Is Scott Murphy dodging health care protesters?
Congressman Scott Murphy posted an announcement on his website Wednesday that he had held a healthcare roundtable with local business leaders the day before.
Democrats are scrambling to find ways to avoid raucous protesters organized by groups opposed to health care reform.
About the congressman’s after-the-fact notification of the roundtable, the Albany Times Union’s Casey Seiler wrote:
Was Murphy trying to reap the publicity benefits of holding a health care discussion without having those pesky media types there to cover the actual content of the event?
Or was the congressman just being savvy by setting up two distinct kinds of public forums: town hall-style meetings — the kind that have recently been transformed into whipping posts by groups ranging from health care traditionalists to anti-Obama “birthers” — and more sedate sessions where the absence of the media might result in less grandstanding and a more frank exchange of views?
Contacted by the newspaper, Murphy said“It wasn’t a press event.”
Murphy said the meeting of about two dozen businesspeople and members of the Chamber of Southern Saratoga County allowed for a much deeper discussion than would be possible at a larger public forum “where you’ve got a lot of people waiting in line to speak.”
The Times-Union coverage sparked this response from a conservative website called Next Right.
Now here’s real political courage. Hold meetings and announce them to the press AFTER they’ve occurred. Why not just use stock photos for your franked newsletter if they are just staged photo ops, Scott?
Then again, maybe this is the way Democratic Congressmen will need to greet their constituents these days.
According to the Associated Press, Murphy has already been targeted with one protest:
About 20 protesters gathered in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., Thursday to let Democratic Rep. Scott Murphy know they oppose the health care plans in Washington. They carried signs saying: “Obamacare Seniors beware! Rationing is here,” and “If socialized medicine is best … why didn’t Ted Kennedy go to Canada?” Motorists honked as they drove by.
In the same article, the AP reported that Democrats are working on strategies to respond to the anti-reform protests.
Top White House officials counseled Democratic senators Thursday on coping with disruptions at public events on health care this summer, officials said, and promised the party and allies would respond with twice the force if any individual lawmaker is criticized in television advertising.
Tags: health
