People started lining up three hours before the town hall meeting began at 6 p.m. at Mankato East High School. After an initial half-hour during which nearly every question and answer was interrupted by yelled comments, hoots, applause and laughter, the audience began to settle down after the moderator, former Republican U.S. Sen. David Durenberger, urged them to “mute it down a little so people can talk.” At the end of the meeting, all of those left in the room applauded. [Star Tribune]
Walz showed his commitment to having an open discussion by giving as many people as possible a chance to speak:
Though the session was scheduled to last two hours, Walz let it run an extra half-hour because dozens of speakers still were lined up behind microphones as the two-hour mark neared.
This is what John Kline was afraid of? An open discussion about the merits of health reform? If you read the article, you’ll see that Walz didn’t pull any punches; he spoke his mind and vigorously defended the Democrats’ health care plan. But if he could remain civil and respect the position of those constituents who disagree with him, is it so much to ask that Kline be able to do the same?
Had Kline showed “gumption” or any real intestinal fortitude,
he would have participated.
It would have given the constituents a clear contrast & maybe figured out the truth about health care.
I would contend the ones who attended probably figured out what’s what on health care WITHOUT Kline.
Clearly, he’d rather hide.
Kline absolutely should have townhall meetings. He is not my congressman, and I appreciate his stance on earmarks, but he needs to have townhalls.
He doesn’t need to have them with Walz. I like the idea of a townhall meeting being between a public servants and their constituents. But he should have them.
Should the basic question be …. “How does the Congressman communicate with his constituents ?”
Congressman Kline did hold a Healthcare Roundtable earlier (June 22 Fairview Ridges Hospital in Burnsville) … maybe you missed unless you were one of the invited doctors, administrators, and other health care professionals … sadly, there was no reporting in the MSM.
Yesterday, Kline presented to 80 members of the Fairbault Chamber of Commerce a flow chart crammed with lines, arrows and geometric shapes created by the Republican staff of the Joint Economic Committee and meant to illustrate their interpretation of House Democrats’ 1,000-page health care reform bill. Somehow given his 25 minutes allotted to covering the topic that anyone in the audience really learned anything.
So, he does meet with people … well, selected people.
Communication with citizens should be a two-way street.
Yes, at a Town Hall-type meeting the Congressman will hear from some outraged people … but that is nothing new … but also the Congressman can “educate” the constituent.
Collin Peterson held a health care roundtable Monday in Bemidji and said that District town halls help correct misinformation on health care reform as much as allow input.
Further, Peterson accused House Republicans of sitting on their hands, hoping to use the Democrat-passed bill in next year’s elections. Peterson said people were telling him to slow up, and yet it took three years to craft a nearly 1,800-page bill adding “At some point, you’ve got to move.”
{Warning, maybe that’s part of the misinformation … Kline is working from a 1,000 page bill and Peterson has a 1,800 page bill}
That said, reading Kline’s comments on his website, would an open Town Hall style meeting change his mind ?
At best, a constituent might plea for inclusion of some aspect of healthcare reform… that Kline might agree to as part of some amendment vote, but he would never vote for a complete bill that is remotely close to what is being discussed today.
Yet, a smaller meeting with interested citizens might be very informative. For example, assuming that Single Payer is not acceptable, would Kline accept the “Co-Op” concept being discussed ? { Personally, after the complaints regarding government involvement in lending institutions and the automobile industry, I cannot imagine that Kline would want the government to fund the startup of Co-Ops.}
Or, does Kline support the privatization of Medicare as recently approved at the RNC meeting ?
What’s his opinion of the Veterans healthcare system and is that a model of Socialist Medicine that works or not ?
In the end, the bottom line is that Kline would be inflexible and the result would be NO CHANGE to the current system.
Kline’s outreach to his constituents has not changed - be it the Iraq conflict to the Farm Bill - general public meetings is not on his schedule yet he keeps getting reelected.
Still waiting for Erik Paulsen to hold a town hall on anything……open to the public, not by invitation only at Morrie’s.
Would like to see Paulsen make more of an effort to engage with constituents as well.
So far….very underwhelmed by Paulsen. His voting record is far right and his unwillingness to face the public (unlike Jim Ramstad) is very unsettling.
Poor Dems…..Unemployment rising, inflation increasing, debt at record levels…how are any Democrats going to get re-elected?
Holding town halls and actually talking to constituents should help. Bush and the republican congress fucked the economy, and most republican congresspersons got re-elected.
Appreciate your concern though.
By actually appearing in public and answering questions. I’d rather have a Dem that I can actually meet face to face than a GOP’er who hides in the closet and only speaks to invited guests at unannounced locations.
In fairness to Kline and Paulsen, it doesn’t have to come in the form of a townhall meeeting. These guys can do it a different way. Maybe a series of breakfasts throughout the district, with advance notification so it can be a first-come, first-served signup. 20 people max. Perhaps they like a more intimate setting where they can actually interact with each attendee.
Or maybe they just prefer to set aside each Friday as an “open door” office day. You show up, prove that you are a constituent, and get in line to talk with the Congressman. 10 minutes of 1-on-1 time will probably do more to make your point than getting on the mic at a raucaus townhall.
Anything. Doesn’t have to be the townhall like Ramstad always did. He did them even when there weren’t burning issues. But these guys need to be accessible.
Of course, ANYTHING would be fine for republicans, as far as YOU are concerned. Perhaps, Kline, Bachman, and Paulsen could piss on their constituents from the top of buildings. That’s certainly in keeping with the gestalt of the republican leadership.
Maybe so, DTM, but whatever method chosen by whichever congressperson they need to have time that their constituents can actually meet them face to face. People have arranged meetings with Paulsen at his office only to find themselves met by a staffer only as he was unable to attend. So far he’s managed to meet only those whom he chooses to meet.
In an article that ran in the Monday Rochester Post-Bulliten, John Kline commented that he was “confused” by Tim Walz’s invitation to participate with him in the Mankato Town Hall.
John Kline has avoided doing Town Halls because he got his ass kicked at the last one he held some years ago. That is why he prefers hiding in his Congressional Office with a computer and screened calls with Tele-Town Halls that does not really put the Representative in front of the people.