Massachusetts' 6th District U.S. Congressman John Tierney finally
faced his constituents today at what he called a community meeting,
held at Salem State College. It began at 10 am and ran until
about 11:45. Questions from the audience where chosen at
random by lottery, each constituent given a ticket for the drawing.
Many
pooled their tickets so that Republican challenger
Bill Hudak
could have an opportunity to question the incumbent congressman. He
had his chance early in the Q&A period, challenging Tierney to
debate the important issues here and now. Tierney declined
until closer to the general election.
As
expected, Tierney opened the meeting with his list of his and
Congress's accomplishments, but most of the audience wasn't buying
it -- polite laughter and 0ccasional jeering interrupted many of his statements
and claims. Tierney vowed to advocate for single-payer and the
public option, despite polls showing Americans are overwhelmingly
opposed to this massive government takeover of their health care.
My
observation: Whoever controls the microphone controls the
event. Tierney was wired for sound (see the last photo, below),
while Hudak and others weren't allowed to touch a microphone --
possessively clutched by a Tierney aide. Ask a question and get
"blah, blah, blah" as a response, "Next question."
--
Photos and captions by Chip Ford
