Representative Barney Frank is holding a town hall meeting today in Dartmouth. While the meeting is mostly temperate, there have been a few moments of contention, as well as the occasional outburst from the obligatory protesters.
Although Frank seems to enjoy solid support for his positions from the audience, he is encountering a degree of cynicism about the Obama administration and government in general.
At one point, confronted by an audience member holding a picture of President Obama defaced to make Obama look like Hitler who asked how he could support Nazi policies, Frank asked "on what planet do you spend most of your time?" When asked if he would respond to the question, he said "trying to have a conversation with you would be like trying to argue with a dining room table."
When accused along with Obama and others of being secretly in favor of a single-payer health system, Frank responded "It's been twenty-one years since I had a secret."
Several audience members asked how they could trust the government on health care. Frank admonished "I never asked you to trust the government. The government is not your mother or father, or your doctor...No one should ever trust the government, people should use their rights as citizens."
Clips from Politico below, thanks to Julie Gulden: