Should Be Interesting...

The Third District Congressional Representative for New Mexico, Ben Ray Lujan, is holding a town hall meeting on the health care bill tonight. I had intended to go, drove down to the Unitarian Church somewhat ahead of time, as MoveOn.org had suggested.

The parked cars long before I got to the church were a clue. At the church driveway, people were holding up signs: Town Hall at capacity per Fire Marshall. Maneuvering was getting difficult, owing to people stopping to talk with the people holding the signs and a woman headed the wrong way on a one-way street clogged with parked cars on both sides. So I wasn't able to see as much as I would have liked to, and the indications were that hanging around was probably not the greatest idea.

But I did take note of some things. At least two of the local television stations had trucks there. There was an ambulance and a Fire Department Brigade Commander truck, along with a number of police cars.

There were a couple of guys holding signs, one that I don't recall but was clearly anti-reform, and one that said "I'm Pro-Choice on Insurance." I think that may have been anti-reform, but it at first seemed to me that I'm pro-choice on insurance too, and that's why I support, for example, a public option.

So I untangled from the traffic mess and headed home.

Santa Fe is a liberal town. Chat with friends expected none of the rightwing ruckus that's been infecting our public discourse. But I think we were wrong.

Update: Here's the best coverage I've found.