San Antonio and Schertz town hall meetings. Not a straight answer in the house

AP/Charles Dharapak

Both, San Antonio and Schertz had their town hall meetings on Monday the 24th. A lot of good that did. It seemed as though having an open discussion and candid responses from Rep. Charlie Gonzalez and Rep. Lamar Smith, respectively, about HR 3200 AKA the Health Care Bill would clear up some lingering questions and leave an enlightened group of citizens in its wake. Such was not the case. Blame the obfuscatory and sometimes curt retorts from Gonzalez, the insidious out-of-turn objections from lone citizens and union groups alike or the interrupting young man (who ended up being escorted out by police after a fight broke out with him and another citizen) for the wasteful nature of the events, but there was no doubt that little was resolved on the issue of health care reform.

AP/Carolyn Kaster

There was a general feeling of anger and opinionated distrust that permeated nearly every question asked of both Smith and Gonzalez. When a citizen, who works in the insurance industry, asked a question about the possible repercussions of the bill ending with "so I might lose my job for a bunch of illegals" it sent an uproar through the Schertz Civic Center. That comment sent the young man, who was later involved in the altercation, over the edge. He screamed "racist!" and a few other comments until a member of Congressman Smith's team and a Schertz police officer quieted him down. The very next question from an older gentleman began with "is there none of your colleagues that made it through third grade math?"

AP/Charles Dharapak

Little changed later that night at the Edgewood Performing Arts Theater in San Antonio. The SEIU - who already have a strike against them for the actions of one of its members who assaulted a man outside the Missouri town hall meeting - anti-abortion activists and other assorted groups were all out in full force outside the theater. Upon entry, people were given a paper, signed by Congressman Gonzalez, outlining the agenda for the night and listing some of George Washington's Rules of Civility. Gonzalez then broke the last rule on his own list when John Hall prefaced his health care question with "I intend on running against you in the 2010 general election." Gonzalez then answered with "and I intend on beating you" while pointing his finger at Hall, which was explicitly stated in the handout as something to avoid doing. Maybe Congressman Gonzalez only meant for those rules to apply to citizens and not himself.

Later, a grandmother who does not have a team of interns and staff members to help her read the 1,017 page bill, got up and voiced her concern for her autistic grandchild. She gave section and page number (s.1176-1177 - p.353-354) and asked politely how he could support the bill knowing it may leave her grandson out in the cold because of his classification as special needs. Congressman Gonzalez said she may not have interpreted the bill correctly and proceeded to move on to an easier question. This inspired, what one mother at the event told me was her "most important question" to have answered. The question: "Congressman, did you read the bill?"

With recent comments from house members [like the one by Rep. John Conyers where he said it does no good to read the bill] being made daily that are angering more and more citizens, one would presume that Rep. Gonzalez would have foreseen this question and taken the necessary steps to shine for his constituents on it. His response was less than popular with the San Antonio audience. He said he had read the summaries and necessary subsections and had a good "working knowledge of the bill." But, as far as reading the whole bill, he admittedly came up short. We can applaud Congressman Charlie Gonzalez's honesty on this particular part of the issue, but admitting to not doing your job may not be as good as actually doing it.

As anyone, who has ever dealt with a cable cell phone or legal agreement knows, it's always that little clause - buried deep in the contract -  that ends up having the biggest impact on the services provided and payment expected.

If the town hall meetings were merely a nightly news story or a script for the newest politically charged cable-drama, they would be a 10. They have the perfect mix of "angry mob" raucous antics, suspicious union activity, police presence, snarky rhetoric from both sides of the political spectrum and, yes, even a good fight. But this is not television. The people in those civic centers and auditoriums are legitimately scared that the little bit of disposable income they have left (if any) will be taken away. They are fearful for their own health, and that of their elderly and handicapped relatives. They are angry that the people they elected are making excuses for not reading the bills that they are asked to vote on. Most of all, people are angry that no one - whether it be unions, civil action groups, former/current health care and insurance employees or congressmen - can give them "just the facts" - free of spin, hidden agendas and legalese convoluted language, that even a lawyer would have trouble understanding.

The final act of that night's production put an exclamation point on the statement made by a nearby citizen: "we need health care reform-maybe not this version-but somethin' needs to happen." A man fainted while waiting in line to ask his question of Congressman Charlie Gonzalez. When he came to all he could say was, "health care for all."

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