Democrats Host Few Traditional Town Hall Meetings During August Recess

FOXNEWS.com ^ | August 21, 2009 | FOXNEWS.com

[Son House]

Pelosi held a health care "roundtable" discussion with religious leaders at an Episcopal church in San Francisco on Thursday -- her second roundtable forum since the president announced plans to make health coverage more accessible to the nation's 50 million uninsured.

Reid, the Senate's top Democrat, has yet to hold a traditional public town hall, but is expected to host a "tele-town hall" August 28. Assistant Majority Leader Sen. Dick Durbin, who said organized protesters were prepared to take over the town halls and "shout and shove" their way to the podium, called the public meetings a waste of his time.

"The people who are showing up at these town meetings are not looking for dialogue. They're looking for diatribe," Durbin said. "I don't think that's a productive use of my time."

Of the House's five committee chairmen, none have held traditional in-person public town hall meetings. Rep. Henry Waxman, Committee on Energy and Commerce, announced plans to host a town hall at UCLA on August 21, according to a press release on his Web site.

Rep. George Miller, chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor, held a July 31 telephone community meeting and Sen. Max Baucus, chairman of the Committee on Finance, met with doctors and hospital administrators Aug. 13 at a Holiday Inn in Missoula, Montana.

Sen. Chris Dodd, chairman of the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and Rep. Charles Rangel, chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means, have yet to announce plans to host a town hall.

Rep. Ed Markey was singled out Saturday by the Milford Daily News in Massachusetts as "a senior member of the House committee that wrote the health care bill (who) has yet to schedule a public meeting on the topic."

[Son House]

Democrats are going to pass their Socialized Medicine plan regardless. The only Health Insurance easy to get will be their Big Government Plan

[SkyPilot]

Pelosi held a health care "roundtable" discussion with religious leaders at an Episcopal church in San Francisco on Thursday

Which San Francisco "religion" was that?

[LibLieSlayer]

If they (dims) pass it... if they use the nuclear option in the Senate... there will not be another bill passed through the Senate during hussein’s one and only term... unless 2010 flips them out of power. That is something that the enemedia are trying to prevent with false polls and lying commercials called news.

LLS

[EmilyGeiger]

Of all the reps. that I want to see voted out, this rep is the one I would get the most joy out of seeing gone. Pelosi with her smug condescension just sickens me.

[Red in Blue PA]

Unaccounable “representatives”.

And the left is just fine with this.

Speaks volumes about them.

[Jabba the Nutt]

I'm interested in how this works. OK, playing the religion card started, I believe, with a rant from Ed Schulz, who went off on his 'What would Jesus do' version of the gospel.

Who thinks this stuff up? How do they get the word out to people that this is the new plan? Do they give out talking points or how do they do this exactly? Was it poll tested ahead of time?

[devere]

“Unaccounable “representatives”.”

Representative “democracy” has failed.

We need federal initiative and referendum to keep our arrogant elitist rulers under control.

[counterpunch]

Whenever the Democrats get in trouble with the electorate, they always cynically turn to dressing their socialism in religious terms. This has been their primary fallback strategy to manipulate the public since Howard Dean took over the DNC. They know they can just name-drop Jeebus and throw around a few biblical expressions about “loaves and fishes” and “bearing false witness” and all them dumb red-state rednecks will go along with anything they say. Or at least that’s their plan.