Some members of Congress keep angry public at phone line's distance

WASHINGTON — The First Amendment protects speech, religion and the press, but it also extends the right of citizens to petition the government for a “redress of grievances.”

Some members of Congress apparently prefer not to be petitioned in person.

New Jersey Republican Tom MacArthur, after surveying the chaos his colleagues have seen unleashed around the country, instead opted Monday for a "town hall" by conference call. 

“Throughout his time in Congress, Representative Tom MacArthur has always welcomed all views and opinions at his town halls and public events,” his communications director, Camille M. Gallo, said in a statement. “Unfortunately, recent town hall meetings across the country have devolved into unproductive shouting matches, with highly-organized, partisan special interest groups effectively hijacking the forums and crowding out local residents who want respectful discourse.

“The Congressman fully intends to resume in-person town halls, but he will not be baited by outside groups who are hijacking events to push a political agenda.” 

Florida Republican Rep. Carlos Curbelo cites his district’s size, not unruly protests elsewhere, for his unapologetic decision not to meet with constituents in person. He represents the southern tip of Florida, including the Keys.

“With a district as geographically spread out as FL-26, in-person town hall meetings do not provide all constituents with equal opportunities to attend and participate,” said his communications director, Joanna Rodriguez. “Congressman Curbelo has been determined to overcome this since he was first elected."

More than 207,000 constituents participated in eight telephone town halls during Curbelo's first term, Rodriguez said.

Tennessee GOP Rep. John Duncan’s constituents demanded that he hold a public event after a letter he wrote surfaced in which he called protesters "sore losers" and said he did not plan to “give more publicity to those on the far left who have so much hatred, anger and frustration in them." 

Members of Congress, mostly Republicans, who have held town hall meetings are finding large crowds of sometimes angry voters awaiting them as they return home to districts after a Twitter-happy President Trump took office and the GOP retained control of both the House and Senate.

Jason Chaffetz, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, was confronted by constituents demanding that he investigate Trump’s conflicts of interest and wondering about the Utah congressman's plan to sell off public land. Chaffetz later told a local television station he believed outside agitators were sent to disrupt last Thursday’s session.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer said he thought protesters are part of a “paid, Astroturf-type” movement, not a legitimate grass-roots campaign.

The same day Chaffetz was shouted down, Reps. Justin Amash, R-Mich., and Diane Black, R-Tenn., faced hostile crowds complaining about Trump’s immigration executive order, Cabinet nominees and other matters.

In Florida, Republican Rep. Gus Bilirakis took questions about plans to repeal the Affordable Care Act from a packed house Saturday morning and was repeatedly interrupted and booed.

A Feb. 4 immigration forum organized by Missouri Democrat Emanuel Cleaver was disrupted by demonstrators. The same day, Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., required a police escort to escape his town hall in Placer County.

It’s not the first time members of Congress have found in-person interaction with constituents unwelcome. In 2009, the Tea Party movement gained momentum after angry voters disrupted Democratic members’ meetings to denounce what would become Obamacare and other aspects of President Obama’s agenda. Then-senator Arlen Specter, D-Pa., left a meeting that year after being shoved by an angry crowd.

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For as long as there has been a United States, voters have demanded the attention of their representatives and usually got it, said Bradford Fitch, CEO of the Congressional Management Foundation. Fitch said it would be a “tragedy” if members of Congress stopped meeting with constituents or held fewer town halls. He said members have in the past declined to meet with constituents but it has usually been temporary largely because most politicians are “political animals” and thrive on such interactions.

But he said telephone conference calls are also valuable because they can reach a “wider swath” of voters. 

Second-term Republican Steve Knight of California had a notice on his website Monday morning explaining a different reason for not being able to meet his constituents in person.

“Due to this year's heavy legislative schedule, we regret that we are unfortunately unable to hold in-person town halls in California at this point in time,” it said.

But that notice was posted weeks ago, and early this week Knight’s spokesman Dan Outlaw said it was “outdated.” The congressman has scheduled a town hall for March 4.

 ”Listening to members of our community is a top priority for me, which is why we are hosting tele town halls as well as face-to-face meetings to answer questions and address concerns," Knight said in a statement. "While the legislative schedule prevented us from holding an in-person event until now, we are pleased to invite residents of California’s 25th District (in southern California) to a town hall meeting on March 4.”

Outlaw said the time and place of the meeting haven’t been determined. Knight’s last telephone town hall was Feb. 6 and had about 500 people on the line at its peak, Outlaw said.

Herbert E. Gooch, a professor of political science at California Lutheran University on the edge of Knight’s district, doesn’t buy the congressman’s too-busy excuse, noting he had “plenty of time to be in the district while campaigning last year.”

“Rather than admit he is fearful of not being able to control what he hears and being the brunt of public anger and disruption, he hides behind the notion that his schedule is too busy,” Gooch said.