Last night there was Town Hall organized by Congressman (D,GA) Hank Johnson held at the campus of Georgia Perimeter College. What follows is a report drawn from various participants and observers including myself.
What occured at Rep. Hank Johnson's Town Hall last night was nothing less than a practical demonstration of actual democracy in action giving the lie to the populist pretensions of Tea-Baggers, Deathers and the hystrionic, not mention hysterical, right.
Turnout was massive, press estimates ranging up to 2000 people. Some had reportedly arrived as early as 3:00 pm, four hours prior to the event which was schedule for 7:00pm. The crowd swamped the 500 seat main auditorium as well as two overflow locations where the crowd had to settle for video and audio feeds respectively. Hundreds stood in line until well past start time for the event to get a seat in the overflow venues.
While the "no-nothings" turned out in force, they were uncharacteristically subdued. The ubiquitous "Government Health Care = Socialism" signs were in evidence, along with others sporting the usual fearmongering slogans. However, they drew little enthusiam or hostility from the crowd, the majority of whom seemed intent on remaining orderly and avoiding pointless confrontation.
Inside the main auditorium attendees passed through metal detectors before being seated. Police and security personnel stood by to handle any disruptions and it was made clear from the outset that attempts to shut down the meeting wouldn't be tolerated. As today's Atlanta Journal-Constitution describes it:
"Rules were announced: no signs, no derogatory language and no calling out as each speaker took his or her two minutes to have their say."
Rep. Johnson or his staff showed a good deal of savvy in having him share the stage with a panel that included a Health reform opponent as well as advocates even as the Congressman made his own commitment to reform clear. This makes it difficult for the sadly necessary security arrangements to be spun as a repression of "free speech" or "legitimate dissent". Certainly no one can claim that the opposing view wasn't represented.
It wasn't all bouquets and nosegays though, as the Journal Constitution also states:
"And the night did have its moments. Three people were removed from the hall after brief outbursts. Johnson was met early on by some raised voices. The debate outside the hall sometimes grew loud."
True enough but lacking the numbers to intimidate, the exchanges outside the hall amounted to little more than the venting of individual frustration. An example of this was a fellow who shouted as he passed a group of health reform petition takers that he was opposed to "democratic slavery" and that anyone in favor of "socialism" should "move to europe."
Who won?
If we're talking about the battle for public perception, media reports would indicate that the pro-reform side came out on top.
In a page one, top of the fold, lead story, the Journal-Constitution stated flatly:
"In the main auditorium that held 500 people, applause for health care reform clearly outweighed any jeers or boos."
It's practically unheard of for the Journal-Constitution to make judgements about the relative size of differing sides on a controversial issue. That they did so in this case is no small thing.
Likewise, at least some broadcast coverage tended to reflect a similar view. The local NBC TV affiliate led the 10 o'clock news with coverage featuring a clip of a father holding his two month old infant son while describing how Doctors recommended keeping baby at the hospital for an extra day following a caesarian birth but his private insurance wouldn't cover it so the infant had to be taken home against the Doctor's recommendation. The father held his son up to the audience declaring:
"Here he is. The victim of health care rationing by the Insurance industry at two months of age."
WSB radio 750 am, home of faux libertarian Neil Boortz and carrier of the rantings of Michael Savage, broadcast a sound bite of an attendee explaining how he had been motivated by opposition to the bullying and intimidation tactics of the Tea Baggers, et al, that had been reported in the media.
Lessons to Learn
This turnout didn't just happen. It was the result of a general mobilization by progressives, health reform advocates and the Gwinnett Democratic Party. Single payer advocates, public option advocates and others put aside their policy differences in order to insure that the "no-nothings" wouldn't succeed in disrupting the public discussion. This didn't require that anyone repudiate their position. Only that they recognize that the reactionary right, while greviously wounded, isn't dead and remains politically dangerous. Indeed, without the kind of pushback described above, it's entirely conceivable that the Tea Baggers and Deathers hysterics could sew enough confusion to provide political cover for politicians who'd like to 'eighty-six" the public option, never mind single payer.
In retrospect, it's apparent that the initial round of "Tea Parties" ginned up by the right wing noise machine served a dual purpose. The first and most obvious being to rally the troops and counter demoralization in the wake of Obama's resounding Presidential victory. The second purpose, not well appreciated at the time, was to take stock of how many angry, fearful individuals the right might send into the street at a given moment. Lost in the general ridicule of the Tea-Baggers was any recognition that the right was engaged in forging a political weapon for effective use at the opportune moment. With the August Legislative recess and the announcement of the Health Reform Town Halls, the right saw its opportunity and seized it.
There's no denying that the left, progressives and democrats generally allowed themselves to be caught flat footed. We can blame no one but ourselves for underestimating the opposition. We cannot afford to make this mistake twice. We have no excuse for either complacence or resignation. If an effective counter mobilization as described above can develope in Georgia, one of the redist of the GOP's regional red state base, there is no reason to suppose it cannot be effective nationally. Given the existence of the Tea baggers and their now revealed strategy, the capacity for national mobilization is no longer simply a tactical option. It has become a strategic necessity.
The victory of last November, as inspiring and historic as it may have been, was not the final act of the drama but its overture. It remains for each of us to take a hand in writing the next page and all those that follow.