Organizing for America | Posts with the tag Townhall

Posts with the tag Townhall

By Brian Sims - Sep 1st, 2009 at 3:41 pm EDT

See my diary cross-posted at Daily Kos: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/8/16/767515/-Alameda-Town-Hall-Was-A-Rout

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Positive Lessons Learned from Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff’s Healthcare Reform Town Hall on Tuesday 8/11/2009

By Michael from Santa Monica, CA - Aug 21st, 2009 at 1:03 am EDT

Also listed in: 10 groups

Please help me figure out how to get this to those that are preparing for future events...

Positive Lessons Learned from
Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff’s Healthcare Reform Town Hall
on Tuesday 8/11/2009

On Tuesday 8/11/2009, I attended a very well run Town Hall event that provided some very clear lessons on how to overcome the organized attempts at disruption and fear/hate mongering led by the radical right and corporate anti-reform supporters.

My thanks and congratulations go to Congressman Schiff and everyone involved in this event. This is the first such event that I have attended, and it was a very positive experience overall. (I was drawn to attend in an attempt to balance out the rowdy anti-reform crowds that I have seen on TV trying to dominate such events.)

The event had at least the expected 2000 people present, and despite the vocal attempts of anti-reform people, the event was kept relatively civilized and constructive.

A large part of this success is due to the obvious efforts of the event organizers to actively manage the event, rather than utilize a normal town hall format, which the anti-reform sponsors have recently managed so well to game to their advantage.

Below I list my observations, which I highly recommend that all Democratic legislators and town hall event planners study before/while planning their own events to discuss healthcare reform.

I also recommend that you contact Congressman Schiff, the event planners at his office and the City of Alhambra, the moderator Dr. Bruce Hensel, and the Alhambra Police Department for their own lessons learned.

Things done right to support a constructive dialog:

Don’t assume that this will be a normal town hall event. Treat this as a unique event with its own necessary preparation steps to ensure success.
The anti-reform sponsors have worked hard to game the format employed by normal town hall gatherings. Do not reward their efforts by passively playing along.
Be very clear on the goals of anti-reform sponsors…

· To agitate the radical right

· To prevent constructive dialog on this topic by disrupting and monopolizing the event

· To limit opportunities for reform supporters to spread their message

· To propagate intentional lies about reform goals/methods

· To intimidate supporters of healthcare reform from participating

· To wear down and intimidate pro-reform legislators

Do not limit attendance.
Attendance limits reward organizers who can bus in their supporters early during working hours so as to claim all available seats. Limits thus penalize people with jobs who find that by the time they can arrive after work and traffic the event is filled and they will not be admitted.
Hold the event outdoors.
This reduces the impact of people shouting to disrupt the event. During the first half of our event a number of anti-reformers attempted to shout non-stop to reduce dialog, but the open air dispersed their volume. They could not effectively compete with the sound system used by the podium speakers, and eventually they gave up and shut up.
An outdoor venue also supports the ability to avoid attendance limits.
Our event was held at a grassy area outside the library at the City of Alhambra Town Hall.
Use a high-quality sound system for the podium speakers.
The sound must be loud enough to be clearly heard by all in the audience, without distortion. Use a professional company for this and test it in advance.
Allow signs
Pro-reform audience members were obviously more polite and less likely to resort to out-shouting their opponents. Signs provided an alternative means for them to make their opinions known.
There will be many crazy signs from the anti-reform movement, such as pictures of Obama with a Hitler mustache. This is acceptable vs. the benefit of providing more civilized members of the audience with a means to communicate.
Use a professional moderator who is knowledgeable about healthcare reform.
Dr. Bruce Hensel, Medical, Health, and Science Editor/Reporter for NBC4 performed this role very admirably at Adam Schiff’s event. I recommend that organizers of similar events contact him to learn his own lessons learned.
The moderator should feel free to guide the discussion with the goal of providing constructive dialog.
Do not provide microphones for audience speakers, have the moderator restate their questions for the audience.
This reduces both the incentive for and impact of grandstanding and attempts to disrupt.
Not hearing amplified ranting also discourages other members of the audience from piling on with more shouting/chanting in an attempt to disrupt/monopolize the event.
It also allows legitimate, but nervous/awkwardly phrased questions to be restated in a manner that supports better dialog.
Have audience members line up to approach the front to ask questions
This is necessary for them to be heard by the moderator and legislator, since they will not be issued microphones. It also allows the moderator to more clearly call on people to come forward and speak.
At our event there was a pseudo line which formed as people moved forward to reach the front where they might be called on. This provided a cooling off period where people are required to behave in a civilized manner before speaking. Make sure that latecomers to the event are able to join the line as well as people that camp it before hand.
Using a line does not mean that the next person to speak is predetermined. At our event the line was a few people wide, and the moderator retained the right select the next speaker. This helps him/her try to balance the questions based on impressions of which side people may support, and to avoid calling on obviously disruptive people.
(I was able to move through the crowd, line up and eventually ask a question, even though by the time I arrived the event was just starting with over 2000 people present.)
Have sufficient room at the front for the selected speaker to step forward away from the line and speak.
Having the person separate themselves from the line makes it more clear who is to speak. It also reduces any potential intimidation from other people in line.
At our event a little girl was able to step up and ask a question without feeling intimidated.
Use a panel format
This allows the moderator to select appropriate experts to speak, and perhaps more importantly will avoid having the legislator get trapped in a cycle of having to continuously defend him/her self. The legislator remains free to speak up as desired though. It also supports the impression that the legislator is not the only person supporting reform.
Do not feel that the panel needs to be overly balanced so as to include people that do not support healthcare reform. The goal should be to support discussion of what type of reform, rather than having panelists attack the very concept.
Panelists should be warned though that due to the contentious nature of the anti-reformers, there may be limited opportunities to have a real debate, and much of the time may be spent simply defending the concept of healthcare reform.
Give the panelists a few minutes each at the beginning to state their positions once they are introduced.
At our event, the panelists were…

· Dr. Benjamin Chu, President, Southern California Region, Kaiser

· Dr. Richard Brown, Director, UCLA Center for Health Policy Research

· Jerry Flanagan, Health Care Advocate, Consumer Watchdog

· Leeba Lessin, President, CareMore Health Plan

Have a visible, but not overbearing, police presence for crowd control, especially near the front.
The Alhambra Police Department is to be commended for very successful crowd control which helped to protect the panelists and audience, as well as the spirit of the event itself. Their firm, but restrained guidance should be seen as a model of police support for civilized debate in a democracy. They were visible, but not at all overbearing. This helped lead to an almost carnival atmosphere where people were confident of their safety, without feeling intimidated by the government.
The 3-4 police between the audience and the podium helped ensure that the “line” of people moving forward to ask questions remained civilized. At one point they were required to step in and handle a minor disruption, but this in no way detracted from the event as it was handled firmly, but with restraint. Once I asked my question, an officer politely, but firmly asked me to step back if I was done with my question. I happily thanked him for his efforts and rejoined the crowd.
Perhaps most importantly, keep a sense of humor, and don’t allow yourself to be intimidated
Congressman Schiff was very good at this, including occasionally joking in a friendly manner with the crowd about their “passionate debate”. He began the event by specifically asking everyone to act in a positive manner, which also helped. He also clearly stated that he was not going to be able to please everyone, while making visible attempts address anti-reform questions. A very impressive balancing act during a challenging event in my opinion.

Potential improvements:
A few minor points might be improved upon…

When asking how many people in the audience are for or against healthcare reform, know that the second side asked will typically be louder than the first.
This is because they have time to prepare themselves, and have the ability to gauge how load they are willing to shout to surpass the first asked side. If you want to even out the chance for the more polite pro-reform side to present their numbers, I recommend that you ask first how many oppose healthcare reform, and then how many support it. At our event, the Congressman’s final question of how many people were undecided produced a predictable, but humorous response of only a handful of people.
Have the front area specifically reserved for people in line to ask questions,
Allowing people to remain in the front area allows more aggressive anti-reformers to crowd the more valuable positions towards the front where they can more effectively disrupt and intimidate.
At our event the crowd was allowed to be a little too close to the podium, which allowed a small mob of anti-reform shouters to have more than their fair share of influence.
Have police expel people that obviously attempt to disrupt the event
As mentioned above, at least one person as able to stand near the front and shout at the top of his lungs non-stop for about half the event.
Obviously the desire to address this has to be balanced with any potential for actual or perceived police intimidation. As stated, at our event, the open air venue and excellent sound system used by the podium speakers eventually caused this person to quit yelling, so perhaps this is not always necessary.
Try not to call on any one panelist too frequently
Mixing it up keeps all panelists involved and reduces the impression that any “pet-panelist” is being given too much attention.
Set the crowd’s expectations by clearly stating that there will be a period of at least ½ hour for the legislator and panelists to introduce themselves and give their positions before questions will be taken from the audience.
This will help control the anti-reformers’ desire to go straight to questions so that they can dominate the event. (It obviously won’t reduce their desire for this, but it will make their chants for questions to begin sound more rude, which will encourage the rest of the audience to discourage them.)
Possibly use a lottery to decide who is initially allowed to be up front for questions.
Assuming that the lottery is held immediately before the event, instead of well in advance, this would keep people from being able to camp the front.
The challenge here would be to come up with a method that would allow this to be done quickly and fairly, so it doesn’t become a distraction.

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Disappointed in President Obama's Organizing for America Health Care Forum

By Michael from Santa Monica, CA - Aug 20th, 2009 at 5:37 pm EDT

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Billed as a strategy session and “an incredible opportunity to huddle with the President and discuss how we're going to pass real health insurance reform this year”, what we got was preaching to the choir by our Professor in Chief, rather than a discussion of strategies to actually move this forward.

I was ESPECIALLY disappointed to hear the President refer to the select panel as a legitimate negotiating method, and to hear him praise the Republicans on it, including Senator Grassley who has promoted the lies about death panels, as acting in good faith.

Surely Obama can’t be this naïve!!

First of all, how can that panel be legitimate when half of the members are Republican in the first place. This is not the proportion that was elected. Voluntarily giving them equal weight has only prevented any real reform from moving forward. A perfect example of this is how the single payer option was never considered, because these Republicans would never go along with it. This freed them to target any public option as socialized medicine, which it now sounds like we are moving away from as we try to compromise with them.

The American public elected a Democratic majority to get the job done. In giving away our majority to do so, I can only assume that enough Democrats have been bought out by special interests so that no intent to actually deliver effective healthcare reform has ever been intended. Instead apparently we only wanted to sound like we are trying to accomplish it, while at the same time stacking the deck against ourselves.

Secondly, the actions and comments from these three Republicans have shown that they have no interest in passing anything. Grassley himself, after warning people to be afraid for grandma, recently said that he would never support a bill that a majority of Republicans would vote for. Given the underhanded tactics that they and their pundits use, it should be obvious that they have NO interest in a dialog in good faith, and are only negotiating as a means to drag out the process with a series of endless compromises, while they foster an environment of hatred and intolerance for reform.

Wake up Mr. President!!!

Quit letting the Republicans and Blue Dogs play you for a fool.

It’s time to show less compassion and understanding and instead more backbone and righteous indignation.

Call out the liars as despicable and unpatriotic.

Quit trying to convince the Blue Dogs to support reform by watering it down, and instead make it politically impossible for them to act against it.

Stop portraying the anger in America as legitimate debate and instead demonstrate how it is manufactured astro-turf.

If you don’t feel like you can do this and be a nice guy, assign a senior hard-ass to do it for you. The movement desperately needs someone to lead the counter charge.

It also needs more clear organization...

Your discussion today only vaguely stressed the need for people to talk to their friends and neighbors, and offered a couple of talking points in response to a couple of questions.
Lame! We need someone who is actively providing clear instructions on what and how to help.

At a minimum, there should be a 3-5 point bullet list of talking points that everyone is pushing. Shorter, sound bite length talking points, which you can then lecture on to your heart’s content.There needs to be clear instruction on who to contact to help.We need to take the tactics of our opponents, refine them so they are morally acceptable, and then deploy them in a clear fashion.This movement needs a General to guide it.

Now unfortunately, I missed the beginning of the Forum due to internet issues, so maybe the initial speakers provided this leadership and guidance.
If so, I’ll be very, very happy to see more information coming from them in the future.

So far though, this effort seems like a weak, half-hearted attempt to capitalize on the exact same volunteer structure used during the election, without realizing that it needs more focus and clarity to work for an issue-specific movement. And for God’s sake, don’t think that we will win in the end based on the pattern of the election! A lot of the reason that we won convincingly is that the Republicans imploded towards the end of the election.We can’t count on that now, especially given that there are such powerful special interests whose profits are directly threatened by the reform movement.

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Townhall or Townhell?

By Andréa- (You've called him everything else- now call him Mr. President!) - Aug 12th, 2009 at 10:19 pm EDT

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Wow... if you've been watching the news lately I guess one of the big stories are the "angry people" who are attending townhall meetings hosted by Members of Congress. Most of the meetings shown have been those in areas that are represented by Democrats. Even C-Span showed some of the circus act yesterday.

I watched a Maryland Senator try his best to explain what Healcare/ Insurance Reform actually is. I never realized that so many people have such closed ears and minds. Don't get me wrong, some of the questions they asked were legit. Things like cost, eligibility, coverage etc- all good topics to discuss.

If an actual discussion was part of the agenda. The people who did nothing but yell, scream, and declare they don't want "government" where just so pitiful. Not necessarily for doing the above, but for trying to drown out the discussion. They where hell bent on not letting anyone hear any information. Most of the people were aiming for the tv cameras and egging each other on as if they were in a talent competition.

I guess they really have great healthcare coverage. Or maybe they had nothing else to do other than bring out the can of hate.

I feel for some of these elderly congress folks (ie. Sen. Specter (PA) and Rep. Dingel (MI) ). These folks are in their 80s (or darn close) and they have to deal with all of this evil.

Thank God there is a provision for mental health services in the bills circulating in Congress...

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So, I went to a Townhall...

By Kim, part of the Greatest lobbying force Washington has ever seen - Aug 12th, 2009 at 9:18 pm EDT

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First, on an utterly different note-- Et tu Senator Grassley? Good grief, I thought Senator Grassley was somebody who would put Country ahead of party interests... after today, Senator Grassley's own words have proven that false at least on health care reform. I hope Senator Grassley simply misspoke (repeatedly) and will clear this up tomorrow.

Now, for the townhall event....

The GOP is playing with fire here. At our townhall, most of the folks actually supported either a public option, or single payer, but those folks clapped mainly and were not part of the shouting. There was a very vocal minority who tried to speak over everything and shout down the panel. Much of the chanting seemed pre-orchestrated, but if that was done by the GOP, I'd be surprised. There were also folks (in opposition to reform) who alternatively shouted and then approached other people and tried to "convince" them one on one. None of the angry folks around me liked Republicans any better than they liked Democrats-- indeed, it seemed that these folks all believed our 2 largest political parties exist to keep us from "knowing" what is really happening and how we are being turned into "beasts of burden" for "them."

Yet, least you think the loud, protesters were violent, please think again. Indeed, many approached me (even though I had a sign supporting health care reform in my hand) in a vain attempt to "proselytize" me to their cause. I use that word "proselytize" deliberately. All of them were decent folk with some (at least to me) incredible beliefs.

Here is a sampling of some of the beliefs I was asked to "join" last night:

1. Fluoride in our water is for mind control. I asked this person if she was concerned about our "precious bodily fluids", and I don't think she got it because she responded "Yes, you understand!"

2. The New World Order was on track to turn us all into slaves (all of us, regardless of race, creed, or national origin) and this began under President George H. W. Bush. This person sounded a great deal like Timothy McVeigh, which shocked me (I lived in Tulsa, OK for a time and my folks lived there when the horror occurred at the Federal Building in OK City) and before I could catch the words, I said--

"You agree with Timothy McVeigh?"

She replied by shouting "Are you threatening me?" Which was odd since I had not moved, but simply asked a question in a shocked tone. I said "No," and she pulled out a cell phone, stuck it in my face and took my picture "Now, we know who you are!" she finished. I assured her I was not threatening her (and incidentally, since when is it non-threatening to stick a camera in someone's face and take a picture without permission?) but was concerned since her words sounded a lot like Mr. McVeigh's. She told me she had DVD's which would prove to me that the government (no distinction between Republicans and Democrats) was trying to turn us all into beasts of burden and that "They" would come for me soon, too.

3. Most tried to convince me that Lyndon LaRouche had the answers-- he was followed closely by Ron Paul. None of the protestors who approached me, or to whom I spoke, were Republicans. Indeed, they seemed to despise Republicans as much as they despise Democrats.

4. A fellow with a sign of President Obama made up to look like that little jerk who caused World War II and the slaughter of countless numbers of innocents told me that he felt the same way about President Bush, maybe even worse. I got rather worked up about him-- and sang (off key, unfortunately) "My Country 'Tis of Thee" at him until he put the sign down (probably to stop my singing). To give you an idea of how loud it was, I don't think anybody else could hear me singing. When I got home, though, I wished I had not done that. Something about all of the nonsense everywhere got into me, and I wish I had not let that happen. But, comparisons to the little Austrian jerk who has his own special place in hell aggravate the heck out of me since it seems to diminish how truly terrible that little pipsqueak of an Austrian jerk was. And no, I won't use his name-- he does not deserve that dignity.

5. A man asked me if I would personally guarantee that there would be no "death panels," and I said yes. It did not make any difference. He was older, and I think truly scared. I do wish folks like Senator Grassley (WHO KNOWS BETTER!) would not perpetrate that sort of thing. People have quite enough fear already; nobody needs to be creating false things to fear simply to advance their political party.

6. All of the vocal protestors had cameras of some kind and they seemed to be attempting to take pictures only of signs that were opposed to health care reform. Some of the signs were very vitriolic; others were downright dangerous (if believed).

7. One vocal opponent to reform told us he was from Nevada and did not have health care insurance. But, that he would not take government subsidy or a public plan, because that would be a death sentence for him. Another American afraid thanks to demagogues who don't care a thing about him, or anything else but whatever "ends" they are attempting to achieve.

8. All of the protestors to whom I spoke believe that "They" are going to get us all and I was an idiot for not seeing it. When I asked who "They" were I got a mixed bag of answers-- I was told "the government," "the corporations", "Wall Street," and even "insurance companies." Some folks also told me that college is where you get brainwashed for "them."

9. All believed that bad things happen because "they" want bad things to happen-- and disagreed with me vehemently that sometimes bad outcomes occur because individuals can be stupid, venal, even criminal (sometimes on a gigantic scale) but next to no-one actually plans for the WHOLE house of cards to come tumbling down. (Because really, as stupid as Wall Street traders behaved leading up to the collapse, how logical is it to think that individual traders from all over the world went to some meeting(s) somewhere where the collapse of the world's economy was planned-- stupid? greed driven? only short-term thinking? yes, criminal? probably, but organized at some vast conspiracy level? I rather doubt it).

Again, the GOP is truly barking up the wrong tree if they think most of those protestors will follow their banner, but perhaps my townhall event was atypical. The folks to whom I spoke expressed ideas that are opposed to just about every American institution, including the Republican Party. Yet, each one of them professed to love the U.S. Constitution, just not the military, the Congress, the President, the Supreme Court, local officials, state officials, prisons, laws, & etc. Their problem with the military is that we have a "standing army" when they believe we should only have militias. Nobody expressed a problem with individual soldiers. The protestors last night were a very agitated group; yet, I don't think any one of them would have harmed me despite the fact that I disagreed with them (endlessly). It was interesting that despite all of the shouting I could hear what the protestors were saying to me.

Other than the cell phone camera in my face, the only tense moments came when some careless person almost stuck me or my better half in the face with his/her sign and I don't believe that was intentional. There also was some shoving at times that was a bit tense, but it soon subsided. Somebody also unzipped my purse, but it was crowded and one should always beware of pickpockets in a crowded place-- and I noticed before the "hand" got my wallet.

If I met most of the opponents to reform on the street, or in my neighborhood, and we did not speak about politics, I just might like them. Some of them were quite charming one on one, even though we could not disagree more about just about everything to do with how the world works.

Amazingly, one was able to hear much of what the panel had to say-- and there were folks there who truly wanted more information.

Most of the folks could not tell me where in my district that they lived and some admitted to coming from Nevada. I think I saw one of the protestors on television today at an event in Maryland-- but surely that could not be true.

There were also some residents in white coats (I think from USC County Hospital) who were attempting to speak to the vocal minority about the real need for health care reform. I don't think that they achieved much-- even though they were very earnest in their attentions-- but nobody seemed to be threatening them.

Well, that is about it.

I live in California District 29 and my representative is Adam Schiff. He held an open air townhall yesterday evening in Alhambra, California. The crowd was big and a small but very vocal part of the crowd was not interested in anything that Rep. Schiff, or anyone else on the panel had to say.

Representative Schiff made clear his support of a public option-- and I was very pleased that I was able to hear that part of the townhall.

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Last Week Campaign Event

By Worldnation - Oct 26th, 2008 at 11:37 am EDT

This is an open suggestion to the Obama campaign for presidency.

With the abundance of donations and the historic achievements this campaign has made utilizing technology and the internet my suggestion is two-fold. Buy one hour of air time either national network or cable distribution and have a webcast/simulcast "Online Town Hall Event" where Mr. Obama takes questions via emails and responds to them live. Have someone engaging to host the discussion and read the questions such as retired General Colin Powell. It's important to speak to "this generation" and show that an Obama administration understands the importance of this new world both - the economy, and what technology brings.

We must elect leaders who are not "technology illiterates" like Bush and McCain - someone like Obama who's engaging audiences in their chosen mediums - that will help lead is in this new century and not be stuck in the past - someone who'll lead us all with change - into a bright new future with hope.

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Know Thine Enemy

By Marjani - Oct 7th, 2008 at 12:24 am EDT

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Monday, October 6, 2008

Dear Townhall Reader:

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The National Republican Trust PAC is not affiliated with the Republican National Committee

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John McCain On Computers and Email : "I just never really felt a need to do it. "

By KravitzKravitz - Sep 14th, 2008 at 9:09 pm EDT

McCain agrees with the 'out of touch ad.'

Senator Obama need not change the 'John McCain is out of touch because he doesn't use computers or the internet' ad or copy one note or punctuation mark, nor need anyone back down from or question just how valid it is.

McCain, to reiterate, agrees with the statement made in the ad.

This is an update of my Daily Kos post, "John McCain Uses A BlackBerry."

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/9/13/103735/543/712/597294

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Photos From Barack's Visit to Farmington Hills Yesterday

By Josh In Michigan - Sep 9th, 2008 at 2:16 pm EDT

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Black Reporter Banned and Booted From A John McCain TownHall

By Tanya - Aug 11th, 2008 at 1:55 am EDT

Also listed in: African Americans for Obama

Sole Black Reporter Booted from McCain Event
by thinkbridge

Tallahassee Democrat senior writer Stephen Price was singled out and asked to leave the area reserved for media at a rally for John McCain in Panama City, Florida, on Friday. He had showed his media credentials and employee i.d. in order to enter the area when a member of McCain’s security detail asked him to leave.

“I explained I was with the state press, but the Secret Service man said that didn’t matter and that I would have to go,” Price said.

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Barack Obama in Rolla Missouri Townhall

By Jamal - It's not Mr. Obama, It's President Obama! - Jul 30th, 2008 at 6:44 pm EDT

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http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/597529

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Playing it safe?!!

By Chinni - Jun 16th, 2008 at 10:26 pm EDT

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Even though it might be politically more astute, I'm disappointed with our campaign's counteroffer for the presidential debates. I remember the last time Obama regretted this (playing safe) was after the Texas/ Ohio campaign.

Campaigns Unable to Agree on Series of Meetings

..But after a round of proposals and counterproposals, the campaigns failed to reach an agreement on Friday on how often to meet and when any head-to-head matchups should occur. David Plouffe, the campaign manager for Mr. Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee, criticized Mr. McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, for declining the counteroffer of five joint appearances..

Behind McCain's Town Hall Campaign

..Though initially receptive to the idea of joint town halls, the Obama campaign has so far opted to treat McCain's ambitious proposal as a calculated political threat, not a high-minded invitation to improve the democratic process. On Friday, the Obama campaign said that it would agree to a single town hall, on the Fourth of July, and an additional forum on foreign policy, a counteroffer that McCain quickly deemed unacceptable. The Obama camp may have genuine concerns about how their candidate will stack up against McCain in such a format. But they are also well aware that so many joint appearances only help McCain, who badly trails Obama in fund raising, rack up the free media exposure he needs to keep pace with his opponent.
Like the format itself, a debate over the issue of scheduling town halls is one that the McCain campaign thinks it will win. "I'll let the American people decide which they think is the preferable proposal," McCain said after rejecting Obama's counteroffer. "I understand that we will negotiate but I want the American people to have the exposure to a number of town hall meetings, not just one."..

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April 9: Malvern Town Hall

By Chesco Bill - Apr 8th, 2008 at 11:59 am EDT

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I just recieved an invitation to attend a townhall meeting with Barack in our area.

Tickets are required and can be picked up today in Phoenixville.

Please join Barack Obama at a Town Hall in Malvern, where he'll talk about his vision for bringing America together and creating the kind of change we can believe in.

Town Hall with Barack Obama
Great Valley High School
225 N. Phoenixville Pike
Malvern, PA 19355

Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Doors open: 10:00 a.m.

Tickets for the Town Hall can be picked up at:
234 Bridge St.
Phoenixville, PA 19460
Tuesday, April 8
9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

The event is free and open to the public; however, seating is limited and a ticket is required. Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Please limit personal items.
For security reasons, do not bring bags.
No signs or banners are permitted.

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Townhall on Barack's Plan for Rural America in Kingstree

By T. Neil Sroka - Nov 19th, 2007 at 10:37 pm EST

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Just a couple of hours after Congresswoman Moore's visit to Florence, the campaign held a town hall meeting with farmers and their families in Kingstree, SC about Senator Obama's commitment to support rural communities in South Carolina, including black farmers who have been discriminated against by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

In addition to Representative Moore, speaking at the forum was farmer, prominent Barack supporter, and former candidate for SC Commissioner of Agriculture, Emile DeFelice; Dr. John Boyd, President National Black Farmers Association; and Mike Strautmanis, who helped Barack author the Senate legislation designed to protect black farmers from USDA discrimination.

The forum was absolutely packed with folks from Kingstree, the vast majority of whom, at Dr. Boyd's request, indicated that themselves were farmers.

During his presentation, Dr. Boyd talked about his support for Barack being rooted in the lengths Senator Obama and his staff had gone to defend the rights of minority farmers.

This sentiment was buttressed, by former Senate staffer, Mike Strautmanis, who helped Senator Obama write the law he has put forward to protect black farmers and who got a little emotional when talking to the people in Kingstree the law would be helping.

"We wrote the bill to provide [farmers, like you] with relief that you [need]. Not because of anything in [our] background, but because as I look across this room I see my parents, I see my friends, I see my uncles, I see my grandparents, I see my people. So I knew we had to do what's right. I came by here to tell you one thing and one thing only: When Barack Obama is President of the United States you don't have to worry about this bill. He will sign it into law, no question about it. We will work every day, for this day to that day, to get you the relief you deserve."

After the discussion, dozens of the farmer's in the room signed on to support Barack because of his strong commitment to improving the options and opportunities available to South Carolina's rural communities.

(Can't see the slideshow above? Check out the other pictures from Kingstree here.)

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MoveOn Townhall Debate Tomorrow at 7pm EST

By wheelbarrow - Apr 9th, 2007 at 3:42 pm EDT

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Don't forget to vote in the post debate poll. Register at MoveOn. Link http://www.moveon.org Tell your friends. Press release: Link

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