I saw a notice about U.S. Senator Murphy's “town hall” in the Manchester JI and noticed the quotation marks around "town hall". (lot of noticing, here) Well, the quotation marks are appropriate, because this was anything but a town hall meeting; it was more like a lecture.
Questions had to be written down ahead of time and were screened by an aid. The aid read a question and Sen. Murphy followed by rambling on for several minutes, never directly answering the question, nor allowing any followup. The name of the questioner was never given, so we don't even know for certain if the questions actually came from people at the meeting!
After about 45 min. of this, someone got up and objected to the format, pointing out that this was more like a lecture than a town hall meeting; that, there was no back and forth, no follow up, etc.
At this point, the audience became animated and vocal, joining in the objection. Then, Mayor Leo Diana got up and lectured those in attendance, shaking his finger and scolding them for having the audacity to speak their minds!
This caused folks to become even more animated and vocal, (finally adding some interest to the otherwise dull, boring event), as the mayor was treating them like children! He then threatened to have people removed by police, who, mysteriously showed up about ten minutes later. Talk about contempt for the People; how dare they have the audacity to speak out!
Murphy said, "I'm not trying to shut down debate, here, . . . the reasons why we had this forum . . . there are a lot of other things people want to talk about in an open forum like this . . ." THIS WAS NOT AN OPEN FORUM, AT ALL. IT WAS A LECTURE BASED ON SCREENED QUESTIONS SELECTED BY HIS AID.
My idea of a town hall meeting is people standing up, looking the senator in the eye, asking their questions and getting a straight answer back while being looked in the eye, along with input, interjection from others in attendance, and follow up.
If Mayor Diana can't take the political heat, he should stay out of the political kitchen. And Senator Murphy should study history to learn what a town hall meeting is really all about or start billing these events more honestly. A town hall meeting should be fluid, dynamic, animated and passionate, not canned, sterile and scripted.
I am one of the pioneers of the CT Tea Party. Perhaps YOU might label me as a "tea bagger". I believe I'm serving the best interests of my country by documenting the history of what's going on. Letting people see the FULL picture, rather than those snippets on the news. Those news cartels colluded with the politicians in the 1960s to fabricate a threat in SE Asia that sent 55,000 young men to an early grave. It took 15 years to finally wake those fine young men. It's unfortunate you had to serve in an unjust and unnecessary war in Asia. The same breed of politicians who sent you to foreign soil to kill for America are still in charge. Their names have changed, but whether they're Republicans or Democrats they are all the same. It's also unfortunate that you've been a victim of an insidious plot to transform you into a subservient drone. Jerry, there is no freedom without the 2nd Amendment. The founders knew that and so do we.
I'm sorry you had to attend a wake. You probably lost a friend, colleague or a family member, But let me tell you from the bottom of MY heart......we will continue to do what is needed so that some day in the future I will not be forced to attend a wake for the late great USA. I hope you understand. And it is with much respect that I applaud your service to OUR nation.
A town hall of the nature you're seeking breeds chaos, causing no one's voices to be heard. A town hall should be civil and respectful, with no cross-talk and shouting. If you want to ask followup questions or debate your member of Congress, call his office. Don't do it in a public setting where a gang-style mob can shout down the Congressman.
And do you know why I know that? I was there. I was there for people like you. You gotta show respect to earn respect. Here's the videos from one week ago. Enjoy. http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5wsVsNCEygqLkYonwL7VBXWp8fdgIz_8
The people who were dozing are now awakening. Isn't it grand to see so much enthusiastic participation in democracy? In the 1800s politics was a blood sport. It's subdued now. Looks like we're headed back to some sanity.
Reading comprehension eludes you. Do you work for Murphy? He rambled on for 45 minutes unopposed. Its supposed to be a Town Hall. Murphy was the one "shouting down" his constituents. A town hall of a DIALOGUE breeds chaos?? No, it doesnt. The ones that are MONOLOGUES breed chaos. Please educate yourself.
"However I do not believe that the 2nd Amendment supersedes the rest of the U.S. Constitution nor that it mandates that the rights it guarantees must be unlimited and unregulated any more than the 1st Amendment protects someone making a false scream of "Fire!" in a crowded theater." Using your own logic, we already have the same laws for the 2nd Amendment. Just because you can own a gun doesnt mean you can walk into a crowded theater and start shooting either. A better analogy of what is going on here would be, how would you feel if you needed to get a background check and get fingerprinted before you were able to even APPLY for a protest permit?? How would you feel if you had to PAY for that permit, and then, you were only limited to 10 protesters at your protest or rally, because after all, why does anyone need more than 10 protesters to get the same message across? See how ridiculous that sounds? Thats the gun grabber lobby logic. We already have laws on the books against the 2nd Amendment. They work very well. No law however works with criminals. Its like whining we need new laws after Madoff and his scam. We already had laws and regulations in place... they just werent followed or enforced by the SEC.
Im also tired of these politicians being out of touch with reality and Americans. I found it comical in the last election how they portrayed Romney as out of touch, and yet, the only ones I see out of touch with reality and Americans are the career politicians such as Murphy, Malloy, Pelosi, Reid, Biden and Obama.
I wonder how you would react if there was a movement to ban any other religion except Catholicism. After all, according to Liberal logic, we dont have unlimited freedoms and rights with the Constitution. We can certainly ban and limit rights according to your kind.
These are valid questions in my opinion and I've YET to hear a coherent answer that makes sense. I suspect the legislature and certainly the governor have to appear to "do something" even if that "something" won't avert another tragedy like Newtown. Being a democratic republic REQUIRES people to be involved with the process. Sadly this has not been the case lately and we wind up with a majority of representatives that do not represent us. Calling the police because you are asked hard questions is the mark of a coward.
I strongly disagree!!! Chris Murphy is no coward. Nobody is a harsher critic of his policies, than me. When he was US Rep. Murphy has never had police at any of his events. Even after the Gabby Giffords tragedy he never required police protection. I had a conversation with him about that once in Thomaston. The police were requested by the Mayor. Don't anybody ever say that Murphy is a coward. He is an ideologue who stands by his principles. How many Republicans do you see standing by their principles? Republicans are more readily identified as political cowards, especially in Connecticut. That's what this movement to protect the Constitution is all about!!
Robert is also correct when he says that Republicans should stand by their principal, as does Murphy. Caving under media pressure, in my book, is cowardly.
We are all human. As Americans we have much in common. Let's discuss the differences to meet on common ground. How about you?
Many people are desperate to find ways to do something to stop the reckless direction Murphy and his ilk have steered the country. Town hall meetings are like political learning centers. The people who try to stifle lively exchanges by shouting, "sit down", are your sheeple gentry for the most part. For every motivated person in the crowd, hundreds others wish they could attend. And in time they will! Forward the videos to all your friends and family. Most people don't realize how incompetent our elected officials have become.
Murphy has never avoided contact with his constituents. Unlike Joe Courtney and Rosa DeLauro, Mr. Murphy and Rep. Jim Himes (D) CT4, both relish contact with the public often. Call it a representative democracy or a constitutional republic, or whatever else, cherish our system of free access and free speech. You'll not find anything better.