Below is letter I am sending to Congressman Baron Hill tomorrow after I heard about his interchange with an Indiana University student at a town hall in Bloomington. The brief exchange was captured on video from an audience member and is listed below. In addition, I have posted a link to The Courier Journal article referenced in the text. Also I apologize for the formatting. I could not find a way to space things out appropriately.
Dear Congressman Hill,
I want to first start by thanking you and your family for the years of service spent representing Southern Indiana. I realize elected officials find themselves in circumstances where difficult decisions become the norm, so I don’t assume for a second that serving in the US Congress is a stress-free environment. However, by no means does that excuse the mentality I recently read about and briefly saw with my own eyes from a town hall meeting held in early September in Bloomington.
I had loosely heard about the incident shortly after it happened, although did no further research into the matter. Given the climate of town hall exchanges over the healthcare debate this past summer, I presumed it was the typical banter bred in part from frustration, fear, and inevitably at times a bipartisan skewed viewpoint. As you may know, The Courier Journal in Louisville, Kentucky ran an article further chronicling the event on
I understand the ‘rules are rules’ argument in regards to taping privileges, even though recording the forum gives individuals like myself the opportunity to listen to the proceedings since I was unable to attend the meetings in Bloomington or New Albany. My disgust grew from the response you gave in what seemed to me a smug and abrasive manner that individuals have unfortunately come to expect from both Republican and Democrat representatives in Washington for far too long now. By asserting that any town hall or forum has some artificial ownership by the elected official (“my town hall” – “my town hall for you”), you vastly misinterpret the relationship between a representative and those who elect them to that position in the first place. This relationship is not one where the elected official is in some way the ‘boss’ (which is how it came over) and as it is in this case, should do as the ‘the boss’ says or else. That is a demeaning and arrogant approach to leadership at best. No way around it.
In addition, when you openly scold your own constituents by telling them their not going to tell you how to run your congressional office, it also begs the question – are you even motivated to work for the people of the 9th district in Indiana? Because that comment sounds like it would come from an individual whose desire is to be a member of the United States Congress and just happens to need residents of Southern Indiana to help him accomplish that goal. Rather than someone who wants to represent Indiana in the United States Congress. In other words, a comment like that seems to characterize a distorted view in priorities. Hoosiers deserve an elected official that will represent them to the fullest, without belittling them just because higher powers request them to get tougher and take control over town hall meetings, so they don’t get hijacked by the minority. It is one thing to take back control of these meetings and another to chastise and be downright disrespectful to those in attendance.
As someone who has voted for you multiple times and considers myself no loyalist to either a donkey or an elephant, what I really want in the end is not healthcare reform, rather politician reform. Being a healthcare practitioner myself, I don’t mind having an honest debate on reform and fully believe actions is needed, but your recent remarks and those I have witnessed from elected officials over the summer has heightened my interest in public policy more than healthcare has. There are far too many individuals on both sides of the aisle acting like the stereotypical politicians we find in caricatures seen displayed on pages of the Sunday comics. The stereotypes that conjure images of placing all others opinions beneath thy own and doing whatever best advances ‘the party’s platform’. It is time for individuals running for election to act selflessly and return to the notion of being civic servants. Because with that attitude the embarrassing interchange you found yourself in with Ms. Ashley Scott may never have surfaced.
Ultimately, an apology to all Hoosiers is warranted if not already given. Since I just recently heard about this incident, you may have already made amends without me being witness to it. I hope for all of us that is the case. As always I will continue to support and pray for all our leaders in Washington, despite any differences in opinion that may arise. I do thank you for your time and patience as I express my opinion as a concerned constituent in our states 9th district.
Sincerely,
Steven Lee, OTR/L
Occupational Therapist and Concerned Voter
Jeffersonville, Indiana
3 comments:
It would be interesting to see how the meeting went as a whole. You are so good with words. Very well written.
Well said, Steve. I love your political commentary. Keep them coming. :)
just reading through some of your older post. i am generally supportive of anyone other than baron hill for the reason that he has stated in that video. that venue that he was speaking at, the podium, his staff, electricity to power the amps for the microphones, absolutely everything was paid for by us, the taxpayers of the 9th district! he is so condescending and arrogant. with that being said, i really like his competition even more than everyone in the past. he really seems to be a solid candidate that represents my beliefs of what a representative is supposed to do, represent the citizens of the 9th district. todd young is a very impressive candidate. i would like to see a post on him sometime in the future. just what you think of him.
thanks for the typing!
daniel mcafee
Post a Comment