The following letter was received from the office of Del. Rick Impallaria:
I hope you all are enjoying your summer. As you know, I try not to bombard you with emails. But having attended Sen. Cardin’s Town Hall Meeting on health care reform last night, I want to share with you my observations, especially because of the inaccurate media reports, which said that there were a “few hundred” inside listening and a “few hundred” outside.
Inside the meeting there were 500 people — the hall was filled to capacity. Outside, I and others estimated there were between 2000 and 3000 (thousand) people. The entire crowd could have been accomodated in the gymnasium across the street, and I believe this would have been better than having so many left outside in the heat.
The “organized” group of anti health care reform bill protesters well outnumbered the supporters. They came disguised as ordinary people. Many made themselves appear old, and many made themselves appear young. They intentionally wore clothing that would make them not seem to be an organized group. Their most ingenious ploy was to carry home-made, rather than professionally made signs.
The “unorganized” pro-Obamacare group, which numbered between 100 and 200, curiously all wore the same shirts, and somehow all managed to accidentally used the same sign shop to have their professionally printed signs made.
Both groups were loud and spirited. I personally witnessed no inappropriate behavior, especially from such a large group of people.
Now for what occurred at the meeting. The first speaker was a young lady who has a young child with medical disorders. While all the attendees respectfully listened to her and her family’s plight, it was seen as a ploy by Sen. Cardin to jerk at people’s heartstrings and to eat up time before taking questions. The good news about the young lady is that her family’s medical problems were fixed — without health care reform. Mr. Cardin then presented a slide show on the health care bill. For the most part the crowd attempted to pay attention, but as the presentation went on, it seemed clear to the majority that the information was not wholly truthful, and was seen as another attempt to burn up time before the question and answer portion.
While the crowd was spirited and boisterous, their responses were directed not at Mr. Cardin personally, but at the misinformation they believed he was giving. Mr. Cardin constantly talked about things not being in the Senate bill, but my understanding is that there is no official version of a Senate bill at this time. There are at least three House versions, which Mr. Cardin danced around, not having read them, as he admitted.
One question from the audience that got loud applause was “Why not support tort reform [civil lawsuits against doctors] before changing health care as we know it?” Mr. Cardin, a life-long trial lawyer, had absolutely no answer. Is it a coincidence that 80% of the elected officials in Washington are lawyers, including Barak Obama? (I wonder what this bill would look like if 80% of Congress were doctors and nurses.)
Another question was, would Mr. Cardin put in and vote for an amendment requiring Congress to be on the government plan. This yes-or-no question was not answered yes or no. He said, “I’m already on a government plan.” But as you and I know, Congress has the best plan anyone could have, but it is available only to Congress and high-ranking government officials.
Mr. Cardin praised Medicaid and Medicare as examples of how efficiently government can run health care programs. He failed to mention that these programs are subsidized by the taxpayers and by those having private insurance, or that the government has done a horrible job of monitoring and prosecuting fraud in those systems. He avoided all questions on specifics in the bill, including questions of death counseling. He said that illegal aliens will not be eligible under this new program, but every attempt to put language in the bill to exclude illegal aliens has been blocked. He said that no additional money will be spent on abortions by the government, whereas sections of the bill clearly state otherwise.
As one gentleman so eloquently stated, “Mr. Cardin, I have never heard so many mistruths and out-and-out lies being told by an elected official,” and he proceeded to explain the provisions in the bill concerning pre-existing conditions. Mr. Cardin then asked the gentleman whether he would hear him out. The gentleman replied, “That would be fine, Senator, if you stop lying.” Mr. Cardin finally admitted that the gentleman was much more informed on the issue than he was, and asked if the gentleman would agree to sit down with him and help him understand the issues (the very issues that Cardin was at the meeting to explain!).
All in all, I don’t believe that Mr. Cardin swayed anyone to his side. Having spoken to some of his supporters afterwards, they came in supporting the idea of free health care for all, not understanding the overall ramifications of Obamacare. But they left feeling that they needed to not merely support the general concept of health care, but to understand what the bill would do before supporting it.
I must hand it to Mr. Cardin. He stood up to the firing squad, and was always polite and respectful to the audience. The attendees, while very spirited, did not indulge in personal attacks on Sen. Cardin or Pres. Obama, but attacked the policies they proposed. It was a wonderful exercise of free speech.
P.S. If anyone would like the links to the text of the bill, or the addresses of Md. Senators and Congressmen, please email me for them. This is already long enough!
P.P.S. Also in attendance were Delegates McDonough, Boteler, Frank, Aumann, Lafferty, and Speaker Pro Tem Jones. Delegate Warren Miller was present outside but was unable to get into the meeting room.
Rick Impallaria
Delegate, District 7
rick.impallaria@house.state.md.us
Wow…what a surprise! 80% of the people in our nation’s highest law-making body are trained in law? That seems awful!!!
(ok…sarcasm over)
Someone show me where in any versions of the bill that it states government money will be used for abortions or euthanasia.
Dave — WOW! We all know that being trained in the law makes one an expert in food safety, trade, communications, national defense, road and bridge building, education, aviation, medicine, and more. It is pure foolishness to desire a law-making body of anything other than lawyers. We know that it would be folly to even think that a physician or farmer or a pilot could be a law-maker and actually have attorneys on their staff. So you see, your sarcasm was not lost on me.
And we all know that the bill does not overtly spend money on euthanasia. But are you aware that it does not have never-ending provisions for infinite spending on end-of-life issues and start-of-life issues? Call me naive, but if you can’t find money to keep me alive, should I assume that I will die?
Actually, less than 1/3 of federal lawmakers are lawyers. Also, Sen. Cardin is not “a life-long trial lawyer.” He’s a career politician!
It’s always nice to see one politician attempt to score points by lying about another politician’s claims. In this case, Caridin is right and Impallaria is wrong on the issues of Abortion and Illegal Immigration.
PolitiFact says claims of taxpayer subsidized abortions that originated with John Bohner were false. http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/aug/07/john-boehner/boehner-says-democrats-health-care-plan-would-lead/
The current house proposed bills have the same safeguards in place that prevent illegal immigrants from signing up for Medicare or Medicaid. The other proposed ammendment that republicans made was killed because it was stupidly written and would have allowed all insurance companies to have unprecedented access to personal information about an individual before deciding whether to ensure them. http://www.star-telegram.com/238/story/1527892.html
Someone please explain to me why Republicans want what was proposed to be a a bare-bones, insurance-as-a-last-resort proposal needs to be so good that congress needs to be lining up to drop their current health care plan? Answer: The reality is that the actual proposed plan is way too affordable and makes too much sense. If they tack on more requirements, the plan gets more expensive and they can begin to complain about the costs instead of simply rallying the TEA party behind Sarah Palin and her made-up scare stories of Govt death panels. http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/aug/10/sarah-palin/sarah-palin-barack-obama-death-panel/
Isn’t the writer of this letter a career politician?
A joke about Euthanasia. (imagine it is spoken not read)
Q: What does the president think about Euthanasia?
A: He is supportive of Youth in Asia!
OK Bad joke.
This would contradict the assertion of a certian poster that only plants of Cardin Cronies got in to the meeting.
The Status Quo are selling propaganda and downright lies, across the TV, radio bandwidths. LIES! Lies and more lies about both Health care and illegal immigration. The facts are that President Obama has an objective of introducing a Canadian and European type single payer system. In truth it’s like a nationwide–MEDICARE–like all senior citizens receive now. It’s only difference their will be–NO CO-PAYS, DEDUCTIONS, NO PREMIUMS AND NO PRE -EXISTING CONDITIONS. The Special interest lobbyists, who work for the wealthy health care industry, are using every means possible to derail any kind of Universal health care. We must remember the British/English, French, German, Danish and other have been well accepted by their population for decades, with no worries about bankruptcy or Debt collectors calling. My health care in England, was first class when I lived in there, without financial worries and no distractions from profiteering insurance companies.
Since the inception of the European common market and the directive of open borders for cheap labor pouring into the industrialized nations, they have been overwhelmed by the impoverished needing health care. Such conditions didn’t exist before the 1960’s, as the their was no mass immigration and waiting periods. In America today and since the newest waves of legal and illegal immigration, costs to medicate these people have sky rocketed who have never paid one penny into the system. Each previous government never have restricted immigration, but allowed taxpayers to pay for their health care and welfare benefits. Each year approximately 1.5 million new immigrants are granted work visas and many become public charges.
Now Obama is insisting on yet another AMNESTY, which will be even costlier to the American taxpayers, so says the Heritage foundation. American taxpayers should not have to subsidize US businesses, which has been happening for years? A large majority of pariah corporate executives, do not want any restrictions on foreign national workers, that is why they have tried to kill a mandated E-Verify identity data base, to extract all illegal immigrants from the working environment.
That SANCTUARY STATES like California must rescind illegal immigrant refuge policies. That President Obama’s health care renewal plan—WILL–attract millions more impoverished people from around the world. That they can join with the 20 plus million already here, to get free medical care under the Democrats law now passing through Congress.
MY QUESTION IS! WHY SHOULD TAXPAYERS SUPPORT THE ILLEGAL LABOR FOR THE PARASITE CORPORATE ENTITIES ACROSS AMERICA? CALL TODAY AND GIVE POLITICIANS AT 202-224-3121 YOUR CRESCENDO OF FRUSTRATION? THAT’S ALL THEY UNDERSTAND–WHEN THEIR JOBS ARE IN PERIL. GOOGLE NUMBERSUSA AND JUDICIALWATCH TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CORRUPTION AND PROFITEERING FROM BOTH PARTIES. OVERPOPULATION will be the irreversible consequences of mass immigration.
Cdev said, “Isn’t the writer of this letter a career politician?”
No, Cdev, once again you are completely wrong. As stated on the Maryland State Archives website, he is the “owner and operator of My Body Shop, an automobile body shop in Middle River.”
He is NOT a career politician NOR is he a lawyer. He has an honest job.
http://www.msa.md.gov/msa/mdmanual/06hse/html/msa13979.html
Cdev said, “Isn’t the writer of this letter a career politician?”
No, Cdev, once again you are completely wrong. As stated on the Maryland State Archives website, he is the “owner and operator of My Body Shop, an automobile body shop in Middle River.”
He is NOT a career politician NOR is he a lawyer. He has an honest job.
(I unsuccessfully tried to post this two other times with the website address. I’ll leave it off this time and try again)
Can’t do anything about Ben Cardin, he will be seen as a stand up guy.
Who I have problem with is Barbara Mikulski. Where is she? Doesn’t each state have 2 senators?
And don’t give me that excuse about her sick foot.
She was able to leave Mercy Hospital in a wheel chair to trek down to Washington, D.C. in order to cast her vote for Sonia Sotomayer but she can’t trek down to us?
Barbara Mikulski needs to retire. If she can’t see this by now, we the people need to help her along. Don’t get me wrong, I love old people, but there comes a time when they should sit by the beach, read a book or reflex over the memories of yesteryear.
Come on Babs, give it a rest.
Don’t go down in history as an angry old lady who yells in Washington, D.C.
Don’t go down in history as an angry old lady who says things like “I”m going to Washington to kick them with my boot”.
Boy I agree. Barbara Milkulski is no where to be found. I have called her office and gotten nothing but a voice message. Maybe she intends to represent us by phone from now on. Get enough guts to meet with all of your constituents or retire.
Just to keep the record honest. I was at the Towson Town Hall of Senator Ben Cardin and there was an attempt to stack the entire 500 people who would be allowed in the meeting by holding a separate Democratic organizing meeting in the same 500 person auditorium at 4:00pm the same afternoon.The Town Hall was to begin at 7:00pm and the doors to open at 6:00pm. This was so that the crowd could be totally controlled and filled only with Cardin supporters. The public unions sent members with many wearing T-shirts enblazoned with various public unions such as SEIU, UAW etc and except for the fact that around a 100 people against the Obama Care Reform found out about the stacking of the hall and got there before the Democrat supporters it would have been totally a one sided meeting.
I was told this by Senator Cardin’s Public Relations spokesperson as she was trying to get those of us locked out side at 5:20 to go home. She presented this statement about the 100 protestors getting to the hall before 4:00pm as some kind of unfair affront to the Senator and his staff. Since the doors officially weren’t supposed to open for the Town Hall till 6:00pm many of us were surprised to be told to go home because the hall was already full at 5:20.
One other oddity was as the 2,000 to 3,000 citizens walked up to the site of the Town Hall two hours before it was to begin, on every large lamp post were neatly preprinted posters saying the Meeting is already full to capacity. I wonder who printed these up and posted them? And boy they were well aware of how many people were coming since they had notified the public that they must call the Senator’s office before hand to be able to gain admission. Now the fact that there was a gymnasium right next to the auditorium they used that would have easily would have held all of the citizens that wanted to attend also puts the lie to Senator Cardin’s protestations of innocence in turning us all away.