Congressman, You Work For US…For Now
Rep. Baron Hill made an ass of himself last week at a townhall meeting. Here’s the video:
“This is my townhall meeting and I won’t let you tell me how to run my office.” When Baron Hill faces voters in November, 2010, I hope his constituents make Rep. Hill’s tombstone quote.
HOW DARE HE TAKE THAT ATTITUDE!!!
He’s obviously under the delusion that he’s God’s gift to Indiana. NO MORE will we accept such arrogance!!! NO MORE will we be lectured to by a loudmouthed bully!!! NO MORE should any American accept that type of representation.
Based on Erin Chapman’s commentary, I’m betting that Hill’s diatribe isn’t playing well in Bloomington, IN:
For those of us who witnessed the exchange, it was clear that Hill had unwittingly struck a nerve. The all-important question: Whose town hall meeting is it, really? The resounding response: ours – not yours.
But that a congressional representative would even think that the meeting belonged to him is incredible. Where have you been? Since when was democracy about you talking and us blindly listening?
No doubt Baron Hill and his press office regret his rash response. But perhaps there is more ambiguity about all this than we thought.
Besides asserting this valuable principle, Ms. Chapman took note of something more important:
But as August’s discourse has shown, they underestimated us. Congress had become too accustomed to apathetic constituents. They didn’t anticipate how strongly all of us would feel about this issue, and consequently the health care fallout that has followed has been beyond what anyone on Capitol Hill imagined.
Screaming critics, personal attacks, assault rifles: None of this is a part of the sit-back-and-blog democracy that we have all become accustomed to. It’s because of this new political activism that part of me wants to stand up and applaud these town hall meetings.
Participatory democracy is what this nation needs ASAP. It’s needed because congresscritters have lost sight of their niche. Rep. Hill hasn’t figured it out that he works for the people in Indiana. I suspect his constituents are about to teach him that lesson.
Fortunately for us, Erin’s commentary teaches us a more powerful, more important lesson:
When I walked out of Bloomington High School North on Wednesday, I felt more confused and uneducated than I did when I had walked in, like I had unlearned something about the debate.
The hour was filled with too much booing and too many anecdotes to be educational.
Enough with the pathos. What we need are particulars.A lot of the fault here is on the Congress. Town hall meetings should be a place where constituents voice their concerns to their representatives, not a place where congressmen assert their authority.
If we really want to further this issue we need more constructive conversation and less emotional ranting. And we, the constituents, must take it upon ourselves to change the tone of discourse.
After all, this is our town hall meeting.
For this country to work, We The People need to do our homework. Additionally, We The People need to hold our congressmen and senators accountable by asking intelligent questions. I understand the venting and expressions of anger. Trust me when I say that I empathize with those reactions.
Still, it’s important that we each do our part in getting the information we need to make intelligent decisions on the most important issues of the day. That requires maintaining our poise. That requires doing our due diligence. That requires asking questions that either expose a congressman’s spin or that elicits an intelligent answer.
Erin is right in her approach. Hostile confrontation should be the last step, not the first. By doing our due diligence, by reading the bills, we put ourselves in a position of being the expert. That’s a position of power. That’s when we make our elected officials uneasy if they’re unprepared. If they’re prepared, they’ll inform you, which is what the goal should be.
Still, if congresscritters like Baron Hill insist that the townhalls are their meetings and that they’ll tolerate their constituents only for a little while, then We The People must decisively and firmly remind our elected officials that they work for us.
Technorati Tags: Baron Hill, Townhall Meeting, Arrogance, Bullying, Public Servant, Democrats, We The People, Erin Chapman, Due Diligence, Election 2010
Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog
September 8th, 2009 at 10:24 pm
The town hall meetings held across the nation have proven to me that the government in Washington is no longer functioning. When this level of arrogance is displayed by a public servant to the electorate it is taxation without representation all over again. I believe that the government derives its authority to govern from the consent of the people. Consent that was given freely can be revoked. This is the lesson that the Washington aristocracy desperately needs to learn.
September 17th, 2009 at 6:24 pm
I live in Hill’s district, and have repeatedly tried to get information form him on a number of issues. His responses are canned, and are repeated based on the subject of the question. He clearly is not responsive to the voters. I suggest that everyone seeing this pass this on to their friends and coworkers. This is typical of EVERY ONE OF MY ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES! Including Richard Lugar.