The sign outside Rep. Dina Titus’ town hall last week said it all: No weapons, video recording equipment, signs, posters or props.
It was a startling reminder of a summer of national discontent, punctuated by a series of town-hall meetings where angry constituents, armed with copies of health care legislation and sometimes guns, pilloried their representatives for, as they often put it, setting out to destroy the republic.
The forums made for compelling theater, if not much constructive discussion.
Last week, at Temple Ner Tamid in Henderson, Titus did her best to learn from her colleagues’ mistakes — no roving microphone, questions via index cards and a pair of nonpartisan health care experts filled in the blanks between talking points.
None of it worked. Titus got hearty applause for showing up, but things went rapidly downhill. Over an hour, a significant number of people in the crowd booed or laughed at nearly all her answers. A pair of teenage girls, sitting with their mother, repeatedly shouted “liar” at the congresswoman.
Titus took it all in stride — in large part, because she must. If anyone in Nevada’s congressional delegation has a reason to be concerned about a rising tide against President Barack Obama and his policies, it’s Titus.
She’s a freshman Democrat saddled with record unemployment in the traditionally conservative 3rd Congressional District, which is also home to a strong bloc of independent voters. And she received 40,000 fewer votes in her district than Obama in last year’s election. Titus is the first Democrat to hold the seat, after ousting three-term Republican Jon Porter.
With the public split over health care reform, Titus has been careful about how she plays the issue.
In July, she voted against her party’s health care bill in committee, saying she opposed the proposed tax hikes on small businesses and upper-income households to pay the $1 trillion cost.
Last month, she co-sponsored the Medicare Premium Fairness Act, which protects some seniors increased Medicare premiums next year.
Then, this month, she opposed a Senate proposal that would tax insurers that provide so-called Cadillac health care plans, meaning policies that cost more than $8,000 a year for an individual or $21,000 for a family. The tax, she said, would hit middle-class families in her district, many of whom are union members who traded higher wages for employer-provided health plans as a result of collective bargaining.
To be sure, for all the hostility at the town hall last week, there was plenty of support.
Judy Staresinic, who’s 47 and works as a stagehand, pays $1,600 every three months for health insurance. Because of the recession she’s worked only 15 days in the past four months and is spending her savings to stay insured. She supports the public option, a government-run insurance program, like Medicare, that people could choose over private insurers.
She said her vote next year would depend on the outcome.
“If reform passes without the public option, I will work to help others get elected,” Staresinic said.
Indeed, Titus’ stoic performance might owe something to recent polling, which suggests that she has some breathing room to embrace a reform plan with a public option. Staresinic is hardly alone.
A Research 2000 poll conducted for the liberal Progressive Change Campaign Committee showed a slim majority of Nevadans favors the public option. That figure jumps to nearly 60 percent in Clark County.
Although the survey focused on Sen. Harry Reid, it has implications for Titus. Nearly a third of Nevadans said they would be less likely to vote for Reid next year if he fails to pass “a strong public option.” Forty-six percent of Democrats and 35 percent of independents agreed.
Asked Friday about where she stands, Titus’ spokesman said, “Congresswoman Titus supports a public option in order to increase competition, make insurance companies more competitive and keep costs down.”
Ms. Taxus (Titus) first votes in Congress was to raise taxes on the poor and low income people so that middle class families could get free health insurance for their children.
Ms. Taxus, that is so shameful.
DWMS, you keep harping about this "Family Reunification Plan" on articles that have nothing to do with those issues - what is your problem??? Most family law issues are primarily handled by the STATE and LOCAL governments. Are you one of those wingnut crappy parents whose kids were (rightfully) removed from your care?
A two part solution for fixing health care would make reform simple, straight forward, and save hundreds of billions of dollars annually
A pure public option, with government sales tax funding, replacing insurance, along with distributing all government funded care only through government owned and operated hospitals, staffed by government employed doctors and health care providers, using VA systems, is the best solution for fixing half of the health care problem.
The second half of the solution is to have a pure private option, with private insurance and only private funding, paying for care and medications dispenssed by private providers, which would not be subjected to any government mandates.
Everyone choosing public care could have it no restrictions, no insurance, no co pays, free period.
Employers who select federal public care for their employees would not be required to pay for or have any further involvement with health care.
Quite to our surprise, once she was easily elected by riding into office on Obama's coat tails, Dina turned out to be a DINO.
If you are a Democrat, don't vote for her when she runs for re-election.
Dina is a DINO.
Yet another mindless troll shaking hands and smiling while she lying to the constituents. Titus is no different than any other Democrat, a worthless mindless troll seeking nothing more than desecrating America.
We need to get rid of Dina Titus. Vote her out of office! Let's get someone in there that will actually listen and represent the people of Nevada.