The meeting started with the pledge of allegiance to both the U.S. and Texas flags, led by Harris County Tax Assessor/Collector Leo Vasquez. Unfortunately, no Texas flag was present, leaving Mr. Vasquez and emcee Jared Woodfill scrambling, finally using the projection screen as a target. After the pledges, HCRP Grassroots Coordinator Eric Story led a prayer, followed by HCRP Rapid Response Chair Richard Dillon leading a rendition of The Star Spangled Banner. Mr Dillon has a fine voice, nicely done.
Then it was time for a rather long video presentation which was very well done. I searched for a copy of the video online but couldn’t find it. For some reason, the HCRP leadership isn’t responding to my emails, so I’m not certain why it isn’t on the HCRP website. It really is good, perhaps there are copyright issues as I remember it featured John Stossel quite a bit. There is, however, a handy “Healthcare Town Hall Packet” on the site, featuring a handy dandy form letter and a list of all of the “Blue Dog” Democrats that you should contact. Why they would care about someone from out of their district is beyond me.
After the video, it was time for the panel to give speeches. First up was insurance salesman Rand Wall. I thought that Mr. Wall’s presentation was very informative, with a good mixture of facts along with a bit of pep rally tone. You can see his presentation slides by clicking here, it is on the HCRP website. You’ll have to decide for yourself if an insurance salesman is the best resource for informing you on keeping the current system of insurance in place.
Next up was trial lawyer Robert W. Painter. Now, between you and me, I’m still scratching my head about this guy being on the panel. Oh, sure, he did a fine job of mis-representing the Texas Advance Directive Act, scaring people about “death panels”. So, I guess in that regard, he did his job of getting Republicans scared enough to be against the whole idea of healthcare reform But seriously, a trial lawyer at a Republican town hall saying that we need “economic incentives” (lawsuits for those of you in Rio Linda) to keep doctors honest? Holy crap, is this what it has come to? I’ll have more later on Mr. Painter and his scare tactics. One more thing, wouldn’t it be prudent to disclose that you are currently suing Memorial Hermann before telling a group of elderly people that they didn’t want to go to Memorial Hermann because Memorial Hermann is a death panel hospital? Very strange.
Then Robert Appleby told the group about living under a government run system in Briton. He made a fair point that the people there are happy with their system because they have learned to accept mediocrity.
Last but not least was Richard Dillon. You can view Mr. Dillon’s slides by clicking here. Mr. Dillon had the unfortunate job of reporting on the alternatives that Republicans had to offer. Unfortunate because, as a Mrs. Vargas interrupted him and pointed out, the Republicans did nothing about healthcare the entire time that they had control of the White House, Senate and House. In other words, when they were in the same position the Democrats are in today. Good question, Mrs. Vargas, very good question.
She was so angry that she got up and left. I followed her out and learned that she is 80 years old, a Type 2 diabetic, was born in Eastern Europe and has refused to accept Medicare for the entire 15 years she has been eligible, saying that it wasn’t anyone else’s problem but hers. She also reiterated what she said inside, that the Republicans had done nothing about it and in fact had created an even larger problem with the prescription giveaway program. As well, she said she was sick of both parties because they were both worthless and that the U.S. should go to a system of multiple parties forming coalitions to gain power. I hear that more and more these days. I will note that she left me a voice mail today apologizing for being so angry in the meeting.
After Mr. Dillon, the floor was opened to the crowd. Immigration was a hotter topic than health care. Why is it that so many people lay the blame on every single problem in the U.S. at the feet of illegal immigrants? Roy Morales picked up on the anti-illegal sentiment in the crowd and assured them that if he is elected Mayor of Houston, Houston police officers will enforce federal immigration law.
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After Mr. Morales’ standing ovation, a woman on the front row shouted “What about Operation Wetback?”. Ooops. I don’t think Jared was ready for that, so Mr. Dillon stepped in to answer. I turned my video camera on just after she shouted that and recorded several things right in a row that pretty much defines the state of the Republican Party right now. Check it out. First, Mr. Dillon answers the shouting woman, then Roger asks about Michael Savage being on a terrorist list in England, then insurance salesman Wall makes a joke about Ted Kennedy with a “Nothing is too hard for God” sign behind him, then Roger asks how we can get rid of these “death panels” in Texas and the trial lawyer mis-represents them again.
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Priceless. It is impossible for me to describe the state of the party better than that short clip displays.
Republicans, heal thyself.