NY-20 Congressman Scott Murphy has been holding lots of meet-and-greet events during the August recess.
He knows that organized opponents will be at every one -- the national Republicans have targeted him as a top target in 2010, and Republicans, of one kind or another, are intensely involved in the latest co-ordinated teabag tactic.
Saturday's event in Valatie, Columbia County, attracted a couple hundred people, a plurality of them teabaggers with signs and shouts, and inspired a couple three diaries.
About 100 people attended the one Monday night in Nassau, Rensselaer County, and a measly dozen or so were teabaggers.
Andrew C. White diaried very quickly about the event, but I think I have something to add to Andrew's diary.
Which I do, below.
The event was held at Fred Cashmere's Roaster's Whim coffehouse on Route 43 in Dunham Hollow (a more rural part of a rural town). The coffeehouse is in a former community center that fortunately has plenty of grass-field parking.
Since I was out of town Saturday and missed the Valatie event, I was looking forward to taking photos of teabag signs, but I was disappointed.
NONE of the teabaggers got their signs out of their cars, while scores of others proudly carried pro-health insurance reform signs, many of which thanked Murphy for his support of the public option.
One teabagger got there early, and parked his pickup so that his "Where's the birth certificate" bumper sticker was highly visible to almost every attendee.
That was their only "success" of the evening, since Murphy spoke outside within an underhanded stone's throw of the teabagger's truck.
The pitiful few teabaggers did not do the shout-down thing they've become notorious for, instead they tried to get their do-nothing-because-government-sucks "message" across during the Q&A.
Even there, they were outnumbered, with most questioners supporting the public option and single-payer.
Murphy smartly organized the questioners into a line, greeted and shook the hand of every questioner, and expertly handled teabag questions on issues like tort reform, what happens if my employer chooses the public option, rationing, Medicare costs, end-of-life counseling, etc.
The three teabag questioners each asked at least five questions, but Murphy did not cut them off. He answered the serial questions accurately, in a friendly, conversational way, and without giving in one whit on his support for the public option and real reform.
When the time came for Murphy to declare last question, and that a staffer would take the questions of those still in line, he thanked everyone for coming.
An obviously frustrated teabagger (who someone told me was the driver of the birther pickup) shouted out that we were paid to show up, which naturally attracted the attention of the local TV cameras there.
Because the media love conflict (of which there was scant little last night), and they also apparently love wingnut liars.
This event was a success for Murphy, because his excellent political skills impressed the majority who were inclined his way, and disarmed the minority who were not.
And it was another big FAIL for the local teabaggers. They were all over local talk radio yesterday morning encouraging their troops to turn out, and presumably sent out hundreds of e-mails with similar encouragements nand directions.
And got a dozen or so out to Dunham Hollow.
MoveOn (regional organizer Joe Seeman and Andrew C. White, above) and Citizen Action also sent out e-mail alerts to our side. I knew about it, and was determined to go, before I got those e-mails.
As were more than a dozen local Democrats I know personally.
Murphy took some time afterwards to chat and pose with the Democratic candidates for Rensselaer County Legislature District 4 (from left, Linda Underwood, Norman Young and incumbent Flora Fasoldt).
The plain fact is that a solid majority of the country, New York state, NY-20, Rensselaer County, Nassau, and Dunham Hollow want real health insurance reform that includes a robust public option.
Most need to be reminded about, and encouraged to attend, August recess events with their Member of Congress.
In one rural hamlet in the Rensselaer County hills, the majority's voice was heard, loud and clear, last night.