I attended the town hall in State College this morning, along with about 400 others. An additional 1600 or so were shut out in the overflow.
AP coverage
Local coverage
Where to begin?
Crowd breakdown in the hall: I'd guess maybe 60% anti-reform/ teabaggers/ deathers/ etc. and 40% everyone else.
Repeated themes from the 60%: limited government, socialism, spending, illegal immigrants, 'read the bill,' tort reform, Constitution, founding principles, and a few sprinkles of abortion, euthanasia and God.
Repeated themes for the 40%: public option, single payer, Medicare, clean energy
I got there over an hour early, and I wound up sitting in the 5th row. A Hands Off our Healthcare bus rolled in about 20 minutes before the doors opened. I doubt any of those people got in.
Specter gave short opening comments, highlighting his long tradition of holding town hall meetings. He says he tries to get to every county at least once a year. People appreciated this.
The questions:
There were 30 questions allowed, from the first 30 people in the room. I took notes on them, although, somehow I only wound up with 29 on my list.
Looking over the list, only 7 of the questions came from the 40% - and some of those were on topics other than health care (there was an organized clean energy contingent present). There were 3 very strong questions about the public option and/or single payer. Specter repeatedly said he supports a public option, which earned him lots of boos. He also said that he thinks single-payer should be on the table, but that there is little support for it in Congress.
Of the remaining 22 questions, 17 of them were rambling, vague complaints about big bad government in general, with health care and cap & trade being frequently mentioned. This is where people complained about deficits, taxes, and socialism, and the loss of American freedoms, etc. Abortion and euthanasia were alluded to or directly addressed 2 times each, by my count.
The remaining 5 questions were actually well-worded and to the point, mostly about health care.
General atmosphere:
Specter handled the crowd well. He was brusque when he needed to move things along, and self-deprecating to lighten the mood. There were shouts and boos, etc. but nothing too disruptive. I was surrounded by anti-reformers, and thus could hear all their comments. They genuinely believe what they are being fed, and they genuinely believe that they are in the majority.
A few specific highlights, and then I'll shut up:
2 questioners mentioned how they "resented" being called "Unamerican" or part of a "mob." Yeah, I can see how being repeatedly called unamerican for your honestly-held beliefs might just stick in your craw. Sigh.
Specter got loud jeers for going out on a limb and declaring that President Obama is not a liar.
I summarized my favorite moment of the event in a comment already, but will repeat.
One questioner shared his health care story. 2 years ago, he was laid off and had no insurance. His wife got sick, and it turned out she needed a heart transplant. They had no money, things were very dire, etc. etc. The crowd, thinking this was a pro-reform point, became restless.
But wait, let the man finish. He prayed, and God delivered. That should be enough for everyone because it was enough for him! Everything turned out OK because God made sure that the VA and the Commonwealth of PA stepped in to help. The wife got her heart transplant.
But logic is not this man's strong point, for in his next breath he says that the bill before the House is full of "socialistic stuff" and government should stay out of healthcare! and euthanasia! and "Obama's goons!" Now the crowd likes him. They start standing up and cheering for him.
Finally, the rambling ends. Specter tries to address some of the issues raised, but he finishes by noting that, when the VA and the state provided for the heart transplant, THAT was the government!
That's when I, and many of the like-minded stood up and cheered. It was actually the longest reaction of the entire meeting.
There you have it.