An excerpt from an opinion piece published on this page on March 20:
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œHas anyone noticed that voters rarely see their congressional representatives in this area anymore? ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥¦
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œThere is a disconnect now between elected officials and their constituents. People running for office will show up for a meet-the-candidates event before an election, but once elected those candidates disappear. Some hide behind their PR people, but too many of those spokespersons donÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t return phone calls or emails. It seems that if you donÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t have a check ready for the next election, youÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™re not worth face time.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
Alas, that trend continued. As recently noted by the online news site Mountain State Spotlight and published in The Herald-Dispatch earlier this week, ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œWhile West VirginiaÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s Republican representatives in Congress won the last election by huge margins, their own constituents are continually asking them to have public town hall meetings.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œThe representatives and senators are dodging those sorts of public events. They reply to phone calls and emails with canned responses ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” or no responses at all.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
Give Gov. Patrick Morrisey credit. He has been in the Huntington area more than once since he took office in January. But our congressional delegation has for the most part been missing in action. August is the time members of Congress take off for vacation and to meet with the people back home. This year, though, if theyÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™ve been to a public event in Cabell or Wayne counties itÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s been discreet.
There is one possible defense. In recent years politics has become more divided, and with the rise of social media it has become a platform for performance art. The existence of social media also means gaffes or slips of the tongue are more likely to be recorded, spread widely and live forever. For a politician who receives 60% of the vote or more, a town hall can seem like a no-win situation.
Too bad. People need to meet face to face with the people they have elected. ItÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s right there in the First Amendment to the Constitution, at the head of the Bill of Rights: ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œto petition the Government for a redress of grievances.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
ItÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s easy to ignore an email, a text or a voice mail message. ItÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s not so easy to discuss important matters in person with your supporters, your opponents or undecided voters. Our senators and our members of the House of Representatives would be welcome at any number of events or venues for more than a quick speech or a photo op. If only they would come.
