Barney Frank Town Hall Meeting – Blue State Massachusetts Draws Large Crowd – Analysis and Personal Perspective ~ Massachusetts Conservative Feminist | Ordinary: Degrees of Moderation and Sanity

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Barney Frank Town Hall Meeting – Blue State Massachusetts Draws Large Crowd – Analysis and Personal Perspective

The nation has seen a slew of Health Care Reform Town Hall meetings and Forums held by Representatives and Senators throughout August; with the result that most have had unexpectedly large turnouts of both detractors and supports (Union and ACORN) of the proposed plan. Barney Frank’s meeting was no exception, as crowd estimates varied from 200 to 300 constituentsmost of whom appeared to have an unfavorable opinion of the program. What is of interest in this process, is the fact that in States that are viewed as being “owned” by the Democrat Party, such as Massachustts, the crowds are large and they are loud. One would anticipate that states labeled as such would clearly support the plan, with a lower than average turnout at a Barney Frank Meeting (re: this was not originally intended to be a Health Care meeting, rather a meeting on issues with the Dartmouth MA DNC – but was opened to the public – an actual Health Care Town Hall Meeting will be held by Barney Frank, location and date is currently to be announced.

One possible explanation for the intensity of the opposition to any government run program by Massachusetts citizens, is that a recent poll by Gallop suggests that more American’s view themselves as conservatives than liberal – even in Massachusetts. Conservatives (not to be confused with the Republican Party), more often favor free market solutions, rather than government controlled entities (which result in higher taxes) while Liberals (not to be confused with all individual Democrats), favor a socialist form of government where all aspects of one’s life are run by the government, from health care to utilities – the government owns and operates all business, from auto makers to utilities to healthcare.

Also of interest is the treatment of the Frank Meeting by a variety of news sources – there are several clips below, based on the same incident, but reported differently, depending upon the media outlet. One thing is certain, regardless of the tone of the constituent, up to and including the misguided comparison of Obama to Hitler (which, as many of these protestors have not been involved in the political process prior to this administration, may not be aware of the details of each and every “star” in the political arena, therefore, may not have been aware that this particular comparison would have been particularly offensive to Frank as he is Jewish – that said, she is still, as Mr. Frank pointed out, within her Contitutional Right to do so.) Mr. Frank, however, had no excuse to talk down to and make sport of his constituents, even those that disagreed with him most – he is an elected official, therefore, held to a higher standard, and could have responded disapprovingly without insulting his constituents.

From this bloggers perspective on the debate in general: We are a nation of immigrants, and perhaps, like myself, many of those attending these meetings, have drawn from family backgrounds. As a first generation American of Austrian and Spanish decent, with an extended family in Europe throughout the decades; the firsthand accounts of life under a socialist form of government (Austria), and Fascism (Spain), led to a firm belief that the American form of government was to be treasured. With a father who was a civil rights activist, as well as organizer for one of the most powerful unions in the country during the 1950’s through the 1960’s – what was taught was that our country was great simply because we were able to demonstrate – without fear of being shot or imprisoned, what he feared most was Socialism and Fascism of any form. On the maternal side, the losses to the family during World War II were severe, as relatives were either pressed into service by the government (Hitler), or murdered depending upon their religious affiliation. This gave a unique perspective on the import of less government, and greater control by the people, as the essential element of American Government. Therefore, any option that is run by the government in regards to health care, or business, only brings the current Democratic Republic closer to a socialist model. The fear of the aforementioned is what is driving independents, moderate Democrats, Libertarians and Republicans to these town hall meetings, many for the first time, to lend a voice in opposition to any plan that even smacks of a socialized model – even in Massachusetts

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