Mofo Politics | Hoping Obama Fails

Video: Steny Hoyer booed at Health Care Town Hall

Posted September 2nd, 2009 under Headlines Tags: health care reform, maryland, obamacare, protest, steny hoyer, town hall

Hoyer Town Hall at North Point High School in Maryland, September 1.

Politico: Hoyer gets his town hall taste

Summer hasn’t ended yet for health care town halls, and the raucous events which characterized the month of August are not just landmines reserved for House conservatives or freshmen anymore.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer’s town hall meeting in suburban Maryland Tuesday evening dissolved into chaos, with attendees at several points bringing the event to a complete halt.

In Hoyer’s first and only in-district town hall meeting of the month-long August recess, the Democratic leader was yelled at, mocked, sworn at — and even confronted by a longtime hometown political foe.

“Folks,” the longtime congressman said, resignedly, one hour into the meeting, “I know a lot of you think that the president or members of Congress want to take away your health care.”

Hoyer tried his best to argue that it wasn’t true, that the idea Washington wanted to control people’s medical care was just a myth.

But as was so frequently the case, Hoyer’s efforts to calm the angry audience was all in vain.

It didn’t take long for the event to turn ugly. As he strode into the yellow, black, and red-walled basketball gym at North Point High School, Hoyer, flanked by security, was greeted with a chorus of shouts and boos from the filled-to-capacity crowd of 1,200.

People stood, with opponents and supporters of the veteran congressman matching each other in chants.

“Head for the cheap seats Steny!” yelled one middle-aged man.

“Steny! Steny! Steny!” countered a sizable group of pro-Hoyer attendees.

Via Sun Dried Shack…