August 30, 2009, Subject: Representative Holt’s Middletown Town Hall

    When I attended Rush Holt’s Middletown meeting to learn more about health care reform I knew to be prepared for some degree of incivility. I had seen the media coverage that showed people screaming and generally disrupting the meetings. Seeing this type of behavior in person was worse than I could have imagined. Waiting in line to get in I saw a person with a sign denigrating Ted Kennedy who had died not 24 hours earlier, another sign compared Obama to Hitler, and the signs that stated Democrats wanted to put seniors to death.

    How did things get to this point? What makes someone come to a public meeting and decide to heckle for 90 minutes? They even booed a bishop who said that we should all care that 40 million Americans lack health insurance. Why can’t there be a civil dialogue about the health care issues that face this nation?

    To his credit Rep. Holt set an example for respectful discourse. Rep. Holt tried to explain what’s in the health care bill; consumer protections, an insurance “store” as he called it for people to buy coverage, and health care improvements for seniors, and respond to our questions. It was very clear that some people didn’t want to listen. It appears as if they got their marching orders from certain media personalities and other conservative organizations; and want others to believe that the government would set up death panels and ration care. Unfortunately this seems to be their tactic; bully people into believing these falsehoods. I am thankful that they are not the ones representing our district.

Kathy McCrae
Middletown