Demonstration and counter-demonstration

Unbeknowst to me, health care reform advocates - particularly the union organizers and Single Payer people - staged a demonstration Tuesday in the same Jeffersonville (IN) park where I heard now Vice President Biden speak almost a year ago (and in the shadow of the office of Vincent's psychiatrist). But on the very next day - it turned out - the "Hands Off my Health Care" bus - apparently moving down from Indianapolis, where 100 rallied - was slated to bring people to the same park, and a counterdemonstration was planned - no doubt with some of the same people from the previous day's rally. Keep in mind that this is in Southern IN where there are key votes - in the House (with Blue Dogs Baron Hill and also Brad Ellsworth) and in the Senate (with Senator Bayh). I had visions of thugs being bussed in - with no local people at the Hands Off rally - and then angry confrontations between them and some of the particularly vociferous Single Payer people (Hill's staff had seemed to dislike both sides). I'm sure that may have been what the 2-3 TV stations that showed up hoped for also - and perhaps in time for the 6 p.m. local news. I got there a little late and headed by the Hands Off rally. There were about 100 people again - and over time I concluded that most were local people - plus whoever came on the bus. I only heard snippets of the speakers - probably an hour's worth of speakers. One addressed an Achilles' heel of the debate for reform advocates - abortion - I did not see people burning effigies of the president or Congressman Hill. I also did not hear anything as coherent as the conservative on National Public Radio Tuesday who made an argument about Medicare undercompensating health care providers and cost shifting due not just to uncompensated care but also due to Medicare undercompensated care (I believe this is an issue the Blue Dogs addressed - protecting low-profit margin rural hospitals in their districts more than the federal treasury - coherent, whether or not it's actually valid. I only saw Anglos over at the Hands Off rally. But, for the most part, the people at that rally and the counterdemonstration - where I shifted over and joined soon, didn't look that different from each other. I had seen some of these people before - at the June Southern Indiana for Change meeting where Organizing for Change activist Abby I thought was going to cry, at the rally in front of Congressman Hill's office, at the rally in front of Senator McConnell's office last week, and (a few people) at health care reform canvassing and phone banking. (I had missed the Tax Day tea party - with a much larger crowd - across the river in front of the courthouse in Louisville - perhaps with a few of the same people at the Hands Off rally.))

The woman on the left below led some of the chanting. (I've got no video because Stephanie had our regular camera at school - I took Mom's old digital camera.)

A handful of Hands Off people wandered over to our demonstration. These would hae been the more confrontational types. I heard the word socialist several times - and one of the Hands Off activists told a TV station that he mainly didn't want to end up working to pay for health care for people who didn't work (most people on Medicaid and Medicare don't work already- ?) - but one of these two men said something about Obama being an imposter - like Obama is an actor - in some "Manchurian candidate" sort of way - and that someone else is the master puppeteer.

I do wish I'd gotten to hear more of the broad anti-reform coalition's argument (I saw a few people identified as Republican activists) - although I guess if I wanted to know that badly I could be reading a friend's anti-reform chain e-mails. I like the juxtposition below of the woman and her sign - a woman I met at Democratic Party HQ in New Albany who volunteered Bruce all 2008 to help Obama win (?) Clark County (IN) and the side of the Hands Off My Health Care bus (which periodically played Credence Clearwater Revival songs- probably partly to try to drown us out - since we were marching in a circle next to the bus - a ways from the rally - although we cleared to another sidewalk when leaders thought the bus riders would be trying to make their way back to the bus).

It was sometimes difficult for folks - even me - to lead cheers - What do we want? Health care! When do we want it? Now! - because of the rift between the Single payer and Obama care/public option folks. We had to design cheers that did not explicitly plug either one.

I left after almost an hour, before the riders had really returned to the bus. Soon there was already some news coverage: http://www.wave3.com/Global/story.asp?S=10960171 But I thought this story may have exaggerated the level of confrontation. I saw no bussed in storm troopers, heard few ugly comments, and witnessed no fist fights. Maybe next time.

-- Perry