UPDATED Specter: Raucous town hall was ‘real democracy in action’

Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) took to Twitter Tuesday afternoon to say that his tumultuous town hall this morning represented “real democracy in action.”

He tweeted:

Lebanon County Town Hall was real democracy in action.

Specter’s town hall turned into a television event, with cable news channels airing the meeting live. Many of his constituents in Lebanon, Pa. leveled criticism of the healthcare reform legislation.

At one point, one audience member tried to physically remove another who was delivering a impassioned critique of Specter because he was not one of the 30 individuals selected to ask a question.

The fifth-term senator said of the speech “we’ve just had a demonstration of democracy.”

Cross-posted to the Briefing Room

UPDATED [2:07pm] Specter added that “1000 people came to tell me what was on their minds and I have a message to take back to DC loud and clear.”