Health Care Protesters Largely From Out Of District, Sign-In Sheets Show

In what became an emblematic scene, Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.), faced a hostile crowd at a packed health care town hall in Michigan on Thursday. Dingell, a major sponsor of health care reform legislation, was repeatedly shouted down. At one point, a man named Mike Sola wheeled his son to the front of the room and engaged in a YouTube-bound shouting match (see below) with Dingell before being escorted out by police.

But who was actually populating this angry mob? Although town-hall meetings are intended for constituents of congressional members' districts, some if not a majority of attendees seemed to have come from further away.

Members of Congress routinely ask constituents to sign in when they attend town halls so they can contact them later and gauge where people are coming from. Dingell spokesman Adam Benson estimated that roughly 500 people showed up for the meeting, and half didn't sign in at all. Of the 262 who did, 80 listed addresses inside Dingell's district; 100 listed addresses outside the district; and 82 didn't put down an address at all. Sign-in sheet breakdowns provided to the Huffington Post in two other congressional districts indicated a similar pattern of outside agitation.

In short, the sign-in sheets lend credence to the accusation that the protests are the product of Washington-based "Astroturf" organizations, rather than evidence of a groundswell of popular resistance to health care reform.

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As the town halls dominate the national news cycle, Green's office says the out-of-district element appears to have increased. "It's only gotten worse since, as far as folks not from the district," said spokeswoman Brenda Arredondo. At some of the events since then, she said, sign-in sheets indicate as many as eight of ten members of the audience were from outside the district.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/11/health-care-protesters-la_n_256013.html

BINGO! IMHO House members should make attendees provide id proving they live in the district. Senate that they live in the state.

Heck I've had experiences where I wanted to contact a Senator from out-of-state or congressperson on a committee or issue and had trouble because their website limits contact to their district/state.

A constituents only town hall.

Imagine the uproar here if a Rethug did that for a town hall debate about the war or some such thing?

I'm for more security at these things, rather than carding. You disrupt, you are gone.

the disruptors are preventing constituents from getting into these meetings, and that's not right.

It would hardly compare to Republican tactics of the past decade where protesters were tazed and/or arrested or attendees were forced to sign a loyalty oath before gaining admittance, but you can bet Faux and Rush would still scream bloody murder 24/7 if attendance were limited only to constituents.

when they bus in protesters from out of state it's evil and corporate sponsored. When liberals bus in protesters from out of state it's proof of popular, nation wide grassroot support.

Yeah, imagine the cries of fascism if republicans were to start demanding to see ID before you were allowed to protest. Creating a list of dissenters for the gas chambers eh?

Demonstration outside the forum is fine... participation is not. It seems very reasonable to me, anyway.

Had coverage of a town hall meeting in Santa Cruz. One of the distributors said very clearly in a Southern accent "Y'all"

Obvious he was not from California.

to actual constituents. But your reply is a hellova assumption. Southerners have been known to move to other places in the country. You can have a Southern accent and still be a legal, long-term resident of California (or Massachusetts, or Illinois, or Iowa, etc.).

And from a lot of other countries, too. Some were even from California! I never assumed just because someone had a different accent that they did not have the right to vote or express their opinion.

What not, The Y'all would not have been taken so seriously.

But there is a definite look to people from Santa Cruz. The "dry cleaner-ish" look is not so big in Santa Cruz as that guy appeared. More Denim Workshirt and chinos. Not Brooks Brothers.

Not looking like everyone else does not prove he was bussed in. We ARE a mobile society. There are lots of people without southern drawls in Atlanta and plenty of former Texans, Californians and Vermonters residing in Montana. People do move and register to vote in new districts.

I do figure it is likely corporations are busing in 'protesters' in many cases, and while I agree that constituents should be the participants at congress members home district town halls, the ASSUMPTION that someone who sounds and looks different can't be a local constituent is just plain laughable.

SC is famous for being a hippie town but concluding on the basis of a few seconds on the evening that the guy doesn't live there because he has a southern accent and a suit is a bit of a stretch. There are some straitlaced types there too.

to their constituents about any issue. I have a Congresswoman and two Senators. I want them to listen to me and others in my district and state. That strikes me perfectly fair.

:eyes:

I still say it's a good idea--show your voter registration card or a photo ID, prove you live in the district.

dg

:kick: