While lively health care townhalls have been conducted elsewhere
in the country, here in North Carolina the Democratic congressmen
have been criticized for refusing to hold such forums for fear of
constituent harassment or worse.
That was until last night when 1st District Congressman G.K.
Butterfield, a Congressional Black Caucus member in an extremely
safe district, conducted
an open meeting. At least he showed up and gave a respectful
ear to the few dissenters who showed up.
The same can’t be said for 2nd District (and my) Congressman Bob
Etheridge, who likes to pass himself off as moderate but is
really a reliable liberal (ADA
rating for 2008: 85%). Tonight this Pyrite Medalist for
cowardice will
show up for a townhall meeting hosted by the local chapter of
the Service Employees International Union — or as Michelle
Malkin
describes them today, the “Purple Shirts.” Pretty amazing
that he would hide behind these bouncers in a Right-to-Work state
where they wield much less influence than the rest of the
country.
