Rep. Kevin McCarthy: Town hall meetings a success, but most folks oppose Obamacare

Here's the weekly post from Bakersfield Rep. Kevin McCarthy, who just wrapped up a couple of town hall meetings on health care. If you have a question, post it under comments and I will ask Kevin to respond. Here he is:

"The August district work period has been productive as I spent most of my time traveling our communities, from Ridgecrest to Paso Robles, to listen to concerns and answer questions from local community members about health care reform.

"On Wednesday, I held another town hall meeting to listen to thoughts and concerns about the current health care reform bill (H.R. 3200) that will be the focus of Congress’ work when it reconvenes next week on September 8th. This town hall was held in San Luis Obispo County, and like the Bakersfield Health Care Town Hall last week, due to the growing number of RSVPs early on after the meeting was announced, we had to change the location to accommodate more people. Over 1600 attended and over 1000 of them participated in a quick yes or no survey on whether they support H.R. 3200. Here are the survey results:

Do you support H.R. 3200?
-Yes - 18.2 %
-No - 77.7 %
-Undecided - 4.1%

"The same survey was also given to the 3,000 who attended the Bakersfield health care town hall meeting at CSUB’s Icardo Center on Wednesday, August 26th. Over 1,300 responded with the following results:

Do you support H.R. 3200?
-Yes - 5.85%
-No - 90.03%
-Undecided - 4.12%

"From the survey results, it is clear that many residents are not in favor of the current bill moving through Congress that can lead to a government takeover of health care. Like I stated at the town halls, I am not opposed to health care reform, but I am opposed to the direction H.R. 3200 would take our health care system. August has brought a renewal in participation in our country’s political >process, and I believe that our Founding Father would be proud of this democracy in action. Members of Congress should return invigorated after listening to their constituents at town halls, and ready to work together on bipartisan health care reform that focuses on common sense solutions.
"One such example of a common sense solution is reforming costly medical liability abuse to decrease frivolous lawsuits and duplicative and unnecessary tests. This is a reform solution that I strongly support to lower costs, which is unfortunately not included H.R. 3200. From over 1300 responses at the Bakersfield town hall meeting, here are the results:
Do you support reforming costly medical liability abuse to decrease frivolous lawsuits and duplicative and unnecessary tests?

-Yes – 90.68%
-No - 2.74%
-Undecided - 6.58%

"I will take common-sense ideas like these back to Washington. I urge residents to stay involved and continue to make your voices heard. As we know, this is not just our country’s health care future, but also our health care future and our children’s health care future."

McCarthy's test: making next week's healthcare town hall meeting inclusive and based on facts, not emotion. Let's avoid the circus

As we head closer to next week's town hall meeting on health care reform, it occurred to me that Rep. Kevin McCarthy has a golden opportunity to rise above the circus-like atmosphere that has characterized other such meetings. The town hall is set for next Wednesday, Aug. 26, over at the Icardo Center at Cal State Bakersfield, and already more than 800 people have confirmed. There is little doubt that this will be an overwhelmingly conservative audience in tune with the market, and it's safe to say that most attendees are already dead set against any reform. Consider, for example, some of the responses the congressman got when he put out at feeler on his Facebook page. Some excerpts (with occasional spelling errors corrected):

"Guess what... the government will now choose what treatment is best (if any) for you. Also you will have to wait for critical care i.e. transplants. That's why so many Europeans and Canadians come here for treatment. I'm sure if you are rich enough you can hire a private doctor like in Europe or bend over like the rest of us working folks. Stop frivolous court action, lower doctors insurance costs and give them more money to take Medical and such patients.

"I have an idea on how to "reform" health care... illegals do not get free care. That would save loads of money and would discourage illegal immigration. Think about it, when the government gets involved in things the system bogs down. Ninety percent of the problems we as a society have would be better solved in the private sector.

"Well first things first. I think that it is only legal for an Immigration Officer to ask if someone is illegal or not. And for the papers and documents to prove it. Second.

"Kevin - Why is the majority party insisting on a program that won't work and we can't pay for? Are they brain dead?

"There are lots of things wrong with the health care bill, but the number one problem is that the federal government just doesn't have the authority to take over the health care system. The 10th Amendment was included in the Constitution for a reason, and things like the bail-outs, GM, and this health care bill are just the kinds of things that amendment was written for."



These kinds of comments are reflective of the feedback McCarthy has been getting, and they are certainly representative and valid. It would be easy for this thing to turn into a GOP love fest like a "tea party" of sorts, but that really doesn't serve the public interest. McCarthy's challenge will be to create an environment where both sides are welcomed and Democrats and those who support health care reform (and there are a few in town) feel comfortable enough to show up and speak their mind. Let's hope he does so. (Photo of McCarthy at the last GOP convention courtesy of Getty Images)

Bako bits: From cash to clunkers to breakfast and email in the morning and a recurring rumor about cell phone privacy

Starting off a new week and bracing for a return of temperatures above 100, cleaning off the desktop. Some short takes around our community:

* ... CASH FOR CLUNKERS BUT WHAT TO BUY? Have a friend who is looking for a specific model of new car, is ready to plunk down $25,000 and change in a cash deal but - surprise! - the local dealer doesn't have the car. Turns out this is happening a lot lately between the success of the "cash for clunkers" program and the dealers' natural tendency to reduce inventory in a slow sales period. There's just not a lot of choose from, particularly in economy and hybrid models. And it's apparently happening all over. Last night NBC Nightly News had a story on the exact same problem: folks who are ready to buy just can't find the cars on the lot. (photo courtesy of Fox News)



* .... FACEBOOK WITH YOUR CEREAL: Fascinating story in today's New York Times about the changing habits of readers and families. The piece focused on how so many people (not only young folk) are now in the habit of checking email, Facebook and Twitter first thing in the morning, much as they used to spend time with their local newspaper. (read the entire story here) Not that folks aren't still reading their papers, but this is all about time management and priorities, and it's amazing how our personal habits have changed in such a short period. Ask yourself: how long did it take you to check email or Facebook after you awoke this morning?

* ... FACING DOWN OVER HEALTHCARE: Amazing to watch the healthcare debate unfold in America and the partisan lines drawn on both sides. The left dismisses the folks showing up at the congressional town hall meetings as part of a vast right-wing conspiracy being orchestrated by talk radio, while the other side blames the left for failing to listen. I think the truth is somewhere in the middle. Former Reagan speechwriter Peggy Noonen makes a good argument in the Wall Street Journal that you ignore these folks at your own peril (read her column here) while Washington Post columnist Steven Pearlstein takes the other view. (Read his piece here) Draw your own conclusions but don't forget to keep your mind open.

* ... CELL PHONE PRIVACY: Meanwhile this is about the fourth time in the past two years that I have gotten emails from friends warning me that my private cell phone number is about to be turned over to marketers. This is a recurring urban myth that needs to be put to rest once and for all. Read the Snopes piece on it here.