Only Hearing What They Want To

From the NY Times:

The reception that Representative Frank Kratovil Jr., a Democrat, received here one night last week as he faced a small group of constituents was far more pleasant than his encounters during a Congressional recess last summer.

Then, he was hanged in effigy by protesters. This time, a round of applause was followed by a glass of chilled wine, a plate of crackers and crudités as he mingled with an invitation-only audience at the Point Breeze Credit Union, a vastly different scene than last year’s wide-open televised free-for-alls.

The sentiment that fueled the rage during those Congressional forums is still alive in the electorate. But the opportunities for voters to openly express their displeasure, or angrily vent as video cameras roll, have been harder to come by in this election year.

If the time-honored tradition of the political meeting is not quite dead, it seems to be teetering closer to extinction. Of the 255 Democrats who make up the majority in the House, only a handful held town-hall-style forums as legislators spent last week at home in their districts.

It was no scheduling accident.

With images of overheated, finger-waving crowds still seared into their minds from the discontent of last August, many Democrats heeded the advice of party leaders and tried to avoid unscripted question-and-answer sessions. The recommendations were clear: hold events in controlled settings — a bank or credit union, for example — or tour local businesses or participate in community service projects.

This is unconscionable. I don't know which is worse - the fact that the Democrats have a coordinated top-down effort to actively ignore their constituents (and then brag about it) or the fact that the lefties in their districts are applauding them for doing it (see the comments on the linked article). If the shoe were on the other foot - if it were the Republicans pull in this kind of crap - there would be people chaining themselves to mailboxes and protesters marching in the street and all over the news.

How can we live in a representative republic when our representatives only want to hear the things that don't challenge them or make them uncomfortable in any way.

This kind of crap is the reason that November is going to be utterly devastating to the Democrats. And rightly so.