A Koch group targeting Montana state legislators who refuse to oppose Medicaid expansion under Obamacare was booed and shouted down by local residents at a recent “town hall” meeting in Kalispell put on by the group.
The group, Americans For Prosperity, held the meeting to attack state representative Frank Garner. They didn’t invite him, but he heard about it from a reporter, and attended. “I support their right to have an opinion. I just didn’t like how they did it,” Garner said. “They didn’t even extend the courtesy of telling me about the meeting. What does that say about their intentions?”
At a similar AFP meeting in Dillon, angry residents walked out after being told they wouldn’t be given a chance to speak.
Montana has a Democratic governor who pledged to accept federal money to extend health coverage to 70,000 poor residents of the state. The GOP-controlled legislature opposes it, but some Republican legislators have signaled a willingness to work with Democrats on advancing the proposal. Last summer, AFP quintupled its staff in Montana, partly to fight Medicaid expansion, and has been using phone calls and mailers to put pressure on legislators.
This link to the Great Falls Tribune will take you to an article with several embedded videos.