To Avoid Voter Rage, Democrats Skip Town Halls

[Elmore Furth]

With conservative activists packing town hall meetings, a number of Democrats have elected to skip them.

If the time-honored tradition of the political meeting is not quite dead, it seems to be teetering closer to extinction. Of the 255 Democrats who make up the majority in the House, only a handful held town-hall-style forums as legislators spent last week at home in their districts.

It was no scheduling accident.

With images of overheated, finger-waving crowds still seared into their minds from the discontent of last August, many Democrats heeded the advice of party leaders and tried to avoid unscripted question-and-answer sessions. The recommendations were clear: hold events in controlled settings — a bank or credit union, for example — or tour local businesses or participate in community service projects.

And to reach thousands of constituents at a time, without the worry of being snared in an angry confrontation with voters, more lawmakers are also taking part in a fast-growing trend: the telephone town meeting, where chances are remote that a testy exchange will wind up on YouTube.



To Avoid Voter Rage, Democrats Skip Town Halls

[Lasher]

1. Voter rage = rightwing brownshirts

This is a teabagger thing.

[RKP5637]

2. I think we're seeing history repeat with these people. n/t

[LargeGreenSpider]

3. The white and jobless

have no brains ... just bank accounts and Medicare.

[Scuba]

4. So let's show up and even the playing field.

[Mugweed]

5. If they can't be civil and polite, the public doesn't deserve the chance.

This is a prime example of a few idiot yahoos ruining it for everybody else. Showing up to even out the numbers does nothing, because then you would have to outyell the idiots...thus dragging yourself down into their mudpit. I don't blame the Democrats for just giving it up. They tried to be open to all citizens, unlike the Republicans who vetted the crowd and made sure it was made up of only the loyalty-oath signers. The end result for Democrats was that right-wing jackasses with poor manners and poorer intellectual capacity caused disruptions and disturbances whle attempting to portray it as a 1st Amendment right (which I'm sure they never read). The problem is that the Democrats consistently allow the right wing to define them, and this will be defined as cowardice or elitism.

[Ozwalt]

6. If I were in office...

If I were in office, I think I'd hold town hall meetings with a stern warning displayed via PowerPoint prior to beginning the "discussion" -- i.e. "Attention: This is to be a civil gathering. Anyone attempting to shout down or intimidate any speaker will be arrested and charged with harassment and public nuisance", or whatever local laws would apply. And I'd be sure the local news folks were there to document the crazy behavior and the appropriate response being carried out. I'm all for making the nut jobs famous and presenting liberals in a supervisory or parental role. I think that would speak volumes.