Saturday, February 26, 2011: Solidarity Comes to Portsmouth

Pictures & Press Coverage of Carol Shea-Porter's Portsmouth Town Hall

Right: Seacoast for Changers Bill Duncan and Larry Drake. Photo courtesy of Daily Kos.

Saturday morning was cold, wet, and windy -- but that didn't discourage local health care voters from turning out early and en masse for Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter's town hall at the Thomas J. McIntyre Federal Building in Downtown Portsmouth (August 29, 2009).

Supporters of affordable, quality health care outnumbered tea party protesters by nearly 3-to-1 in the waiting line. There were no serious altercations outside the event (although a few of my fellow Democrats tried to cut to the front of line, which was bad form and irked the tea party folks so much they asked to police to intervene).

Members of the Leftist Marching Band stopped by around noon and played a lively and suitably patriotic set. By the time the doors opened at 1:00 PM, over 200 people were standing in line to get a seat (only 150 were allowed to enter the building).

There are some terrific pictures of the sign-waving action outside Saturday's event on Daily Kos; a reporter from the Portsmouth Herald also interviewed people who were waiting to get into the event. Details about the heated discussion inside the town hall are reported in the Portsmouth Herald, Foster's, the Concord Monitor, and the Manchester Union Leader.

Lunatic Fringe Department: People leaving the building after the event were serenaded by the vocal harmonies of several Lyndon LaRouche culties carrying a larger-than-life poster of President Obama rendered to resemble Adolf Hitler. No lie, the singing was not too bad -- except for the part about the President's Nazi plan for a government takeover of the health care system and killing grandma.

Seacoast for Change volunteers supported Change That Works organizers and Organizing for America in building early-morning supporter turnout for the Portsmouth event.

President Obama's Portsmouth Town Hall

...here's one thing I've got to say: I never said this was going to be easy. I never said change would be easy. If it were easy, it would have already been done. Change is hard. And it doesn't start in Washington. It begins in places like Portsmouth, with people... who have the courage to share their stories and fight for something better.

That's what we need to do right now. And I need your help. If you want a health care system that works for the American people as well as it works for the insurance companies, I need your help -- knocking on doors, talking to your neighbors. Spread the facts. Let's get this done.

President Barack Obama, Portsmouth, NH, August 11, 2009

Tuesday, August 11 was an exhilarating and gratifying occasion for President Obama's long-time supporters in the Seacoast region. Although stalwart health care voters who showed up for early morning rallies at Portsmouth High and Lafayette Park got a good soaking from an unexpected downpour (while those waiting in long lines to get into the Town Hall event later in the day sweltered in the searing heat), the take-away from the day's events was that local support for the President's agenda for health insurance reform remains strong.

Outside the venue, Tea Party protesters turned out in force to fear-monger and voice their radical opposition to change, while inside the Portsmouth High School gym President Obama calmly debunked groundless right-wing claims that creating a public health insurance option will destroy the private insurance industry, and that the U.S. House of Representatives voted for "death panels" that will be authorized to "pull the plug on grandma because we've decided it's too expensive to let her live."

This week, the White House launched a new web site, Health Care Reform Reality Check, to actively counter misinformation spread by health care reform opponents (whitehouse.gov/realitycheck). Visit the site for talking points and more factual information you can use when talking to neighbors and co-workers about why you support President Obama's goal to pass meaningful health care reform this year.

From making hand-lettered rally signs to staffing the Sunday night phone bank to notify Town Hall ticket holders when & where to pick up their much-sought-after tix, local volunteers were instrumental to making the event a success. On Friday and Saturday, Seacoast volunteers also collected over 500 declarations in support of President Obama's priorities for health care reform. Thanks to everyone who volunteered during the lead up to the event and all those who helped out on the big day. I'm incredibly proud of how quickly and efficiently we were able to mobilize our local team to support White House advance operations. (An NHPR reporter covered our pre-event preparations; you can listen to the story here.) Special shout out to Dave O'Connor, our new Regional Field Director for Organizing for America NH, who worked tirelessly to keep up with the mercurial needs of White House advance staff and pulled it all together on extremely short notice. Change That Works/NH for Health Care organizers, NHDP, and other coalition groups get credit for turning out hundreds of pro-health care reform demonstrators to counteract the the hateful noise and rage of Tea Party protesters with the message that we can't wait for health care reform that includes a public plan option. (For more of Walter Weizenauer's photo from the rallies and Town Hall event, visit his flickr album.)

As President Obama remarked on Tuesday, change is hard - and it begins right here. Organizing for America and Change That Works will be planning a number of outreach events and actions in the coming weeks - please participate, because the status quo isn't working for you, it's not working for our community, and it's not working for New Hampshire families and small businesses. It's time to get this done.

What Do We Want? Health Care Now!

Health care activists from around the country gathered near the U.S. Capitol for a June 25 rally.

Our local campaign to win affordable, quality health care for all is still going strong. Last week, dozens of New Hampshire activists -- including many familiar faces from the Greater Seacoast area -- traveled to Washington DC for a national day of advocacy and action for real health care reform.

On Thursday, June 25, members of the NH delegation kicked off the big day with a breakfast meeting with Senator Jeanne Shaheen and senior policy staff from the offices of Carol Shea-Porter and Paul Hodes. We learned that New Hampshire's Congressional Democrats are firm in their support for a public plan option as a key component of legislation to reduce skyrocketing health care costs and guarantee that every American has access to affordable, quality care when they need it.

After the morning meeting, we joined a Capitol Hill rally with thousands of fired-up health care voters from across the U.S., followed by a high-spirited march to the nearby offices of Republican National Senatorial Committee. In the afternoon, a small contingent of NH activists visited the DC office of Judd Gregg to deliver a message urging the Senator to listen to his constituents instead of well-paid lobbyists from big pharmaceutical companies and the private health insurance industry. In short, it was a fantastic, purposeful day, and Granite Staters who made the long bus ride were glad they came.

This summer, watch for a series of Seacoast region events and actions to support President Obama's priorities for health care reform. Seacoast for Change will be partnering with the NH for Health Care/Change That Works campaign and Organizing for America on a number of local actions in the coming weeks. Yes, we can make a difference -- and there are many ways to get involved:

• Join us for a health care house meeting or volunteer to help with a Change That Works/Seacoast for Change/Organizing for America event or action. Email seacoastforchange@gmail.com for more information.

• Have you sent a handwritten card or note to thank Jeanne Shaheen for supporting the public plan option? If not, please do it today -- it only takes five minutes. (Send USPS mail to any one of Senator Shaheen's NH offices for timely reading -- you can find the addresses here.)

• Write a Letter to the Editor on why NH businesses and families can't wait for real health care reform that includes the public health insurance option.

• Reach out to your friends and neighbors. If you're able to make calls to invite other health care supporters to upcoming events, we can provide call lists and scripts for you if you'd like to organize a phone bank or make calls from home.

Political pundits on the left and right are already speculating that the outcome of this year's battle for health care reform will make or break the legacy of the Obama presidency as a transformative era -- and that a failure to push through a meaningful fix for our broken health care system will signal the powerlessness and futility of the organized progressive movement in the United States.

We worked hard last year to get Barack Obama elected. We need to work just as hard this year to make the change we believe in a reality. We can't wait -- and we cannot afford to sit this one out and expect the right thing to happen. Please pick one health care action you can take today, tomorrow, or this week, and follow through.

Follow up on Hampton Democrats Health Care Forum:

On Thursday, June 18, Hampton Democrats sponsored a non-partisan community forum on health care reform featuring a panel of experts on health care administration, community health needs, and health care policy. From all accounts, it was an extremely well organized and informative event. Segments of the panel presentations and discussion can be viewed on YouTube; a report on the forum was also featured in a June 25 cover story for the Portsmouth Wire newspaper. The Health Care Forum was the second in an ongoing series of public policy forums organized by the Hampton Democratic Town Committee.