A number of patriots showed up today at the Memphis offices of Senator Lamar Alexander to express their displeasure with the status of healthcare legislation being considered by our legislators.  Forty people gathered at the CliffordDavis-Odell Horton Federal Building on Main Street, including an 8 month old and a 3 year old toddler.  It was more people showing up at the Memphis offices of the Senator on a given day then possibly ever before.  However, and more importantly, these people, average men and women who are concerned about their country and the out of control spending, learned a few things about their government.

However, before discussing the turn of events and the most polite office representative, Mr. Evan Freeman, Rasmussen Reports published the following polling:

By a 50 to 35 percent margin, Americans believe it's a bad idea to create a government health-insurance company to compete with private insurers. A Rasmussen Reports poll released Friday also shows that voters aren't buying promises that middle-class Americans won't eventually see tax hikes as a consequence of covering an estimated 45 million uninsured Americans.

Fifty-six percent of those surveyed consider a tax increase for the middle class to be "very likely," and another 22 percent say it is "somewhat likely." Only 4 percent consider a tax hike on the middle class "not at all likely." President Obama has repeatedly insisted that no one earning less than $250,000 would get hit with an additional tax

The Rasmussen poll, based on interviews with 1,000 likely voters, is one in a series of recent surveys suggesting Americans are profoundly skeptical about the health-care plans that are currently making their way through Congress.

Returning to the gathering at Senator Alexander’s office, we were met by security.  It was apparent that they were expecting people to arrive as a Memphis police car was positioned across the street from the building, several security people were walking the perimeter of the building and one, Inspector Mason, seemed to be incharge.

As we assembled outside of the building and held signs while discussing our opposition to the healthcare bill now moving through Congress, it was apparent that these security people were not happy with us being at the office.  As we had gathered together, we entered by the street level doors, were asked to leave our signs and then were put through the standard security, x-ray and metal detector.  However, as we were going to go to the elevators to go up to the offices of Senator Alexander, we were told by Inspector Mason that he would have no protesters here!  I was a bit incredulous and indicated that we were simply going to the office to meet with Senator Alexander’s staff.  He indicated that Alexander was not there and that he would only allow one person at a time to go up to the offices.  We had twenty-one people in our group alone and it was most frustrating. 

The fact is that this security effort was both unnecessary and confrontational.  They were prepared to impair our efforts and to restrict our access but not to assist us in meeting our objective of seeing the Senator’s representative.  Ultimately, I was able to go to the office on the 10^th floor and notified the group that they should heed the directive but that I had hoped they would indeed remain to take a meeting.  Subsequently, we were able to go up in groups of four and held a productive and courteous meeting with Mr. Evann Freeman, the Constituent Services Representative, after being ushered in by two US Marshalls! 

The entire experience allowed the group to discover how making one’s opinion known can be difficult and challenging.  As conservatives begin to recognize that they must be engaged in the process of government, they will also realize the challenges to that access.  In fact, one member, a 63 year old grandfather who attended with his daughter and the aforementioned children was asked to leave after he became frustrated with the one person/one elevator rule.  Not to mention that his grandchildren weren’t too happy either! 

Ultimately, we were able to meet, tender our letters and share our perspectives on the healthcare debacle.  Without question, this nascent TEA Party effort is beginning to generate the interest of more people and their participation in the process of government.  No longer are conservatives relegated to the sidelines in the political debate.  And as each of these people begin to experience the freshness of the winds of liberty, they want more and are making their voices heard.  As such, America will be a better country and the people, who for too long have worked hard, paid their taxes, took care of their families and stayed silent are silent no more.  The hope and change that Obama has promised may indeed be the hope of the conservative masses while changing the dialogue of Washington and our representatives. 

Oh, and as for Inspector Mason, well, he might do well to think about how he can better treat former 63 year old marines who fear for their family and their grandchildren.  It would reflect better on Senator Alexander and our Federal Government.  But that’s another battle we’ll fight later – with the rest of those “right wing extremists” Obama keeps talking about!

P.S.  Senator Alexander published his newsletter as I was writing this Blog and indicated the following:

Scrap the Kennedy Bill and Start Overon Health Care

The Kennedy health care bill is so flawed and expensive that it cannot be fixed.  It is so expensive it will literally bankrupt states.  And also, it’s completely partisan. Republicans have offered health care plans that would give low-income Americansthe same opportunities and choices that most Americans already have—plans that wouldn’t make it harder for American businesses to compete in the world marketplace by adding to their costs, plans that our grandchildren can afford that wouldn’t heap trillions of dollars of new debt upon them, devaluing their dollars and the quality of their lives, but they are not being considered.

As President Obama has said, the best way to do health care reform is in a bipartisan way—but in order to do that, we need to put aside the Kennedy bill and start over again.