Spadea — Congressman MacArthur’s town hall was for the people, not agendas

Congressman Tom MacArthur is under fire from a few people for holding his latest Town Hall event via phone.

The critics/haters called him a coward for not doing it in person.  He responded by attacking the agitators and protesters for the potential of disrupting his event.  Good for him.

The goal of a town hall is to empower constituents with direct access to the guy representing them in DC.  It's not a public show as Governor Christie has put on throughout his term to get favorable press.  It's a function of proper representation.  Similar to our goal with Ask the Governor and #DigginInWithKim, these type of events provide access for the voters.

People that want to mock Congressman MacArthur may have a political agenda to knock a very responsible and well respected member of Congress.  Think about how many more people can participate and listen directly to their representative in Congress on the phone rather than in a auditorium.  Unlike most public events, the town hall should be for the people, not the press.

As a matter of fact, it's clear that Tom MacArthur's intention was to have an uninterrupted conversation with his constituents.  He controls that better through a phone meeting instead of in person.  Going forward all Members should be required to hold these kinds of town hall meetings to keep anyone that needs contact informed and well served.  Let's add social media to the mix for good measure.

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