Surprise! and Surprize!
At the beautiful, luxury, Hotel Arista at the CityGate Centre in Naperville, Judy Biggert and Mark Kirk had a "Roundtable" scheduled for 11:30 to 1:00 on Wednesday, August 12. Ticket registration required. The topic was to discuss Health Care reform. The use of electronic recording devices, audio or visual, is strictly prohibited.
So I went online and registered with the Naperville Chamber of Commerce and got me a TICKET!!!!!! Whooo OOOO! I'm registered.
I went to her website and read her comments to prepare myself. I especially liked her comment about how frivolous lawsuits were crippling Health Care costs. She has a particularly insipid Op Ed about "Reform, not Revolution" that makes for lite reading. If you are really interested, you can read it on her website at judybiggert.house.gov.
I arrived over an hour early to make sure I got in, not knowing what to expect. The hotel lobby was really nice and I got to speak to other constituents of Judy's while waiting. 10:30 and the news and cameras begin to drive up. 11:00 and we are still sitting. At 11:15 we are escorted into the registration area where our names are checked with a master list and invited to donate 5 or 10 dollars toward the "lunch" provided.
Judy arrived about 35 minutes late. She and Mark Kirk arrived, entered together, Kirk doing the hand-shaking thing while Judy just went to the stage and stood there before sitting.
Attendance was over 100 but less than 130. Nice tables to sit at and eat sandwiches. Judy and Mark's Op Eds were printed out for us to read with fact sheets to keep us busy and "informed". They were introduced and Judy gives a little smile and shrugs her shoulders. Cute. Mark is very self-confident and cool. They make statements and Mark expresses his support of Patrick Fitzgerald whom he compares to Elliot Ness. Then he says pg. 18-19 of the "Obama Plan" bans any other plan except the Government's plan!!!!!
The first topic for the Roundtable is on : Transportation??????? I thought this was Health Care???? Silly me, I read Judy's website before she updated it with the meeting and the topic. Judy reads her statement and glances at her notes frequently as she answers. Kirk does the same but not as frequently. He also discusses his new, proposed amendment to rescind the Congress' proposed purchase of aircraft.
At 12:30 they discuss the Employee free Choice Act and how it won't allow a "Secret Ballot"!!!! At 12:35 they discussed the energy policy. Judy said she believes in global warming and wants to open 45 new nuclear plants and recycle spent fuel. Mark wants to use Oil Shale and offshore drilling to solve our problem and is against the Copenhagen Proposal which allows developing nations to seize patents (ie. for Aids medication) that will hurt American investors.
12:45- finally- Health Care Reform! They are both for it!!! But not the one that Congress has proposed. It is not BiPartisan! And look at all the tabs he has placed in his 1000 plus page book!!!! (I counted 4 post-it tabs - 4 statements that he could take out of context so that he could spin a disagreement!)
So now we get to the Power-Point! Kirk mentions that as a military man, he loves Power-Point and he also mentions he has experience in both "theaters of operation"???? I think he is referring to his service in the Air Force where he was not a pilot.
To sum up, all the charts and graphs and data were from 2004, although a couple of charts were from 1999. He also broke down that 45.7 million uninsured number for us so we could see that it really is only 7.8 million, what he called "The Rest of the Story". Pelosi and the Dems are trying to scare you!!!!!
As Judy said, "Remember that sign, billboard sign that said 'Drive Safely, Here There Are No Neurosurgeons!'" It refers to Illinois' repeal of the Tort reform laws and all the doctors left Illinois to other states where strong Tort reform was in place. I have to admit, I don't remember that sign, sorry.
Mark Kirk says he wants to improve Illinois' image and stop our relatives from other states laughing at us.
Both Biggert and Kirk say they are working on a better Health care Reform Bill that is in Congress but they can post a 1 page or 3 page or 20 page summary if we like.
OK. NOW they get to questions from the audience!!!! It is 1:00 and the meeting is supposed to be over!
People were very polite for the most part and did not speak out until they were called upon and had a mike. A couple of people got frustrated because they knew the clock was ticking and the mikes would not get to everyone and they called out a couple of comments and one "boo". However a British guy(Richard Goodwyn) who has started small businesses up in the UK, Canada and America eloquently explained that Americans did not understand British or Canadian Health Care and that American Health Care was a travesty and prohibitive to small businesses. An embarrassment for a country like the US. He was interviewed extensively, afterward, by TV stations (CLTV and WGN) and also said that Americans who decry "Socialism" really don't understand it.(I saw him on NBC for 20 seconds!)
An elderly woman also lambasted them on their "facts" saying that she doesn't know where they got the idea that American Health care was the "best" when all the charts and facts she has seen put us somewhere around Somalia and below Costa Rica, close to 38th in the world!
A wheelchair maker complained that Insurance Companies will not reuse "lightly used" wheelchairs nor will they allow better quality or top-of-the-line wheelchairs, even for those that desperately need them.
A doctor spoke up and discussed that the problem was NOT with Medicare who pays up within 2 weeks, but with Insurance Companies who make you submit multiple forms and then take months to reimburse you if ever. He challenged them to come to his office and he'll give them a computer to help him fill out forms to insurance companies!
The crowd seemed decidely pro-reform and Democratic!
The British Entrepreneur
Biggert's response was to ask: How many of you are happy with your Insurance Company? Raise your hands. Only a few, and they said were covered by Medicare. Biggert and Kirk looked disappointed and surprised. They obviously expected a more favorable response.
This is the way town halls/roundtable/meetings with your congressmen should be conducted. Intelligent discourse by people armed with facts and who pay attention to shoot down the Republican "talking points".
So I finally got to see my Congressperson....and I was not impressed.
Check out this video from the "closed" Town Hall that Biggert had on Monday at the Lake Hinsdale Village in Willowbrook.
http://www.youtube.com/...
UPDATE
Just saw FOX news in which they announced that Biggert and Kirk PRESENTED their version of a Health Care Plan. Just so you know; THEY DID NOT PRESENT ANYTHING AT ALL!
You might get a charge out of this version of Biggert's "debate" as reported by the "liberal media"!
http://www.dailyherald.com/...
Too inaccurate for words!
And here is a pdf of one side of her hand out sheet!
http://www.dailyherald.com/...
Filled with "talking points!"