On Saturday, September 12^th, the sun was shining in a late-summer morning, downtown Minneapolis. Thousands of people were lined up outside Target Center, and down 6^th Avenue waiting for the doors to open to the President Obama’s health reform rally.

 

In Washington D. C., the streets were already filling up with demonstrators from all around the country, but the president wouldn’t be there to witness that phenomenon.

 

Unions and lobbyists and special interest associations bussed people in to Minneapolis from all over for the president’s health care rally. Although the event was free, and billed as non-ticketed open admission on a first-come basis, the members of special groups received tickets affording them advance admission and preferred seating.

 

Demonstrators on both sides of the debate about the president’s health care plans lined up outside the Target Center. A few people shouted at each other and some supporters of the president’s plan seemed to assume that anyone opposed must be a racist. Accusing words like “Nazi,” “Ku Klux Klanner,” and good old fashioned “racist” were hurled at people protesting the president’s plan as if there was no valid reason to be concerned about the government seeking more control of our health and lives. Despite the occasional such verbal outburst, the tone outside Target Center was civil.

 

About 14,000 people were eventually corralled into the Target Center and the president delivered a pep talk that was essentially a rerun of his recent address to a joint session of Congress.

 

Although the venue never filled to capacity, hundreds of protesters chose to remain outside with their signs, telling their side of the debate to passers-by. It was a nice day for a chat about the issues on block E.