Thousands attend Rep. Baird’s town hall

RIDGEFIELD, Wash. – Rep. Brian Baird was all ears Tuesday night before a crowd of thousands at Clark County Amphitheater to discuss proposed health care reforms.

Easily two thousand to three thousand people attended the event and some were clearly frustrated and concerned about the possibility of a government-sponsored health plan, as was reflected by questions and comments of some of the participants:

“Why would I trust our government to provide health care?” asked one woman.

“We’ve been seeing a lot of things rushed through and passed without any input from the citizens,” said another.

“Our Congress has been representing the president to the people instead of representing the people to the president,” said another.

“I don’t believe that competition’s bad, but I do believe when the government gets involved the government lessens competition, not increases it,” said one man.

“I find myself saddened because we feel differently. There seems to be almost enemies between us,” said a woman. “My biggest fear right now is can I have financial stability and be able to pay for my health care?” she also said.

Many of the comments were followed by cheers from the crowd.

Baird dismissed the possibility of people freeloading on a new system.

“You have a responsibility to everyone else to kick into the program a little bit,” he said. “You can’t just ride on the backs of the private sector.”

Earlier today on the Lars Larson show the congressman said he has not yet made up his mind on whether he supports the bill, and there's no word if tonight's town hall swayed him either way.