They began arriving four hours early, ignoring triple-digit heat-index levels for a chance to hoot and holler at Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin's health-care town hall meeting Monday night.
Outspoken opponents of the Democratic overhaul plan, which Cardin supports, vented their hostility at the first-term senator. In an echo of similar events around the country, most of those in the capacity crowd at Towson University were clearly hostile to the reform proposal and dismissive of Cardin's attempts to defend it.
"I know some of you don't want me to mention the facts, but listen to the facts," the senator said early on, drawing an angry response from opponents in the room and applause from supporters - who were both outshouted and outnumbered.
Profound disbelief was the dominant mood, and Cardin got heckled almost nonstop. The audience jeered his answers and broke into raucous cheers when their comrades confronted the senator with dismissive remarks about the federal government and the Obama administration's overhaul plan.
They laughed dismissively when Cardin cited the World Health Organization and tried to shout down his attempt to present an outline of the legislative proposals in Washington. "Filibuster!" shouted one man, after Cardin's presentation had eaten up almost a third of the 90-minute event.
"Listen, I know a lot of you have your minds made up," said Cardin, who often had to strain to make himself heard but kept his emotions in check.
Many in the crowd laughed uproariously when Cardin said illegal immigrants would not be entitled to coverage under the Democratic plan. And they jumped to their feet in one of the longest, loudest ovations of the night after an audience member asked why tort reform wasn't a feature of the health care overhaul.
Another questioner commended the senator for showing up to take questions. "I didn't think you had it in you," he said, before asking if Cardin would put himself under any public plan Congress creates. ("I'm in a public plan. It's called Medicare," the senator replied.)
For the better part of an hour, Cardin fielded a variety of queries. Very few could be characterized as friendly.
Security was unusually heavy. About 10 minutes after Cardin began speaking, university security officers marched through the audience and positioned themselves at the edge of the stage in a show of force.
