I had hoped to provide all of you with a comprehensive list of nationwide town hall meetings so you could be aware of those occurring near you. Unlike last year, however, no such list appears to exist. Given the tense political climate and bad memories of town hall mayhem last August, Members of Congress have been very reluctant to publicly release their information, leading individual organizations to do their own digging. The National Republican Congressional Committee has constructed a list of those Democrats who they feel are "most vulnerable," emphasizing that (supposedly) only 11 of the 75 incumbents have scheduled town halls. They go on to provide the dates, times, and locations of those few, confirmed meetings. While I haven't seen a Republican list from the opposing side, the House Republican Conference has posted pictures and videos of Members speaking around their districts. Unfortunately, these visuals come after the fact and do little to inform the public beforehand. Now, to be fair, Members may very well being doing an adequate job of communicating with their constituents via direct mail and email, but it's hard to know for sure unless you live in their districts. I'm curious, have your Members been good about publicizing town halls? Regardless of fear or potential political liability, I'm a firm believer that every Member should hold town hall meetings in August and make any event details available to the public. Voters rightfully expect that small degree of transparency and accountability from the leaders that serve them.
Since I don't have a comprehensive list to share with you, I'll point out an interesting article I found from Talking Points Memo that lists the top 10 town halls to watch, based on districts where it's "bound to get interesting:"
1. Representative Tom Periello (D-VA)
2. Representative Michele Bachmann (R-MN)
3. Senator John McCain (R-AZ)
4. Representative Barney Frank (D-MA)
5. Endangered Democrats – Rep. Bobby Bright (R-AL), Rep. John Boccieri (D-OH), Rep. Heath Shuler (D-NC), Rep. Russ Carnahan (D-MO) and Rep. Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin (D-SD)
6. Representative Pete Stark (D-CA)
7. Meg Whitman (R-CA)
8. Representative Joseph Cao (R-LA)
9. All House Republicans
10. Senators Olympia Snow and Susan Collins (R-ME)
I'd encourage all of you to call your Members of Congress and inquire about local town hall(s). If your leaders are not planning on holding one, demand that they do! This is your chance to speak out and be heard. Don't miss the opportunity.