Howard Dean's Town Hall: 'Better Than Jerry Springer'

A chorus of boos and cheers rained down on Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) and former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean as they took the stage Tuesday night at a health care town-hall meeting in Reston, Va.

"God save America!" yelled one. "Shut up!" said another. "God save the Constitution!" screamed still another, followed by, "Shut up, you pig!"

Nearly three raucous hours later, Moran had yelled at one constituent for impersonating another ("You're not Miss Appleton!"); police had ejected pro-life protester Randall Terry for disorderly conduct; and many of the 3,000 in attendance had shouted, yelled, cheered or jeered about the role of government in their lives. In the words of high school student Katie Smith, 17, who attended the event, "It was better than Springer."

The meeting began with Moran telling the packed gym at South Lakes High School, "Dissent is as American as apple pie," but reminding them that his staff had passed out copies of "Washington's Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior" for a reason. "I respectfully ask we be as respectful and as civil as possible," Moran said.

It quickly became clear that many in the hall had spent more time scribbling slogans on signs than reading the guide for polite company and conversation. Poster boards scrawled with markers screamed out from both sides of the debate: "Obama Lies, Grandma Dies!" "Medicare for All!" A pink poster called out, "Obama Tell the Truth!" while hundreds of pre-printed placards from the pro-Obama group Organizing for America waved a different message: "Standing Together for Health Care Reform."

Although the crowd shouted occasional taunts ("Who's gonna pay for it, Moran?!") throughout the congressman's nearly hour-long presentation on "Five Myths of Health Care Reform," it was not until Moran introduced Howard Dean, who had been sitting silently to the right of Moran throughout his speech, that the gymnasium erupted in dueling roars of disapproval and encouragement. Dean smiled broadly from his seat as Moran observed, "Dr. Dean apparently needs no introduction."

When Dean took the stage, he joked, "Last time I was in front of a crowd this size, it was me doing the screaming." As he spoke about the merits of the public option in health care reform, pro-life demonstrator Terry leaped from his chair and yelled, "Howard Dean is a baby killer!" while other pro-life demonstrators implored the crowd to chant, "We won't pay for murder! We won't pay for murder!" Dean stopped speaking as Moran tried to impose order. Moran first told Terry to leave, and then offered him the chance to ask the first question during the upcoming Q&A session. Instead, Terry left amid a scrum of reporters, supporters, police officers and chants from health care reform supporters demanding, "Kick him out! Kick him out!"

Dean and Moran proceeded to work through an hour and a half of questions submitted by the crowd, earning loud applause and calls of "thank you!" as they spoke of popular reforms like covering patients for pre-existing conditions, including pregnancy. Shouts of disapproval came when Moran and Dean promised that people could keep their coverage, or that illegal immigrants would not be covered under the bill. "Send them home!" shouted a man in the crowd.

At times, the event did indeed feel more Jerry Springer than George Washington, with beefy security guards poised to nab angry attendees who literally could not control themselves from blurting out heated words. One twenty-something Moran taunter, who would give his name only as "Harry Potter," loudly called out to the congressman to get government out of his life. "This is a republic, not a democracy!"

But President Washington might have taken heart in noting that, when leaving the event, protesters and supporters alike said they felt the town hall meeting was a valuable experience.

Katie Smith and her friends Gabbey Tate, 15, and Mira Mehta, 17, admitted that they felt discouraged by the harsh rhetoric, lack of tolerance, and talk of death panels from people in the audience older than them. "I thought our generation was supposed to be the stupid one," Smith said. But were they glad they came? Yes, yes and yes.

Brad Tidwell, 22, leaned on crutches as he held a sign that read "Cripples Against Obamacare," referring to the thick cast on his left foot. He said he doesn't want bureaucrats to slow the decisions of doctors, who were able to repair his ankle quickly, but he was glad he came to the event. 'I'm glad I got to be a part of everything and see what was going on." Tidwell thought Moran should have taken questions spontaneously rather than reading them off of cards, but, "I think it's fantastic that they're making the effort."

"Mr. Potter," draped in a white flag painted with a black gun and the words "Come and Take It," said he, too, was glad he came to Moran's town hall meeting. "Yeah, why not? It's an expression of free speech. People can get along or they can fight, and I prefer to get along."

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