Lawmakers Rethink Town Halls
This will all be handled behind closed doors now. Like everything else. God forbid the people have a say.
By JANET ADAMY and NAFTALI BENDAVID
The health-care debate was supposed to play out at rallies and inside gymnasiums when lawmakers headed home for the August recess.
But after a series of contentious town-hall meetings, some Democratic lawmakers are thinking twice about holding large public gatherings. Instead, they are opting for smaller sessions, holding meetings by phone or inviting constituents for one-on-one office hours.
Democrats have accused Republicans of manufacturing the opposition by organizing groups to attend the events and encouraging disruptive behavior. Republican organizers say the unrest reflects genuine anger about the proposed health-care changes.
Lawmakers Opt For Smaller Health Care Meetings
Many lawmakers are now opting for smaller, more intimate meetings to hear from their constituents on issues such as health care, instead of town-hall meetings that have left them open to heckling and other distractions, health care reporter Janet Adamy discusses.
“Democrats may think that attacking or ignoring this growing chorus of Americans is a smart strategy, but they are obviously forgetting that these concerned citizens are voters as well,” said Paul Lindsay, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, the House GOP’s campaign arm.
Rick Scott, who leads Conservatives for Patients’ Rights, a group that has helped publicize the local meetings, said: “The polls reveal the real picture of what is happening across the country — people are genuinely concerned, some are genuinely angry, and they are expressing themselves.”
The Senate on Friday headed home for a monthlong break after progress stalled on passing sweeping health-care legislation. House members, whose break started a week ago, have been hit with a flood of inquiries about the legislation since they arrived home.
Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D., Ariz.) on Thursday canceled her public schedule for the day after a “Chat with Ann” session at a Safeway grocery store in Holbrook, Ariz., turned rowdy.
A video of the meeting showed a woman shouting, “You don’t appreciate our frustration!” Ms. Kirkpatrick cut the session short after 15 minutes and headed to her car, trailed by a jeer of “What a nitwit!”
Rep. Tim Bishop (D., N.Y.) stopped holding town-hall meetings after a June event. Footage of the meeting showed participants screaming questions at Mr. Bishop, then repeatedly shouting him down when he tried to respond. At times, Mr. Bishop would begin to respond to a question and a participant would yell, “Answer the question!” At one point Mr. Bishop yelled back, “I’m trying to!”
Police were summoned as several dozen protesters followed Mr. Bishop to his car. Now Mr. Bishop, who has held 100 town-hall meetings during his tenure, has just one scheduled for the August recess, and his office is wrestling with how to ensure it will be civil and orderly.
“I’m seeing the same clips everyone else is of these meetings that are turning into near-riots,” said Jon Schneider, Mr. Bishop’s district director. “Obviously we don’t want that to happen.” He added that the congressman is talking to voters in other ways.
Rep. Brian Baird (D., Wash.) also said the raucous nature of recent meetings about health care caused him to steer away from the events, if only because they aren’t productive when so many people are shouting.
“I’m not a coward, but neither am I a fool,” said Mr. Baird. “There is a real concern right now about this nationwide campaign of intimidation and disruption that I think is troubling,” he said. “It’s getting dangerous.”
Several lawmakers said they aren’t canceling large, public events that have already been planned.
Some Democrats who have seen the sharpest attacks say that has made them more determined not to back away from public meetings. Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D., Texas), who was recently heckled over health care at a supermarket, said he would attend a veterans-center opening, a community-health event and a meeting with Austin public school teachers in coming days.
“The apparent focus was to kind of create this impression that you could run me [and] supporters of this out of Dodge,” he said. “That’s not what is going to happen.”
Write to Janet Adamy at janet.adamy@wsj.com and Naftali Bendavid at naftali.bendavid@wsj.com
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