Town Hall Debate

What A Real Town Hall Looks Like

Alex Green | Posted 10.21.2009 | Politics


Alex Green

Can this be done anywhere? Yes. Is it without difficulty? No. But is it easier than we think to organize 25 political figures over four weeks with a small group and no money? Yes.

"...And to the Republic for Which it Stands..."

Gary Hart | Posted 10.08.2009 | Politics


Gary Hart

Shouting at town hall meetings may vent anger, but it is not sufficient to eliminate corruption in American government. Exercising popular sovereignty through constructive civic duty, though, would be a start.

Inspired Democracy: The Debate Table

Alexia Parks | Posted 10.07.2009 | Living


Alexia Parks

"What have you done in your own community since Obama was elected president?" they challenged the audience. So I picked up the card and wrote down: "I hosted a Democracy Debate Table."

Billy the Kid and the Town Hall Meeting

Susan L. Travis | Posted 09.22.2009 | Politics


Susan L. Travis

Despite the political backdrop, our town hall meeting was mercifully spared the guns and swastikas of the six o'clock news.

Health Care Reform is the New Gay Marriage

Morgan Warners | Posted 09.14.2009 | Media


Morgan Warners

Gay marriage and our increasingly obvious interconnectedness present threats to traditions and ways of doing things that many of us think should change. In that regard, health reform is the new gay marriage.

The Republican Death March on Health Care

Susan J. Demas | Posted 10.20.2009 | Politics


Susan J. Demas

Thanks to the town hall turmoil from bigots, birthers and assorted miscreants, Republicans can savor a sugar-high on health care -- a decadent and ultimately short-lived victory.

Health Care & Town Halls

George Mitrovich | Posted 10.17.2009 | Politics


George Mitrovich

I drove to a middle school in the Spring Valley area of San Diego to moderate a "town hall" meeting on health care.

Two Ways To Be A Part Of The Health Reform Debate

Morgan Jindrich | Posted 09.26.2009 | Living


Morgan Jindrich

You can make a real difference right now by attending a town hall meeting (there are hundreds across the country) or by writing a letter to your local paper and setting the record straight.

Mark Kirk To Host Health Care Townhall

Daily Herald | Russell Lissau | Posted 09.24.2009 | Chicago


As the battle over President Obama's health care reform plan continues to roil, U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk today will hold the Northwest suburbs' first town ...

Bill O'Reilly vs. Jon Stewart: Howard Kurtz's Reliable Sources On Description Of Protesters (VIDEO)

Posted 09.24.2009 | Politics


The recent spat between Bill O'Reilly and Jon Stewart over FOX News' handling of health care reform protesters got some air time Sunday morning on CNN...

Guns, Guns, Everywhere

Dennis A. Henigan | Posted 09.21.2009 | Politics


Dennis A. Henigan

It is important not to treat these incidents of public gun-carrying as merely the misguided behavior of a few. It is more than that; the acting out of central tenets of the extremist "gun rights" ideology.

The President Belongs To All Of Us

Paul Helmke | Posted 09.19.2009 | Politics


Paul Helmke

Robert Gibbs' cavalier response to protesters carrying guns to presidential events was tone-deaf. This isn't a political issue and it isn't about the Second Amendment.

Our Existing Public Option

Terry Curtis Fox | Posted 09.19.2009 | Politics


Terry Curtis Fox

Private insurance companies don't want to be good capitalists and innovate. They fear competition because they are in a position where they don't need to provide a better service.

Bogged Down By Special Interest, Health Care Reform Becomes a Political Tool Instead of a People's Right

Dr. Erika Schwartz | Posted 09.19.2009 | Politics


Dr. Erika Schwartz

Do not allow America to continue being manipulated by special interest groups and help the people of America understand that they must control their own fate.

No One Wants to Talk About Their Idiots

Bill Shireman | Posted 09.19.2009 | Politics


Bill Shireman

We need a third political movement in this country -- not today's ideological right or left, who pander to idiots, but a group of radical centrists who step past their initial ignorance, fear, and prejudice, and actually think through solutions to our problems, borrowing ideas from all sides.

Teabaggers Are To Congresspeople What Union-Busters Are To Workers

Mike Elk | Posted 09.19.2009 | Politics


Mike Elk

The right wing is creating a climate of fear in which no logical argument can be made.

Health Care: I Hate Everyone, Part 1 in a Series

Nato Green | Posted 09.19.2009 | Politics


Nato Green

The anti-health care stormtroopers demonstrate that you can get a long way with no argument if you sell it. It seems like the Town Hallers are all seeking revenge on an uninsured ex.

Do Progressives Have What It Takes To Win?

Tom Sullivan | Posted 09.18.2009 | Politics


Tom Sullivan

Conservatives believe -- with justification -- that if they get angry enough and loud enough, liberals will back down from fights like this one.

RIP Robert Novak

Ron Mwangaguhunga | Posted 09.18.2009 | Media


Ron Mwangaguhunga

Novak, aware of that natural weakness in his personality, never tired of seeking a more harmonious sense of being. That, I think, is what made Novak ultimately a good man.

Have Patience: Republicans Are Working Their Way Through the Five Stages of Grieving

Michael Hais and Morley Winograd | Posted 09.18.2009 | Politics


Michael Hais and Morley Winograd

Suffering from a series of unexpected and unexplainable defeats, Republicans are likely to go off on a prolonged period of silence and eventually die for lack of political support.

The Dangerous Joining of the Far Right and Far Left

Lanny Davis | Posted 09.18.2009 | Politics


Lanny Davis

When the far left and the far right join in the Politics of Hate and Demonization, it is time for the vast center-left and center-right of this country to speak up and call them out equally.

Dear President Obama: A Modest Medicare Proposal

Thom Hartmann | Posted 09.18.2009 | Politics


Thom Hartmann

Most of us will do damn near anything to get out from under the thumbs of the multi-millionaire CEOs who are running our current insurance programs. Sign me up!

It's Not Over Until You've Tried These Six Things, Mr. President

Rob Warmowski | Posted 09.17.2009 | Politics


Rob Warmowski

Notice that the insurance industry-funded opposition to reform is well-managed enough to not send shouters and swastika sign-wavers to the town halls you are scheduled to appear at.

We are Mortal - Grow Up and Plan Accordingly

Barbara Coombs Lee | Posted 09.17.2009 | Politics


Barbara Coombs Lee

National leaders deliberately sparked fear and anger over a consultation about death and sensational media threw fuel on the fire.

The Last Story on Reforming Health Care: We Have Nothing to Fear But Fear Itself

Miles J. Zaremski | Posted 09.17.2009 | Politics


Miles J. Zaremski

The debate over health care reform has turned to politics of fear and fear-mongering, instead of focusing on facts and reality.