The Huffington Post went to President Obama's town hall in Grand Junction, Colorado on Saturday to learn what makes health-reform protesters really tick.
In an effort to get beyond the virulent sound bites heard on TV, we asked those against reform pointed questions based on what HuffPost readers told us they wanted to know more about.
Below is a video slideshow of our day spent in the crowds. As it turned out, the anti-reform protesters were greatly outnumbered by those supporting reform. Both sides became excited. There was shouting (keep reading below the videos).
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Organizing for America, the successor to the president's campaign apparatus was out in full force with a concert, free drinks, snacks and many signs. The contingent against health care reform hugged a corner opposite those for reform, shouting loudly to drown out their counterparts' chants.
One thing was clear throughout the day: People against reform were troubled by more than just Obama's health care plan. Almost every anti-reform demonstrator we talked to expressed fear of what they perceived to be increased government control, spending and invasion into their daily lives. A number of people told us that this isn't just about President Obama. Some have been angry since the Bush administration, others don't trust government at all. A few people spewed out remarks against the president that were reminiscent of those seen at campaign rallies for Gov. Sarah Palin last year. We even met two Birthers -- obviously misinformation was strongly represented. When we asked people for evidence or to clarify their positions with the facts they just continued with their talking points.
The rhetoric is nothing new. The president took time during the town hall to rail against "dishonest" arguments. However, what is new is that many of the people against the president's agenda -- "dishonest" or not -- are using the health care debate as a vehicle to campaign against him. After eight months of a new administration, we're hearing language similar to what dominated the airwaves during the final months of the election. So much for change, at least for those who didn't want change brought by Obama in the first place.
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Whether motivated by racism or politics, they aren't going to change their minds. If you actually believe that the Republicans and Blue Dog Democrats are ever going to get on board, you're kidding yourself.
I was one of millions who voted for you and voted against the foolishness that has passed forgovernment for the last 8 years.
DO NOT BACK DOWN!!!
If you forego the public option, Blue Cross-Blue Shield wins again. We will just continue to see more commericals funded by the RX companies telling us how much we need their drugs only to find months later that these same drugs we needed are being pulled from the market, because they were not what we were told they were.
If the public option is pulled it will business as usual. I was with UnitedHealthCare until my COBRA ran out. When my daughter was in a car accident, she was taken to the public emergency room; we didn't get a bill for the ambulacne until 11 months later and UHC said we should have submitted the claim 30 days after the accident. WE DIDN'T HAVE A BILL TO SUBMIT! So guess who paid?
These screamers aren't concerned about "health care"...like one of them said "I would have voted for him if he was Clarence Thomas" and "I don't have a drop of racist blood in me".
Well, I hope if he ever gets cut his insurance will cover it and he won't go to a public hospital.
And I hope he remembers to thank Dr. Charles Drew, if he needs a transfusion.
If you don't believe my math.. Feel free to verify at: http://bobdobbs404.blogspot.com/
They are anti-intellectual; they reject education. They are, therefore, BIGOTS.
these folks are not pro US Constitution and Liberty. They just want Iran in the US with religious tyrants controlling all aspects of our lives.
Well, you can be ceratin the far-right lunatic fringe gun-nuts are being watched.
By the way, there is no Constitutional provision for the government to be in the insurance business.
They're successful probably far beyond what they expected.
So they've used their techniques of wretched dishonesty ...
(Sorry, those of you who are Fox fans, Fox is indeed wretchedly dishonest. I'll sit down with you and explain it to you. But I'll warn you, I'll be getting into things like logic, rational thinking, how you arrive at conclusions, how you make correlations, taking things out of context. It has to do with thinking. Have I lost your interest?)
... to get what they want. Though I'm not clear on what they want other than for their enemy to fail.
This is a good example of "The end justifies the means."
Which is fine if all you're interested in is getting what you want, are indifferent to morals, and don't care what kind of person you are.
Have a car payment half their rent/lease/mortgage payment
Have the latest 3G or equivalent cell phone with all the bells and whistles and unlimited everything
Make sure they have the latest video gaming system and latest games ASAP
Have satellite/cable HD with a nice flat screen TV to pick it up
The list could go on...give up ANY one of the above or cut back on ANY two and you can pay for health insurance. Priorities people!
When the government proves it can administer ANY of the following without massive debt and operate with at least some measure of efficiency I'll consider government health care as an option: Medicare/Medicaid, Social Security, or the VA. Pick one..any one. All have a health care function of some sort. Besides the fiscal mess all of these programs are in, a trillion here and a trillion there and pretty soon you're talking real money, just ask anybody who has to deal with any of them their opinion of efficiency and/or service. I have to deal with two and am not impressed.
I'm a Libertarian...let ALL of us keep what we pay into any of the above programs instead of confiscating it..let US use that money to buy insurance, if we wan't it, and WE will certainly do a much better job of it. Can you not take care of you better than our oh so efficient government?
Scariest sentence in the English language.."I'm from the government and I'm here to help."
I don't mind throwing a bone to the helpless but I have no sympathy for the clueless.
The major difficulty that has gotten all the news is the difficulty to get processed from active duty into the VA Health Care system.
There have been some problem within the system in specific areas of health care but that is true with nearly any treatment facility.
They have serious under funding problems because Congress was until recently rejecting the reality of the number of casualties (especially PTSD and allied) resulting from multiple deployments.
The computerized patient treatment system within the VA is one of the best in the US.
Please don't bad mouth that which I suspect your only experience is based on sensationalist type news sources.
20 Year Army Vet and 50 year VA user.
Thanks for your post. I am angry and depressed about our depraved health care system.
Stupid crazy people waving flags....