An Ol' Broad's Ramblings
Blackburn Town Hall
Well, the Mr and I headed on over to Savannah (TN) this afternoon for one of the MANY townhall’s our Representative, Marsha Blackburn was holding. I’ve been trying to figure out why she scheduled so many in one day. Each stop only got 45 minutes, which, in the scheme of things, isn’t a whole lot of time, giving herself, basically, about 15 minutes to get to the next stop. I’m impressed! She was only a few minutes late. 
So, anyway, evidently when we got there, the restaurant had told folks they’d be meeting outside. Uh huh. 91 degrees, a bit of humidity, not a lot of shade, old folks. Goes real well together, doesn’t it. It actually wasn’t too bad, thanks to the fans.
We arrived about 25 minutes early, bought something to drink (sweet tea for me, of course), and found a table outside with no problem at all.
I’m glad we showed up early cuz the crowd was growing fairly quickly, and the outdoor area isn’t that big.
About 5 minutes before Marsha was scheduled to arrive, the restaurant evidently decided it would be prudent to allow all the old folks into the air conditioning. Seems there were people standing out on the street that we weren’t able to see, because once that was announced, people came out of the woodwork. Gracious sakes!
You can’t tell from that picture, but it’s a pretty good sized place for a small town. The Mr and I estimated there were between 150 to maybe 200 folks there, with standing room only by the front door.
Before the Congresswoman arrived, a couple of ……I think they were State Troopers (?) came in and looked around. The younger one, he must have been about 12 or 13, kept eye balling at my attire. It took me a few minutes to figure out why he was looking at me like that. So, I looked down, smiled at him, and held out my t-shirt so he could read it.
He smiled back.
Finally, Rep. Blackburn arrived. She made a brief statement, thanking folks for coming out, and telling us how impressed she was at the turn out in each of the towns she had visited. The biggest, by far, seems to have been over there in Franklin, where in the hotel itself, there were about 1300 people, 900 inside, and another 400 in the hallway, plus several hundred more outside.
She spoke of the Crap and Tax bill, which would pretty much turn off Tennessee’s electricity, since the TVA uses coal, and O & Co. don’t much like coal. Or nuclear energy, for that matter, which is another way we get our lights to turn on.
Then, the biggie…..ObamaCare. I can guarantee, there were only 2 people in that room that seems to approve of this travesty. One said he was a doctor, from the county next to this one, but he sounded more like a government bureaucrat. The other was a younger fellow who appeared to approve, by his applause for things no one else in the room was too fond of.
One gentleman, who really IS a local doctor, runs a non profit clinic which caters to the TennCare, Medicare, and low income folks with no insurance. He was ADAMANTLY opposed to ObamaCare, as seems a good chunk of doctors are.
One of the issues was the cost related to Tort Reform. Did you know that in 2006, Congress passed a bi-partisan bill to do some serious reforming on all thefrivolous lawsuits that bog down the courts, and shove medical costs sky high, only to have it die a horrible death in the Senate?
I was able to ask a question, which was something to the effect of why is there so much reference to the tax code in this bill. Well, the explanation? I have NO idea. Something to do with they aren’t allowed to strike through things, so all the bills coming out of Congress refer back to something or other. What a crock. No wonder those people up there have no idea what they are voting for or against….the dadburn things make no sense.
All in all, it was a pretty good meet up. There was no screaming, no shouting down, no name calling. But then, there weren’t any ACORN, SEIU reps, and no Dem operatives were bussed in. Not to mention the fact that the Congresswoman is opposed to this bill (smart woman), and she actually LISTENED to WE, The People, and responded to the various questions and concerns.
I really appreciate her taking the time to actually come and speak to the people who pay her salary. She’s one of the few working in D.C. these days who remembers who she works for, and not the other way around.
Thanks for the recap Kate. Since I’m unable to attend any of the events it’s nice to find out what’s going on.
This is one of those instances I wish we had a video camera. That way, I could go back and see exactly what was said, instead of trying to figure out what I wrote down, and blowing it off. LOL
Thanks for this report. Good to hear from a representative who actually represents us.
God dang. makes me wanna move to Tenn. lol A Congressman that actually opposes this “end of America as we know it” bill? Whered yall dig HER up? Ill trade you: Chuck Grassley for her! Ill even throw in some ethanol! lol
Not a chance! LOL After having Tom Petri up in WI….I’m gonna hang on to this lady.
You’d be surprised how many folks she scares. I’d love to see her move into the senate, or as governor. Oh, and you can keep that nasty ethanol. Give my vehicles indigestion. Heh. Not to mention really crappy gas mileage. 