Purpose of a Town Hall Meeting

How often is the legislative branch of our representative government held accountable by its constituents? Usually only at election time. These local town hall meetings, from my perspective, are quite refreshing.

Senators and Representatives are sent by the people to go to Washington and represent their constituents as they craft and vote on legislation. How will they know how to vote if they don’t ask your opinion? Do they think that because they’ve been sent to Washington on your behalf they have been given carte blanche to do whatever they want? They need to come down from their ivory towers and echo chambers in Washington and seek the will of the people they were elected to represent.

Why aren’t more town hall meetings held? The House passed cap and trade legislation but the Senate hasn’t. That means it’s not a done deal. Why aren’t Senators holding town hall meetings on cap and tax, as it should be called? Since Obama said electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket as a result of his plan, we should be debating that.

A few members of Congress are holding town hall meetings (some are cowering behind teleconference calls) but why aren’t more members of Congress holding town halls on health care legislation? Every single American’s health care is on the line. We’ve called their offices in Washington and at home. We’ve e-mailed, we’ve faxed and we’ve sent tweets to those with Twitter accounts. Now we’d like to talk. In person.

Let’s say you’re from Pennsylvania. When Arlen Specter was elected in November 2004 to represent you, he was a Republican. On April 28, 2009, he switched parties. We don’t know how long he took to mull over his decision, but we do know he thought it over carefully, considering the fundraising implications, his position in the Senate Judiciary Committe and his re-electability. His decision would ultimately affect one person: himself. The legislation he’s passing, however, affect all of us, even those of us outside Pennsylvania.

Regardless of his decision to switch parties, he still represents you, the Pennsylvanian. He voted “yea” for TARP, Stimulus, omnibus spending and the economic recovery package. He’s gone back and forth on card check (being for it before being against it). Now, he’s walking a tightrope on health care.

With all of these votes meaning a larger deficit that can only be shouldered by the American people (either by taxes or by suffering through inflation), you’d think the people of Pennsylvania would want to meet with their representative. Do you think, as they meet, it is more important for Sen. Specter to listen to his constituents or do you think the constituents should use the time to listen to Sen. Specter?

You could argue that Sen. Specter has already spoken: by voting in the affirmative for all of these expensive pieces of massive legislation. He can certainly explain himself on these specific issues but isn’t that why his office submits press releases, holds press conferences and sends emails to those who sign up for email updates?

We’ve heard you speak, Sen. Specter. We’ve heard everyone who has cast a vote speak. Americans will not wait until the next election to speak again. No, we have a lot to say right now.

I appreciate Sen. Specter holding town hall meetings. But what he needs to do is listen to his constituents, not polls. He needs to talk less but answer the questions, not look away and ask for the next question. Granted, he’s no Sheila Jackson Lee who took a phone call on her cell phone during a town hall meeting. But really, does Rep. Lee set the standard? Clearly, no.

Call your Senators and Representatives. They’re on an “August break” but the last time I checked, they still are getting paid by your tax dollars during this “break.” Send emails and faxes to their local offices. Call the local office and ask if there will be a town hall. If so, find out when and where. If not, demand one.

Just like this man (see the first 2:50 of the video) and Katy and you deserve to have your voice heard. In person.

The man in the video here made sure he was heard.

At the 1:30 mark , Sen. Specter says, “I could be somewhere else. I don’t get any extra pay. I don’t have any requirement to be here.” A very clever and informed man responded, “You work for us! You report to us!”

If these Senators and Representatives don’t actually represent you in Washington, you can make sure they’re somewhere else after the next election: “enjoying” unemployment like the other 8.7-9.7% of Americans.