Town Hall Protests Seen as Not Derailing Health Reform

CQ Today reports that town hall protests, while loud and angry, have not had their desired effect: to derail President Obama’s health insurance overhaul effort. In DC, staff meetings on the bills continue and Democratic leaders are mounting an effort to help their rank-and-file members counter criticism of the legislation, especially any erroneous claims. However, if the protests are sustained and proponents of the overhaul do not respond with more robust demonstrations of support, some are concerned Democrats eventually will scale back their legislation. In what CQ calls a worst-case scenario for liberals, Democrats could be forced to drop plans to create a government-run insurance plan that would compete with private plans, the so-called ‘public option.’