Bastrop, Texas Events, News & Stories

Bastrop, Tx–When a handful of protesters followed U.S. Congressman Lloyd Doggett from Austin to Bastrop on Saturday afternoon and attempted to disrupt two separate meetings, they may have stubbed their collective toe in the Lost Pines.

Doggett had scheduled a 5 p.m. meeting at Kerr Community Center to discuss health care reform and other issues currently before Congress.

But he also slated a 4 p.m. session at City Hall to announce a $200,000 appropriation to aid the Bastrop County Historical Society in converting the Main Street building into a new museum and visitor center once a new city hall on Chestnut Street can be occupied, possibly late next year. But protesters focused on health care and other national issues were also sprinkled among those gathered for the announcement, and historical society officials and supporters were puzzled and not entirely pleased with the hubbub which ensued.

“What was that about?” asked Stephanie Watson, who was on hand to film the gathering for Bastrop Community Access Television.

The scene became perhaps more intense when events moved to the Kerr Center, which was packed with Democrats and others–including an estimated half-dozen hecklers who apparently hoped to disrupt the gathering. One Kerr Center official estimated the crowd at about 90 people packed into a building officially rated to hold only 80. And those friendly to the Congressman were better organized.

A number of them lined up shoulder to shoulder across the hall to block aisles and fill corners in an effort to separate the protesters from Doggett. A contingent of city police, led by Assistant Chief Matt Wagner, was also on hand.

By Wagner’s account the session was lively almost from the start. Emotions rose as Doggett struggled to answer questions and address issued raised in the audience without facing even further shouted interruptions. Wagner said he feared the session could degenerate into physical confrontations and he asked one especially loud and persistent heckler to leave the assembly. He was shown the door and advised to use it.

Wagner estimated the number of protesters at perhaps six, some of them carrying signs. The unidentified protester who was ejected was not arrested. No one was cited by police, said Wagner.

A number of protests with similar characteristics have faced some Democratic members of Congress at town hall gatherings with constituents across the country while Congress is in recess and members typically reach out to voters in their home districts. Some protest organizers insist the events are spontaneous reactions to political debates in Congress, especially about health care and other issues on which Democrats and Republicans remain sharply divided.

Before coming to Bastrop on Saturday, Doggett faced a similar scene of heckling as he attempted to talk to constituents at a Randalls food store in Southwest Austin, according to a report Aug. 3 by the Austin American-Statesman.