Editor’s Notebook: A National Debate Really Hits Home

Three health care forums, three nights of raucous debate this week as Rep. Jim Himes continued his “listening tour” of Fairfield County. Hundreds were turned away from Himes’ first stop at Greenwich Town Hall Monday. The forums in Norwalk and Bridgeport had to be moved to bigger venues after interest proved overwhelming there too.

This is not the first time a national debate has come to town. Connecticut and Fairfield County have been the stage for many of the big political disputes of recent years.

In 2006, Sen. Joe Lieberman was ousted by state Democrats for his support of the war in Iraq. Former Rep. Chris Shays saw his 21-year tenure end over the war too; Himes took his seat in 2009 after Diane Farrell had nearly defeated Shays in the two prior elections.

Marriage rights for same-sex couples came to the fore in January 2005 as a marriage bill emerged from committee as the civil union bill, which then went into effect in October of that year. (The state Supreme Court decision in the Kerrigan case mandated that full marriage rights be extended to same-sex couples in 2008)

In August of 2005, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal filed suit against the Bush Administration’s Secretary of Education, Margaret Spellings, over the No Child Left Behind Act.

Connecticut has even been host to the immigration debate, with New Haven becoming known as a sanctuary city, while Danbury has cracked down on illegal aliens living there.

As a reporter for WNPR Connecticut Public Radio, before becoming the Editor of New Canaan Patch, I covered all of those debates. Sure, a certain portion of Connecticut’s citizens waved signs about God or imperialism in front of the capitol, but this is not generally a state where protest rallies draw big crowds.

Connecticut tends to have a higher voter turnout for general elections than the national average, but citizens of this state, and perhaps especially Fairfield County, mostly fulfill their civic duty quietly.

So, even after hearing about the scene in Greenwich Monday, I was struck that Wednesday night’s forum in the Norwalk High School auditorium turned out to be a two-hour shouting match between proponents and opponents of the Congressional health reform plan.

Despite the volume of their comments, the crowd was nonetheless thoughtful, and diverse. Republicans, Democrats, and Libertarians showed up. Speakers ranged in age from a teenager to an elderly man. There were first-generation immigrants and dyed-in-the-wool nutmeggers. Some came with prepared notes; others took notes in their seats.

Amanda Brown, a member of Norwalk’s Common Council, got the most universal applause when she proposed that Congress put its reform plan up for a national referendum. Everyone, it seems, wants to have their say about this one.

You know that this is the debate of a lifetime when Connecticut gets riled up.