GOP Slams Courtney for Holding Town Hall By Phone
U.S. Rep Joe Courtney is taking heat from the GOP over his choice to hold a health care town hall meeting by phone rather than in person.
U.S. Rep. Joseph Courtney will talk to constituents about the red-hot topic of health care Monday night and his decision to hold a town hall meeting by telephone rather than in person is drawing criticism, especially from Christopher Healy, chairman of the Connecticut Republicans.
"You can't phone it in you can't do Congress by remote control, and the people of the Second District elected Courtney to represent them, so at the least, he owes them a face-to-face meeting,” Healy said.
Courtney’s teleconference comes as Congressional Democrats face increasingly angry crowds at town hall meetings over proposed health care changes. These have prompted some Democrats to step up security or turn to teleconferences, which can be more easily controlled.
Courtney said he has held face-to-face town hall meetings on health care as recently as two weeks ago and brought the the headline to prove it. He also took a dig at the GOP chair, calling his criticism hypocritical.
"Mr. Healy's charges, coming from a person who's the campaign manager for Rob Simmons who didn't hold one town meeting in two years prior to him leaving Congress because he stated they were unproductive, is the height of hypocrisy,” Courtney said.
Simmons is challenging U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd in 2010.
The call will be held from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. and Courtney said tonight’s teleconference is about reaching more people. He plans to discuss his vision for reform and answer participants' questions.
"I have a district with 700,000 people in it in 65 towns. A telephone town hall, which I've used other times in the past, is a more efficient way to allow people to ask questions who can't drive,” he said.
The last time Courtney held a town hall meeting via phone, 7,000 people dialed in, he said, and he hopes the number will be even higher tonight.
According to Courtney's Web site, participants had to contact his office by Aug. 21 and provide their full name, phone number and town.
Posted Monday, Aug 24, 2009 - 10:24 AM EST
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