Members of Congress often remind constituents that the August recess is no vacation but, in fact, is packed with events in which they listen to the people who elected them. This summer, though, Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler is listening only to the people she chooses. The Republican rookie representative from Camas has scheduled no town hall meetings during the recess, and every flimsy explanation for this dereliction of duty only worsens constituents’ frustration.
Herrera Beutler has given a few speeches this month, conducted highly controlled “telephone town halls” and held tightly scripted, invitation-only listening sessions with a few hand-picked groups who were on their best behavior. But she has abandoned the town hall meeting, which she had entered several times earlier with fairly good results. But by dodging the public now, Herrera Beutler opens herself to accusations that she is too fearful, too impassive or too lazy to appear on a public stage before the real people.
Ryan Hart, a Herrera Beutler spokesman, said in a Columbian story that she “has been trying something different this month, which is to hold community meetings at coffee shops around the district.” First, these aren’t community meetings; they’re interruptions of people’s private coffee time. Some of those people might not even want to talk to a politician. Second, chances are great that, at these impromptu sessions, Herrera Beutler will not encounter any of the people who most want to speak with her. Some of them are her critics. She should deal with it; it comes with the job.
Herrera Beutler’s retreat from the public spotlight is especially troubling because she used that spotlight to get elected. And she has held several town hall meetings since then, including Feb. 3 in Battle Ground and May 17 at Skyview High School in Vancouver. But a lot has happened since then.
