Both Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin and Rep. West of Florida faced angry town hall voters during spring break over proposals to change Medicare. The Florida town hall meeting nearly erupted in chaos and angry voters challenged West for what they saw as trying to dismantle Medicare to pay for bolstering up tax cuts for the wealthy and industry. The crowd was enraged. Rep. Ryan faced a similar packed town hall meeting. He attempted to outline his proposals and justify changes. The citizens were having none of that.
Florida Rep. Daniel Webster ran into an extremely loud accusatory crowd in Orlando who demanded that he leave Medicare alone and accused him of selling out in favor of corporations and fat cats. They waved signs stating ‘Hands Off Medicare.’ According to the New York Times:
Mr. Webster, shown in video from station WFTV, sought to defuse the situation by saying that any changes were years away and that current retirees would not see a difference. “Not one senior citizen is harmed by this budget,” he said, noting that his new granddaughter was “looking at a bankrupt country.”
