Conferencing Via Telephone: Lawmakers’ New Best Friend
By JOSELYN KINGArticle Photos
WHEELING - Town hall meetings across the nation provide the setting for hundreds at a time to participate in the national health care debate, but members of Congress are finding that telephone technology can accommodate thousands.
U.S. Rep. Alan Mollohan, D-W.Va., will host a face-to-face town hall meeting on the national health care debate in Wheeling this week. The forum is set for 6 p.m. in Troy Theater in Swint Hall at Wheeling Jesuit University. Mollohan represents West Virginia's 1st District.
Other local members of Congress, meanwhile, are turning toward teleconferencing to address their constituents about proposed health care reforms.
U.S. Reps. Charles Wilson and Zack Space, both D-Ohio, and U.S. Rep. Shelly Moore Capito, R-W.Va., all have held teleconferences on the health care issue in recent weeks, and they all are planning more.
None, however, have any on their immediate schedule.
Stuart Chapman, chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Zack Space, D-Ohio, said Space has been using such technology for the past three years. Space represents the 18th District in Ohio.
"Our district is the size of New Jersey," he said. "It is the best way to reach the greatest number of people and is an effective way to innovatively communicate with constituents.
"The telephone is your friend. It enables you to communicate with vast numbers of people," he added. "While it is not perfect, it is a valuable tool for maintaining two-way communication between the congressman and his constituents. It's amazing how many people you can reach."
A teleconference last week attracted about 7,000 participants, according to Chapman.
Wilson, who represents Ohio's 6th District, hopes to hold his next teleconference "soon," according to Hillary Wicai Viers, spokeswoman for Wilson. She noted that a date for the teleconference has yet to be set, and that Wilson's staff is still working out some scheduling issues.
"As soon as he gets it scheduled, his staff will notify constituents through e-mail and by posting it on his Web site and through the local media," Viers said.
"Given the size of the district, Rep. Wilson finds that it is more efficient and more inclusive of a larger number of people from across the district to use the tele-town hall technology," she continued. "The last tele-town hall he did was only on health care and 4,700 constituents participated. It was a great session."
Capito, of West Virginia's 2nd District, hosted a similar teleconference this week in which members of the AARP were able to participate, said Jonathan Coffin, spokesman for Capito. The AARP informed 40,000 of its members of the teleconference, he said, and it is estimated that about 7,500 listened in on the call.
Many of those participating asked questions during the hour-long session.
"We will probably be doing some more of those," Coffin said. "We will also be traveling the district to answer questions. At this point, there are no traditional town hall meetings. But we are taking names and notes from people wanting to take part in a teleconference."
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WVEXPAT
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08-13-09 7:47 PM
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I guess technically there is 1 bill (House) and 4 versions (proposals) in the Senate. It will be interesting to see if once the final version is "written", if the public will have time to digest it or will it be given to us in the form of a suppository yet again! I really liked Obama's "Sunlight before Signing" campaign promise! Will we ever see it happen?
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Graysongs
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08-13-09 10:22 AM
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There is no "truth" to be told about any of this bill because there is no "bill". What they are trying to do is "build consensus for an idea" which they can have their hireling "bill writers" put together and add amendments to in the dead of night. Then when it all blows up, they say "I didn't know that was in there". As long as the laws they pass don't apply to them, that's all they care about. It may take a few public executions to straighten them out.
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TruthSeeker
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08-13-09 9:30 AM
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Bwhahahahahhahahahhahahahahahahahha!!
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Connors
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08-13-09 9:17 AM
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Interesting that the Intelligencer is writing these glowing front page stories about Congress Space, Wilson and Mollohan when each of them have been hiding from their constituents. Everyone knows they are hiding because they know that people do not buy into this hearth care take over. The teleconferencing allows the Congressman to pick the audience thereby guaranteeing a friendly reception to the White House talking points they have been told to use. There will be no difficult questions taken on the conference call as the calls are carefully screened. This is a fraud and I am embarrassed for the reporters who have fallen for this sham and are not reporting on it. The teleconference guarantees that only those who are carefully screened get to speak and ask questions. It is a completely controlled process. A tough question is only answered with a carefully worded talking point and not the truth. Before they left Washington Wilson, Space and Mollohan were told to use this technology as a
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Connors
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08-13-09 9:09 AM
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Interesting that the Intelligencer is writing these glowing front page stories about Congress Space, Wilson and Mollohan when each of them have been hiding from their constituents. Everyone knows they are hiding because they know that people do not buy into this hearth care take over. The teleconferencing allows the Congressman to pick the audience thereby guaranteeing a friendly reception to the White House talking points they have been told to use. There will be no difficult questions taken on the conference call as the calls are carefully screened. This is a fraud and I am embarrassed for the reporters who have fallen for this sham and are not reporting on it. The teleconference guarantees that only those who are carefully screened get to speak and ask questions. It is a completely controlled process. A tough question is only answered with a carefully worded talking point and not the truth. Before they left Washington Wilson, Space and Mollohan were told to use this technology as a
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EllisWyatt
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08-13-09 7:07 AM
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Of course they want to teleconference. Less chance of an angry constituent asking you an embarassing question and having the local TV station film your Deer In The Headlights look. Government has reached a new low. Nancy Pelosi calls protest "un-American". Where were the liberals when people were hitting Bush's car, throwing food at conservative donors, holding up signs at Bush calling him a murderer, a terrorist, a scumbag, etc? Apparently, the Dems only tolerate dissent when they are dissenting. They only support diversity when it is the diversity of liberal thought. All of you, especially blacks, have been used by these elitists. They care nothing for you or your problems. They are only interested in real estate scams (Mollohan), KKK recruitment (Byrd), new Gulfstream 550s and Italian shopping trips at taxpayer expense (Pelosi) and lucrative contracts for their spouse's firm (Feinstein).
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