Dear Editor:
I was at a peaceful demonstration near Congressman Dan Meuser’s Pottsville office last August. When he approached us, we peppered him with questions and comments because of his constant praise of Trump administration policies that are questionable at best.
Although this interaction was no different from what politicians and other public figures face, he stormed off. Later, however, he told the Pottsville Republican Herald that he’s open to having an orderly conversation.
Schuylkill Indivisible, of which I’m a member, proposed an in-person town hall, where only one attendee at a time could address him, and name-calling, raised voices and profanity wouldn’t be tolerated. We’d also set time limits on his and attendees’ statements, and we’d fact-check and allow follow-up questions.
We proposed doing this when the House would be in recess during the week of Nov. 10-14 but said we’re open to an alternate time frame.
On Sept. 18, I hand-delivered and emailed this proposal and asked for a response by Oct. 3. None came, so I called and requested a reply by Oct. 10. On Oct. 9, his operations director emailed back and advised us to study his website and social media for “opportunities to engage” at community events.
Buttonholing him at a county fair or luncheon isn’t the same as a town hall where constituents could ask tough questions and respond to his answers. Perhaps we were naïve in asking, since Congressman Meuser has limited his “town halls” to conference calls that staffers screen and where he controls the narrative.
Our district deserves better than a member of Congress who seems more interested in promoting the Trump administration than listening to and addressing voters’ concerns about its harmful tariffs, indiscriminate roundups of brown people, decimation of government services, suppression of free speech and once-unthinkable power grabs.
Claire Kempes, Pottsville
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