Lansing Few congressional members hosting town halls Lawmakers are leery of encountering heated exchanges as in 2010

By Kathy Barks Hoffman Associated Press LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- U.S. Rep. Sander Levin is meeting with constituents at a union hall to talk about job training. Rep. Gary Peters is focusing on regional transit discussions in his district, while Rep. Candice Miller is touring a wind farm in Michigan's Thumb. But few of the state's 17 U.S. Senate and House members besides Republican Rep. Bill Huizenga are holding town hall meetings open to all constituents, despite the recent fight over the debt ceiling, growing fears about the strength of the economy and voter displeasure with Washington. It's a pattern many congressional members across the country are following as they visit their districts over the August recess. Some are meeting with constituents in remote places far from the major media spotlights. Others are addressing only events that promise a friendly audience, or that charge a fee to attend. Lawmakers are leery of wading into repeats of the 2010 confrontations at town hall meetings where heated exchanges over sweeping federal health care changes and other legislation left some congressional members looking for a speedy exit. This year the voices are more likely to be those of voters chastising lawmakers for raising the prospect of cutting back on Medicare and Social Security, refusing to raise taxes or fighting over the federal debt ceiling rather than dealing with a shaky economy. That was the case at an Aug. 10 town hall meeting Huizenga held at the Grand Haven Community Center, where a standing-room-only crowd of 200 hurled some pointed questions his way. Both TV stations WZZM and WOOD showed Norm Kittles of Whitehall asking the freshman Zeeland congressman, "Are there any circumstances where you would be willing to raise taxes on the top 1 percent of the people, or let the Bush tax cuts expire?" "Do I believe right now, what we are dealing with with this economy, that we need to raise taxes on anybody? Absolutely not," Huizenga replied. Huizenga acknowledges that town hall meetings can grow testy, but said he finds them a good way -- in addition to town hall "meetings" on Facebook and over the telephone -- to help constituents understand his views and what's happening in Washington. "With the debt ceiling situation, I thought it was important just to get out there and let people have a crack at their congressman," he said in a telephone interview Friday. "There's still something about holding a town hall meeting and giving people a chance to see you face to face." GOP Rep. Fred Upton of St. Joseph thought he was meeting Monday with elderly constituents at a forum sponsored by Kalamazoo County Advocates for Senior Issues. But dozens of political activists also showed up at the Coover Senior Center, turning the event into an occasionally unruly clash between those chanting "bring back jobs!" and the veteran congressman as the seniors in the crowd looked on bemused. Zack Pohl is a spokesman for We Are the People, one of the groups that brought people to the Kalamazoo event. He said activists wanted Upton to know there's opposition to GOP measures the congressman voted for this summer that would have cut federal spending, began the process of adding a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution and led to cuts in Social Security and Medicare for future beneficiaries. "We just think they completely have the wrong priorities," Pohl said of the Republicans who backed the "cut, cap and balance" bill. "This is an opportunity to go to our congressional delegation at their offices or at town halls where that's possible and ask them where the jobs are." Pohl worked in 2010 for then-Rep. Mark Schauer, a Battle Creek Democrat who held several 7th District town hall meetings that attracted dozens of critics angry with the federal health care bills. He wonders why Michigan congressional members of both parties aren't holding more town hall meetings during the August recess. "It's unfortunate that some of them don't feel that it's worthwhile to talk to the folks in their districts," Pohl said. "Folks do have a right to expect that they should be able to petition their government and ask questions of the folks that are supposed to represent them. ... They shouldn't be afraid of the people they're supposed to be representing." John Truscott, who worked on Battle Creek Republican John "Joe" Schwarz's unsuccessful 2006 congressional re-election bid, said new technology and increasingly harsh partisanship have caused many U.S. House and Senate members to shy away from town hall meetings. "There is no doubt there will be several of your opponent's supporters showing up with cameras to tape your every word, to potentially take your comments out of context," Truscott said. "It's kind of nasty hand-to-hand combat sometimes." He notes that many congressional members are instead holding "tele-town halls." "You still get the discussion, you get a number of the questions in, but it's much more tightly controlled," Truscott said. "By not doing a town hall, you kind of help eliminate the mob mentality." Huizenga said tension has often been a component of town hall meetings over the years. He notes people were as split over whether former President Bill Clinton should be impeached in the 1990s as they are now over what should be done with the federal deficit. "This is not all that new," he said. "It's all part of this great huge experiment in self-government that we're continuing on." Published: Tue, Aug 23, 2011