Boucher’s vote draws protesters near his Abingdon office

ABINGDON, Va. – Dozens of people lined both sides of Main Street in front of the Washington County Courthouse Thursday for a pair of protests directed at U.S. Rep. Rick Boucher, whose office is across the street.

On one side of the street, a protest staged by the Virginia Organizing Project criticized Boucher’s ‘no’ vote on a health care reform act approved Nov. 7 by the House of Representatives. Protesters said the nation’s health care system needs an overhaul.

“Twenty percent of the people in Boucher’s district have no health insurance,” said Linda Fore, a retired educator from Bristol, Va., and one of the protesters. “That’s unconscionable.”

On the other side of the street, demonstrators from the Tenth Amendment Foundation said they agreed with Boucher’s vote and expressed appreciation for his willingness to vote with his constituents rather than his political party.

“When the government controls my health care, that’s socialism,” said Emma Clark, a retired real estate broker from Abingdon. “I believe we need reform, and I believe we need tort reform and we need less waste, but I don’t think the government can do that.”

Boucher was traveling Thursday, according to staff members, and could not be reached for comment.

On Monday, the congressman held a news conference with officials from the region’s two largest health care systems, to explain his vote. All agreed that the reform bill would devastate the area’s health care providers.

At Thursday’s demonstrations, aside from the signs they were carrying and the views they expressed, the groups were similar. On both sides of the issue, many were senior citizens – and, on both sides of the street, many said they receive Medicare and Social Security. It wasn’t about their health care so much as about their children’s future, they said.

Those who supported Boucher’s vote said the proposed bill, as written, threatens to rob current and future generations of their liberty; those who opposed Boucher’s vote said health insurance corporations are robbing people of their lives in the name of greed.

A couple of the demonstrators crossed the street to hear what the other side had to say – and a few got into heated debates.

But, in a frank discussion, one pair of folks on opposite sides agreed on one thing: everyone must work together to find a good solution to a broken health care system.

Tony McKenna, of Abingdon, said he doesn’t want the government to use health care as a power grab from the states and people.

Mary Ellen Kelley, representing the AARP, said everyone should be able to receive medical assistance.

The two found they had plenty of common ground.

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