Hillarysworld

Town Hall Talk: 'Not the New Hampshire Way'

By Sarah Lovenheim
UPDATED: 10:35 a.m.
Of the town hall meetings on health-care reform over the weekend, Rep. Carol Shea-Porter's (D-N.H.) two events in New Hampshire on Saturday seemed to generate the most buzz. People of Portsmouth started lining up as early as 8 a.m. in the rain for a 2 p.m. meeting, according to the SeaCoast Online's Lara Bicker.

The New Hampshire Union Leader's Garry Rayno and Trent Spiner said "anger and hostility caught up" with the congresswoman as protesters held signs in opposition to her push for health-care reform.

One early morning protester held a picture of a milk carton paired with an image of Shea-Porter, "with a caption that stated she was missing," Bicker wrote. Ahead of the Portsmouth meeting, a local TV netowrk said an officer warned the audience, "act crazy" and you'll "go outside."

Security was tight. A half dozen police reportedly stood by the entrance of the building throughout the meeting.

Some people were prevented from attending Shea-Porter's town hall in Manchester. The meeting was "limited to 100 people, leaving some left out in the rain," reported WMUR-9. One man was taken out of the town hall "after continually asking questions out of turn."

Shea-Porter said of the disruptions, "This is not the New Hampshire way."

Watch a clip of the event in Portsmouth:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwKVrn9p078&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fvoices%2Ewashingtonpost%2Ecom%2Fcapitol%2Dbriefing%2F2009%2F08%2Ftown%5Fhall%5Ftalk%5F1%2Ehtml%3Fsid%3DST2009083101332&feature=player_embedded