Rep. Ann Wagner is showing signs that constituent pressure might be getting to her. Many of us who’ve been writing and calling her, asking that she meet with us and take a little time to hear our concerns and take our questions, learned via her email newsletter that she held a “tele-townhall,” a tried and true dodge to avoid risking a little in person give-and-take. And she clearly thinks that that’s done the trick. Here she is patting herself on the back in a recent email newsletter:
With so much happening in Washington under President Trump’s new administration and our Republican-led Congress, it is important that I continue to hear what is on your mind at home. I am thrilled that more than 9,000 of you joined us for a tele-townhall conversation Thursday night, where we discussed issues ranging from healthcare to pro-life legislation.
Just to give you a little perspective, over 400,000 folks voted in the last 2nd district election but nobody I’ve heard from seems to be very clear about how the 9,000 folks who “thrilled” Annie by “joining” her on the call were selected for the honor from among that 400,000.
I’ve personally called Wagner’s office several times to ask that she hold a public town-hall – she’s right that there’s lots going on that will affect people in the 2nd district in very serious ways and we want her – hell, we need her – to hear and respond to our concerns. The response? I was told that I could sign up for her newsletter if I wanted to know what was going on chez Rep.Wagner – never mind that, as I told her “tele-staffer,” I’ve been signed up to receive them for a long, long time and Annie’s coy little newsletter driblets don’t really do the trick. Nobody mentioned a tele-townhall to me as a possibility. Which makes sense given that the latest event – which is the only one I’ve personally ever heard about, thanks to some generous Facebook info sharing – seems to have been a surprise for even the participants.
Nor are many of us, including, by all accounts, Wagner’s staff, sure about what it takes to get in on these surprise parties, at least according to some 2nd district residents who’ve been calling and asking how to be included. One person said that she called, left contact information, and asked to participate in the next tele-townhall, and, though the actual telephone event Wagner boasts about above was held later that day, the staffer taking her information said nothing at all about it. Nor was she called. Wonder why?
I have read a report from one person who participated in that call and have heard that another just missed the surprise call inviting her to join the event. But the fact that some folks had the opportunity to listen to Rep. Wagner does not mitigate the problem. If these events are meant to substitute for actual town-halls, why can’t constituents sign up for them? Why wait to be selected? An even more basic question is why aren’t constituents being notified ahead of time that one of these events is imminent so they can do whatever is necessary to participate? Why can’t anyone tell us what it takes to be included?
Wagner has email addresses for all of us who subscribe to her newsletter – which itself indicates interest in what she has to say. It would be easy to let us all know in advance and invite our participation when she’s planning to tele-gift us with her insights into the Trump world she seems to be embracing so wholeheartedly. It would actually be relatively trivial to set up a web-page form we could use to register for the teleconferences. Other folks do such things. I really bet that if Wagner actually cared about communicating with constituents, she could implement some process that would let us decide if we want to participate, rather than leaving us to wait breathlessly to be tapped whenever she feels like getting us – or some of us – on the line.
You don’t think she’s cherry-picking participants , do you?
The news has been full of reports about how “ugly” some Republican town halls have been over the past few weeks, prompting, comparisons to the boisterous town halls that Democrats endured during the nascent Tea Party years. There’s a big difference though, at least for Missourians. I well remember how valiantly, resolutely, and, yes, respectfully, Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill handled the worked-up Tea Partiers – and some of them were, to put it mildly, really ugly.
Questions of how to conduct tele-townhalls aside, though, isn’t the real issue still that Rep. Wagner needs to take similar, face-to-face responsibility for what she is doing in Congress if she wants our respect – and our votes? Isn’t answering our questions – especially the ones that have got us hot and bothered – her job? If Wagner’s really a “representative” shouldn’t she do some representing? And if she isn’t going to represent all of us, at least by listening and responding to us, maybe she should retire. Or be retired.
mjriley210 said:
Maybe we can emulate one of the great boxing strategies ever, and pull off a Muhammad Ali-like “rope-a-dope”. You may recall he lured George Foreman to the ropes, and, covering his head with his forearms, allowed Foreman to punch him mercilessly for the first two minutes of each three-minute round. The final minute he would break out, fighting back effectively. Foreman – at least five years Ali’s junior, far stronger and knock-out winner in nearly every fight – was expected to cream Ali, who had slowed and was thought likely to retire after this beating. But Ali kept luring Foreman to the ropes, very much against the will of his screaming manager, Angelo Dundee. Foreman kept swinging away, with Ali landing a couple of punches near the end of each round. In time ( 10th round?) Ali had coaxed Foreman into punching himself out, wherein Ali – thought not to have it in him any longer – knocked Foreman out with a stinging combination. Magnificent.
I choose, cautiously, and with potential to jinx it, to view the healthcare debacle as round one in our Resistance Rope-a-Dope. Maybe we get Round 1.
Joyce Nowak said:
How ever did 9,000 people get to talk on the phone w/Wagner?? Must have been chaos and noisy as a hen house with a fox in their midst. Just don’t believe it! Is this what she thinks her constituents will believe? It must be why she thinks the AHCA will be great for us. It’s like we’ll swallow anything.
Michael Bersin said:
The telephone “town halls” don’t go over well with constituents who want to engage their representatives. The number of questions are limited and quite possibly easily screened for content. No one listening in on the call is aware of any of the background procedures taking place for the call – as far as I can tell.
True believers don’t seem to have a problem with this hollow construct.
The lack of any real engagement in the telephone “town halls” was a common refrain from the group which met with Representative Vicky Hartzler’s (r) staffer at her district office in Harrisonville on Wednesday.
This is what Democracy looks like – Harrisonville, Missouri – March 22, 2017
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