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McHenry tackles health care, immigration
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Published: August 27, 2009
At his town hall meeting here two weeks ago, U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry told the hundreds of people who came but couldn't get in that he would hold another one soon.
On Wednesday he made good on that promise, but only about 200 people showed up for what Mooresville Mayor Bill Thunberg called "Town hall, phase II" during his introduction of McHenry at a room in the Charles Mack Citizen Center.
That was a fraction of the crowd that arrived for McHenry's first Mooresville gathering on Aug. 10 at the Town Hall building. Most of those people were turned away for fire safety reasons.
On Wednesday, there was room to spare as a mostly pro-McHenry crowd spoke about a variety of issues, but mostly about the current health care reform matter and illegal immigration.
One woman asked McHenry how to combat the "trickery" the Democratic Party is using to promote its health care package. The woman said the Democrats' most recent attempt at political chicanery was to exploit the death of Sen. Edward Kennedy, who was a key promoter of the plan.
McHenry replied by saying that by a ratio of 2-to-1, Americans are against House Bill 3200.
"How many people want this plan?" McHenry asked the audience. Only about 15 people raised their hands.
"How many would rather have no health reform at all than to support this plan?" the congressman asked.
And the remainder of the crowd raised their hands.
McHenry urged the people to make it known to government officials that they are not in favor of the bill.
"Public opinion matters a lot," he said.
McHenry added during the course of the event three things would improve health care: allowing intrastate health coverage purchases; eliminating the notion of pre-existing conditions; and tort reform as it applies to malpractice lawsuits.
Richard Clemens, a transplant to Mooresville from New Jersey, was one of several people who spoke harshly about illegal immigration.
"You send 12 million illegals out and you got 12 million new jobs," he said.
He added that the removal of those in the U.S. without proper documentation would ease the burden on the health care system and the nation's schools.
McHenry said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, both Democrats, "are not in favor of the same immigration plan as we are."
One woman asked, "How do we stop letting illegals from getting breaks in our colleges?"
McHenry said that was a matter that concerned state governments.
Not everyone at the town hall meeting was squarely in McHenry's corner.
It was the opinion of Troy Homesley that most people don't even know what is contained in the health bill, which he felt was the primary reason the crowds had gotten so large.
Homesley, who just began his senior year at Mooresville High School, said he attended a McHenry town hall last year and there were only 30 people in attendance.
Homesley said the Republican Party had control of the White House and both chambers of Congress for most of the decade and did nothing with regard to health care or illegal immigration. He said that what was going on was partisan politics.
"And I hope we can get past that," he said.
McHenry said he would vote against the health plan "even if George W. Bush" was proposing it.
Diane Holmes of Mooresville came to the microphone to make her comments holding a bright pink sign showing her support of the public option in the health care plan.
Holmes said the people in attendance were too hard on President Barack Obama.
"President Obama has done a lot for this country," Holmes said to the rumblings of the crowd. "And in the short time he has been in, there have been so many stories. It has been unbelievable to hear all the criticism."
Holmes added that she did not like "all the scare tactics" regarding the health care plan.
To which McHenry replied, "I don't like the scare tactics either" and explained that there have been no such tactics at any of his town hall meetings.
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