Town Hall Meetings Should Have Rules.......

[global1]

In my opinion a Town Hall Meeting held by a Congressperson is for the people of their district.

They should hold the Town Halls indoors. ID's of the people attending should be checked to be sure that they live in the district.

All others not living in the district should not be allowed in. They do have a voice in this - but that voice is in their own district - with their own Congressperson. They should attend their own district's Town Hall if they want to be heard. They should talk with their own Congressperson.

Anybody not from the district that is asking questions, making comments or just disrupting the proceedings is taking time away from the legitimate people in the district and their right to discuss issues or voice their opinions with their Congressperson.

I haven't heard anyone provide such a solution to this problem of insurance cronies being bussed in to disrupt a Town Hall.

Am I missing something? Can't this be done?

[valerief]

1. I so want to say, "Tase the bastards," but I know that's 'a slippery slope'.

But damn, I'd love to see the BSC mouthers get jolted.

[Cha]

2. That's what they're going to have to do..

because the bussed in disruptors are just there to give off their loud stink.

[Richardo]

3. This will backfire bigtime...

The people who are attending those meetings have real questions and concerns. They made an effort to go talk to their Rep about them. And they can't get a word in because of the disruptors? That's not going to fly, nor will it hurt the Rep.

[The Gunslinger]

4. Those disrupting a meeting should be escorted outside.

If they were democrats doing this to a Republican, there would have been tazers and pepper spray everywhere. It happened in Chapel Hill not too long ago.

[virgogal]

5. Indoors only? ID's? Scary stuff.

[NYC_SKP]

6. Run it more like a City Council meeting. Disruptors escorted out by local police.

People sign up for or stand in line for a turn at the mic.

Anyone shouting out gets one warning, then removed for disrupting the proceedings.

These first few disruptive actions have caught the speakers off guard, I don't expect it to last much longer.

:patriot:

[Bill219]

7. I think at every town hall meeting...

it should start out with a presentation, perhaps powerpoint, showing the documents that have been sent out instructing how to disrupt these meetings and who is behind it

Chop them off at the knees before they even get a chance to start something!

[noamnety]

8. This is wrong.

I value that I've been able to spend time at some of the Conyers' townhall meetings. I place no value on going to a townhall with my own rep, Candace Miller, who is a useless rightwing shill. If I wanted to know what was going on with a bill, I would trust Conyers over Miller to give me real information. I don't know that Miller has ever even done a townhall, to be honest. I am guessing that if you see value in this as a solution, you live in a district with a better rep than what I have.

One thing they could do is use an overhead and the equivalent of closed captioning typed out on the screen, so the conversation can continue even if the noise volume is too high to hear. This would also help people who are deaf or hard of hearing in normal situations - it's added value with or without disruptions.

[global1]

14. I Went To My Congressmans Town Hall About Two Weeks Ago......

to me he is kind of a closet Blue Dog Dem. He still can't say whether he is for a strong public option. Says he wants to see the bills then make the decision. There were about 300 people at his Town Hall. He had 8 speakers give 5 minute talks and all went over about 2 to 3 minutes. He had one of his aides introduce him and then he spoke for about 8 minutes before the speakers. By the time all this was done - there was only a short time left for comments and questions from the people. It was evident that the crowd was probably 90% for the public option. So he stifled the Q/A session by saying he would call on people versus having them line up by the microphone. He purposely avoided people that had signs supporting the public option.

I told one of his aides on the way out that if he didn't know by now how he was lining up on this health reform - he probably wasn't fit to be a Congressman. We had two real vocal people in the meeting - one had a poster - Don't Thread On Me. They both were concerned about taxes going up if this passed. One guy didn't want to cover abortions under this health reform.

Bottom line - I don't think that the people that attended felt satisfied that they were heard. But the Congressman was able to get some newspaper time and his own newsletter that he sends to people in the district - that he was such a great guy for holding this Town Hall.

So here was an example where we didn't have people bussed in from outside the district. But the experience wasn't very worthwhile anyway. I was glad I went. I wouldn't feel right barging into another districts Town Hall.

This one was held indoors. The Congressman had some of his people at a table by the entry door - handing out some literature - they could have easily checked ID's.

[noamnety]

16. I don't believe mine will be having any townhalls at all

so you're one up on me, but I understand the frustration of having them handpick which people get to ask a question if they do decide to take comments.

Mine doesn't even seem to acknowledge the existence of the health care reform debate on her website, I think she's in with the screechers in that the goal is to not have a discussion about it. Or about anything else.

The one time I went to her office I went to pick up a blank form, no political agenda at all, and the secretary blocked the door and grilled me like she was a paid body guard before I was even let inside. I was getting an entry form for an art contest for school children - and I've never felt so unwelcome in my life! The presumption was that I was there to cause trouble unless proven otherwise.

[eleny]

9. Agreed

Completely shutting down a town hall is not acceptable.

They don't allow it at congressional hearings. People shout a little while and then they're escorted out. Nothing wrong with that when they continue to disrupt. People can have their say but should not be allowed to shut down a town hall or turn it into a mosh pit.

[Bluzmann57]

10. Us "agressive Progressives" should just surround them

Just get about four or five of us Agressive Progressives to simply surround the disruptors and make sure they don't have a quick exit. Make sure they stick around and exercise their freedoms, just like the rest of us. No physical stuff, just throw a little respect into them. Or should I say throw a little fear into them? At any rate, just make sure they get the message that while they have freedom, so do we. And we choose to exercise our freedoms in a non-violent but still firm way.

[ejpoeta]

11. well, to go to some events you have to get tickets. is there some way

the person's office could distribute tickets and a person would at the time of picking up the tickets they would show proof of residency in a certain district, or if the tickets are mailed they have to be mailed to an address in the district?? i don't know. it does seem not right if you have people who aren't from the area disrupting the ability of actual residents to speak with their own representatives.

[tabbycat31]

12. I would let visitors in

and I would not check ID. I think it can be a good learning experience for a child to go to a town hall meeting, for example, and most kids do not have a government-issued ID.

I would have questions submitted on index cards so there's no screaming matches.

[global1]

13. A Parent That Lives In The District And Shows Their ID Would Be Able To Bring ......

their kids with them. I don't think it's kids being bussed in by insurance companies doing the disrupting.

[RedCloud]

15. If the disruptors are like Delay's, imprison them.

Government employees should not be allowed to disrupt civilized meetings. And the congressperson who sent them should be charged with sedition.