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April 01, 2010
A hero's return, for the moment
BY ROB CHRISTENSEN - Staff writer
News and Observer
RALEIGH -- U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge, who could face a perilous re-election effort this fall, received a raucous welcome home to his district Wednesday night, from Democrats who praised him for his courage in voting to help pass the new health care law.
"Thank you, Bob; thank you, Bob," about 120 people chanted at a rally as Etheridge entered the John P. Greene Community Center in Raleigh.
Etheridge acknowledged that he had angered some of his constituents, but he said he hopes that as the benefits of the new health care law became better known - from making insurance available to people with pre-existing medical conditions to ending the so-called doughnut hole for Medicare recipients - more people could come around to his way of thinking.
"It was a monumental achievement," Etheridge said of the bill, comparing it to the passage of Social Security in the 1930s and Medicare in 1965.
"I voted for it because the working people, the families of North Carolina really needed solutions, not more fears," Etheridge said. "Now the truth will come out in the coming weeks and months. We could not continue to allow the old system to kill jobs and literally bankrupt families."
Etheridge's vote is a difficult one in the 2nd District, which voted for Republican George W. Bush in 2004 and for Democrat Barack Obama in 2008. A poll conducted by Public Policy Polling, a Democratic-leaning firm in Raleigh, found that 53 percent of voters in the district opposed the health care plan, while 37 percent supported it. The survey of 601 voters was taken March 13-14 and had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
"I think when people have a better understanding of the bill he will be all right," said Karl G. Kachergis, the Chatham County Democratic chairman, who attended the event. "I went to a town hall meeting [last year] where everybody who spoke against health care was on Medicare, Medicaid or veterans benefits."
The rally Wednesday was arranged by Organizing for America, an arm of the Democratic Party formed to help push the agenda of President Barack Obama, who will be in Charlotte on Friday.
Etheridge was introduced by Judy O'Neal, senior vice president of WakeMed, who said Etheridge should be honored for his leadership. |
