Moran Town Hall Fall Out

Aug. 25, 2009
South Lakes High School, Reston Va
8th Congressional District
Con. Moran invited Howard Dean to schelp for Obamacare, or as our sign correctly pointed out-national socialist healtcare.

Better video and reporting to follow, but wanted to get something out.

I didn't make the cut to get inside, so I hung around outside.

DNC sponsored astroturf:
Most of our signs are home made, no DNC astroturf signs for us, plenty of "Thank You" Obama for them. Bait and Switch alert: The DNC signs didn't say healthcare reform, health insurance reform. Subtle, but important, the ministry of propaganda has caught on that healtcare won't sell, but beating up on an insuracne bogeyman will.

Union Goons:
Union goons were in attendance. Local 10 Elevator Union.

Surpression of free speech:
As you'll see in a video below, we had sign with Obama as Joker, thank you DissentFromDayOne. We were told by a black Fairfax County School Security officer that we would have to keep the sign face down on the lawn or be thrown off for trespassing. So we took it directly to the a FXPD Captain and asked about the legality of this. Shame on us for not knowing the law, but now we know to do some research. The FXPD Captain didn't want to get in the middle of it, said there were different rules for schools. So, look for more events to take place at schools where the crowd can be more restricted in their free speech. Since no one could give us a straight answer, we applied the constitution and continued to hold the sign high for all the crowd to see. In related note: Con. Connolly hide behind elderly women to have his healthcare debate. Non retirement community residents were prohibited.

Overwhelming sporadic and unorganized opposition:
Outside, the crowd was a majority anti-socialist healthcare. However, when I asked these concerned citizens resiting government run econocare, none cited a particular organization that organized them, paid them to be there, told them what to say, how to act, and/or provided them protest material. Mostly self-mobilizing concerned citizens, expect for the LaRouche PAC people.

Racist:
Yes, we got the now obligatory racist. Yawn. It would be funny if it wasn't sad. You know you are winning the argument when the start calling you names.

Obamatons, Lemmings, and Useful Idiots:
Hard to distinguish, many O-no-care supporters shared all of these characteristics. Many would not engage in mono y mono debate. Those that did could not cite specific facts, just liberal talking points: Not having war would pay for it all, etc., I did have fun with the "its deficit neutral" argument. I reminded them that abstinence is "sex neutral." Neither one is realistic. In their closing statements they either ran away, insulted me, or a combo insult, declare victory, and retreat.

Here are the preliminary vids, more to follow.

A skirmish outside while the debate was going on inside:


Local 10 Elevator Union was there:


Democratic rift, interview with LaRouche PAC outside:


Call to action:


Mocking Dear Leader:


Closing Thoughts:

Wealth Redistribution Continues Via Healthcare Tax

Communism continues unabated. To pay for nationalized healthcare, those with current healthcare are going to be taxed. Yes, Virginia, there is a boogyman. So what used to be a benefit for those that had it, is now a liability, simply for working. The Government is going to decide how to use the income of productive members of society to better the lives of the unproductive. This is wealth redistribution. This is the targeted destruction of capitalism and free enterprise.

By Lori Montgomery
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, June 10, 2009

A Senate plan to overhaul the nation's health system is likely to include a new tax on some employer-provided health benefits that exceed the value of the basic plan offered to federal employees, currently about $13,000 a year for a family of four, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee said yesterday.

Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) said he is drafting the health reform measure, which he expects to unveil next week. He told reporters that taxing employer-provided benefits is "perhaps the best way to raise money for an overhaul of the health-care system" and offered details about the form that tax is likely to take.

Baucus said his proposal is likely to cap benefits at "a level higher than the actual benefit that members of Congress receive today." An employer-provided plan worth less than that level would remain tax-free, he said, while any benefit exceeding the cap would be taxed as ordinary income.

Such a tax, if adopted, would be phased in over "several years," Baucus said. And it would be likely to "grandfather" in health benefits set as part of a collective-bargaining agreement, he said, allowing union plans to remain tax-free until new contracts can be negotiated.

Baucus declined to say how much money the proposal would generate. The nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation estimates that taxing employer benefits above the value of the Federal Employees Health Benefit Plan, adjusted for inflation, would generate nearly $420 billion over the next 10 years -- a sizable chunk of the $1 trillion or more likely to be needed to expand coverage for the uninsured.

A higher cap and exemptions for unions would make the tax more politically palatable but would diminish the amount of money it would raise. Baucus said the sums under discussion remain "significant" but added that he is looking at a variety of other money-raising options, including Obama's plan to limit the value of itemized deductions for families earning more than $250,000 a year.
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At a closed-door meeting of the Finance Committee last month, the Joint Committee on Taxation also provided estimates for repealing the tax deduction for certain large medical expenses ($180 billion over 10 years), a new tax on flexible savings accounts and health reimbursement accounts (about $70 billion over 10 years), a new 3-cent tax on sugary drinks (about $50 billion over 10 years) and higher taxes on alcohol (about $60 billion over 10 years). A more dramatic proposal -- taxing half of all employer-provided health premiums -- would generate $1.2 trillion over 10 years, according to a memo provided to Finance Committee members. Baucus's comments came after a lunchtime meeting of Senate Democrats at which lawmakers began hashing out the complex details of a health overhaul. "This is the first week of crunch time," said Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.). "This is the first day when, instead of looking at the car, we're starting to test-drive it."

Democratic leaders in both the House and Senate yesterday continued to trickle out details of proposals without saying how they would raise the money. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee released an outline that would require the vast majority of businesses to contribute to workers' health costs and would impose tight restrictions on the practices of insurance companies. Like a developing House plan, it would include government-sponsored insurance for people who have trouble finding coverage on the private market -- an idea adamantly opposed by Republicans.

Staff writer Ceci Connolly contributed to this report.