Congressman Hank Johnson’s Health Care forum was a let down for big media – there weren’t too many crazies, the Congressman didn’t provide them with any salacious soundbites (as Grift says “with a speaking tone the equivalent of vocal valium”), and the crowd (inside and outside) were very respectful to each other. The crowd’s calmness can be attributed to the great planning of Congressman Johnson’s staff surrounded the Congressman with health care experts. This made it very difficult for the crowd to vent all their anger and frustration at the Congressman – it was like putting a rat into a maze. Brilliant plan!
I must give props to DeKalb county’s elected Democrats because they came out in full force to support Congressman Hank Johnson. That was great teamwork. Although Congressman Lewis didn’t attend the event, he sent 3 staffers who volunteered alongside Congressman Johnson’s staff.
I spent the evening volunteering for the Congressman and Catherine Smith did the live blogging. I had the opportunity to see all the faces that came through the main event area, the overflow room, and in those who waited in line. 800 folks were seated in the main event and the overflow room and at least 1,000 – 1,500 people had to be turned away. Yeah, that was crazy. Lots of groups were represented – Labor, Planned Parenthood, Health Care Reform folks (they were for single payer and some wore tape over their mouths), Fair Tax, MoveOn, Organizing for America, FreedomWorks, and lots more groups. As much noise as the media made (and the countless emails I received), they were no fistfights, screaming, or even cussing between these groups. I was impressed.
The majority of the debate occurred with folks who were standing on line next to each other. Now those debates did get a little hostile at times – I think it was a combination of the summer heat, folks needing to vent, lots of very strong opinions, and let’s not forget lots of misinformation.
Here’s my video of some of the voices at the health care forum:
** I’m no video editing person. Someone needs to teach me how to remove background noise (and do transitions). There’s but so much one can do with a FlipCamera.
All in all – A++ to Congressman Hank Johnson. I hope to attend a few more of these during the August recess.
UPDATE from Catherine: Here are some great photos of the event from Josh D Weiss.
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