“We’re White, we’re scared, we’re angry; get used to it!”

That was not, literally, the refrain at the boisterous town hall meetings which dominated the August news coverage. That was, however, the subtext of every rambling, incoherent speech given by a member of what I term the Disillusioned Right.

A “coffee talk” with Democrat Chis Murphy (CT-5) featured hard questions, straight answers, and almost no shouting.

A large and boisterous crowd shows the disappointing hurdles we have to climb.

One of healthcare reform’s greatest champions died last night. Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) succumbed to brain cancer at the age of 77. During his 46-year career in the senate, Kennedy’s name appeared on virtually every major piece of progressive legislation from civil rights to economic justice, to healthcare. Kennedy called healthcare reform “the cause of my life.”

Tomorrow evening is Congressman Jim Moran’s (D-VA) Town Hall at South Lakes High School in Reston, VA. This is the only Town Hall Jim has scheduled during the current recess. Governor (and Dr.) Howard Dean will be joining Jim to answer questions, and it promises to be a very interesting meeting. During the past few weeks, Jim has moved from being relatively silent on his support for a PO, to more explicit support for one. He has appeared on MSNBC supporting the PO and saying how important its presence is in any reform, and he has sent letters to his constituents, including myself, thanking them for visiting him and explaining HR 3200, the House version of Health Care Reform emerging from various committees, and its public option among other features of the bill. What he has not done however, is to explain why he no longer supports HR 676, a Medicare for All bill, even though he co-sponsored it in the past, except to say that it is “off the table,” and also why he will commit neither to voting “no” on any bill that does not provide for the “Medicare for All” solution he supported in the past, nor, at least, to voting “no”on any bill that does not provide for a strong public option plan that can provide meaningful competition for private insurance companies. Without such a commitment, which by the way, would not be satisfied by a commitment to HR 3200, which according to CBO, will not provide such competition, Jim Moran’s support for the PO is mere lip service, since he leaves himself entirely free to sign on to any “reform” measure that the Administration, in its infinite wisdom, asks him to support.

Will healthcare reform include a public health insurance plan to compete with private health insurance? President Obama campaigned on the promise of a public option, but over the past week he and his top advisers have repeatedly signaled that they aren’t willing to fight for it.

Republicans and their allies are pressuring Democratic healthcare reformers at townhall meetings around the country.

Report from outside

There’s a lot of noise about how disruptive various shills and plants in town hall forums are being, and how much they’re getting in the way of legitimate discussion and debate on the issue of healthcare reform. I don’t buy it.

Health care opponents are now relying on an old, faithful ally to disrupt efforts for reform: the racist right.