Town Hall meetings across the nation have been very lively and that was definitely the case in Calhoun County Tuesday morning when Congressman Allen Boyd held a forum at the W.T. Neal Civic Center. An estimated 300 area residents turned out for the gathering and spoke loud and clear about their stand on issues. The hottest topic of the day was healthcare.
Boyd stressed that he would not vote for the healthcare bill as presented and stood with the Blue Dog Coalition, demanding a bill that includes patient choice, addressing rising costs, access, and something that is deficit neutral.
“When are you going to realize you work for us and we don’t want any part of socialized medicine,” said Sally Sims, a local teacher. Such statements by nearly everyone who spoke drew a standing ovation.
A Frink woman noted that the Blue Dog Coalition is heavily funded by the healthcare industry and asked Boyd if he could serve two masters: his constituents and those funding the Blue Dogs. “I represent your interests and nobody else’s,” he responded.
Others discussed their concern over Boyd’s support for the Cap & Trade Bill. One man said he and others made calls to Boyd’s office to complain and were hung up on or called “robo callers”. Boyd said he was always available to his constituents, kept his number listed, and would get to the bottom of what reportedly happened with office staff.
