Sounds like Dan Maffei got quite an earful in Newark

Rep. Dan Maffei held another town hall meeting yesterday in Newark, NY. I’d like to hear from anyone who attended the meeting. The Syracuse Post Standard reports that the meeting was “heated” but Maffei was “able to maintain order.”

“What bothers me is that the government created a number of Ponzi schemes,” said one man, listing Social Security, Medicare and health care reform as examples, implying the government had no means of funding the programs.

His remarks were met with loud applause by some and shouts of “Shut up” and “Go home” from others

Maffei answered that Social Security is solvent and that the proposed health care bill is “revenue neutral,” meaning that the legislation accounts for all the money needed to pay for it. This drew boos from the crowd and a cry of “You must believe in the tooth fairy!”

Maffei then polled the audience and found the majority didn’t believe the bill was paid for. He responded by repeating himself from a town hall meeting last week, saying that he was speaking to people who believed in conspiracy theories.

“We are going to try to make sure the bill is paid for,” Maffei emphasized. [...]

One of Maffei’s goals at Friday’s meeting was to dispel misinformation about the proposed health care plan. Leaflets at the entrance to the room titled “Myth vs. Fact” were available, disputing rumors about enforced euthanasia, public health care for illegal immigrants and government access to bank accounts.

But as people rose to talk, they accused Congress of imprudent spending.

“The way you people spend money in Washington scares the heck out of me,” said one woman.

The predominant concerns in the room were the cost of creating a public health care option, and the fear of being forced into public health care. Maffei responded each time those subjects were raised that he believed in individual choice and supported health care reform that would offer both private and public options.

What nerve this guy has. Accusing his constituents of being conspiracy theorists! He says he believes there should be both public and private insurance, when we all know the public plan will eventually wipe out private insurance. And the Post Standard reported that he was there to “dispel misinformation.” Does this mean the Post Standard believes those opposed to ObummerCare are spreading misinformation?

The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle had a slightly different take. They reported more of Maffei’s condescending comments and they also seem to be more respectful of the people at the town hall meetings. At least that’s my take on it.

Maffei, a Democrat from suburban Syracuse, traveled into one of the most conservative parts of his district and found a crowd that was for the most part civil, but concerned, about what Congress and President Barack Obama have planned for health care.

But it didn’t appear that anyone came out of the meeting thinking any differently than when they went in.

Maffei had some supporters in the crowd, but many more were skeptical of proposed changes.

“I don’t like what they’re proposing, period,” said Webster resident Sam LaFranco, who was one of the first people to arrive.

About 150 people of various ages crammed inside a hot, stuffy room on the second floor of the Newark municipal building for about an hour.

A second meeting with about 60 people, also about an hour, was held in a smaller, cooler room that serves as the village courtroom during the day. [...]

Though Maffei never lost his temper, the questions he faced led him to such responses as: “Maybe you’re all economics graduate students, I don’t know…” or, on a question of how to pay for it: “If you don’t believe the bill is paid for, maybe you’re one of those conspiracy theorists.”

If you were at the town hall meeting please leave a comment and let me know your impression of our “representative.”

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 15th, 2009 at 7:43 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.