By the end of Charlie Bass’s town hall, he already seemed to be wavering. The New York Times described one such town hall as approaching “near chaos.” The Orlando Sentinel described another as reaching the level of “bedlam.”Īlready, some members are backing away from their votes. Daniel Webster (R-FL) arrived at his town hall greeted with signs that said “Hands Off Medicare.” The meeting became so contentious that police officers intervened to quiet the crowd.

In addition to Ryan and Bass, at least six other GOPers have faced pointed questions and outright protest at town halls, reminiscent of the tea party anger seen at Democratic town halls in 2009. But for a man who won his seat during the 2010 Republican wave by a little more than 3,000 votes, it’s an open question as to whether his career can afford such controversy. “I’m not surprised it’s controversial,” said Bass of his vote. In New Hampshire, the first six questions posed to Representative Charlie Bass (R-NH) were about his vote in favor of Ryan’s budget. On Friday, according to Politico, he asked police to remove a man from his town hall because the man refused to stop yelling about the impact the Ryan budget would have on Medicare. In April, Ryan was greeted, not with the outsized praise of New York Times columnist David Brooks at his town hall in Milton, Wisconsin, but instead, with sustained boos. Back home in his district, he’s becoming known as the leader of the most serious assault on seniors since President Bush’s attempt to privatize Social Security. Inside the Beltway, Ryan is called “courageous,” a “visionary,” a “serious man,” for having the bravery to put forth a budget that pays for tax cuts for the wealthy by ending Medicare as we know it. It’s been a common refrain of politicians in Washington for as long as the capitol has been unpopular: “It’s good to get outside the Beltway, good to go get back to the real America.” But in recent days that cliché might feel a bit stale for Republican House members, who voted last month for Representative Paul Ryan’s budget proposal. Buses will also be leaving from the North, East and South Bay, as well as other parts of the state.By Katrina vanden Heuvel for the Nation –

and load for the return trip at 3 to 3:15 p.m. In San Francisco, the bus will load at the Main branch of San Francisco Public Library on Fulton and Larkin at 7 a.m. Join the national rally to tell Congressman McCarthy that older Americans are not buying it.īuses to Bakersfield will be picking up supporters from all over the state. Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy, is a well known supporter of privatization and spending reduction on each of these crucial resources for older Americans.ĪCTION: A National Day of Action, sponsored by CARA, is scheduled for Friday March 17 at Congressman McCarthy’s office in Bakersfield. SITUATION: Republicans claim Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are “off the table” but their plans to weaken and privatize these valuable programs are far from over.

Hands off medicare