MEA-MFT members rally for
health care reform

"Hey hey! Ho ho! Status quo has got to go!"

That was the refrain chanted cheerfully at a major statewide rally for health care reform, held near the Belgrade airport August 14, 2009.

MEA-MFT members from across the state joined hundreds of other supporters of health care reform at the rally.

"Our folks definitely outnumbered the opponents," said MEA-MFT Political Director Terry Minow, who helped organize the pro-reform rally.

Below: MEA-MFT members Joyce Herbeck, a professor at MSU-Bozeman, and Pam Bredberg, a k-12 teacher, were among the MEA-MFT members at the Belgrade rally.

Meanwhile, other MEA-MFT members and MEA-MFT President Eric Feaver joined President Barack Obama at a town hall meeting about a mile away from the rally area, at an airport hanger.

"The rally was a great experience and great fun," said Pam Bredberg, a former MEA-MFT board member and a member of the MEA-MFT Republican Caucus.

Bredberg said she found many of the Tea Party members demonstrating against health care reform to be "rude, radical, and very threatening."

She continued, "I was absolutely amazed at some of the signs and slogans used by the Tea Party members: outlandish claims, lies and scare tactics, comparing President Obama to Hitler, talk of torture and killing our elderly."

Bredberg said, "I was very impressed with the pro-health reform folks. They were polite, having a good time. and didn't engage in any verbal insults or aggressive behavior."

Billings Outpost reports on aggressive behavior displayed by Tea Party gang.

Other MEA-MFT members came from Missoula, Helena, Billings, and elsewhere to show their support for health care reform.

"It was a fine day in Belgrade, fun, intense, and exciting," said Minow.

"Folks on our side, those who want accessible, affordable, quality health care, were energized and smiling. Many on the other side were scowling and confrontational. I saw the difference between hope and fear in the faces of people in the crowd.

"Some people are beyond reasoning, and we will never change their minds. But for those who are genuinely afraid, we need to communicate how our health care reform proposals will make life better for the working class and their families."

Watch MEA-MFT's short video of the rally on YouTube

Read news story about the August 14 events:

Demonstrators Passionate Yet Civil (Great Falls Tribune)

Obama Puts Focus on Senator [Baucus] Associated Press

Obama Wows Crowd, Many Worried About Insurance (Bozeman Chronicle)

CBS News video