Both pro- and anti-health care reform demonstrations took place outside of Rep. Debbie Halvorson's Joliet office today.  Lynda DeLaforgue, co-director of Citizen Action/Illinois, writes in on some of the interactions between the two groups.  It's worth a read:

Late Tuesday afternoon Citizen Action/Illinois received word that the Joliet teabag supporters were going to rally in front of Congresswoman Debbie Halvorson’s office at 11:30 the next morning.  Of course, Citizen Action has been organizing for healthcare reform in the Joliet area for the past decade, so we immediately went into motion to make sure that voices which support healthcare reform were also present.  Congresswoman Halvorson has been a champion for our healthcare agenda in the Illinois Legislature.  She has led our campaigns to reform HMO’s, provide healthcare options for small businesses, and for affordable prescription drugs for the seniors and disabled people of our state.  She has always supported common sense solutions for reforming healthcare.  We needed to be there to support her now that she has the opportunity to support healthcare reforms that will benefit all of America, including a common sense public option that can compete with private insurers to bring down the cost of healthcare.

We arrived early to her office in order to stake out a position of strength at the front door.  Our local Joliet healthcare reform supporters were already there.  Within a half hour we were joined by dozens more.  Before things heated up, I had the chance to speak to one senior gentleman from the other side who was carrying a sign that indicated government should not be involved in healthcare, only the patient and the doctor should determine healthcare.  I kindly asked him how he got healthcare.  His reply was “Medicare.”  When I asked him if he understood that the government runs Medicare and that all of our taxpayer dollars help fund his healthcare he seemed extremely confused.  I honestly don’t think he got this.  A few people of his group picked up on his confusion and quickly tried to turn the conversation to the abortion coverage issue.  I walked away.

For the next hour and a half we stayed on message and chanted, “What do we need? Healthcare!  When do we need it? NOW!”  We refused to engage in across the street yelling, unlike the opponents who yelled personal attacks at us.  They questioned what "bus" we arrived on, wanted to know why we were not at “work”, and who had paid us to be here.  They even informed us that we should no longer be allowed to accept government cheese.  One gentleman across the street held out money and offered to pay us to come over, insinuating that we would do anything for a buck.  Needless to say our side of street was diverse and the other side was not.

Perhaps the most poignant moment came when the other side of the street started to sing “God Bless America” and we all joined them.  For one brief moment we all lived in the same country.  At the close of the song both sides of the street all applauded together.  And then the man with the bullhorn across the street yelled over, “I didn’t think you knew the words to the song”.    The summer of healthcare reform blazes on.  We shall overcome.

Image courtesy of Citizen Action/Illinois.