How does a Congressman clean earwax from his fingernails?

In the fall, winter, and spring months public schools hum with the business of education and the sometimes disharmonious social melody of today’s youth. Stepping onto the sun-drenched grounds of Edmonds-Woodway High School this past Sunday, where Rep. Jay Inslee (D-WA) held his second town hall on the President’s health care proposal, a scene in stark contrast to that oft-blissful optimism was seen both inside and outside the brick school building in South Snohomish County.

The doors leading inside were flanked by an assortment of single-issue off-topic groups that could have been sent straight from central casting. When an elderly woman was stopped and confronted by a man who loudly demanded that she join him in calling for an audit of the Federal Reserve system, I saw the pick-and-roll open up and quickly slipped inside the school building.

There wasn’t much of a line into the venue, but that may have been because I arrived only about 15 minutes before the town hall was scheduled to begin and the bulk of attendees had already filled in most of the seats in a gymnasium designed for a high school-size student body of around 1,800. More where standing along the back wall. A rough estimate of headcount would be 2,000, but a hard number would be difficult to ascertain because of the many protestors circulating on the hardwood floor and urging the crowd into mob-like support for both their points of view.

A man wearing a head-scarf designed from the pattern of the American flag and sporting a headset marched to and fro holding aloft a large sign that read: “Republicans Have You NO Shame.” As he made loops around the room, a booming avalanche of cheers and jeers broke free in whatever section of the room he passed through.

The mild-mannered were outnumbered, and many in the crowd waved their signs along with raising their voices. Signs opposed to “public option” health care were plentiful; and only one was even indirectly inflammatory–“Kill Obamacare”—but it was enough to incense the woman sharing space with me against the back wall. Signs promoting the government plan appeared equally abundant, although the effect of their all being the exact same sign may account for that. What they lacked in originality and individual expression, was made up for in terms of optical force.

At 1:35 p.m., Congressman Inslee walked onto the stage, dressed in a pair of dungarees (take note President Obama, no “mom” jeans), a starched white shirt, and blue blazer. The politician’s weekend chic.

One pledge of allegiance and a PowerPoint presentation later—the PowerPoint presumably slotted into the schedule to lull concerned elderly voters into a comfy two-hour nap—Inslee kicked off the discussion by informing the thousands of interested citizens gathered that it was his opinion that a public option was “fundamental” to fixing health care. So much for leaving the table open for alternative ideas.

Smart politicians always know to at least appear to leave one ear open for listening, so the questions began rolling in from selected attendees, the most memorable of which came from a woman who offered the silver bullet query: If the public option plan was as wonderful as Congressman Inslee said, would he and his family be buying into the plan? Inslee’s typically bold voice experienced a little power drain when he told the audience in a muffled voice that in the bill Congress would be subject “all the rights and liabilities” of the legislation. You might recognize the doublespeak from such classics as “save or create jobs,” but it’s really just fancy talk for no.

(My colleague, Paula Gardner, has some other good insights on this moment posted at The Sundries Shack.)

When a portion of the crowd expressed disappointment with Inslee’s response, the congressman was kind enough to apologize for the disruption they caused, although in reviewing my audio there didn’t seem to be much noise getting in the way of Inslee’s voice. Maybe it was only the ringing in his ears. 

A pattern developed in the proceedings—statements pro fell into the “this is great, thank you for doing it” variety, and the opposition delivered 60-second manifestos reiterating concerns about privacy, doctor-patient privilege, and eventual nationalization of the health care delivery system due to market forces that are predictable if the legislation is passed in the form proposed. Furthermore, in the hour since the town hall began the temperature had begun soaring at floor-level as more people crowded in to listen.

As I walked backed to my car I wished that the man at center-stage had been as interested in listening as his passionate and concerned audience. After all, of those involved in the “dialogue,” Inslee was the only one getting paid to be there.

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