Guest Post by Jennifer Horn
I was in Portsmouth on Tuesday broadcasting “On The Air With Jennifer Horn” live from outside President Barack Obama’s town hall at Portsmouth High School. I had a firsthand view of the protests that took place, and there is no question that there is a certain “Astroturf” sensibility to some of these protests.
But, at least in Portsmouth, it was not the anti-government, health care protest that looked manufactured. With charter buses dropping off crowds of protesters from other states, professionally printed signs and an AFL-CIO banner, it was the smaller group of pro-government health care protesters that had the appearance of corporate organization.
Since when have we, as a nation, demonized the expression of free speech? For the past few weeks, citizens across the country have been attending the town halls of their elected representatives to express their concerns about the massive redefinition of health care delivery contained in H.R. 3200, and they have been excoriated and attacked for doing so.
They have been referred to as mobs by the press, told by the president of the United States to “get out of the way” and were called “un-American” by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democratic Rep. Steny Hoyer, of Maryland. They have been shouted at, assaulted and, in one case in Michigan, threatened in the dark at their own home after speaking up about their concerns.
In 2003, then-Sen. Hillary Clinton said: “Since when has it been part of American patriotism to keep our mouths shut?” She was right. The cornerstone of our democracy is our First Amendment right to free speech. The First Amendment also guarantees our right to “petition the government for a redress of grievances.”
When the president tells you to get out of the way, the House speaker calls you un-American and your elected representatives refuse to hold town halls for their constituents, public protest becomes the only redress left to you.
I would suggest that much of the protest we see taking place today has to do with more than just health care reform. We all agree that reform is needed. The strong emotional reaction to this particular health care legislation is rooted in a core belief shared by most Americans that government already plays too great a role in our personal lives, that our federal government is too big, too intrusive and too expensive.
There is also a growing sense that this Congress was intentionally trying to push something past the American people without allowing them the opportunity to see it and understand it. When it became clear that even members of Congress didn’t understand it, the outrage grew.
And don’t forget that in April, when millions of Americans came together to make their voices heard on government spending, they were ignored by a Congress that continued its unprecedented spending spree at an even greater rate.
Our Founding Fathers never intended a government that ignored the minority. Our democracy has always functioned best when power has been shared. Winning 52 percent of the vote in one election does not give you permission to ignore the other 48 percent of the population until the next election.
Every citizen of this country deserves the right to be heard by his or her elected representatives. Every elected member of Congress has an obligation to not only listen but to respond. Regardless of whether we are in agreement, we have a right to know how they vote and why they vote that way.
Every protester at every town hall has a constitutional right to be there. Those who have expressed their dissent against this Congress have been demonized. They have been insulted, mocked and marginalized in an attempt to intimidate their exercise of their First Amendment rights. And as a result the right to free speech for every one of us is threatened.
Jennifer Horn lives in Nashua and is the host of “On The Air With Jennifer Horn” on radio station WSMN 1590. She was the 2008 Republican nominee for NH’s 2nd Congressional District.