Harbeson: a shout-out to Baron Hill

That's the title of Debbie's recent piece in the News-Tribune on Baron Hill and town halls...

I can’t say I blame Hill [for not holding a town hall]. He already knows what he needs to know without enduring an “un-American” town hall meeting. And really this might be best for everyone because he might just end up shouting himself. I know because I’ve seen him do it...

Harbeson shares her anecdote about Hill's behavior in a casual, political setting. It ends with:

...when Hill realized the volunteer didn’t agree with his method of dealing with the issue, Hill wondered aloud what our volunteer had been smoking. But that insult wasn’t enough. Hill ended by shouting that he “didn’t come down here to argue, he came down here to get the mood of the nation,” and stormed off.

Apparently he only wanted good moods. I didn’t know how to describe it at the time, but now thanks to [Nancy] Pelosi, I know I should call his action “un-American.”

Harbeson's punchline:

I tell this story to point out that Congressman Hill understands how easy it is to respond by shouting when you get frustrated. So Congressman Hill, if you do end up not having your traditional town hall meetings, you’d better do something so people who are upset about your approval of more government control of health care feel like they are being heard.

If you don’t, you’re going to have to deal with a large group of people who are in a really, really bad mood. And you won’t be able to just shout at them and storm off in your own righteous anger this time around.

I've seen Baron in action at town halls. (Ironically, he's been quite fond of them during election season.) And given the likely heat at a town hall on health care and his ability to handle that heat, it's probably wise for him to stay out of the proverbial kitchen.

Then again, it'd be wiser still for the voters in the 9th district to find someone else for the kitchen in 2010...