I was at the HC Townhall this evening, and I left slightly heartened, even more so after viewing the press coverage. . .
As I left the Sestak HC Townhall in Center City this evening, I turned to my dad and asked: "So I wonder how the press will cover it? Will they focus on the fact that we outnumbered them something like 15:1? Or will they concentrate on the screamers?" Given how the MSM has covered this issue thus far, given its lust for conflict real and manufactured, I feared the latter.
Well, so far, I'm happy to report, the coverage is better than I had feared. See, for instance: http://www.philly.com/...
One of the local TV stations (Channel 6) properly observed that those in opposition were in a distinct minority.
As for the event itself, I thought Rep. Sestak handled himself with real aplomb. He showed a real command of the details and was empathetic (even to the point of indulgence, perhaps) with those who asked aggressive questions. Some of the questions were fair enough (about fraud and waste in Medicare), while others were predictably batty (the bill will raise tax rates above those in "Communist China.")
I had an illustrative conversation with a guy named Jeff, part of a group from the same corporation, clearly opposed to reform (whether plants or not is hard to say). At one point, he claimed that a friend of his from Canada was very happy to no longer have to wait for health care. I asked him what this friend's name was. He paused and said, "John Smith." When he saw the incredulity on my face, he hemmed and said: "Pretty ironic, no?" "Ironic is one word for it," I said. I pressed him a bit further on his "friend," who grew more fictitious by the minute and then returned to the substance of his objections to HC Reform, which were a tangle of half-truths and odd contradictions (wants govt. out of people's lives but also wants it to pass a tax based on Body Mass Index). Like many opponents, Jeff was not a stupid person, just ideologically blinkered and willing to make shit up, including citizens of our neighbor to the North, to support his 'case.'
We'll see how The Daily News reports it--tends to be more populist than the Inquirer--though I'm loath to log in, since I dropped my subscription to the Inky in protest of their employing John Woo--it feels like cheating to read it online so I try very hard not to, though I miss the Phillies coverage. Perhaps those of us concerned about the moral and financial trainwreck that is the current HC system are finding our footing and our voice.
I'd be curious to read reactions from anyone else who was there.