Town Hall missing

I can certainly understand the instinct to not wanting to be screamed at by older white men, but I wonder if this is such a good idea.

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.

And to reach thousands of constituents at a time, without the worry of being snared in an angry confrontation with voters, more lawmakers are also taking part in a fast-growing trend: the telephone town meeting, where chances are remote that a testy exchange will wind up on YouTube.

For incumbents of both parties facing challenging re-election bids, few things receive more scrutiny than how, when and where they interact with voters. Many members of Congress err on the side of being visible, but not too visible, and make only a few public appearances while they are back in their districts.

I mean, the so-called "independents" we hear about all the time are supposed to be put off by extreme behavior. If that's the case, isn't seeing some lunatic screaming into the face of a congress critter just the thing to get independents riled up in support of the incumbent? Especially now that voters seem to be, if not embracing health care reform, then at least willing to give it a chance.