Posted on 08/06/2009 3:32:48 PM PDT by PhiKapMom
Dear Sharon,
I know a great deal has been written recently about the large crowds at town hall meetings across the country. My Duncan town hall on Tuesday was a great success with more than 100 in attendance. The folks there made it absolutely clear: they do not want a government health care takeover!
I thought you might enjoy this newspaper article about my town hall meeting.
Please read the article here (see below)! Thanks.
Sincerely,
Tom Cole
Article from Duncan Visit:
COLE VISITS CITIZENS IN DUNCAN
DUNCAN — If the 100 or so people who turned out for a town hall-style meeting here Tuesday were U.S. Senators, health care reform as it’s envisioned by the Obama administration would be dead on arrival in Congress.
The Stephens County citizens, who came close to filling a seminar room at the Red River Technology Center, responded to a public invitation made by U.S. Rep. Tom Cole, who arrived at about noon and visited with them for about two hours.
Cole, a Moore Republican, started out by offering updates and comments on important issues facing the nation, including:
The massive economic stimulus, which he said represents trillions of dollars in borrowed money and so far has resulted in little measurable positive effect on the economy.
The war in Iraq and the eventual withdrawal of U.S. forces. Cole said “combat troops” should be out by the end of 2011 but that the United States will likely retain at least 20,000 to 30,000 people there after that. Iraqi security forces are doing fairly well at keeping the peace, he said. “The real question is if politicians in Iraq can work out their differences.”
The war in Afghanistan and the buildup of troops there. “It probably will stay very tough over there for a long period of time,” Cole said.
“Cash for Clunkers,” which Cole described as a program that turns things with value — older model vehicles — into useless pieces of junk, in order to jumpstart new car sales, to the detriment of the used car industry.
The Obama administration’s “cap and trade” initiative, which the congressman described essentially as an “energy tax” requiring industries to purchase government permits for energy use. “This is the best economic development bill for India and China that I’ve ever seen,” Oklahoma’s 4th District congressman said, adding that cap and trade would be especially damaging to energy producing states like Oklahoma. He said he’s hopeful that the initiative will fail when it comes to a vote in Congress. That generated the first of several rounds of applause offered by those in attendance.
It was clearly health care reform, though, that most people who were there wanted to talk about. Only one young man, a political science student at Cameron University, identified himself as a supporter of the president, and he challenged Cole on past comments the congressman has made about the country’s march toward “Europeanstyle socialism.” Cole said he has never intended to equate Obama with a dictator, but he said he fears the president supports “collective ownership” of assets and government management and rationing of health care, as has been modeled in Europe and Canada. He pointed out that Rep. Barney Frank, a liberal and powerful congressman from Massachusetts, has indicated a desire to see a “single payer” health care system adopted in the United States, with complete government control. If that were to happen, Cole said, the private health care industry, which represents fully one-sixth of the American economy, would be gutted and the American public would end up paying higher taxes for a quality of care that for many would be diminished. Cole said there are reforms that might be made, such as through tort reform, that could bring cost savings to health care consumers at little or no cost.
“(The American people) are demanding reform,” he said, “but not in this bill.”
The idea of socialized medicine clearly angered a number of people at the meeting. One, Duncan resident Lynn Parr, described the administration’s reform efforts as insulting to the wishes of American people.
“I don’t see how any group of Congress people could write this trash,” he said. “How could people who are supposed to represent us write something so detrimental to us? I’ve got an 87-year-old mother and according to this, she needs to be put away.”
Some of those who were there said they had lived in other states and had witnessed efforts at “universal health care” backfire. One, from Massachusetts — which some referred to as “Tax-achusetts” — said he moved to Oklahoma because of the meddling of government there and the “total financial failure” of the government-managed health care system. Cole responded that similar efforts made in Tennessee also were “disastrous.”
The fact remains, Cole insisted, that the system now in place in the United States, imperfect though it may be, still provides for quality, timely care for millions of people who would rather not gamble on a system that would cost them more and deliver less. One man in the audience, Roy Grabman, said it appeared to him that the administration wants to take away from the “haves” in the U.S. and give to the “have nots” and that in the end, instead of making everyone better off it would make everyone “uniformly miserable.” Another, Mike Carter, said he would like to see improvements made, “but we don’t need to overhaul the whole system.”
Cole added that in addition to the trillions of dollars the government is spending or proposing to spend on programs many Americans would find objectionable, he can’t abide by the manner in which bills are being rushed through Congress. He described 1,200-page bills arriving on the desks of lawmakers who are being asked to vote on them that same day.
“We’ve had a lot of people who have voted on things they clearly have not had a chance to read,” he said. “Aside from the policies, the processes bother me a lot.”
He did say, though, that some of the initiatives — like cap and trade — that seemed “slam dunks” for the Obama administration when the president first took office seem to be losing momentum.
From all accounts this was a very good Town Hall with a lot of facts and a lot of disgusted voters except for Cameron student.
Send the Democrats to the end of the Unemployment Line in Nov 2010!
Obama, in true marxist ideologue fashion, is getting frustrated and testy about it.
MY LETTER TO THE WHITEHOUSE AND OBAMA ABOUT FREE SPEECH
A PETITION ON FACEBOOK FOR CONSTITUTIONAL RESTORATION
Tom’s opponent in the primary is a Ron Paul person who was part of a scheme to take over OK GOP by getting his people in as precinct chairs. It worked in some instances starting with my precinct chair but in the end it will backfire because I will work 24/7 to help reelect Tom to Congress and defeat the guy in the primary which won’t be that hard.
Tom Cole is responsive to the voters of the 4th District — ask a question and you will get an answer.
Love your graphics! You have nailed this fraud occupying the WH. MSM should be fired for pushing him off on the American people by refusing to print the truth.
Nice of Mr Cole to dislike the quick votes on life-changing legislation, but how long was TARP on the table before he voted for it?
I think he is at best a fair weather conservative who postures more when elections are near or Democrats are in charge. He likes to spend other people’s money. The best thing about him is that he is not tallied among Pelosi’s ranks.
He voted for this gem:
H.R. 5140
Recovery Rebates and Economic Stimulus for the American People Act of 2008
“provisions increasing the size of home mortgage loans that the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) can insure and that the quasi-governmental enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can purchase. “
I wish he had a credible challenger, but that may have to wait until 2012, or until the Aspen Institute stops paying for his vacations.
Also ask everyone you know to get involved with our petition drive.
It's time we restore the constitution and place these people on notice.
Clearly, DumbO has no health care plan. He has only the House version of a health care plan which is a hodgepodge of socialist programs put into the plan by every fascist in the House for the last 20 years.
They are going to find their way to a blog, http://DemocratsforSale.blogspot.com to go along with the rest against the DemocRATs been putting up. We did it in a hurry so going to redesign it but for now it works.
What I don’t understand, not that it matters now, is what was sooo hard about seeing this when he was running? I’m no genius, and his socialist agenda was as plain as sunlight to me.The only thing that I’ve never decided is what his priority is, his marxism or his racism. He hasn’t had to choose yet and show his true colors on those issues, as far as which is priority with him. Right now he just wants to make all Americans of every race equally poor/mediocre, I wonder how the fine-tuning will go, when he’s gotten the broader things his way? He didn’t try all that hard to hide it, he just didn’t speak about on the trail if not forced, or spoke in campaign-code, which any adult American ought to be able to decipher by now. Maybe it does matter to know why they went for it, so it won’t happen again, IF we ever have another shot and free and fair elections again.
I’ve always had a good opinion of Cole. We’re blessed in this state, only one ‘Rat—probably not even that many after the next election, because I don’t think a lot of people are happy with him. (Boren)
Channel 9, by the way, had at least one of Cole’s townhall meetings featured on the news, might have been the one in Duncan. It appeared that he was listening respectfully to the questions, and answering them in a straightforward manner. Unlike some of the ‘Rat townhall meetings...
How anybody could miss it is beyond me. Obama came right out and said what his agenda was. I guess people just didn’t want to see/hear it.
He is always respectful to anyone that wants to speak.
I think you are being had by the GOP, PhiKapMom.
I was a Ron Paul supporter and became involved in the Republican Party locally. I won’t try to convince you of anything in this format-that is impossible.
But, I invite you to contact me anytime and I will be happy to tell you every thing I know.
I probably already know you.
Peace,
AxXiom
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