Health Reform? Good Chance, Not
Vile. Nasty.
I have to hang my head in shame. The behavior of some of my neighboring Pennsylvania's residents who came to the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia recently to discuss, oops, yell about health care reform was unbelievable.
An IT executive from Pennsylvania, where I live, told me to watch YouTube to see the health care reform town hall discussions, oops, bad choice of word again...debacle. I wasn't at the health care reform meeting, but the Philadelphia media outlets had the reports, the newspapers had articles and op-ed pieces, and YouTube had the videotape.
Anger at and disrespect for the individuals who came wanting to discuss health care reform. My stomach was unhappily unsettled when I finished watching the many videos that have been posted from the event -- people yelling at the various speakers, interrupting Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, verbally lashing out at Senator Arlen Specter (D., Pa). I thought the audience was just hot because the senior Senator from the Commonwealth had changed political parties, but they were tackling Sebelius on every societal ill, including Cash for Clunkers, and dumping it at her feet, the senator's feet, President Obama's feet. Heck, I think they may have even dumped something at former President Bush's feet...everyone was in the line of verbal fire.
It wasn't a discussion from what I could see. Again, I wasn't there; I've read the newspaper accounts, heard the radio reports and watched the vicious video clips on YouTube. It was vile, nasty, repulsive and downright disturbing.
If this is what lies ahead for health care reform, it's doomed.