentleman's hand and thanked him sincerely for listening and discussing through disagreements with genuine respect.
And, although I disagree politically with the gentleman (I'm on the other end of the spectrum and believe the current proposed reform does not go far enough - I want single payer, Medicare for all - but I will support a public option and consumer protections as an achievable compromise), I could not agree with him more about the need for more of the dialogue we had. That conversation capped off a morning and an experience that made me proud to be American and proud of our democracy, warts and all.
Our little trio waited in line for about an hour to enter the hall. While waiting we were approached to sign various petitions and offered a variety of signs to wave. I was very amused by a guy who took our picture and angrily demanded to know how much we were being paid to astroturf in support of healthcare reform. Dude, do you know what part of the country you're in? Do you realize this is the district that has repeatedly re-elected the only "out" atheist in Congress? Um, do you really think anyone would have to pay liberals who support Obama and health care reform to show up? They'd more likely have to pay to keep us away, lol! In fact, they had to turn away hundreds of people waiting in the hot sun to get into just this one of the three town halls Rep. Stark held today.
One woman ahead of me in line held a handmade sign with the slogan "No Government Run Health Care." I asked her if she would decline Medicare coverage when she turned 65. She stammered and had no response. She then countered that Medicare would surely be broke when she was eligible so it didn't matter and that since she was from China she knew what governments could do to you. Some other in line asked her to answer my original question and pointed out that we are in America, not China so mistrust of the Chinese government did not explain whether or not she would be willing to accept Medicare benefits. Unwilling to answer my question now, she said she would answer me when she actually had to make the decision. We will have to wait and see.
@Gerard2007 engaged me on twitter claiming my question to this woman was not valid because the argument against the bill is different. Unfortunately trying to have a discussion with 140 characters, a recalcitrant keyboard and spotty cell coverage is difficult. But, Gerard, what I was trying to say was that your argument and this woman's argument are not the same, not that your argument is not valid. I agree with you that the "no government run and don't touch my Medicare" argument is moot (but I don't know that the woman in line recognizes that) and that there are other reasons some have for not wanting the legislation. However, this particular woman wasn't expressing them on her sign. And, while I am happy to discuss issues with those who completely disagree with me, I will point out, Gerard, that when you use terms like "marxbama" it tells me that you are more interested in trumpeting your point of view than in engaging in thoughtful discussion. I'd encourage you to take a page from the man in the picture above. We actually can disagree and all get along. :)
As it so happens, I think my question prodded the woman to think through her points. Her number was picked at random and she got the opportunity inside to ask Representative Stark a question at which point she question the cost of the proposed legislation. She also asked why he wouldn't leave the Federal Employee plan and take the public option proposed instead (talking point alert, though I've non-partisan-ed her language). He pointed out that he wouldn't be immediately eligible to do so, that it would take time to get a public option up and running, initially it would cover those who did not have other options available to them, and that he would, when eligible be willing to use the public option.
Which was another beautiful thing about the experience. People with a range of views were heard from. We were each given a number when we entered and numbers were chosen at random to determine who got a chance to ask a question of Rep. Stark. We are in the fairly liberal East Bay of Northern California. The sentiment in the room was decidedly pro-reform. However, when conservatives asked their questions, liberals made sure the audience stayed silent so that they could be heard and answered. Even the man who ranted about socialism, thanked Rep. Stark for listening and allowing him to voice his views uninterrupted. The only negativity were the "boos" whenever the concept of having to pay for things was brought up. But boos for concepts like taxing income above $350,000 (which is what the House legislation proposes) were quickly drowned out by applause in support.
Stark's responses to questions were a master class in political discourse. Even the questions that had a desired "gotcha" response built into them received straightforward, factual, honest answers and Stark never once fell into the trap those questioners attempted to set for him (on both sides of the issue).
The only problem is that there was no flaming confrontation. No threats made, nobody dragged out of City Hall by police. In fact, about all the police had to do was hold the doors open as people left the auditorium. As grateful we were for their presence, we were equally grateful for not needing them.
So that's why I will be willing to bet you won't see this town hall on cable news let alone the discussion I described at the beginning of this post. Which is a pity and a sad, sad indictment of the state of politics and news media today.
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