Doggett Bests the “Teabaggers”
August 10th, 2009 at 11:43 am
Lloyd Doggett held another “townhall” meeting this Saturday, this time outside CommUnityCare, a non-profit health care clinic that serves a low-income, largely minority clientiele.
In a sign that Democrats and universal health care advocates are perhaps figuring out how to counter right-wing tactics, the event was spirited but civil and the reformers took control of the event. It looked little like the mob scene at the Randall’s last Saturday.
At the invitation of the clinic, both Doggett and Republican U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, who has suggested that the Obama plans might lead to a “single-payer, Washington-run system,” made an appearance. Cornyn left after the short press event, driving away in a SUV as protesters in the Doggett camp booed him. Outside the clinic, about 200 people stuck around for the townhall, a mix of local Democrats, progressive activists, “tea bag” types, Ron Paul libertarians, and some fans of Alex Jones, the Austin talk radio host and conspiracy theorist. Fans of reform outnumbered opponents about two-to-one.
“After what happened last Saturday, I figured Lloyd needed some help,” said Kent Johnson, who carried a sign reading “Insurance Costs Doubled Under Bush/The Right Did Nothing.” Of the protesters trying a repeat of the supermarket uprising, he said, “They tried but they were outnumbered.” Doggett supporters fanned out in front of the speaker’s podium, loudly cheering the congressman and others speaking in favor of health care reform. When the antis tried to drown Doggett out with cries of “Socialism!” or “Just Say No!,” self-appointed enforcers would push back with forceful “shushes.” One man carried a sign that simply said: “You Can Disagree Without Being Rude or Disruptive.”
George True, 35, used a bullhorn to tease the tea party people, a tactic he said he learned as an activist in Washington, D.C.
“Everyone’s scared of public speaking so you mock them,” he explained.
After stepping to the podium, Doggett called for a “civil discussion” and that’s mostly what he got.
“If the only thing coming out of this is the fight” - the squabbling and accusations - “that will be a defeat for health care,” Doggett said. “I hope you go away recognizing [a health care reform bill] is in your self-interest.”
The format of the townhall helped to defuse the tension. Each side took turns asking Doggett questions over a loudspeaker. (P.A. systems, as all good activists know, are magical things.)
A Travis County Republican precinct chair asked about the $1.6 trillion price-tag affixed to a version of the legislation by the Congressional Budget Office. Another woman said - like many at these events - that she’s “just scared.”
The health reform advocates focused on bringing the debate back to earth. One man spoke of running through three insurance policies for his sick wife in three years, all the while watching the premiums soar 67 percent. Even the militia types in the back, waving a “Come and Take It” flag, found that hard to jeer.
An older nurse described seeing patients falling through the cracks. “Everyone here needs health care so we can all be healthy,” she said. One man asked the congressman how best to repel the rumors about “ObamaCare,” such as the notion that the government will require euthanasia of senior citizens. “There are many people in this country who have died because they don’t have health insurance,” Doggett said. Of the rumors: “It is absolute nonsense.”
Single-payer advocates—a group that has dogged lawmakers at public events for years but received scant attention from the media—made their mark too. Doggett said he was open to single-payer, but that Obama had taken that option off the table at the onset of the health care debate.
At the end Doggett seemed pleased. “I think we’ve had a reasonable dialogue this morning,” he said. And he walked to his car with only his aides in tow.
August 10th, 2009 at 9:54 pm
Here’s a mobile phone picture I took of a protester’s sign. I suppose he thinks this minstrel image of the President is funny. I don’t. http://twitpic.com/d6s4c
August 11th, 2009 at 10:57 am
When I see comments like “when people died because they don’t have health insurance” and the discussion is about euthanasia, I can’t help but think that letting people die because they don’t have health insurance is “EUTHANASIA”. Come on people, wake up!!!!
August 11th, 2009 at 3:01 pm
I saw that sign too. It’s an image popularized by Austin conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. He’s selling T-shirts with the Obama joker-face through his website, complete with a “new world order” tag. http://infowars-shop.stores.yahoo.net/obamashirts.html
There’s profit in right-wing conspiracies!
August 17th, 2009 at 5:04 pm
The leftwing ‘teabaggers’ sign holders prove the exact point of the critics - Public Option is a trojan horse for single-payer government-run socialized medicine, and those behind ObamaCare, including Obama himself, favor single payer.
Well done on proving the critics right.