First off thanks to the Chaffetz campaign for having the guts to face friend and foe alike on such a hot button issue.  There were roughly 1000 people in attendance (the auditorius holds 850 people and there was a standing room only crowd) While the crowd was decidedly pro-Chaffetz, there was quite a vocal opposition.  I know many of us who were in attendance wished that the opposition showed any sort of respect toward the others in the room, but then again we have come to expect that in the debate.  Watch this video for just a taste of it.  At the 4:51 mark, a supporter of single payer (that is what her sign said) interrupts Rep. Chaffetz as he is talking about the need to remove barriers to access to health insurance.  As he was commenting on the fact (it's human nature kids) that a profit motive needs to be included in the discussion the woman standing with the orange sign starts shouting out her disapproval.  Jason askes her to please hold on and let him finish and she and several other single payer supporters all start yelling and disrupting the proceedings.  Once the crowd quiets down yet another single payer support shouts out, Jason asks him to please wait for him to finish and ANOTHER one shouts out.  He could not get 4 words out before the single payer supporters were yelling out to interrupt him.  Again - so much for respecting both sides! Things got really heated close to the end of the meeting when a supporter of single payer stood up and launched a profanity laced attack on Rep. Chaffetz and his supporters.  Rep. Chaffetz repeatedly asked the man to please wait his turn and please remember that there were young people in the crowd, but he refused.  Finally an elderly man a couple of rows in front of him swung around and swung what looked to be a cane over his head and the police responded.

Speaking of the police, the South Jordan police were onmipresent.  I counted at least a dozen officers wandering around the venue.  For the most part they were very unobtrusive, but there were indeed a couple of times when things started to get heated that all they needed to do was step forward and things calmed down.

Regarding the supporters of single payer that did show up.  I arrived at the venue at 6:45 and was rather surprised to see how few people were there.  Then - as the meeting was starting to get going (during the medals presentation) a large crowd of single payer supporters showed up and surrounded the limited government supporters standing in the aisles (pretty much blocking the aisles).  The Chaffetz office folks did their best to try to seat these folks but many of them insisted on standing in the aisles.  I have to give a special shout out to the older "gentleman" (and I am using that term very losely) who elbowed me in the chin as he wheeled around in a very crowded aisle after talking to one of his pro-single payer colleagues and then glared at me for having the audacity to get in HIS way.

At the end of the evening, as Rep. Chaffetz was doing the politically normal "we live in the greatest nation in the world" two women supporting single payer (who just happened to be standing directly over my left shoulder as I was typing my notes on the evening) rolled their eyes in disgust and one muttered not so soto voce "WHAT?"  and yet I'll bet the wonder why those of us on the right question their patriotism.....

All in all the meeting was about all I expected with both sides holding their positions firmly.  While I don't see any minds being changed as a result of last night (when you come into a meeting spouting "facts" that are as easily disprovable as the "worlds worst infant mortality rate being the US it's no wonder) but everyone got the opportunity to meet with their representative and that is what matters I suppose.

Local media reports on last nights town hall can be found here, here, and here