Dear Editor,
As was likely intended, I was amused by the photo accompanying the article, “Residents hold empty-seat town hall to protest U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert” in the April 19-25 issue. Providing a life-size cutout of the absent Republican who notoriously refuses to accept invitations to town hall meetings is a clever stunt. It draws attention to his unwillingness to listen and discuss issues of concern in the communities he was elected to represent. Apparently this strategy is being implemented across the country. Clever but not original, according to author Bernard Ellouk. It seems Republicans also called town hall meetings following passage of the Affordable Care Act (aka ObamaCare) that Democrats similarly refused to attend.
Pity the Democrats couldn’t face the questions, disagreements, even ire back then. Pity the Democrats could not sit and listen to the objections and concerns the ACA raised among the communities they were elected to represent. Such conversations might have redirected the trend that led to where we are today!
Cecilia Erin Walsh
Seattle
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