Healthcare: Are Republicans becoming irrelevant?

This evening we attended what was supposed to be a healthcare townhall meeting in Tampa. It was supposed to be an opportunity to learn about H.R. 3200, "America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009". Florida State House Representative Betty Reed attempted to host a forum in which people could listen to US House Rep Kathy Castor describe the bill for 10 minutes, have a discussion from a panel, and then open it up to discussion. Here's a copy of the agenda that was handed out.

What happened was that the room was, I am sure, filled beyond fire marshal limits (at least 200 in the meeting room - glad I arrived an hour early). A crowd estimated at over 1,000 was outside. As Rep Castor tried to speak, the mob would yell and chant, refusing to allow anything close to civil discourse. After I witnessed a couple of shoving matches, heard banging on the doors, banging on the windows (I was standing in an aisle by a window), something THROWN from outside at the window where I was standing ...it became apparent that this was not a safe place to be.

Initially I saw one uniformed police officer present. Another officer arrived, but there was no way two officers could contain this disgusting mob. The sad thing is that I know SOME people there (like us) wanted to hopefully learn something. I was having a quite cordial discussion with one person who was conservative (I'm a liberal), and she had written down some questions that she had hoped to ask. She truly had hoped to attend a townhall meeting where neighbors can discuss an issue and hopefully treat each other with respect.

As the mob became increasingly loud - inside the room and outside - and after witnessing a couple of shoving matches that I thought were going to escalate into all-out brawl, we decided that there was no point in sticking around, and we left.

As we made our way past the crowd outside (hundreds of people from each side of the issue), I was happy to see more police arriving. When we met up with friends later we were told that police in riot gear arrived, and the meeting was dispersed.

Kathy Castor IS planning to continue trying to reach out to her constituents, quite possibly next week, but this time plans to do so via phone; people could call in and hear her speak and then pose questions via phone in an orderly manner. That will allow everyone to hear, it will be safe, and hopefully those who wish to use their "inside voice" will be able to ask questions.

The Republican Party has no solution to offer for healthcare reform, so all they can do is try to prevent discussion. So far, I've not heard anyone from the Republican Party denouncing the unruly, rude, and dangerous behavior of these mobs. Why will they not stand up and denounce this attempt to stifle the democratic process and open discussion?

Until the Republican Party offers solutions - not just obstructions - they will continue to sink deeper and deeper into irrelevance.

Comments

[MadMarine]

Joe:

I'm of two minds about the public displays of outrage. Exercise of free speech is still a right in this country. Therefore, people have every right to express their opinion and outrage. However, I personally believe that a civil dialog is essential. You can't have that with a bunch of shouting as you know.

As to Repubs not having a plan, they did and do. Unfortunately, the Dems aren't interested in that plan. Let's be plain here, this is about power politics. The Dems are taking advantage of their majorities to ram through a bunch of costly legislation. No surprises here.

I've spent some time reading H.R. 3200. I'm puzzled by a lot of things in the bill, but really don't get the public option. What is the need for the Fed to offer a plan when the Federal Health Exchange leverages the larger premium pool to construct public health insurance plans? The public option will always be the lowest cost compared with private health insurance companies and therefore, over time, will become the dominant supplier of insurance in the country. Hello single payer system. Seems to me anyway.

[Scott Gentzen]

Weren't there a lot of protests at similar gatherings during the Bush administration? Some are probably more organized than others, some more violent than others but they were out there. Civil discussion is definitely needed but it's not as interesting to watch on the news. I don't think either side is really being honest about this healthcare legislation at this point and they both seem to be more interested in winning than doing the right thing.

Democrats should be careful about talk about the GOP being crushed and irrelevant. GOP was saying the same thing about the DNC in 2000. The Republicans can afford consultants too. They'll figure it out eventually.

[Mrkleen]

There is a big difference between "saying" a party is becoming irrelevant based on policy (Republicans claims in 2000), and "actually becoming" irrelevant.

By 2050, whites will make up 46% of the US population. As the GOP continues to alienate Hispanics, Blacks, and Women....they will continue to loose elections and seats in the house, senate, white house and supreme court.

And that isnt a political prediction...that is from the US Census Bureau.