Lawmakers who actually allowed citizens to participate in dialogue during this summer\u2019s Congressional recess got an earful. Many\u2014mostly Republicans\u2014were assailed for their hard-line positions on the debt-ceiling and budget cuts.<\/p>\n

The Progress Report has assembled video clips from a variety of Congressional town-hall meetings<\/a>, and the results should be instructive to representatives who complacently believe that their right-wing ideology is popular.<\/p>\n

Several themes emerged during 2011 town-hall meetings, says The Progress Report, whose video clips dramatically illustrate each of these points:<\/p>\n

\n

\n
• \u201cWhere are the jobs?\u201d<\/li>\n
• \u201cDon\u2019t cut Medicare and Social Security\u201d<\/li>\n
• \u201cMake the wealthy pay their fair share of taxes\u201d<\/li>\n
• \u201cPledge allegiance to the Constitution, not Grover Norquist\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/blockquote>\n

  At least the citizens speaking out at these meetings had the opportunity to voice their opinions. In many districts around the country, Congressional representatives didn\u2019t even bother to hold public meetings.<\/p>\n

  The Washington Post reports that:<\/p>\n

  60 percent of House members held no town halls<\/a> in the month of August. While some lawmakers have disputed that report, according to a Knowlegis database, about 500 town hall meetings were held this summer<\/a> , 159 fewer than in 2009. Only 153 of the 535 members of Congress held town halls in summer 2011, according to Knowlegis.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

  Those that had meetings had fewer than in the past, and some employed some sneaky tactics to avoid facing constituents and to limit both input and public-relations \u201cdamage.\u201d<\/p>\n

  \n

  \n
  • \u201cPay-per-view\u201d town halls<\/a>, in which citizens had to make a contribution in order to get in. The going rate? According to Politico<\/a>: Paul Ryan [R-WI], $15. Ben Quayle [R-AZ], $35. Chip Gravanek [R-MN], $10. Reps. Lou Barletta <\/strong>[R-PA] and <\/strong>Renee Ellmers <\/strong>[R-NC] also held pay-to-play events. The fee is paid to a third-party organization that sponsors the event.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
    \n
    • Creating a \u201cwatch list\u201d of local activists<\/a> to keep specific citizens [suspected of being progressive activists] out of town-hall meeting<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
      \n
      • Confiscating cameras from town hall participants<\/a>. Fearing that his town-hall would turn into a \u201cshow,\u201d Congressman Steve Chabot [R-OH] had his staff take cameras away from citizens, while allowing media to record the proceedings.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/blockquote>\n

        In Missouri\u2019s 2^{nd<\/sup> Congressional district,} Republican Todd Akin not only refused to meet with citizens, he called the police <\/a>to clear them from his parking lot.<\/p>\n

        Looking at these undemocratic tactics, one can only hope that citizens, increasingly aware that some of their elected representatives are not that interested in representing them, more interested in lock-step ideology, and beholden only to their corporate sponsors\u2014will demand accountability and take action.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Lawmakers who actually allowed citizens to participate in dialogue during this summer\u2019s Congressional recess got an earful. Many\u2014mostly Republicans\u2014were assailed for their hard-line positions<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":11445,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29,16],"tags":[1223],"yoast_head":"\n