Congressman considering a tele-town hall conference on health care reform

By Mark Fischenich

MANKATO — Terry Kruse of Mankato wants Congressman Tim Walz to hold a town hall meeting on proposed health care reform.

Kruse wants it to be a spirited, wide-open affair where people can raise their voices if they feel strongly about the issue, can ask follow-up questions, can give the second-term Democrat a good sense of how people feel about the issue.

“I feel he owes it to us,” said Kruse, a Republican who was involved in the Tea Party protest in April against the fiscal policies of the federal government. “He works for us.”

Democrats and other supporters of health care reform have argued that insurance industry lobbyists, other reform opponents and anti-Obama groups have organized “mobs” to come to town hall meetings to harass members of congress — rather than discuss the issue — and to create a false image of the amount of opposition to reform efforts.

Kruse believes the opposition is real and heartfelt, but she isn’t pushing for a town hall meeting in hopes of creating one of the scream fests that have occurred elsewhere in the nation.

She predicts that Mankato-area residents would be respectful and willing to listen to other views, but she also said there are no guarantees.

“I would hope that would happen, but golly, this is a democracy,” Kruse said. “... I think he’s a big enough man, he can handle it.”

Meredith Salsbery, communications director for Walz, said Kruse isn’t the first to ask for a town hall meeting.

“We’ve gotten a fair amount of requests,” Salsbery said. “At this point, we’re looking at the schedule but we’re seriously considering a tele-town hall conference.”

Walz’s predecessor — Republican Congressman Gil Gutknecht — was one of the first members of Congress to use that technology in the months prior to his defeat by Walz. It involves publicizing the toll-free conference call phone number and the time of the call and then allowing people from throughout the 1st District to dial in.

Anyone can listen, and those wishing to ask questions can be placed in a queue to be heard by Walz and other listeners when their turn comes up. Other than Walz and the questioner, all other voices are muted.

The system would eliminate a couple of the issues that have arisen at congressional town hall meetings elsewhere in the country in recent weeks. First, there’s no opportunity for a group of people to band together to shout down the member of Congress. Second, it doesn’t provide for the video images of a member under siege.

Concern about a traditional town hall meeting being hijacked isn’t the main reason Walz is leaning toward a tele-conference event, Salsbery said. More important is the opportunity for involvement that would be provided to people across the sprawling 1st District, which stretches across southern Minnesota from Wisconsin to South Dakota. It also allows people to participate without the expense of travel or hiring a baby sitter.

“We still haven’t totally ruled out a traditional town hall,” she added. “There’s benefits to both.”

Salsbery also encourages people to call Walz’s office and write letters, saying the messages are compiled by staff and presented to the congressman.

But Kruse is skeptical of the effectiveness of any communication with members of Congress other than face-to-face exchanges.

“I think you need to have a back and forth,” she said.

Salsbery said Walz doesn’t shy away from that. Just last week, he agreed to meet with a group of Tea Party folks in Rochester on health care reform and gave them 45 minutes to explain their opposition. He was also involved in a congressional forum at Farmfest that involved audience participation, including pointed questions about health care reform.

“The congressman always values hearing from people of all perspectives,” Salsbery said.

Kruse is already contemplating an alternative way of voicing her opinions if she doesn’t get a standard town hall meeting.

“Then I would hope people would demonstrate outside his office, whether he’s there or not,” she said. “A peaceful demonstration, a Tea Party, or whatever.”