Townhall Meeting With Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK)

I attended my first townhall meeting today.  Put on my best boots, clean jeans, and my nicest polo shirt and drove about 40 miles to listen to Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK).  He had been previously scheduled to be at the Ardmore Public Library, but organizers had moved it to the Convention Center, anticipating too large a crowd for the library.  Maybe they were concerned we would make too much noise.

I asked one of his staffers how many chairs were set up in the large hall we were in.  “Six hundred,” she said.  By 11:30, a half hour before the scheduled start time, there was steady stream of people arriving.  Once Rep. Cole came out and began to speak, virtually all the chairs were filled, and possibly fifty more people stood all along the walls.

Our town meeting was not quite like some I’ve seen on TV.  We had no angry shouts from the crowd, no one spoke while he was speaking, and I heard not one “booo.”  I did hear, and participate in, a lot of applause and cheers.

Our townhall was different, not because we, the attendees were different, but because our representative was different from the ones I’ve seen at those raucous townhalls.  It isn’t the American people that cause loud and rowdy townhall meetings, it’s the arrogance, dishonesty, and scorn that those other reps have for their constituents.  Of that, I am certain.

All across America, the American people are speaking out, and Rep. Cole told us that neither he nor any of his colleagues have ever seen anything like this.  He also told us that we, the citizens who are speaking out from coast to coast are the reason that many Democrats no longer want to support HR 3200.  When one woman spoke of her fear of this administration and the agenda they have, he said that he felt better now, because although they got the stimulus passed, and then the budget, (neither of which he voted for) things took a turn, and they were able to stop the Freedom of Choice Act, also known as Card Check.  He also said that he didn’t believe that Cap-and-Trade would get out of the Senate.  As he put it, “the system works.”

Another woman asked him about all the czars.  He told us that he, along with many other of his fellow representatives, were also concerned about that, and that he was encouraged because several Democrats that he has spoken with are also bothered by the czars, primarily because they are not accountable to anyone, and receive large amounts of funding.  Cole said that he thought they would begin to be more vocal about their unease with the czars.

He addressed any and all questions and concerns that were brought up.  These ranged from protection of the 2nd Amendment, to the Fairness Doctrine and other methods to infringe upon the 1st Amendment, to energy, to health care.  I found him to be articulate, seemingly at ease with us, with a very solid knowledge and understanding of history.  I always have more confidence in someone who knows history.

I came away feeling better.  Still deeply concerned about the multi-faceted attacks being planned and perpetrated upon our country and the Constitution, but reminded that we can make a difference.  We do have a voice, for now anyway.  Our voices are causing politicians in Washington to choose to face the wrath of Nancy Pelosi rather than the wrath of their constituents, and the subsequent losing of their jobs.

And it isn’t partisan, not for the people anyway.

Oklahoma has long been a Democratic state, by tradition.  I registered as a Dem when I became old enough to vote, the reason being that, as my mother explained, I’d never get to vote in a primary unless I was a Democrat, because Republicans hardly ever ran for anything.  That was in the late 60′s, early 70′s.  The breakdown is still predominantly Democrat, with about 1.1 million registered Dems as of January, 2009, and 860,000 registered Republicans.  Carter County, where our meeting was today, has 18,877 registered Dems to 8,153 registered Republicans and 3,510 registered Independents.  Yet, the room was, as far as I could tell, all solidly behind our Republican representative.

Despite being a “Democratic” state, looking at voter registration, Oklahoma was the only state in the Union, the only one out of 50 (not 57) states, to have all 77 counties go for McCain/Palin.  Not one single county went for The Won.

I don’t imagine we’ll be seeing any of that stimulus money.

We have good people here, and I’m happy, too, that Texas is our next-door neighbor.

To sum up, our townhall was invigorating but not frustrating, fun and not maddening, because our representative is actually representing us in Congress.  We agree with him, and he agrees with us.

I’m very proud tonight, and always, to be an Oklahoman and an American citizen.

I heartily encourage all to attend a townhall meeting if you get the chance.  It is part of our right as an American, to meet face-to-face with the man or woman speaking for us in Congress.  It’s also our duty to speak, and let them know what we think.

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Tagged as: Barack Obama, Constitution, healthcare reform, Nancy Pelosi, Oklahoma, Tom Cole, townhall meetings