Congressman Phil Gingrey
Town Hall Meeting Summary
8/25/2009
Cartersville, GA |
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by Melissa Huneke
Congressman Phil Gingrey held a town hall meeting on Tuesday, August 25, 2009, at the Beaver's Drive Senior Center in Cartersville. Though the meeting was scheduled to start at 3:00 PM, the parking lot around the center was filled up by 2:45. The room at the Senior Center is supposed to hold around 400 people, and by the time the meeting started, it was standing room only.
The meeting started with a standing ovation for the Congressman as he entered the room. After that, Rep. Paul Battles opened the meeting with a prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance. Rep. Barry Loudermilk introduced Congressman Gingrey, receiving a hearty round of applause and cheers for complimenting the size of the crowd and mentioning that a sleeping giant had been awakened.
Congressman Gingrey started the meeting with a short video showing President Bill Clinton and President Obama saying nearly the same things about health care, 15 years apart. He then followed it with a power point presentation he called a "Second Opinion." He showed the massive flow chart that details the massive bureaucracy this bill creates between patient and doctor, as well as some statistics about the costs of HR 3200. He showed the Congressional Budget Office estimate that the cost of the bill is $2.4 trillion, with a nationwide job loss of 4.7 million jobs. All Americans will be forced to have health insurance or pay a tax, health insurance premiums will be taxed, and Medicare will be cut by $500 billion over 10 years to help pay for the bill.
He then showed a list of amendments proposed and voted down by the Energy & Commerce Committee. Among the amendments voted down are for all Americans to have the same health plan Congress has or for all members of Congress to be on the proposed government plan. Other amendments voted down included doctors (not bureaucrats) making health decisions, no health care rationing, and a liability shield for best practices by physicians.
After the power point presentation, the questioning began. About 22 people had a chance to ask a question. Most of their questions and the Congressman's answers were met with applause and cheers, and the crowd was overwhelmingly opposed to HR 3200. The first question related to having enough doctors when you add even more people to the health care rolls, especially since there are fewer family practice and primary care doctors available. The Congressman said there is something in the bill to pay more to primary care doctors, but decisions on reimbursements will still be in the hands of a bureaucrat. He said taxes would have to be raised or reimbursements cut to pay for the plan.
The next person asked where in the Constitution Congress gets the authority to run our health care. She also asked why they don't read the bills and why they are allowing the Apollo Alliance to write the bills. The Congressman answered that there is no provision in the Constitution that authorizes them to do what they are attempting to do.
Outside of health care, people had questions about how one would become a government Czar, why people proposing some of these socialist policies are not being tried for treason for being at war with the American people, is the Obama administration destroying the CIA, and how can we do all of these things without going bankrupt. In each case, the answers the Congressman gave were met with applause and cheers. One person asked if we could get any of the stimulus money back. In reply, the Congressman related a story about Health and Human Services Director Kathleen Sebelius coming to the Energy & Commerce Committee to ask for $7 billion for a swine flu vaccine. He asked her, in light of the fact that the 1976 swine flu vaccine was only used for a short time and then pulled because it caused paralysis, whether she would be willing to give the money back if they didn't make a vaccine. Of course, she didn't answer the question.
The only boos came in response to a woman who was asking the Congressman to support the bill proposed by our "excellent" President, because it provides for those who can't afford it, and shows compassion for those in need. The loudest boos came when the woman insisted that the bill doesn't nationalize health care. Several people in the crowd asked if she had read the bill. Other than that, the crowd was respectful and orderly.
Here's the part where I give my opinion of the meeting. I have attended town hall meetings and debates, as well as county GOP meetings for several years, and I have never seen so many people who seemed to know what is going on in our government and cared enough to come to a meeting. It seemed to me that most of the people in the crowd had studied the issue, as well as other things that have been passed by this administration, and have finally realized what has been happening slowly for a long period of time. Americans are still by and large committed to the principles that made us great, and have no real desire to adopt socialist policies and have the government run every aspect of our lives. People seem very bothered by the level of spending that has happened in just the last 7 months, and want to see it stopped and reversed. The other thing that struck me is what I already knew, that any congressman or senator who tries to claim that people attending these meetings are part of some "astroturf" movement is not paying attention or has some other agenda. The room was filled with regular people, from all walks of life, seeking to preserve the principles that made this country great. |
