Republicans and Democrats unite to prevent another Tea Party, both drastically cut back Town Halls in summer 2013, give members tips to help avoid confrontation, sell party line while away from Beltway home-Bloomberg

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8/29/13, "At Town Halls, Congress Now Steers Clear of Voters," Bloomberg Business Week, Julie Bykowicz

"Gone are the packed, freewheeling town halls of the past, where voters stood up at microphones and pelted elected officials with questions on just about anything. Members of Congress largely put an end to unscripted, up-close-and-personal events after the traumatic summer of 2009, when dozens of lawmakers were shouted down by mad-as-hell Tea Partiers and citizens angry that the proposed Affordable Care Act was going too far or not far enough. It was a “toxic mess,” says Jim Manley, a former aide to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Former Representative Mike Castle, a moderate Delaware Republican who’d held hundreds of town halls during his 20 years in Congress, recalls that at one event, captured on YouTube (GOOG), people started yelling at him about Obamacare “death panels” and the president’s “fake” birth certificate. Castle, who lost his primary that year, says a dozen colleagues who saw the video told him afterward, “No more live town halls. I’m done with that.”...

This summer is all about keeping a safe distance from voters and sticking to the party script. Before Congress left town, House Democratic and Republican leaders handed out “tool kits” full of talking points and specific event ideas, along with sample editorials written and ready to be planted in hometown newspapers. This enables them to stay within the preprogrammed Washington bubble even when they’re outside the safety of the Beltway.
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Both parties’ tool kits urge members to focus on small gatherings with friendly audiences, keeping in touch with the public on Facebook (FB) and Twitter.
Republicans advise members to seed events with business owners suffering under “excessive Washington-imposed regulations” that are “hindering their ability to expand.”...“Confirm the theme(s) prior to the event and make sure the participants will be 100% on message.” And for a “gas and groceries tour” about rising prices, members’ staffs are told to be sure the business owners “are comfortable with the Member visiting their location, and confirm they are comfortable with the overall messaging theme.” ...

Markwayne Mullin is one member of Congress who isn’t shying away from voters. The Oklahoma Republican was first elected to the House in 2012. He’s hosted 26 town halls across his district this summer, often doing more than one a day. All are invited, and anyone can grab the mic. Hundreds have showed up."...via Drudge


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