A Call for Leadership In The Health Care Debate

President Obama and other incumbent democrats in the house and senate are in the fight of their political lives right now over health care reform. Now we will see who are the leaders and the ones really serious about reforming the health care system or just surviving another election cycle. Those who are serious will not call off their forums but instead find a way of establishing civility in a public forum to discuss the problems instead of letting protestors shut down civil debates on real issues that need to be discussed. Here is a suggestion I heard from a professional meeting facilitator today on the radio http://www.wnyc.org/shows/bl/episodes/2009/08/12.She suggested restructuring the meetings so that protestors cannot continue to bum rush the venues. Democrats it’s no more complicated than simple meeting management. Hire some pros and reformat the geography of the meetings so that all sides can be heard and people’s questions can be answered. That’s what any good leader does, creates a safe learning environment and sets ground rules that personal attacks and outburst will not be tolerated.