At a health care town hall earlier this week, RNC Chairman Michael Steele decided to turn the tables on protesters — by heckling a woman after she told him her mother had died of cancer because she couldn’t afford her chemotherapy.
Steele was talking to students at Howard University in Washington, D.C., Tuesday night, saying a large number of the uninsured are young people who choose not to enroll in health insurance. A woman interrupted him, screaming, “She died of cancer! Everyone in this room should have good health care!”
Other people joined the shouting, and a moderator had to step in before Steele could regain control of the floor. When he did, he said, “I understand there’s a difference of opinion … but this is a part of the discussion.”
He began calmly enough, talking about the difference between shouting opinions and “engaging.” Then, his tone turned nasty.
“When people go to town halls, they go out in the community, and they’re like this,” he said, shaking his fists, “it makes for great TV.” Then he turned to the woman who interrupted him. “You’ll probably make it tonight. Enjoy it.”
