Sanders put on the hot seat Hundreds turn out to debate health care

By JOSH O'GORMAN and PATRICK McARDLE STAFF WRITERS - Published: August 16, 2009

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By 9 a.m. in Rutland, a line stretched from the doors of the Unitarian Universalist Church, down West Street and around the corner to Cottage Street, with many in the throng holding signs, most in favor of overhauling the nation's health care system.

Perhaps in anticipation of the hostile crowds at similar meetings nationwide in recent weeks, police officers with Vermont State Police, Rutland City and Rutland County Sheriff's Department kept an eye on the crowd.

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Shortly before 10 a.m., the doors opened to the church and the crowd filled the 200-seat sanctuary, with about as many people left outside to sit on folding chairs in the sun or seek shade beneath trees or beside adjacent buildings. During the nearly two-hour meeting, Sanders raced back and forth taking questions from people inside and out, with the public address system allowing both crowds to follow the debate.

"You've all seen the TV and the meetings and the people trying to shout down other people, but that is not what the state of Vermont is about," Sanders said as he attempted to set a civil tone for the debate.

While the debate was mostly calm, many in the crowd appeared to be convinced that the proposed health care bill advocates the creation of "death panels" to decide what sort of health care the elderly should receive and how and when they should die.

"Let me tell you a thing or two about the so-called 'death panels.' They can't take it out because it ain't in there," Sanders said, a statement that drew outraged shouts from the audience. "I understand you're angry, and you should be angry, but do you really think that in the United States of America we would have a president who would say we should kill off old people?"

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http://www.timesargus.com/article/20090816/NEWS01/908160366/0/NEWS01

on Rachel Maddow's show, that he expected better things from the people of Vermont.

hard not to be when you know you're going to have to face your neighbor the next day- and in next year's town meeting. However, civil or not, it looks like a fair number of Vermonters are idiots buying into the death panel crap. Discouraging. Vermont is the state where Obama has his highest current approval ratings (tied with Hawaii).

I'm planning on going to next week's Saunder's meeting in Peacham Peacham is a town of 600. I bet there are that many attendees.

who have lived there for generations of time. Many have lost things like farms to the big guys and there are some really poor pockets in VT. If they have been fooled by people or the internets or word of mouth, I wouldn't be surprised. VT doesn't like big govt, it believes in hands on decisions. Something they don't have their hands on, is scary. Perhaps we should just throw a bunch of them into a town hall and let them try and come up with a healthcare bill. They'd probably do better than Nancy Pelosi...

Good for them!

I suspect they are paying the deathers. But I've seen their million dollar buses. Where are they getting the money to bus stupid old people to town hall meeting? The money is coming from insurance companies.

This is all fake. This is all put on for the corporate media to display.