Strong but civil discussion marks Georgia health care event

By Craig Schneider and Marcus Garner

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Civil, well-mannered, asking smart questions – that may not sound like one of these town hall meetings on health care reform.

But the nearly 2,000 people who gathered Monday night at George Perimeter College in Clarkston offered a lesson to the rest of the nation on how civil discourse doesn’t have to spiral into civil disobedience.

Lt. Jorge P. Portalatin of the George Perimeter College public safety department was pleased with crowd’s behavior.

“If everybody behaves like this at the town hall meetings we can have a dialogue,” Portalatin said.

Some people heading into the forum sponsored by U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson, Democrat, expected a fight, having seen scenes around the country where debates dissolve in to pushing matches and raucous intimidation.

But at this meeting, the organizers made it clear that wasn’t acceptable.

People streamed into the auditorium though metal detectors and quickly saw a large police presence.

Rules were announced: no signs, no derogatory language, and no calling out as each speaker took their two minutes to have their say.

Johnson set the tone for the evening when, from the stage, he said, “We are here to have an open and respectful dialogue.”

In the main auditorium that held 500 people, applause for health care reform clearly outweighed any boos or jeers. Some people attributed that to the demographic of this area.

Some people said there are numerous people in this area who live on the margins and need universal health care.

But among the 1,000 people in a nearby gymnasium where there was a close-circuit feed and among the more than 500 people milling outside, there were active, respectful debates.

Cumming orthopedist Scott Barbour voiced his opposition to the proposed health care plan in a crowd of people listening to him debate with a number of supporters.

“More than 90 percent of the people are happy with their insurance and we’re going to turn it upside down for something that doesn’t work?” he said referring to government-run health care in England and in Canada.

Second-year Emory medical student Evan Orenstein countered, saying he’s learning that universal health care is absolutely necessary.

“We have to disagree on how you and I are reading the statistics, Orenstein said. “If we don’t have health care reform, we won’t have the resources we need” to treat people.

Those people who lined up to express themselves inside the main chamber told stories of being forced to leave hospitals prematurely, and needing more health care for their ailments, while others said they feared the costs of the plan and feared the president was moving too fast and would create a national health care crisis.

Todd McDonald, 46, of Clarkston, held up his 4-month-old son Gabriel, to the crowd and said his boy had already become the victim of “rationed care.”

McDonald said days after the baby was born through a Caesarian section, mother and son were not feeling well, but were still told they had to go home from the hospital.

“We have an opportunity to avoid a crisis in health care,” he said.

Willie Wheeler, 69, of Conyers, said his wife suffered from multiple sclerosis and diabetes. He supports the health care bill because he said he struggled to pay medical bills, even with insurance.

“When you pay co-pay, you can’t eat,” Wheeler said. “And when you pay the rest of your bills, the doctor won’t see you, because you can’t pay your co-pay.”

Tempers did occasionally flare.

Toward the end of the evening, Bill Bright, 67, of Sandy Springs, got sick and tired of hearing Rep. Johnson criticize Republicans.

Bright threw his hands up, called out a good “booo,” and walked out of the auditorium.

At the beginning of the meeting a panel of a half dozen health professionals on the stage spoke one after another, prompting strong applause and some boos.

Clearly, this was not a town hall event in which supporters were beaten to their seats or intimated by screaming opponents.

But when Johnson spoke of his support of health care reform — saying “The insurance companies are profiting and you are suffering” — the boos started to grow.

In general though, this crowd seems mostly in favor of health care reform.

In a testimonial arranged by the organizers, Kathie McClure spoke of the difficulties of affording medical care for her two children, one with diabetes and the other with epilepsy. She said her family pays $3,000 a month in insurance premiums.

“I think we can all agree, that’s just unaffordable,” she said.

With passions rising across the country over President Obama’s plan to overhaul the health care system, organizers were concerned the town hall meeting could spiral into shouting matches and civil disobedience rather than civil discourse.

Such unruliness overshadowed the intent of similar town halls hosted by Democrats, to the point where one politician was burned in effigy, another had a police escort and several arrests were made.

Monday, as a precaution, Johnson had beefed up security, bringing in some 20 police officers.

“They’ve done a good job preparing for this,” said Eric Robertson, who is with Teamsters Local 728. “They’re going to make sure people have their say.”

Stephanie Babbitt from Clarkston said she was anxious for the opportunity to hear from her congressman.

“I’m glad to see the public is getting a chance to have some dialog about this issue.”

Republicans and Democrats have been fighting across the nation on the Democrat-led efforts to reform health care.

Democrats have accused Republicans of sanctioning mob tactics, orchestrating the raucous opposition and trying to sabotage the democratic process.

The Republican Party has said it’s not behind the protests, but some conservative groups have encouraged people to show up at the meetings and let the lawmakers know about their opposition. Protesters say they are employing a legitimate form of free-speech dissent. The activists make accusations including that Democrats are trying to socialize health care, ration care or even euthanize the elderly.

The fires have been stoking here in Georgia. Each Friday, a “freedom line” of health reform protesters assembles outside the south Georgia office of Rep. Sanford Bishop, who plans forums Aug. 19 and 20 in his district.

Rep. John Lewis (D-Atlanta) has said his next meeting on the subject will be conducted by phone.

Meanwhile, the health care reform legislation remains at a key point. Six senators — three from each party, all members of the Senate Finance Committee — agreed to keep working over the August break and assess the situation when they return, working against a Sept. 15 deadline.