Although Congressman Larry Kissell is a member of the Democratic party, his appearance during a meeting of the Anson County Democratic Party Thursday night, Jan. 7, didn't turn out exactly as he may have hoped.

When Kissell opened the floor for questions, several of those in attendance questioned his "no" vote on the recent healthcare reform bill, which the House narrowly passed in November.

Kissell, as he has done in nearly every public appearance he's made, defended his vote, saying he could not vote for a bill that would take $400 billion from Medicare.

One person in attendance questioned how Kissell could still vote against healthcare reform when 90 percent of his constituents were in favor of it. Kissell said he was "not sure" the number was as high as 90 percent but went back to his argument that Medicare should not be adversely affected by the passage of any healthcare reform bill.

"It goes back to 'should we put seniors at risk in order to make this thing happen?'" he said. "My answer is no."

Another member of the audience brought up the point that Kissell could be replaced by a Republican for his vote. Kissell responded that he is a Democrat through and through, and has voted with his party 96.5 percent of the time. "I am a Democrat," he said, "but I cannot for the life of me put seniors at risk."

After a few questions, Kissell stated that he had to leave earlier than expected, due to his mother having an illness at the moment. However, on his way out, he took one more question from Rev. Rob Rollins, who accused Kissell of playing politics by asking him if his predecessor would have voted no to the bill, as well.

Kissell responded that his Republican opponent "would have been thrilled to cut Medicare" but eventually admitted he probably would have voted no, too.

For more on this story, see next week's issue of The Anson Record.