EMILY's List
Relief from recess
By Jonathan Parker on 09/03/2009 @ 04:00 PM
A lot of media attention has been given to the outrageous — and dangerous — run-ins with protestors at health care town halls. I can’t think of one of our incumbent women considered vulnerable by the GOP who has escaped their summer antics.
But despite the outbursts and disruptions, our women are still going out and talking to their constituents (see our post about Maryland Rep. Donna Edwards's recent town hall). They want to hear their district’s concerns, but the GOP has so politicized the climate it’s become very challenging. Some members had to hold town halls in federal buildings for security reasons; others had to ask attendees to RSVP prior to their meetings. I’ve been hearing from many of our women incumbents who are most concerned that protestors from outside their districts may have prevented their constituents from having a chance to speak.
Here’s a sampling of what our women in Congress did over summer recess:
In CO-04, Rep. Betsy Markey held firm despite being questioned about whether she had actually read the health care bill (she had) and a number of attendees insisting that the bill contained provisions that it does not, in fact, contain. Markey has managed to hold such productive meetings she even received a standing ovation from constituents.
In AZ-08, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’s town hall meeting last weekend drew 1,300 attendees — many of whom were following the RNC talking points. Giffords did an impressive job handling the crowd, and constituents got a chance to be heard.
In FL-24, Rep. Suzanne Kosmas, who intended to talk with constituents about health care reform, was questioned by an attendee about the president’s birth certificate instead. She deftly got the meeting back on track nonetheless.
In NH-01, Rep. Carol Shea-Porter’s Republican opponent decided to host a town hall of his own, claiming that Shea-Porter was not holding any, which, in fact, she was. Her opponent used his town halls as a forum to attack Shea-Porter, while, at hers, she talked with constituents about the importance of enacting health care reform.
And while a lot of attention has been given to the tea party and town hall protests, the RNC is also hitting the airwaves, running radio and TV ads in many of our incumbent women’s districts.
After recess, returning to the health care debate in Washington might feel like a vacation for some of our incumbents. And for us here at EMILY’s List, these attacks and obstructive strategies all mean one thing: we can’t waste any time gearing up for essential 2010 battles.
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