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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MSNBC and CNN – Misleading Reporting Favors Obama

There has been a bit of a backlash among conservatives in the past week regarding two instances where at least two national news outlets misled the public in statements made during broadcasts. In the first instance, MSNBC, NBC’s cable arm, an audio clip from a Joe Biden gaffe announcing that Obama would be “tested” in his first six months of office, was downplayed as nothing, giving McCain a negative for even bringing the statement up in his rallies. The problem is that MSNBC played a clip from a speech in San Francisco, which bore little resemblance to the original statements Biden made in Seattle. In addition, the news outlet labeled the San Francisco Remarks as those made in Seattle (See Breitbart TV clip below).

Drew Griffin (CNN) in an interview with V.P. candidate Sarah Palin, asked for her reaction of an article in the National Review (a conservative publication), mocking her and demeaning her, when Palin asked who authored the article, Griffin had no idea of who authored the article. In truth, the article was referring to the press treatment of Palin. (Byron York Article here)

These are not isolated instances, the press in an apparent ideological frenzy, has decided that if ACORN cannot steal the election for former ACORN lawyer and former New Party Member (Socialist)(one has to sign a contract to support socialism – see Bruce Bently article)Obama, then the press will just have to jump in and make sure that their favorite Politician succeeds. From every conceivable source, reporting has been exceptionally biased. One has to wonder if ideology is more important than the truth or basic fact checking. There simply are no more reliable sources, a dilemma predicted by our founding fathers who were loath to give freedom to the press as they feared just such a scenario (Refer to Federalist Papers).

Does it really matter if the press is tainted? Yes – for several reasons – first and foremost, the perception that the press is more than biased is held by conservatives and a growing number of independent voters – to the point that ratings and subscriptions have tanked over the past 8 years – the result, the ideological driven media is losing income, and that can only result in reductions of staff, and in a loss of stock income. (NY Times stocks at a 10 year low and More Layoffs at NY Times). What will happen if John McCain, despite the media, despite ACORN and Obama’s “Truth Squads” and “Internet Squads” is elected? The press is assuring us that riots will ensue. Therefore, if the press cannot outright mislead the public into voting for Obama, the next step is to threaten the public. Should that fail then the ideological press will become further marginalized, there will be more layoffs, the stocks will drop and once respected institutions will be no more than a memory, or most likely a shadow of their former self. However, if they succeed (and it will be a close election), then what will become of truth in America? Talk Radio will certainly benefit, and should taxes increase, should our standing in the world become a laughing stock (see Carter), should we find inflation at 26% and interest rates on home loans at 21% (see Carter again), then there will be a backlash that the media will be unable to control. One thing that is forever lost is the national trust placed in fine institution such as the New York Times, NBC, CBS, and the like.