What editorial writers are saying about town hall meetings on health system reform

Newspapers across the country have been examining what is driving the acrimonious town hall meetings -- and their effect on the health care debate. Here is a sampling of opinions.

Cynical manipulation

It's theoretically possible that some of the ordinary citizens who showed up at Monday night's town hall meeting about health care reform with Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin [D, Md.] might actually think that the proposals under consideration include government-ordered euthanasia of the elderly. It's hard to believe that they have not seen any of the many concrete debunkings of this myth, and even harder to believe that they would imagine their fellow citizens who represent them in Congress and work in the federal government would be capable of such a thing. ... The fact that opponents would seize on that part of the health plan and twist it into something frightening leads inevitably to the conclusion that they are not interested in a genuine debate about how best to reform our health care system but are instead attempting to use whatever cynical exploitation of emotion they can muster to defeat it. Baltimore Sun, Aug. 12

Getting creamed by constituents

It's turning into one long, hot summer for members of Congress suffering through their traditional August recess. No doubt, many House Democrats wish they could skip town-hall meetings with their constituents this summer. Their explanations in defense of a proposed government health care system have fallen flat, and lawmakers are getting hammered for the embarrassing revelation that the bill exempts Congress from the system they would foist on the rest of us. ... No wonder congressmen are getting an earful from their constituents. Washington Times, Aug. 12

Drowning democracy in emotional drama

The health care debate has gone crazy. Earlier this week in New Hampshire, a child stood outside the president's town hall meeting holding a sign that read, "Obama Lies, Grandma Dies." On the road outside the meeting, a man held up a sign that appeared to support the bloodshed of "tyrants," while sporting a pistol (legally) strapped to his thigh. ... People have a right to know. A raucous minority of loudmouths is taking it away from them -- and with it, the opportunity to change an unsustainable system. It's becoming increasingly apparent that what's really broken is not only our health care system, but our approach to democracy. Dallas Morning News, Aug. 12

Don't hide from voters

It surely is uncomfortable for members of Congress to deal with unhappy people from their district. Sorry, but that's a fundamental feature of representative government. It's also the American way. Lawmakers have a responsibility to engage with constituents who oppose them as well as those who support them. ... Some right-wing commentators and groups have been egging on the confrontations, but we don't agree with those who would write off all the protesters as special-interest lackeys. Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel, Aug. 11

Debate hits unhealthy levels

It started on the political right when some opponents of Barack Obama's health-care reform plans turned congressional town hall meetings into scenes out of the Jerry Springer show. It didn't take long for the political left to catch up. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi [D, Calif.] and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer [D, Md.], in an op-ed published ... in USA Today, described opponents of the Democrats' plans as "un-American." ... Yes, it's a steamy August in Indiana and elsewhere, but let's cool the rhetoric, suspend the name-calling and focus on facts rather than fears. Indianapolis Star, Aug. 12

Demand town hall meeting here

Americans are passionate about health care, and members of Congress holding town hall meetings on the subject of reform are finding out how frustrated they are. That shouldn't deter our representatives from holding more of these town hall meetings, to explain what they are voting on and why. News Press (Fort Myers, Fla.), Aug. 12

Flashing back to the 1960s

One of the more obnoxious tactics of the left, especially the student left, during the 1960s and '70s was to disrupt the meetings of those with whom they disagreed ... until finally the targeted speaker gave up and left. You would have hoped we had learned our lesson, but apparently not. With funding and staff support from advocacy groups opposed to health care reform ... and the Obama administration ... organized groups have been showing up at congressional town-hall meetings held mostly by Democrats in favor of health care reform. ... The campaign smacks of what political operatives call "Astroturf" -- fake grass roots. Ventura County (Calif.) Star, Aug. 10