Congressman plans secretly scheduled "telephone town hall" from an undisclosed location on health care - Man, the Democrats are scared sh*tless:
Over 10 years in Congress, U.S. Rep. Brian Baird has stayed tethered to his district, flying back to Southwest Washington for more than 300 sometimes-bruising town hall meetings during Congressional recesses.
But this year, he's literally decided to phone it in.
Instead of appearing in person, where "extremists" would have "the chance to shout and make YouTube videos," Baird said Wednesday, he's holding what he calls "telephone town halls" instead.
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Secret schedule
Here's how it'll work: if you happen to be sitting near a publicly listed Clark County telephone line on the right day at the right time, your phone will ring.
In order to avoid software problems, Baird's office says, the exact date and time will be kept secret from the public.
If you answer your landline, an automated message will ask whether you have a question for your Congressman.
Press *3, and you'll be asked your location and the subject of your question. Sitting at his own telephone at an as-yet-undisclosed location, Baird then will choose a name based on its location and the topic.
There will be no further pre-screening, Baird said. After the call is over, the recording will be posted on his Web site.
Baird said the phone interviews will include "a much better cross-section of the public" than some live town halls.
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‘We are not nut cases’
Not all Baird's constituents support his decision.
Pam Benson of Larch Mountain, 62, said she realizes Baird disagrees with her on health care reform.
But the lack of town hall meetings makes her feel angrier and more helpless, she said.
"He's supposed to be our representative," said Benson, a purchasing manager for Portland Cascade Architecture and Engineering in Portland. "He's supposed to listen to us, whether he's on our side or not."
Benson said she doesn't understand why health care reform is moving forward when everyone she talks to seems to oppose it.
"We are not nut cases that disagree with this issue," she said. "There are a lot of very well-informed people that are against this health care thing."
It's enough to make a Republican like her paranoid, she said.
"It makes me feel that there is a conspiracy here to screw up the whole entire United States," she said with a laugh. "It's just too much, too fast."
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columbian.com
hattip directorblue - Doug Ross |
