The rally was billed by organizers as Stop Obama Care. But as far as many in the crowd today were concerned, they could have taken away the “Care” part.

Three Georgia Republican congressmen headlined the rally against health care reform that attracted about 500 people to Jessye Norman Amphitheater, where many pointed to other policies of President Obama they didn’t like, some currently proposed or others just feared as the beginning of something worse.

“Are any of you angry?” U.S. Rep. Nathan Deal asked, and the crowd roared back. Noting that many are probably also afraid of the reforms as well, Mr. Deal said those two emotions are what sparked the American Revolution.

“There is a new birth of freedom that is sweeping across our land and you are a part of it by being here tonight,” he said, to loud applause.

Many of the speakers - which included local physicians - played to a patriotic theme as a reason to oppose what is being debated in Washington.

“I think it’s about liberty,” surgeon Randy Cooper said. “It’s you having the right to choose who you go to, what hospital you want to go to, and the right of your doctor to choose what kind of care that you’re going to get based on evidence-based medicine. I just don’t see that.”

And for many in the crowd, it goes beyond health care. Holding a sign that read in part “Obamacare Forceing (sic) Americans into submission, Wake up people,” Anthony Olick, 55, said he fears that the Obama administration may even take advantage of the looming novel influenza A H1N1 pandemic to intrude even further on rights and possibly enter people’s homes.

“Probably go in there and disarm people, you know it,” he said.

With a solid majority in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, however, Democrats are in a position to pass whatever they like, which is why U.S. Rep Paul Broun urged the crowd to start putting pressure on conservative Democrats to oppose the current reforms.

“That’s what will kill Obamacare,” he said. “Republicans can’t do it.”

Ian Dalbert, 44, of Augusta, was one of the few visible supporters of the reform effort who showed up at the rally. He noted that the bills haven’t even come up for a vote before the full House or Senate or in some cases are still being finished.

“We believe the health care bill first of all deserves a chance” to go through the process, he said. Many in the crowd, Mr. Dalbert said are opposed “to any platform Obama stands on.”

Reach Tom Corwin at (706) 823-3213 or tom.corwin@augustachronicle.com