well, I can understand his concern and his town halls should be for WHO HE DOES REPRESENT and not these people from other districts in which he does not represent...these people should go to their OWN DISTRICT town hall forums and complain where their voice counts.
but HYPOCRITE certainly comes to mind on his ID thingy, NO QUESTION!
Care
The Dems are spending too much time worrying about who is asking the questions and whether some of the people at the meetings are organized and not enough time taking the concerns of the questioners seriously, regardless of how they are expressed, and trying to address these concerns honestly and thoughtfully.
If the question is of concern to some of his constituents, why should it matter if the person asking it lives outside of the district he represents? This guy is just acting scared. What he should do if he is presented with an angry question about euthanasia or socialism is invite the questioner to fully explain his understanding of the issue, and then thank him for bringing it up, perhaps even invite him to come to the front of the room so they can discuss it more fully for the benefit of others there.
For example, when Specter was asked about a 74 year old cancer patient being written off by HR 3200, instead of accusing the woman of spreading vicious, malicious lies, he should have engaged her by asking her to explain exactly what she meant, and then asking the others who were also troubled by this part of the plan if she had fully expressed their concerns. After he had heard them out, he should have said, "I promise you that I will not vote for any bill that comes to the Senate floor that would refuse health care benefits to some one because of his age. We simply don't have to resort to such drastic measures to save money. I will have my staff send out regular updates on this issue so that you will know exactly what my understanding of any bill that comes to the Senate floor is and I hope you will keep in contact with my office so I will understand exactly where you stand on these bills. It is my job to faithfully represent your concerns in the Senate and I can't do that unless you keep me informed. Thank you for your question, and I appreciate and respect your passion on this issue. Now I'm really energized; let's have another important question."
In this way he could have taken back control of the meeting and won the respect, and perhaps the votes, of some who would otherwise oppose him.
