Crazyworld

Republican U.S. Rep. Bob Inglis stood in front of a verbal firing squad for more than 90 minutes tonight, trying to keep a lid on the fear and anger in the room enough to have a rational discussion about health care.

But in the end, things bubbled over.

I filed my story from the Upstate Family Resource Center in Boiling Springs well over an hour into the town hall, tweeting before, during and after writing it. I figured I had enough material.

The congressman, after all, already had affirmed his belief in the Second Amendment, not to mention the First, Fourth, Tenth and maybe another one or two. He’d reminded everyone that he was a Republican, not a Libertarian. He had tried to convince them he wasn’t pushing a secret plan to force everyone to get vaccinated against the swine flu. He said he didn’t believe health care was a right, but that a Judeo-Christian nation would see to it that people who needed emergency treatment got it. He talked about the need for everyone to have health insurance, because “free riders,” as they are called, cause medical costs to go up for the rest of us. He criticized the current health care bill for not specifically including language that would prohibit taxpayer-funded abortions, and put forth the belief that a public option would drive private providers out of the market. He had, after all, a 16-point list of reasons why he was against the very health care bill that much of the fervent crowd had come to voice their opposition to.

He even said, when asked, that he would opt out of the health insurance program he has by virtue of his office and “join the rest of us” if the current legislation passes.

But he wouldn’t sign an undated letter of resignation to be submitted in case he didn’t. That certainly raised some eyebrows: “Why not?”

So, after I hit my send button, a woman stands up and starts saying repeatedly that she’s afraid of President Obama. Inglis asks her why she’s afraid. And that’s when it started.

“He has too much power!”

“What do you mean, why?”

“Go home, Bob!”

It’s kind of a blur here. Inglis told people to turn off Glenn Beck. He told them to turn off the fear-mongering.

Thankfully, Inglis called me later tonight, on his way home from the “after party” where he met with a dozen or so local Republican precinct chairmen. Just to make sure, I asked him if he used the specific term “fear-mongering.”

“Probably,” Inglis said. “That’s what he does. That’s what Glenn Beck is all about. And Lou Dobbs. I’ve had the misfortune of listening to those shows a couple of times.”

The Beck comment was the last straw for what was left of the 350-plus people who had come to the town hall – the seventh of 12 Inglis is hosting.

Afterward, there was some discussion among the Democrats and less extreme Republicans -- I used the word “moderate” on Twitter, but not everyone agrees with that label -- that they felt too intimidated to speak up tonight.

Inglis said his staff members got a similar sentiment, as several people came up to talk one-on-one with someone from the congressman’s office on their way out.

The atmosphere of fear at the town hall was markedly different than the one on the street, Inglis said. He went door-to-door in a nearby neighborhood before the town hall. (He often does that.) He said that gives him “a more standard distribution of people.”

He tried to explain the difference between being fearful and being aware of problem in order to try to fix it. He said the fearful crowd was predominantly rooted in the Libertarian and Constitutional parties.

“The conservative Republicans there realize that the Constitution is stronger than any president. We have every reason to have faith in the institutions that hold the country together,” Inglis said.

“But when fear takes over and people start thinking the Constitution is not strong enough to meet the challenge of a president they don’t like, you end up with some fairly hysterical reactions.”

Since we were on the subject, I asked him more about Beck.

“I don’t listen often to Glenn Beck, but when I have, I’ve come away just so disappointed with the negativity… the ‘We’ve just gone to pot as a country,’ and ‘All is lost’ and ‘There is no hope.’ It’s not consistent with the America that I know. The America I know was founded by people who took tiny boats across a big ocean, and pushed west in tiny wagons, and landed on the moon. That’s the America I heard on the streets of Boiling Springs.”

He continued: “The America that Glenn Beck seems to see is a place where we all should be fearful, thinking that our best days are behind us. It sure does sell soap, but it sure does a disservice to America.”

Now, given that I’m a journalist, I have an interest in the way the media works and how people perceive it. Lord knows, I can’t tell you how many times people have come up to me to let me know what a liberal rag I work for – despite the fact that many people who actually read our paper’s editorial page call it one of, if not the most conservative in South Carolina. And that’s saying something. So maybe this was giving Inglis a soapbox, but I wanted to hear it.

“If Walter Cronkite said something like Glenn Beck said recently on the air, about the president being a racist, Cronkite would’ve been fired on the spot,” Inglis said. “But I guess the executives of these cable news shows are more enamored with the profits that come from selling this negative message than they are with undermining the faith of people in this wonderful constitutional republic.”

He continued: “There is every reason to oppose President Obama’s health care package. It’s the wrong prescription. It needs to be stopped. But that doesn’t mean we need to abandon hope in America, and say the end is near, and people are going to force us to have immunizations. There’s no reason to go to that extreme.”

I should point out that Inglis is facing a crowded slate of challengers in next year’s Republican primary. If any of those candidates want to call and talk about FOX, MSNBC, CNN, talk radio or even good old-fashioned newspapers, they have my number.

Anyway, Inglis made a couple of final points in our conversation. It was getting late, and I was missing The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. ;)

“This is a constitutional republic that can withstand any president I disagree with,” Inglis said. “It withstood Bill Clinton. And if you were a George Bush-hater, it withstood George Bush. And it will withstand Barack Obama. And that’s just because there’s such confidence in the Constitution and the framers, who set up such an incredible system of checks and balances. …It’s inspiring to me to think about that.”

“What you saw tonight was people who had been convinced of this negativism, and are detaching from the communities and institutions that hold us together,” Inglis told me. “And I believe in the importance of strong institutions. I’m not an anarchist. And I’m not a Libertarian. I believe in a strong, smart federal government that is able to meet challenges like 9/11, and figure out how to correct its mistakes from Katrina…”

He lost his signal. (He was, after all, on Highway 11.) He called back and we wrapped up.

“I hope to convince people that there’s every reason to be optimistic, and there is a way forward. And I hope to help position the Republican Party as the party that presents a message that America can fall in love with, rather than a message that would drive fear in order to win votes."

UPDATE (1:46 a.m.): While I was writing this, at least one video clip from the night surfaced. The audio is difficult to decipher, but the crowd's reaction speaks volumes. It sounds like Inglis says "Turn that silly thing off." I'm going on memory at this point, but this was after the "I'm afraid of Obama!" woman and after the congressman brought Glenn Beck into the mix. There were a few people recording, so maybe the whole bit will show up. If so, send me the link (jason.spencer@shj.com) and I'll post it here.

UPDATE (11:09 a.m.): Just found a longer video on Twitter (thanks to @innovator82 for providing the link) from the town hall. Now, keep in mind that this video has been spliced together by someone who obviously wants "Anybody But Bob" to hold this seat. But within the first minute, you can clearly hear Inglis' original comments about Beck -- and the reaction . You can also hear more of the woman who is afraid of Obama. Keep watching to hear some of the audience questions (taken at the beginning of the meeting) and Inglis' answers (from the end of it).