Charlotte Observer, by LaVendrick Smith.
Protesters unhappy with the Senate’s health care bill held an unusual demonstration outside North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis’ home on Lake Norman Friday.
Members from the group Progress NC and North Carolina residents who support the Affordable Care Act sailed in front of the Republican senator’s lake house in multiple boats, demanding Tillis speak with voters about the bill.
The group said they were angered because Tillis hasn’t held a town hall or spoken with constituents about the bill. Tillis’ office said he is waiting to see what changes will be made to the bill before reaching a decision on whether to support it.
“What we are dealing with here is incredible cruelty,” said Patrick O’Neil of Wake County in a press release. “For Sen. Tillis to support this monstrous health care bill without holding a single town hall meeting with his constituents shows he couldn’t care less for families like mine.”
Daniel Keylin, a spokesman for Tillis, condemned the protest in a statement, and said the media enabled the group.
“In this kind of political environment, it’s disappointing to see the media enable partisan political groups that cross the line of common decency by harassing a person’s family and neighbors,” Keylin said in a statement. “Nothing about this political stunt and the media’s coverage of it is productive.”
Keylin wouldn’t say if Tillis or his family were at the house during the protest.