Freshman congresswoman Betsy Markey, who won our hearts by finally topping the loathsome Marilyn Musgrave from her perch in Colorado's 4th District (The fightin' 4th!), has had a series of public meetings along the front range this week.
Today was, according to her staff, the biggest turnout yet. A couple hundred citizens turned out for a weekday, mid-afternoon chance to vent. The crazy stayed at a low simmer, and Markey did an impressive job of laying out facts.
Here's a link to a picasa album of pics.
The crowd was (by my rough estimation) about 60/40 for/against the reform bill.
There were a great many small Obama-style signs that didn't get waved around too much. There were several hand-drawn signs on both sides, including the amusing "Markey: Green on the outside, Red on the inside" with a picture of a watermelon (get it?) Another sign said "no to socialism," and another said, simply "America Pray!" The anti-reform contingent appeared to be mostly old and white. A Ford pick-up truck outside hosted most of the crazy signage, including "no citizenship requirement," the event's only "death panel" reference and, for some reason, a complaint about cap-and-trade.
There was a fair amount of booing and counter-cheering at various moments. A few individuals yelled hard-to-understand messages occasionally, despite pleas from Markey and her staff for civility.
Because of the size of the crowd, Markey's staff passed out question cards and answered them (they said) based on how many people had asked the same question. For the most part, she answered well.
Q: First off was the public option: was she for it?
A: She answered much the way Sen. Bennet answered: as long as it doesn't cost anything at all, she's for it.
Q: had she read the bill (HR 3200)?
A: Yes. She talked about how she, her staff and other congressional staff had had a marathon session with it, going over it "section by section." She brandished a version that she'd scrawled notes on.
Q: Will the bill give free health care to illegal aliens?
A: No.
Q: Would she be willing to have the public option as her own insurance?
A: She already does, since she is covered under the government's USPS employees plan, which will be one of the public options.
Other points:
Markey is opposed to expanding the Medicaid eligibility or rolls, and said that is half of the cost of the bill at present.
Markey is opposed to increasing taxes on the wealthy to finance the bill. Socialism, indeed.