Protesting in front of McNerney's office - A Blue Dog who is NOW kinda leaning Yes!

FrenchieCat

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Fri Mar-19-10 11:19 PM
Original message

Protesting in front of McNerney's office - A Blue Dog who is NOW kinda leaning Yes!

Edited on Fri Mar-19-10 11:50 PM by FrenchieCat

This was a planned Tea Party protest intercepted by us,
the Pro-Health Care protestors.

I live in a safe district where my Rep is voting yes,
so I decided to join the protest one district away,
where McNurney, a Blue Dog Democrat, is still saying maybe yes, maybe no.
He was leaning NO just a couple of days ago.

I had written to him when I found this out,
because I had canvassed for him when he ran initially.
The district leans Republican. It's 20 minutes away.

The Teabaggers didn't expect us I don't think.....
and more folks were waving at our group than at theirs.
We were about 100 strong, and they had maybe 125.
The news reports says 350-400 pretty evenly divided,
but that's an exaggeration, and you can tell from the
News report and the photos below that it wasn't just
wasn't that many folks there.

"We want Health Care Now!" is what we were Chanting.
They were shouting "No Socialism now!" and "Kill the Bill".

I started shouting (as I was standing at the very edge of our group,
almost in their group)......"Medicare is Socialism!" (and I have a big ass loud
voice) -Yep, most were old White People. LOL!

I and a Democrat that I met there, we had nice chats with 4 different Tea party members, 3 White males in their mid and late 50s (one masquerading as an Independent who said he voted for Obama, but he also said he was a multi millionaire :eyes: ) and 1 soft spoken woman who was kept saying she had been a social worker, as though that made her right, no matter what the point was. She reminded me of Peggy Noonan.

Lotsa of strawmen excuses from them. also lots of them agreeing that Bush wasn't worth shit,
and no real rational why the issue of money trumps the issue of lives.
It appears that the biggest objection, once you dig in there, is not that they
think this Health Care bill is that "bad", it's that their fear that it is a
step in the direction of socializing medicine in this country.
In otherwords, they are afraid of their own speculation of where this "change"
will eventually take them.

They settled down after I was through with them, cause I was awesome! LOL!

My best comes backs:
You don't have a problem with a 700 billion per year defense budget,
but you are out protesting against a 940 Billion dollars spread over a decade to help
the lesser of thee? That's not even moral.

I pointed out that I was a minister's wife, and that unlike some,
I didn't see the world as my stage, with all of those around
me as extras in my movie.

I also told them that they had lost the election, and it was our turn to govern, and that
this President was working hard at being the President of all Americans. I told them that
many on the Left see Barack Obama as a moderate at best; a corporatist and a warmonger at worse.
They laughted at that, and then I laughted at them. In the end, I felt like I got to them....
Although most likely, they'll be back at it tomorrow.

The last Teabagger I was talking with said, "well it looks like you'll get your way. I just hope it will work out." I told him that I felt that it would, and of course, it's always possible to tweak things as you go, but that Obama wasn't Bush, and I believed that he had really thought about the entire complex process (which is why there is a 2400 page bill) and had come up with a bill that
was taken into consideration a lot of the unintended consequences, and so I felt since he was elected, it had to be allowed a chance to play itself out, instead of fearing speculations, since speculating is an excercise that can go anyway one decides.

and,
Where were you when Bush was lying us to War? Cause I was in San Francisco Protesting.

and,
We are paying for them anyways. We should rather that gal get prenatal care
that we pay for, then a premature birth and all that comes with it that we pay for.

News Report video (quite favorable to our side):
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/politics&id=7340857

Here's a print news report on this.

PLEASANTON — A tea party protest over health care reform that began near Stoneridge Mall spilled onto an Interstate 580 overcrossing and forced the closure of connector ramps at Foothill Road on Friday afternoon.

Approximately 400 demonstrators, fairly evenly divided between the pro- and anti-health care reform camps, showed up for a 4 p.m. protest organized by the Pleasanton Tea Party. The groups gathered outside the office of Congressman Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton, but began marching toward Dublin and the I-580 overcrossing at Foothill and San Ramon roads.

Lining either side of the overpass, waving signs and flags, chanting, and blowing whistles, the well-behaved demonstrators fought for the attention of passing motorists.

Pro-health care reform marchers chanted: "What do we want? Health care! When do we want it? Now!"

Many anti-health care reform demonstrators carried signs demanding legislators "Kill the bill!"
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_14712354

We should all call his office tomorrow and email him!
I've told him that republicans aren't gonna vote for him anyway,
so he is better off representing his party instead.

Office Phone: 925-833-0643
info@jerrymcnerney.org

Photos of the rally in front of McNurney's office,
not that I took, cause I didn't bring a camera!
Later folks moved down to the freeway overpass.....
But I stayed and had a chat with some of the opposition.