Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) has completed her health care town hall tour of Missouri with stops in West Plains and Springfield. As was the case at previous town halls, there was a good deal of shouting from some of the forum attendees.
Following the West Plains event, McCaskill made it clear she was pleased to have had the opportunity to meet with constituents – even though some of them have been a bit rowdy.
"People are very passionate – some are very angry," said McCaskill. "There are people on both sides of the issue in all of these town halls. I think it’s been terrific. I’m very lucky to have had the opportunity to stand in front of the people I work for and get their input, their comments, and try to answer all the questions I possibly can."
Later, in front of more than a thousand people in Springfield, McCaskill answered many of the concerns that had been expressed in prior meetings, including concerns about a government takeover of America’s health care system
"I am the first to tell you that I think we have to be very cautious and careful," said McCaskill. "I will be the first to tell you that I will not support a government takeover of the health care system. But that doesn’t mean that there is anything in the Constitution that prohibits it. If there was something in the Constitution that prohibits it Medicare would have been found unconstitutional a long time ago."
In all, McCaskill held ten town hall forums to discuss health care reform proposals.
