Originally published January 2017
It would seem that American government officials have never been more accessible to the public than they are today. With the invention of Twitter, Facebook, email, and various other avenues of online connection, reaching out to your representatives has never been easier. The convenience of social media constructs the appearance that Congress is truly of the people and is actively listening to and engaging with its constituencies on a regular basis.
No longer are regular town hall meetings a requirement; a periodic Facebook Live Q&A session will suffice. Want to voice your opinion on a piece of legislation? Tweeting at your Congressman will be effective, as long as they are actually taking the time to read the hundreds or thousands of tweets addressed to them each day.
The reality is our Congresspeople are theoretically more accessible than ever before, but currently our legislators are in fact moving further away from hosting open, accessible events for the public and closer to impersonal internet communication that can be easily controlled by themselves or their staff. Fear of becoming a viral sensation has led lawmakers to become apprehensive about facing their constituents in uncontrolled settings, as has happened several times over the last decade. A memorable incidence of this was in 2009, when former Pennsylvania Democratic Senator Arlen Specter left a Lebanon, PA town hall meeting after being shoved, booed, and yelled at about how the ACA was “trampling on our constitutional rights.”[1] This event and its news coverage was one of several warning bells to other legislators that this kind of public shame must be avoided at all costs. For these reasons, transparency and connection with constituents have become cloudier and less frequent, and the impact of these phenomena can be seen in all areas of American democracy.
The Affordable Care Act is again becoming public relations quicksand for politicians, especially those who wish to repeal it. This fear has become especially magnified in the past few weeks as repealing the ACA has moved to the forefront of national politics and protesters have confronted and publicly embarrassed several Republican leaders over the controversy of its repeal. In early January, while over 100 voters were waiting to speak with him, Rep. Mike Coffman (R-CO) was caught on camera prematurely fleeing out the back door of an Aurora, CO town hall meeting he had convened himself to discuss repealing the ACA.[2] According to his staff, Coffman only met with four-person groups for five minutes per group, or about 70 people in total. Reports from the scene say that an estimated 200 people showed up to meet with the Congressman.[3] Coffman was ridiculed on Twitter and the incident was reported in several newspapers such as the Washington Post, creating a public relations nightmare for himself and his office.[4]
Some lawmakers have taken steps to avoid these kinds of embarrassments for fear of becoming a viral spectacle online. For example, earlier this month, Rep. Thom Tillis (R-NC) was scheduled to hold a 30 minute Facebook Live event about repealing the Affordable Care Act. However, Tillis only ended up speaking for 11 minutes, ignoring all of the follow up questions posted on the thread regarding his statements on repealing the ACA.[5]
Evasive tactics have been used in response to other hot-button issues as well, such as the proposed defunding of Planned Parenthood. House Speaker Paul Ryan avoided several representatives from Planned Parenthood who attempted to deliver petitions containing over 70,000 signatures urging him not to support legislation that would defund the organization. The Speaker responded by sending six security guards to physically block the advocates from delivering the signatures to him.[6] This seemingly unnecessary show of force was probably fueled by the instinct to avoid another embarrassment similar to the one the Speaker experienced earlier in January at a town hall symposium in Washington, D.C. on the Affordable Care Act. Ryan was confronted by a man who told the Speaker that he used to be a Republican until he was diagnosed with cancer and the ACA saved his life. This created bad optics for Ryan, as his answer that the ACA is in a “death spiral” and it would be replaced by “something better” was, in the opinion of many, insufficient, and was a topic of discussion for days.[7]
Legislators may use these practices to shield themselves from potentially compromising situations, but they do it at the expense of their constituencies. By not answering any follow up questions about the ACA, Tillis shirked an opportunity to inform his district on his views, as the odds are that a significant portion of his constituency will be impacted by the decision he makes regarding this legislation. Paul Ryan, in requesting security back-up to defend him against women delivering petitions to his office, denied these women and the 70,000 people who signed their petitions not only the right to be seen, but the right to be heard by the person who represents them in the House of Representatives. These incidents are far more damaging to the American political climate than if these men had just faced those whom they represent in the first place. It is inherently more egregious when U.S. representatives are unable or unwilling to articulate their views on important issues than if they happen to make a verbal mistake or are met with protestors exercising their first amendment rights.
In this new Trump-era, the American public, specifically enraged Democrats, have become more politically active in the months since the presidential election. There has been a flood (or tsunami, rather) of calls to Republican lawmakers expressing concern not only to them individually, but to the party itself. The GOP will not only be governing those who voted them into office, but all Americans. Lawmakers have a duty to not only hear the voices of those in their party, but of those throughout their districts. By hiding behind Facebook Live Q&A sessions and private meetings, Republicans in Congress are not only shirking their duty as ombudsmen, they are failing the American people.
Fear of embarrassment is not a sufficient reason to avoid discussing complex problems. Our representatives should be well-versed enough in the issues that Americans face every day in order to have intelligent debate concerning these matters, and not have to resort to evasive maneuvers to avoid becoming a viral internet sensation. A message to these Republicans in Congress: stop hiding under your desks, and start directly engaging with those whom you represent. Every American’s quality of life will be affected by the choices you are about to make in the coming months, and you should be able to defend every single one.
It is a complete dereliction of duty to not even entertain the questions of a concerned constituency. If, as a representative in the United States government, Democrat or Republican, you cannot answer tough questions from your constituents about life-altering legislation you are passing, you do not belong in office. The level of discourse in American politics must be raised, and those who represent the interests of the American public must be held to a higher standard.
[1] Shanahan, Martha. “5 Memorable Moments When Town Hall Meetings Turned To Rage.” NPR. August 07, 2013.
[2] Chuang, Tamara. “Unhappy crowd shows up at Mike Coffman’s regular meeting with constituents.” The Denver Post. January 14, 2017.
[3] Benen, Steve. “Colorado Republican flees constituents with health care concerns.” MSNBC. January 16, 2017.
[4] DeBonis, Mike. “Republicans look to avoid YouTube moments in fight over Obamacare repeal.” The Washington Post. January 19, 2017.
[5] Snell, Kelsey. “Planned Parenthood could be first casualty of Obamacare repeal efforts.” The Washington Post. January 18, 2017.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Satlin, Alana Horowitz. “Cancer Survivor Tells Paul Ryan: ‘I’d Be Dead’ Without Obamacare.” Huffington Post. January 13, 2017.
