Passionate Conservatives at Long Island Healthcare Protest

As the Obama administration continues to push for healthcare reform, people around the country have responded vocally. Both advocates and opponents of the President's plan have made themselves known via activism that includes both old and new techniques.
The most common form of such protest has come from individuals and groups that are opposed to the current healthcare proposal in Congress. These people tend to congregate outside of town hall style meetings. These meetings have been assembled by local communities across the country to facilitate an old fashioned style debate among the general population. In many instances, these meetings have become heated, and in a few cases have required police attention, including one such meeting in Memphis over the summer.
For a politically diverse area like Long Island, this type of dissent is not uncommon. In fact, Bush actually won Suffolk County in the 2004 election while Obama took the county in 2008. However, dissent coming from this end of the political spectrum in such a vocal manner is rare. Conservatives have long been known as those who wish to maintain the status quo, while protesters, often dealing with things like war and equality, tend to be associated with the the politics of the left.
The most recent local instance of political unrest surround the healthcare issue was a town hall style meeting that was held at the Brentwood campus of Suffolk County Community College. The meeting was open only to residents of the townships of Huntington, Smithtown, and Babylon. Steve Israel organized this meeting and led the way from the stage inside the Van Nostrand Theater. The theater, which only holds 450 people according to the fire code, was easily filled, with hundreds denied entry left outside. The size of the crowd was surprising given the lack of coverage this event received. The event never appeared on the "Events" section of both the News 12 or Suffolk Community College websites.
The crowd left outside was not entirely made up of people trying to get inside, however. There were a number of people- over 100- that were there to protest the proposed healthcare legislation from the lawn and walkway outside of the event. Some of this crowd were indivduals who just wanted to be heard, while others were part of grassroots organizations. The organization with the most presence is called the "Consevrative Society for Action (CSA)." They are a group of right-thinking volunteers who seek to promote their self described conservative agenda. Upon visiting their website, you are greeted with amateurish web design and a slew of conservative talking points. The group's official message appears as follows: "The Conservative Society for Action is intended to become the "Action" arm of the Conservative movement in America. This organization firmly believes that Conservative values are what made this country great. We need start taking Action in order to Preserve our way of life."
Those donning Conservative Society for Action buttons all held up signs relevant to their protest. Some of these signs hit hard at the legislation itself, while others named names. There were several signs that personally attacked the organizer of the event, Congressman Steve Israel. One such sign read "STEVE ISRAEL USES UNION THUGS TO SILENCE CITIZENS." Next to this declaration was a picture of Steve Israel, mouth agape as if to be depicted as a vintriliquist's dummy.
Another group present at the protest was the Suffolk chapter of the 9/12 Group. This group was started initially to represent the united efforts of Americans in the post 9/11 world. It was created by pundit Glenn Beck but has since spawned into many local variations throughout the country. The local Suffolk Chapter is headed by husband and wife team Bob and Mary Meyer of Baiting Hollow. Director Bob Meyer insists that this group is a grassroots effort despite the initial link to Glenn beck. "We are just a bunch of regular people from the local area interested in a common cause. A constitutional cause." Recently, the group made healthcare its number one priority. "Healthcare is our current hot button issue, and we have been organizing locally at the various town hall style meetings. We began by organizing the surprise protest of Tim Bishop over the summer and most recently appeared at the Suffolk Community College town hall meeting hosted by Israel," Meyer says. His wife Mary, sitting beside him, added that the notion of these efforts being anything but grassroots is "lunacy." She says, "We get no money from any corporations of government agencies. We have never received a donation over 75 dollars from any one person."
Fred Gorman, a member of CSA, was among those protesting. "These protests are a great thing. I mean, when the left does it, they claim it is the greatest form of patriotism, and this is no different," Gorman says. He is very passionate about his cause. He pulled me close, as if to let me in on the meaning of life, and said to me, "Education failed as a result of unionization. Why wouldn't the same thing happen with healthcare?" He had a clipboard of points, this being near the top of his list. Right or wrong, he came prepared.
While this was going on, tensions were high inside. Steve Israel pleaded with the crowd to quiet down so that he could respond to points made by audience members. Not all the shouting was done by the opposition, though. As those opposed shouted Steve Israel, those in favor of the proposed healthcare reform shouted back. "What the [expletive deleted] am I supposed to do when my kid gets sick?" shouted one woman from the back of the theater.
Despite all this, the event was not widely covered. The only news van present at the meeting was CBS2 New York. Later that night, CBS was the only network station to cover the event at all on their evening news program. Newsday covered the event with an article that ran the next day, though it was sub-500 words.
With the actual healthcare bill now being available to the public, it is likely that there will be more activity like this leading up to the eventual congressional vote. Other organizations, such as the Tax Day Coalition and Tea Part Express tour have expressed that the protests will not end. Both are utilizing online forums and social networking sites to spread their word and attempt to gain as much support as possible.
The 9/12 group of both Suffolk and Nassau counties have been active recently. On Saturday, November 21st, the Suffolk chapter held an anti-healthcare bill rally in Center Moriches. The Nassau County chapter has a similar rally planned for Rockville Center on Tuesday, Novemeber 24th. This protest will take place outside Rockville Center Village Hall. The protest will also include opposition to a proposed water tax hike in the town and will be joined by the Massapequa branch of the Long Island Tea Party group; a like-minded group of individuals active in the local consevrative special interest arena.