Maryland
Area residents protest House Democrats’ health care bill
WASHINGTON — Two busloads of area residents went to Washington, D.C., on Thursday to join U.S. Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, R-Md., and others lobbying against House Democrats’ health care reform bill.
Near the U.S. Capitol, House Republicans, including Bartlett, spoke to a large crowd of supporters chanting “Kill the bill” and “U-S-A, U-S-A.”
Reached by phone on his way back from the rally, Neil Parrott, who lives near Hagerstown, said 110 people from the Tri-State area filled two buses after just a few days of planning.
“We’re already way overspent and in debt,” he said, summarizing his opposition to the latest health care bill.
Parrott, who is planning to run for state delegate, has organized two Hagerstown TEA (Taxed Enough Already) Party protests this year.
Thursday was the second time Hagerstown TEA Party members protested as a group in Washington, D.C. The other was a September rally against big government.
Tyler Dunkin of Needmore, Pa., an eighth-grader at Southern Fulton Junior/Senior High School, went to the rally with his grandparents.
He said of the Democrats’ health care bill, “It’s going to put my generation, and maybe the next generation, in debt.”
Tyler, also interviewed by phone, said he’s sending a protest letter to Pennsylvania’s U.S. senators, Arlen Specter and Robert P. Casey Jr.
Asked why she attended, Mary Burkholder, a retired nurse from Chambersburg, Pa., said, “Freedom and liberty, which we’re losing day by day.”
Burkholder said by phone that she’s against “other people telling me how to run my life .... It’s like they’re kings on their thrones.”
The House is expected to vote on the bill this weekend. According to a Congressional Budget Office analysis, it will cover 36 million people without insurance by 2019.
The Democrats’ proposal would “lower costs for American families and small businesses and ensure that millions more have access to affordable, quality health care,” Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said in a news release following the bill’s unveiling Oct. 29.
An alternative bill the House GOP proposed last week will cover 3 million, the CBO said.
At the rally, Bartlett said the Democrats’ bill contains the word “shall” 3,400 times.
“Now, in the common vernacular, shall means must,” Bartlett said. “And one of the things you must do if this bill passes is buy a health care policy approved by the federal government, and if you don’t, they are going to fine you.”
Parrott said Bartlett met with his group before they left Washington.
Del. Christopher B. Shank, R-Washington, addressed local protesters before their buses left Valley Mall for Washington in the morning.
Staff writer Andrew Schotz contributed to this story.
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Comments:
Idiots (Report this comment)
greatfish: I know you are but what am I? Just thought I'd keep up with your mature comment. I am so pleased that there are so many concerned citizens that would take time to go and demonstrate their constitutional rights! (Report this comment)
To staff reporter Andrew Schotz and other contributors: When interviewing retirees, such as in the story above, please ask them if they use Medicare. I have a difficult time listening to opinions of people who take from the gov't then complain about the costs. Does the person quoted as wanting "Freedom and liberty" use it to pay her own medical bills or am I subsidizing her? (Report this comment)
Got to love liberals like greatfish who call hard working americans idiots because they are just are sick of seeing the govt spend spend spend and want some fiscal responsibility. Greatfish you are a great example of a pathetic, jealous liberal who thinks people should just be sheep and do whatever Obama and the great liberal leaders tell them to do. You obviously are a govt employee of some sort who has never worked a real job and would never be able to even get a job in the private sector because you have no actual skills or abilities that are of any use. So, you just collect a paycheck from the govt for pushing papers somewhere. I love how you think you are superior to these hard working americans. (Report this comment)
I am proud of all that attended! I see from the comments, some folks are STILL drinking the Kool-Aid? When will liberals realize; "It's the spending, STUPID?" (Report this comment)
Thanks to all who attended. Wish I could have been there, but I was working one of the few days of work I get per week now that we have hope and change. (Report this comment)
Right on 'halong08' .... And to all those that call some of the needed reforms "Socialism" and a take over of their freedom of choice... I say to them OK... If you truly believe in your position of this issue, then lets roll back and dismantle Social Security and Medicare. This would save the U. S. government billions and solve 90% of our fiscal problems. (Report this comment)
I don't understand why people like greatfish don't just pack up and move to China or Cuba or someplace else where the tradition has been for the government to run everybody's lives. Why do they want to bring dictatorship to America? Does anybody seriously believe that these supporters of this bill in Congress have actually read and understand the 1990 pages it contains? Do those of you who support this actually believe that the government can force its citizens to purchase a product or service against their will? The courts will have their say on that one. (Report this comment)
Actually, farmtruck, it would a good idea to make Social Security and Medicare voluntary. Like Obamacare, you have no choice but to participate in these programs. Just because you need the government to run your life doesn't mean that all of us do. (Report this comment)
Farmtruck, laughable you liberals always bring up social security and medicare as some type of success stories. These programs should be more then enough proof not to let govt take anything else over!! These programs are crippling this country economically and are a great example of why we do not need to put 1/6 of our economy into their hands. Sad how more and more people want govt to be their "mommy and daddy". "take care of me make all my decisions for me, oh wise govt which has most of it's leaders unable to get themselves out of a wet paper back and lack commonsense and any ability to think rationally or logically about anything. (Report this comment)
dlsdls ...glad you like my idea of the overhaul and I would go along with you on making them voluntary. Now what we just proposed here sounds almost like the "Opt out' or the "Public Option" ! Now what a novel idea that would be for SS, Medicare and ...and maybe Healthcare reform? (Report this comment)
I think you will find the public option as the only option eventually. Paid for by inter-generational theft. (Report this comment)
To those who attended the protest, thanks for standing up for America!! I wish I could have been there myself. I know most of the protestors are folks like me that never protested our government before (I attended the 9/12 rally). It took us getting a Socialist, Communist, Marxist, Fascist, radical fake President to get us off our butts and involved. We trusted our government, and are finding out we made a huge mistake. Thanks to Obama, hopefully we’ve awoken in time to save this nation!! (Report this comment)
The problem with the public option is that no private business can compete with the federal government. They can subsidize their losses with taxpayers' money. They don't have to make a profit or operate an efficient business. They make the rules and regulations and aren't controlled by anybody. Many supporters of the public option have stated that it is a means of eliminating private insurers and establishing complete government control of health care. This battle is shifting from the issue of health care and fiscal responsibility to the issue of government control over our lives. As you can see from some of the blogs here, many Americans welcome a powerful government that does everything for us and dominates our lives. Elitists see it as a way to control the "ignorant masses." Others find it to be a form of security where people no longer have to think or provide for themselves. Most of us see it as what it is, the surrender of personal freedom and responsibility. (Report this comment)
dlsdls...wish I had time to respond ... but I have to get to work... But your comment "This battle is shifting from the issue of health care and fiscal responsibility to the issue of government control over our lives" really defines why I have reservations about your protest movement...There are real problems in each of the issues we discussed above... but I see no proposals for solutions from your Tea Party Movement...just a protest of NO. Maybe I missed it...and will apologize if I did. (Report this comment)
These are the same uneducated Washington County Residents that say they believe in God and Jesus. If you have ever read the Bible, do you think Jesus would let 45,000 of his children die each year in this Country, I don't think so!It looks like alot of those protesters are retired, I challege them to stop cashing their Social Security checks and stop using Medicare amd Medicade, for they are all government ran. Idiots (Report this comment)
farmtruck The GOP and the Libertarians have made many proposals to help reform health care. The media will not give them any attention. The Republicans have been lax in getting their views known, I will admit. As for powder1 comments about Social Security and Medicare. People who oppose more government control have been forced to pay into these systems, which are on the verge of bankruptcy I may add. Since they had no choice but to contribute, they take their benefits since they have invested in them. Many people who receive Social Security would have invested in other ways with that money if they would have been given the choice. (Medicare, it should be noted, has a higher rate of claim denials than any private insurance company.) That's the whole issue: choice. It seems like the only choice in life that Democrats believe you should have is to have an abortion or not. (Report this comment)
I was listening to Keith Olbermann commenting on these protests. He described the protesters as dangerous, radicals, revolutionaries, anarchists, trying to overthrow the government,etc and accused Rep. Michelle Bachmann of inciting revolution. In the background was the group of aging citizens, white haired ladies, middle aged guys in suits, clean cut young people and lady next door types. Rep. Bachmann was quoting from that dangerous radical Thomas Jefferson. Nobody was shouting God D___ America in the group or stating that they were finally proud to be an American. Radicals like Pelosi and Olbermann are afraid of these people because they aren't bomb throwers but average citizens who have discovered that in America we have this thing called free speech and the right to petition Congress. The anti Vietnam War protesters and the Civil Rights marchers exercised that freedom and the left had no problem with, as they shouldn't have. Look at these pictures. See any dangerous looking characters there? (Report this comment)
Being an educated person, I understand the "freedom of speech" and I wonder if these protesters ever had to worry about health care for themselves or loved ones. When children today become concerned about being in debt tomorrow, I say - read your history books. America has ALWAYS been in debt. When employed workers who have health insurance, fight to keep everyone from having the same opportunity such as "freedom" from disease and the "liberty" to take preventive measures which cost less than maintenance or offensive healthcare procedures - like going to the emergency room versus seeing a PCP for the flu, then where is the equality in the human race. Are those who are less fortunate financially less worthy of the right for medical attention??? Consider this "Teabaggers" - it was the "kings and queens" that sat on the throne years ago that started this mess, help America fix what's broke and stop whining. (Report this comment)
To those who advocate that anyone who is against the welfare state should not participate in or accept Social Security or Medicare should answer for the years that people were "forced" to pay into these systems. Want people out of Social Security and Medicare - then return to them all of their contribution to the systems with the interest they could have earned over the years on that money. I would take that deal. Especially for Medicare into which I have paid for many years and gotten nothing, and likely will get nothing. Your stupid point is akin to saying that if you lost a fortune to Bernie Madoff's ponzi scheme then don't file for recovery from his assets. At least the people who were taken by Madoff made a "voluntary decision" to invest their money. (Report this comment)
The welfare state does not give us that choice. What people are protesting is the expansion of failed social programs that have a proven record of failure. The health care takeover is an attempt to prop up the welfare state and cover its flaws for another generation so that socialists don't have to acknowledge the failure of their ideas and face the loss of power. Better in their mind to keep up the facade and pass the problem on to the next generation. (Report this comment)
friendoflife - You seem to have bought into the "collectivist" mindset that says anyone who is successful and self supporting is just fortunate - as if life were just a lottery. In the parade of needy cases that we see with every new effort to advance government involvement in our lives, how often do we see an in-depth inquiry into those poor unfortunates who lost the lottery as to what life decisions they made ? The poor will always be with us, as Jesus told us. There are ways to address poverty with voluntary action. We know it as charity. Collectivists believe that charity is demeaning to those who have to accept it and that really they are "entitled" to have all of lifes needs provided. Entitlement is just a euphemism for charity and an excuse for forced income redistribution, a Marxist goal. (Report this comment)
Keep in mind what happened to the "Soviet" experiment. Marx predicted that growth of a middle class in a capitalist system was impossible. This is where we get the oft repeated lie that the rich just get richer and the poor poorer. History has demonstrated just the opposite. Capitalism and individualism produced the greatest economy and quality of life the world has ever known, while communism produced mass death and misery. Collectivism produces a "parasite" class that constantly grows as people give up trying to make it because it is easier to just vote for those who will take away from one person to give to another. As the Soviet system began to falter under the load of this phenomena a series of laws were passed that were termed "parasite laws". (Report this comment)
Like the late 1990s effort to reform welfare in America these laws tried to force everyone to be productive. It failed. The big joke popularized by that failure was the saying "we pretend to work and they pretend to pay us". That is where we are headed with the "entitlement" mentality. The message to the parasite class growing in America should be the roughly the same as the message to Tories from Samuel Adams' in his time; "If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home from us in peace. We seek not your counsel, nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you; May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen." (Report this comment)
Adams' posterity did not honor the Tory mindset and our posterity on which you wish to hang the burden of punishing debt and creeping communism will not honor your attitude. (Report this comment)
I would like to if any of you have read "1984". The Government controled everything, hense the term "Big Brother". By the way, for those who have not read the book, this is the source of the term "Big Brother". I do not need Big Brother to provide healthcare for me. I need Big Brother to deal with International issues that the states can not handle themselves, such as defense, and infrastructure that affects every state, such as highways. SS, Medicare, etc, etc are not in the Constitution, so Big Brother needs to butt out and let the states handle all powers not granted in the Constitution to the Federal Gov't. The 10th Amendment leaves everything else to the states, and that is how it should stay, or go back to in many cases. (Report this comment)
"These are the same uneducated Washington County Residents that say they believe in God and Jesus. If you have ever read the Bible, do you think Jesus would let 45,000 of his children die each year in this Country, I don't think so!" First of all, please do not assume that all conservatives are Christians, or that all liberals are not. Do not assume that because I have faith in God that I am uneducated. This program will hardly keep people from dying , but instead will just create a new beaurocratic decision making process. The government will let people die, and die because they are "too old" or "mentally disabled". Those are also not things that my God would approve of. My complaint is not because the government wants to give "free" healthcare but because this will be yet another aspect of our lives the government is in control of. The purpose of this program is for the government to gain control. (Report this comment)