Tammy Baldwin's town hall meeting in Lake Mills

[undeterred]

Rep. Baldwin faces public angry over healthcare, high-speed rail

LAKE MILLS - Quiet and warm as it was outside Saturday afternoon, the City Council Chambers of the Lake Mills Municipal Building did not exude the same.

U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin tolerated icy stares, loud commentary and many unhappy constituents wishing to speak their minds during Saturday's listening session.

Though not quite standing room only, the listening session drew enough of a crowd to fill most chairs and almost all of the leaning space along the outside walls. Many attendees took issue with current healthcare reform proposals, the inaccessibility of proposed bills to the public at large, stimulus packages, illegal immigrants, government programs and government spending.

Some booed the idea of high-speed rail for Wisconsin residents and the idea of government-run healthcare. One insisted that the United States is a Christian country that has outlawed God, while another spoke of citizens seceding from their government.

Baldwin opened the session acknowledging that healthcare reform is one item of debate on many people's minds and that the day's discussion would likely be vibrant, as it has been in many sessions recently.

She briefly outlined the three areas of the healthcare and health insurance reform bill (H.R. 3200) that the House of Representatives has been deliberating and then invited individuals to speak. The three areas of the proposed reform include creating an insurance exchange, improving primary care and responding to the need for public health measures.

Dan Horvatin's statement, "I'm against socialized healthcare in any form", was met by applause, whoops, hollers and cheers of agreement.

He challenged Baldwin to find anywhere in the U.S. Constitution that suggests the federal government even be involved in healthcare. He went on to argue that malpractice and tort reform would help to solve the healthcare problem.

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Bob Wagner of Whitewater said, "I graduated from college in 1972, so I was on campus when the potheads were there. It took me 35 years to realize that the potheads stayed on campus and the potheads taught socialism. I rather resent the fact that my government supported educating my children in socialism."

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Baldwin closed saying, "I love my public libraries, I love my public police department, I love my public fire department, I love my public universities and I love my public schools, but I wish they would mandate a class in government and civics. Thank you."

much more at: http://dailyunion.com/main.asp?SectionID=36&SubSectionID=110&ArticleID=3449

Lake Mills is close enough to listen to The Mic 92.1 which carries Air America, but evidently many of them are listening to Rush. A few more miles east and they'd be in Sensenbrenner's district. I'm glad the pothead Madison "socialists" outnumber the crazies in CD2!