What really happened in Hampstead

The demonstrators were members of several groups on opposite sides of the proposed health care reform issue, just as they stood on opposite sides of the Hampstead Town Hall front lawn, mobilized well in advance of the scheduled meeting.

The groups each wore matching shirts and carried signs. Those opposing the government’s health care reform were garbed in yellow shirts, while health care reform supporters wore purple. Both sides of the issue clearly had their supporters, and both said they wanted to talk with Shaheen, although she never was expected to be present.

Persons identifying themselves as from Danville, Atkinson, Salem and Hampstead, organized by the Coalition of New Hampshire Taxpayers, the New Hampshire Advantage, and the New Hampshire Tea Party Coalition, gathered on the lawn, and faced off against supporters of Shaheen and President Barack Obama from Concord, Portsmouth, Dover, and Manchester.

Matt Murphy of Hampstead, a member of New Hampshire Advantage, suggested the pro-health care reform crowd was made up of union members paid to be present, and Hampstead resident Jorge Mesa-Tejada said they were members of the Service Employees International Union.

But State Rep. Richard Komi, D-Manchester, responded, “That’s a blatant lie. I am not paid to be here. I am a volunteer and I don’t get paid to be here.”

Fred Duke of Concord, wearing a purple shirt, said, “It isn’t Obama’s health care reform, it is the people’s health care reform. The people voted for change, and health care was a big part of that.”

Mesa-Tejada, proudly wearing his yellow New Hampshire Tea Party Coalition shirt, said of his group, “We are not funded by anybody. We each pay for our own gas to be at these events. We are private citizens protesting against socialism and the government taking over health care. Our goal is to obey the constitution and to prevent the Socialist/Marxist president from taking over our country.”

The Tea Party Coalition, whose website urged members to watch their email for “an eblast on details for Aug. 5 events near Hampstead,” states it is not affiliated with or funded by any political party and that “If you believe that government is out of control and that it should not be taking over private businesses, taxing ‘carbon’ for a global purpose, or controlling us via our health care and now our food supply, then you are with us.” Among coalition members are Christian Home Educators of New Hampshire, New Hampshire Firearms Coalition, Coalition of New Hampshire Taxpayers, Concord Republicans, Granite State Patriots, New Hampshire Advantage Coalition, New Hampshire Liberty Alliance, and New Hampshire Right to Life.

Regina Birdsell of Hampstead, who has been working to coordinate local support for the Coalition of New Hampshire Taxpayers, said, “My biggest issue recently is what I’m hearing from Washington, D.C., bureaucrats and the mainstream media, demonizing those of us who speak out against the proposed health care reform proposals. I don’t want more taxes. I want Medicare fixed. I want the Veterans Administration system fixed. We don’t need any more taxes on top of all the recent bailouts.”

The Coalition of New Hampshire Taxpayers says on its website it is a grassroots taxpayer advocacy group that strives to keep taxes low, government small and honest, protect individual rights and freedoms, and preserve the New Hampshire Advantage.

Murphy added that the proposed health care reform would be a $1.5 trillion tax burden, with more deficit spending.

“I don’t want rationed care and increased taxes,” he said. “The systems the health care reforms are being modeled on all have rationed care.”

Jane Aitken of Bedford said the group demonstration against government-run health care wasn’t funded by anyone, and certainly not the Republican Party. “We are citizen activists doing our own thing,” she said.

Supporters of Shaheen and Obama said they were in town to show their support for the senator and the proposed health care reforms. While the other group was chanting “Silent No More,” the Shaheen/Obama supporters stood quietly, and said reform would benefit small New Hampshire businesses and families.

“However,” said Judy Stadtman, “we appreciate that there’s a range of viewpoints on this issue. But it is a critical issue for working families in New Hampshire. We want to make sure people in New Hampshire are aware that there are people in the state who support President Obama’s agenda for health care reform.”

Another Shaheen supporter, Sarah Weston, said her reason for demonstrating her support for the Obama agenda was simple.

“My husband is between jobs, and while we are fortunate to qualify for a federal aid program with COBRA, if we tried to get health insurance, it would cost $1,400 a month,” she said. “That’s just ridiculous, especially without an income. I believe we need to fix the health insurance system in this country, and we can do it. We are here today because we wanted to make a visible statement.”

Mesa-Tejada said his group of demonstrators stay in touch through the Internet and by e-mail and can mobilize in 10 minutes. He called the demonstrators “the boots on the ground,” a volunteer movement that was absent in the last election on the Republican side but is being developed to have local groups ready to support issues as needed.

“You are going to see these yellow shirts all over the state,” he said. “It is going to be a way to offset the ACORN influence.” Indeed, they were in Grafton the next day to demonstrate during Shaheen’s staff office hours.

ACORN, the Association for Community Organizations for Reform Now, states on its website that it aims to organize a majority constituency of low- to moderate-income people across the United States to take on such issues as discrimination, affordable housing quality education, or better public services.

The anti-health care reform demonstrators moved inside Town Hall for the constituent forum, a one-on-one exchange with local residents voicing concerns or raising questions to the legislator’s staff, not a town hall session. But last week’s event quickly became a vocal free-for-all and soon got out of hand. Letizia Ortiz and another Shaheen representative tried to answer questions and asked those present to fill out forms with their comments.

The reaction was raucous and immediate. One woman shouted – inches from Ortiz’s face, “We’ve filled out these forms a million times and the only answer we get is a form letter. We want answers and we want her (Shaheen) here to give us answers.”

Mesa-Tejada, recognizing the situation was out of hand and nothing more could be accomplished inside, led his group back to the front lawn to continue demonstrating to passers-by.

Hampstead Police Lt. John Frazier and Sgt. Rick Chambers were present in the Town Hall foyer, after police were alerted to the demonstration by the town’s administrative assistant, Sally Theriault. Selectwoman Priscilla Lindquist called them to be onsite when the tenor of the crowd escalated

Chambers said they weren’t really needed, “things just got a little loud.”

Shaheen’s office responded to the demonstration in a press release later that week, and said, “Organized groups should be ashamed for intimidating constituents…It’s a disgrace for an organization to deliberately try to prevent people from getting help from their elected officials…New Hampshire citizens have a right to get the help they need from the federal government. Their rights have been trampled on.”