Legal Commentary

Organized Protests Expected in Grand Junction for Obama Health Care Talk

By Jeralyn

President Obama will be in Grand Junction, CO today to talk about the health care reform bill. Right-wing activists are calling out their troops:

Organizers of what’s now known as a “Hands Off My Health Care” rally are expecting 3,500 to 4,000 people in Lincoln Park at 10 a.m., including tea-party and other activists from the Front Range and Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico.

“We are asking everyone to wear a solid red, white or blue shirt, show our patriotism and to contrast the purple shirts worn by SEIU activists,” Nancy Rumelt of Loveland said in an e-mail, referring to the Change for America campaign of the Service Employees International Union.

[More...]

Rumelt is associated with the 9-12 Project, which is an effort inspired by radio talk-show host Glenn Beck. Her group of about a dozen people will leave Loveland at 5 that morning, Rumelt said.

I wouldn't have picked conservative, Republican-dominated Grand Junction for Obama's talk. According to Colorado Governor Bill Ritter, he picked it because Mesa County (which includes Grand Junction) is home to health care programs like that of the Mayo Clinic and he wants to tout it.

As the national dialogue continues this summer, we are honored to host President Obama on Saturday in Grand Junction, which is home to one of the most successful community-based health care systems in the country.

In Grand Junction, President Obama will find best practices that have become a model for the delivery of high-quality, cost-effective care that every family deserves. He will hear about a community-based approach built on cost-savings, cooperation and innovation. He will see a template for the stable, secure and sustainable health care system we need across our nation.

Our national health care system stands in stark contrast to the successes we see in Mesa County.

Will the news coming out of the event be Obama's message or that of the protesters? Stay tuned.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on August 15, 2009 (boomark / email).