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 On
Wednesday, January 25, U.S. Congresswoman Virginia Foxx held a “Listening
Tour” in Watauga County. The event was hosted by the
Chamber of Commerce, and invitations went out to hundreds on the
Chamber’s e-mail list. Here is the invitation:
The Boone
Area Chamber of Commerce is pleased to host a Listening Tour for
the Honorable Virginia Foxx on Wednesday, January 25, 2006 at the
Mountain House Restaurant in Boone. This is an opportunity for the
Congresswoman to hear from her local constituents in a social setting.
You are invited to join us beginning at 8:00 a.m. for a Dutch Treat
breakfast. The program will start at 8:30 a.m. Come prepared to
share your priorities and concerns with Virginia Foxx.
Taking the congresswoman
at her word, that she wanted “to hear from her local constituents
in a social setting,” many Watauga County residents showed
up to share their “priorities and concerns with Virginia Foxx.”
The room designated for the listening tour was packed. To
the Chamber’s credit, those who had failed to RSVP were still
allowed in, which made for standing-room only.
Looking around
the room, Rep. Foxx expressed displeasure. She said she was
pressed for time, had another important meeting scheduled on ASU’s
campus, and she would hear first from governmental representatives
and agencies. She warned that she probably wouldn’t have time
for questions. But after all the important people had spoken,
there was still plenty of time left, and hands went up all over
the room for questions.
Rep. Foxx saw
them, very clearly. But clearly she didn’t want
to. Still protesting that she had no time for questions, she
ignored the raised hands and instead called on the press.
During her
answers to three press questions, she declared that the best kept
secret in the world was that the
economy was doing fine, that the War in Iraq had been a “tremendous
success,” and that Social Security and Medicare will
have to be cut because the government is out of money, and besides,
the government’s job is national defense, not social safety
nets.
Through all
of this, the audience sat quietly and listened respectfully.
But the congresswoman’s
comments on the social safety net and the war brought more hands
into the air. Rep. Foxx announced begrudgingly that she had
only six minutes left for constituent questions. Out of a
forest of outstretched hands, Foxx chose a man who did not have
his hand up, called him by name, and inquired if he didn’t
have a question for her. He did, but it wasn’t a question
she liked. She took one more question -- where she denied
that any of the social welfare cuts she was about to vote for will
hurt one single person -- and abruptly declared the “listening
tour” ended.
At that point there were audible protests in the audience that her
“listening tour” was a “sham.” Those protests
did not disrupt a meeting that had already been declared over, and
those protests were based on ample direct eye and ear evidence that
her “listening tour” was indeed a sham.
Since Wednesday,
Rep. Foxx’s office has variously claimed that Democratic activists
plotted to disrupt the meeting, that the wrong people attended because
they misinterpreted the invitation, that the Chamber of Commerce
flubbed the invitation, that the press reported the invitation incorrectly,
that the “listening tour” was really organized so that
constituents could listen to Foxx and not the other way around.
So much for
the accountability of our elected representative.
Here’s
a flash: the Watauga County Democratic Party is not responsible
for Congresswoman Virginia Foxx’s unwillingness to hear from
voters, nor for her discomfort at being asked questions about her
voting record and about the policies of the government she not only
supports but celebrates at every opportunity.
We believe that
Rep. Foxx’s political talking points – blaming Democrats
for her unwillingness to answer to the voters – may cause citizens,
regardless of party affiliation, to be increasingly frustrated and
cynical about government. We believe that Rep. Foxx, who runs
on a platform of detesting partisanship, resorts to it when it serves
her purposes and covers her own actions. Inventing conspiracies
to hide her own fear of accountability is not only craven.
It is pathetic.
We and many others still have questions for the congresswoman.
For this reason, we encourage her to return to Watauga County at
her earliest opportunity and answer to the people.
Diane Tilson
and Charlie Wallin are chair and first vice chair of the Watauga
County Democratic Party. J.W. Williamson is secretary.
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