At the Huffington Post
Peter DreierPeter Dreier is E.P. Clapp Distinguished Professor of Politics at Occidental College
Posted: August 14, 2009 05:22 PM
Health Care and Hate in Alhambra
I went to one of those town meetings on Tuesday night in Alhambra, California, a Los Angeles suburb, sponsored by my Congressperson, Adam Schiff, a moderate Democrat who nevertheless supports Obama's public option plan. At this event, which attracted over 2,000 people, the pro-Obama forces clearly outnumbered the right-wingers, but you couldn't tell from that night's TV news reports or the next day's newspaper stories. They covered the town hall meeting as a shout-fest, using the "he said/she said" format that made it seem that public opinion in the district is evenly divided. It isn't. Last November, Obama won 67% of the vote in Schiff's 29th Congressional district.
Schiff opened his remarks by asking how many people in the crowd supported Obama's plan, then asked how many opposed the plan, then asked how many were undecided and came there to learn more. The pro-Obama people represented at least 60% of the crowd, perhaps more. Most of the others opposed the president's plan. Hardly anyone cheered when Schiff asked who was undecided. This was a crowd of people who arrived with strong opinions.
Whether the turnout by progressives and Democrats in Alhambra and elsewhere around the country advanced the cause of health care reform is an open question. Rather than confront the extreme right wing of the Republican Party -- which is who constitutes the crowds at these town hall events -- it might be more useful to target protests at the giant insurance companies and the huge campaign contributions they are handing out, especially to moderate Democrats. Compare the insurance companies' big profits and outrageous corporate compensation to the tens of millions of Americans who can't afford health insurance, who can't get insurance because of pre-existing conditions, or who have policies that don't cover the things they need. Then challenge the waffling blue-dog Democrats to answer a simple question: which side are you on?
Even so, it was good to see the big turnout by pro-reform Democrats and progressives. Schiff's 29th Congressional district is heavily Democratic. Many of the anti-Obama folks in the crowd lived outside Schiff's district. Some came from as far away as Orange County and Ventura County. The right wingers brought drums and lots of American flags. (I thought more Democrats should have brought flags of their own -- right-wingers have no monopoly on patriotism). The conservatives mostly had hand-made signs; the Democrats and progressives mostly had printed signs.
When he arrived at the podium at 7 pm, Schiff told the crowd, "I hope we'll have a lively discussion tonight on the merits." But he knew, as did everyone in the crowd and all the assembled media, that there was absolutely no chance for a reasonable debate. This was a media circus.
Schiff explained why he thought the current health care system was broken and why he supported Obama's plan for a public option. He took questions from the audience, answered them calmly, or asked one of the people he brought with him - a consumer advocate, a hospital administrator, and a medical professor -- to field the questions. The TV reports that night and the newspaper stories the next day paid little attention to the specifics of health care reform.
Schiff spoke from a raised podium. Several Alhambra cops stood in front of the podium between Schiff and the crowd. Schiff didn't go into the crowd to get up-front and personal. This arrangement, and the powerful loudspeakers projecting his voice, made Schiff less vulnerable to angry protesters. Conservatives and Republicans in the crowd tried to disrupt Schiff throughout the 90 minute forum, but Schiff soldiered on, trying his best to ignore the shouters. Also, the presence of so many Democrats and pro-health care reform advocates clearly intimidated the right wingers. Whenever someone tried to interrupt and shout down Schiff, he or she was quickly surrounded by Obama/Schiff supporters. As a result, the right-wingers were less rowdy and aggressive than they seemed to be at other forums around the country. The cops had to escort a few disruptive people -- all conservatives -- out of the event, including one man who kept shouting "abortion is murder," but the police made no arrests.
A week earlier, I wouldn't have predicted that the Democrats would outnumber the Republicans at the Schiff town meeting. Several weeks ago, Schiff sent out brochures and emails to constituents, announcing the public event in Alhambra. He scheduled the town meeting before the conservative Republicans began mobilizing their ground troops against the Obama plan. Quickly, however, the conservatives started spreading the word, not only about the event but also the talking points to use in attacking Obama's proposal.
Some of the conservative activists in Alhambra told me that they'd heard about the event two weeks ago; others got phone calls, emails, and Facebook messages in the past week. The two major groups that mobilized people to turn out were the Republican Party and the Patriots, a right-wing network that sponsored the anti-Obama "tea parties" in April across the country. Local right-wing radio talk shows also played a part in encouraging listeners to attend the Schiff event. Last Friday, the local paper, the Pasadena Star-News, published a front-page story headlined, "Activists Planning to Pack Town Hall." It only quoted conservative activists, including members of the Pasadena Patriots, who said they'd be there to protest "socialized medicine." It was clear that these conservatives didn't just show up on their own. They were organized to be there. For them, this was part of a crusade. Schiff's town meeting was just one event among many ways to mobilize around their broader mission -- to stop abortions, kick out undocumented immigrants, and thwart 'big government" and the oncoming onslaught of "socialism."
When he arrived at the podium at 7 pm, Schiff told the crowd, "I hope we'll have a lively discussion tonight on the merits." But he knew, as did everyone in the crowd and all the assembled media, that there was absolutely no chance for a reasonable debate. This was a media circus.
Schiff explained why he thought the current health care system was broken and why he supported Obama's plan for a public option. He took questions from the audience, answered them calmly, or asked one of the people he brought with him - a consumer advocate, a hospital administrator, and a medical professor -- to field the questions. The TV reports that night and the newspaper stories the next day paid little attention to the specifics of health care reform.
Schiff spoke from a raised podium. Several Alhambra cops stood in front of the podium between Schiff and the crowd. Schiff didn't go into the crowd to get up-front and personal. This arrangement, and the powerful loudspeakers projecting his voice, made Schiff less vulnerable to angry protesters. Conservatives and Republicans in the crowd tried to disrupt Schiff throughout the 90 minute forum, but Schiff soldiered on, trying his best to ignore the shouters. Also, the presence of so many Democrats and pro-health care reform advocates clearly intimidated the right wingers. Whenever someone tried to interrupt and shout down Schiff, he or she was quickly surrounded by Obama/Schiff supporters. As a result, the right-wingers were less rowdy and aggressive than they seemed to be at other forums around the country. The cops had to escort a few disruptive people -- all conservatives -- out of the event, including one man who kept shouting "abortion is murder," but the police made no arrests.
A week earlier, I wouldn't have predicted that the Democrats would outnumber the Republicans at the Schiff town meeting. Several weeks ago, Schiff sent out brochures and emails to constituents, announcing the public event in Alhambra. He scheduled the town meeting before the conservative Republicans began mobilizing their ground troops against the Obama plan. Quickly, however, the conservatives started spreading the word, not only about the event but also the talking points to use in attacking Obama's proposal.
Some of the conservative activists in Alhambra told me that they'd heard about the event two weeks ago; others got phone calls, emails, and Facebook messages in the past week. The two major groups that mobilized people to turn out were the Republican Party and the Patriots, a right-wing network that sponsored the anti-Obama "tea parties" in April across the country. Local right-wing radio talk shows also played a part in encouraging listeners to attend the Schiff event. Last Friday, the local paper, the Pasadena Star-News, published a front-page story headlined, "Activists Planning to Pack Town Hall." It only quoted conservative activists, including members of the Pasadena Patriots, who said they'd be there to protest "socialized medicine." It was clear that these conservatives didn't just show up on their own. They were organized to be there. For them, this was part of a crusade. Schiff's town meeting was just one event among many ways to mobilize around their broader mission -- to stop abortions, kick out undocumented immigrants, and thwart 'big government" and the oncoming onslaught of "socialism."
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