We did pretty well today. The screamers were there, too, but not enough of them to drown out the conversation.
We got into it early on with some Brooks-Brothers types. We came into the conversation as they were calling someone "racist" because... well, there's no real explaining that, is there? Their next argument was that they didn't want to insure illegal aliens... (insert cognitive disconnect here). I said we'd have enough money to pay for everybody if we hadn't entered into a disastrous war, and suddenly they were anti-war in Afghanistan. I said, "You can't possibly blame Obama for Afghanistan!" They said, "Oh JEEZ!", which I don't consider to be much of a riposte.
The event was a children's health day at a local clinic and we totally fucked it up. I tried to be nice to one of the nurses, but she wasn't in the mood. If you can spare a donation to the Rundberg Health Center, it might make them feel better.
We met up with thoreau247365 and his megaphone (forgive me if I give up on making links; I feel like a birther: I'm not smart enough to make it work) and Wino. Thoreau really made a difference. The screamers couldn't get past his megaphone. They'd be chanting "Just Say No" and in between he'd be megaphoning "What do children say?" I was a little worried for his physical well being.
Cornyn appeared and stood smiling in the hot sun while we shouted "Support Our President" at him for about two minutes, then he went inside, I guess. I am too short to have an uninterrupted view of anything. Doggett came out about 20 minutes later, spoke right to the point (THAT was refreshing), and took questions, making sure that one side had a turn and then the other. The anti-health people who made it to the podium were polite, well-spoken (well, as well spoken as you can be spouting insurance talking points), I must admit. They didn't monopolize the time. A few screamers dispersed themselves through the front of the crowd and tried heckling, but people near them shouted them down. They really didn't stand a chance.
Elliott Naishtat spoke briefly. Doggett hinted that usually, when it was so hot, people had sense enough to leave, and the crowd was thinning. We were worried about leaving him to the mercy of about 15 anti-healthers still in attendance, but the news cameras were gone and it was fucking hot, and we had spoiled the kids' health fair but good, so we left.
I've never posted a picture here and I don't know how to do it, but I have pictures and video, although there were so many cameras going I'm sure there's better stuff than my four-year-old Coolpix took.
Anyway--we won this one.