8th District Watch – Joe Walsh Holds Successful Health Care Forum
Joe Walsh had to leave State Rep. Mike Tryon's fund raiser Thursday night early in order to be at his Health Care Forum, but I got him to pause on the way out long enough to get this photograph.
From the photo above you can see that 8th Congressional District Republican candidate Joe Walsh had a successful campaign event last Thursday night.
While the headline to his press release points out that Democratic Party incumbent Melissa Bean did not attend, no one expected her to be there.
After all, she has never had a Town Hall meeting where the public could come, see her in the flesh and ask questions about her health care vote. I image that there will be a number of signs from 8th district residents at the Tea Party demonstration from 3-6:30 on Route 14 in Crystal Lake, even though that stretch of highway is in 16th District Congressman Don Manzullo’s part of McHenry County.
The Walsh press release follows:
Bean Ducks Walsh Health Care Forum, Residents Come Out in Force
(Wauconda, IL)–Melissa Bean may have declined Joe Walsh’s invitation, but nearly 200 concerned 8th district residents turned out for Walsh’s health care forum on Thursday evening at American Legion Post 911 in Wauconda.
In contrast to Rep. Bean’s controlled, closed-door, invite-only forums, Walsh’s was open to the public.
Joe Walsh speaks to packed Health Care Forum Thursday night.
“It’s important that all voices are heard,” said Walsh. “I hear from hundreds of residents daily with concerns and questions about the federal takeover of health care and these town hall forums are an important means by which to hear from the folks I am running to represent.”
Walsh was joined by several experts for the discussion: Pediatrician Dr. Arie Friedman of Premiere Pediatrics, Cardiologist Dr. George Christy of Advocate for Christ Medical Center, and Joe Fehsenfeld, President/CEO, Midwest Printed Circuit Services.
“I wanted to make sure residents heard not just from the candidate but from medical providers and local businesspeople,” said Walsh. “Don’t just take my word for the need to fight the Medicare cuts and tax increases in the Obamacare legislation, hear from professionals who are assessing the impacts.”
Walsh and others made the point that the devil is really in the details of the legislation. For example, the cost projections Rep. Bean offers in defense of her vote for the federal takeover are based on 10 years of projected revenue but only 6 years of spending.
“It’s Bernie Madoff accounting,” said Walsh. “At a time when Illinois is struggling under 12% unemployment, we cannot afford to stunt the growth of our job-creating small businesses and that’s exactly what Melissa Bean has done with her support of this new, unfunded entitlement.”
Mr. Fehsenfeld said frankly that the financial burdens of increased payroll taxes and other employer mandates could force him and other small businesses to cut jobs.
Walsh said he would be hosting more forums and he would continue inviting Melissa Bean to participate so that voters understand their very different policy visions on health care, job creation and the range of other issues that directly impact the quality of life 8th district families are able to enjoy.
“I hope residents stay engaged and remember in November that when the time came to choose between her party and her district, Melissa Bean voted to serve the political interests of her party instead of the economic interests of her constituents,”
said Walsh. “Voters have a crystal clear choice in this election.”
