Goodlatte townhall: The question that didn't get asked

Monday's townhall meeting in Augusta County with Congressman Bob Goodlatte (R-6th CD) was chocked full of people who are upset about Obamacare and want to see Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, and others shut down the U.S. government in their pursuit of shutting down Obamacare.

So it was a surprise that this one question was not asked by anyone in the crowd of about 150 people: Why was Congress exempted from the Obamacare legislation that the rest of us have to abide by?

Monday: Supervisor Karaffa to offer townhall meeting

Interested in Augusta County's budget? Augusta County Supervisor David Karaffa (Beverley Manor District) will hold a townhall meeting for constituents interested in learning more about the issue:

Monday, April 15
7:00 p.m. at Augusta Government Center in the Smith West Room

Supervisor Karaffa has remained true to his campaign promise by staying in touch with his constituents since taking office in January 2012. The latest townhall meeting will provide another opportunity to ask questions and offer input.

Photo by Lynn R. Mitchell

Webb ignores Virginians ... plans "listening tour" of Japan

~Sen. Webb, how about a "listening tour" of Virginia?~

Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) ignored Virginians by refusing to hold townhall meetings during the summer of 2009, and he is generally unavailable to his constituents.

So now we discover he is leaving this week on a "listening tour" of Japan:

The aim of Webb's tour is to "listen carefully to the views of the current Japanese government, the leaders and citizens of Okinawa and Guam, and U.S. military leaders and personnel stationed in the Pacific region," his office said in a statement.

Sen. Webb, here's a novel idea: How about a "listening tour" of Virginia to hear the concerns of the people you represent concerning health care, stimulus bills, overreaching government, and everything else going on in Washington?

H/T to Rick

Follow-up on shutting down free speech outside Moran townhall

Video and follow-up of the school guard in Northern Virginia threatening to arrest a Moran townhall protester for holding a sign. Be sure to read the comments.

H/T Yankee Phil

Perriello ... did he take a vote on that?

Hundreds of residents turned out Saturday for a townhall meeting with Rep. Tom Perriello (D-5th CD) in Rustburg and, in the words of the reporter, he faced another tough crowd. The majority of those attending crowd expressed disagreement with the proposed nationalized health care bill, HR 3200, and were not shy about letting their representative know they were informed, knew details about the bill, and disagreed with it.

At one point Rep. Perriello made an interesting statement to the crowd:

“It’s clear that this room seems pretty united against HR3200,” Perriello said. “That is not the opinion of my constituents as a whole.”

How does he know? Has he polled each of the 650,000 constituents in his district? As one commenter to the newspaper's website noted:

REALLY??!! Well if that’s the case, why is he even bothering to hold town hall meetings? Almost every single meeting he has held has been like this where the vast majority of participants are opposed to this legislation. For him to just discard this opposition calls into question his judgement and rationale for seeking his constituents’ input in the first place. Makes you wonder if the fix was in from the very beginning.

Which brings up a good point ... why not let the American people vote on whether they want Uncle Sam to take over their health care.

One speaker may have echoed the sentiments of many at townhalls across the nation:

“I came to thank you” for having the meeting, Parrish told Perriello, “but I have changed my mind. You’ve talked twice as much as you’ve listened. You say what Obama wants you to say and not what the people of Campbell County want you to say.”

There will be one more opportunity in the 5th Congressional District to meet with Tom Perriello ... Monday in Appomattox at 6:00 pm. Contact Mr. Perriello's office for location and more information.

Charlottesville, VA 22902 - Phone: (434) 293-9631
Danville, VA 24541 - Phone: (434) 791-2596
Farmville, VA 23901 - Phone: (434) 392-1997
Washington, D.C. 20515 - Phone: (202) 225-4711

Rep. Goodlatte (R-6th CD) townhall meetings

Today Congressman Bob Goodlatte announced that he will be holding town hall meetings across the 6th Congressional District of Virginia. Congressman Goodlatte will be seeking opinions and suggestions from constituents on health care reform and other key issues facing the 111th Congress.

These upcoming town hall meetings are in addition to the latest round of telephone town hall meetings that Congressman Goodlatte began on Tuesday, August 18th. The telephone town hall meetings allow thousands of 6th District constituents to speak directly with Congressman Goodlatte without having to leave their homes. For individuals interested in taking part in the telephone town hall meetings you can sign-up on Congressman Goodlatte’s website.

“I feel it is important to keep an open line of communication so I can best serve the interests of the 6th Congressional District,” said Congressman Goodlatte. “I look forward to hearing from the folks of the 6th District either through my telephone town hall meetings or in person at my upcoming town hall meetings which will be held throughout the 6th District.”

For constituents interested in attending one of Congressman Goodlatte’s town hall meetings, they will be held at the following times and locations:

Roanoke Valley
Thursday, September 3rd
7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Hidden Valley High School
5000 Titan Trail
Roanoke

Shenandoah Valley
Saturday, September 5th
10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Turner Ashby High School Auditorium
800 North Main Street
Bridgewater

Lynchburg/Central Virginia
Further details to be announced soon

Virginia Senators & Congressmen disclose recess townhall plans - UPDATED

[Updated 8/12/09]

The following is current information about townhall meeting plans for Virginia's U.S. Senators and Congressmen. Click on name for more information and phone numbers to contact their offices. You may want to check often with your reps for updates about scheduled meeting.

U.S. Senators:
- Sen. Jim Webb (D) - No townhall meetings scheduled; out of country until end of August.
- Sen. Mark Warner (D) - No townhall meetings scheduled

U.S. Congressmen:
- Rep. Rob Whittman (R-1st CD) - Tuesday, Sept. 1, at 6:00 pm. Germanna Community College, Fredericksburg.
- Rep. Glenn Nye (D-2nd CD) - No townhall meetings scheduled
- Rep. Robert Scott (D-3rd CD) - No townhall meetings scheduled
- Rep. Randy Forbes (R-4th CD) - No townhall meetings currently scheduled
- Rep. Tom Perriello (D-5th CD) - One-on-one meetings scheduled. Contact office for details.
- Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-6th CD) - No townhall meetings scheduled
- Rep. Eric Cantor (R-7th CD) - Schedule is currently being compiled
- Rep. Jim Moran (D-8th CD) - Townhall with Howard Dean. Tuesday, August 25, 2009. 7:00 - 9:00 pm. Doors open at 6:00 pm. South Lakes High School Auditorium, 11400 South Lakes Dr., Reston, Virginia.
- Rep. Rick Boucher (D-9th CD) - Two 9:00 am weekday meetings scheduled but nothing else ... no times when working folks can attend.
- Rep. Frank Wolfe (R-10th CD) - No townhall meetings currently scheduled but staff said they are working on the schedule
- Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-11th CD) - No townhall meetings scheduled

Health care: The most important question to ask Congress

If you attend a townhall, ask your representative this question:

"Will you vote to require members of Congress to be included on any bill dealing with health care? Please give me a yes or no answer."

Let me know what you hear.

Town hells?

As Democrat electeds return home to constituents angry about the pending socialized health care bill, the attitudes displayed by some is exasperating as noted by Investor's Business Daily:

... Rep. Lloyd Doggett, a Democrat from Texas, deserved the hostile reception given him at a town hall meeting in Austin. He has said that he will still support the Democrats' nationalized health care plans even if his constituents don't. [emphasis added]

Americans are angry ... and they are sounding off at their elected officials. Townhall meetings are turning into "town hells."

By now most have heard about Sunday's townhall in Philadelphia with Sen. Arlen Specter:

In one of the sharper exchanges, an angry crowd in Philadelphia hooted down Democratic Sen. Arlen Specter on Sunday when he explained "that we have to make judgments very fast" when considering large pieces of legislation such as the health care bill.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who shared the stage with Specter, also heard it from the group, which was obviously fed up with Washington's arrogance, from its habit of writing unmanageably lengthy legislation to its plans to force an ostensibly free people into a communal health care system.

Others around the country have been confronted by Americans with questions that are not being answered by their electeds, many who do not know the answers because they have not read the 1,000-page bill.

IBD says those who have not heard from voters yet can expect to do so. However, that is difficult if those electeds simply do not hold townhalls during their recess:

Those who haven't yet heard from their constituents should expect to. Encounters similar to what we have seen will only become more frequent as public irritation festers as the congressional holiday moves through August and into September.

Democrats are blaming insurance companies for organizing crowds to attend townhalls. That is an insult to the intelligence of hard-working constituents who know very well what is going on and want answers to their questions.

IBD concludes with this:

Polite discourse is always preferred, but when liberty is threatened by an aggressive government, civil dialogue is not enough. Voters need to exercise their right to press their representatives and influence legislation.

Lawmakers should not be allowed to hide behind claims that they are being accosted by rabble. If they're going to put a boot on people's necks, the people have the right to confront their oppressors.

Call your Congressmen and U.S. Senators and ask when they plan to have townhall meetings. If none are scheduled, you may want to suggest that they have one in your locality.

John McCain townhall meeting tonight on Fox News

Republican Presidential candidate John McCain will host a townhall meeting tonight at 7:00 pm from Federal Hall in New York City. Fox News Channel will broadcast it live.

Federal Hall was the location where President George Washington first took the oath of office. Tonight it will play host to John McCain while he answers questions from real voters about important issues including the economy, energy prices and the war.

Last week, John McCain invited Senator Obama to participate tonight, hoping to start what would be a series of ten townhall meetings where both candidates would travel the country to answer questions from real voters. Senator Obama has yet to agree to meet. These townhalls would revolutionize our political process and start a real change in the tone of politics. John McCain believes in this effort and is putting it into action.

Tonight. 7 pm. Fox News Channel. Tune in.

SWAC lunch with AG Bob McDonnell

Saturday's luncheon with Bob McDonnell at Rowe's Restaurant in Staunton was a huge success with 70+ people attending. We crammed everyone into the large private dining room and the conversation was lively as old friends visited, new friends were made, and many political contacts took place as business cards were exchanged. Lunch was plentiful with vegetable-beef soup, club sandwiches, pie, and beverage.

Whitney Duff, Bob McDonnell, Chris Saxman

At the head table were Attorney General Bob McDonnell, Delegate Chris Saxman who hosted the event, and Whitney Duff who heads up Americans For Propersity - Virginia (AFP), the nationwide tax watchdog group.

Those attending included Delegate Ben Cline, State Central member Trixie Averill, Rockingham Chairman Mike Meredith, Valley Family Forum director Dean Welty and his grandson, former Staunton Chairman Bruce Grover, former Board of Transportation member Libby Welch, Weekday Religious Education President Jack Hinton, Alex Davis, Jan Saxman, Kim Wiseman, and many others. The surprise guest was Steve Sisson -- "The Blue Dog" -- who sat at my table and gave me a big hug.

News outlets included the Waynesboro News-Virginian, Staunton News Leader, and NBC 29 TV.

Whitney Duff welcomed everyone. Lynn Mitchell led the Pledge of Allegiance. In a townhall-style setting, remarks were made by Delegate Saxman and AG McDonnell with questions taken afterwards from the audience.

[The following is a paraphrasing of the remarks made by Delegate Chris Saxman and AG Bob McDonnell as taken from my notes.]

Delegate Saxman opened by saying our nation is at fiscal risk due to increased spending. He advocated taking a businessman's mentality to Richmond to control spending and avoid increased taxes. He has worked closely with Americans For Prosperity and has been a leading proponent in the "no tax increase" force in the House. He thanked Bob McDonnell for being a mentor for the 21 delegates in the freshman class of 2002.

Bob McDonnell addressed the issue of spending and economic responsibility, saying the first expedition commissioned to the New World by King James in 1606 was an economic as well as freedom mission. He said it's a great time to be a Virginian, and listed his top three issues:

1) Respect for property rights: Citing "Kelo vs. New London," he expressed disappointment that "public use" had been expanded from public roadways, schools, and such to condemning private property for private use such as shopping centers.

2) Reduce the regulatory system: Also known as "hidden taxes." Forbes Magazine called Virginia the most business-friendly state in the nation but there are 24,000 pages of regulations for those businesses. He proposes beginning with small business, health care, and agriculture by reducing regulations on those three.

3) Spending control/budget reform: The state budget has doubled in the past ten years, growing at twice the rate of inflation.

Grassroots organizations such as AFP can have a fundamental difference in spending and in who serves, he said.

A variety of interesting questions, fielded by AG McDonnell and Delegate Saxman, came from the audience. A full two hours after beginning, the luncheon ended and folks stood around and visited, talked with the electeds, and fellowshipped for a while longer.

Our thanks to the Attorney General, Delegate Saxman, Whitney, and AFP for an informational townhall meeting and lunch.

6th District Chair Fred Anderson, Delegate Ben Cline, Rockingham GOP Chairman Mike Meredith

Related stories:
SWAC Girl: "The pie incident with the Attorney General"
Staunton News Leader
Waynesboro News-Virginian