MEETING: Raul preached to choir

I attended a packed room for the Congressman Raul Labrador's Townhall Meeting at the Eagles Lodge in Coeur d'Alene and I have to say I wasn't all that impressed.

Raul is a trial attorney, said all the right things, he opened up the meeting not by taking questions but by giving a speech and displaying a power point presentation with all the appeal of full color charts and percentage points. He boasted of recently passed budget cuts the new class of freshman Congressmen recently accomplished. Raul's skills as a trial attorney made for a smooth introduction; his constituents became an all too familiar Jury he designed to sway.

He set the tone for the Townhall early on and milked the clock a bit before answering questions. Some questions were softballs but most of them had to do with the budget crisis. All questions were given by those who signed up at the door and everyone was called in order - save one exception of two gentlemen who happen to share the same name.

Raul spent much of the time explaining congressional processes to us and toting the party line, a popular and safe road to travel for such a concerned crowd. At 8 p.m. sharp, time was called, end of the Townhall, even though many in the audience were still eager to ask some tough questions of their Representative. Hands were still being raised as Raul closed the meeting with a few words. We live in tumultuous times, people are out of work, scared of losing their jobs and clearly there was an atmosphere of anxiety in the room.

When answering a question Raul at times would invoke claims of being on the fence on a particular issue, needing more time to study that issue or fall back on the excuse of being in office only a short time. His answers had a tone of being professorial, not treating us like adults. After all, Congressman Raul had an obligation to face his constituents and answer some questions.

Sure some will argue that Raul's short voting record is challenging to draw any real criticism but with all the turmoil and uncertainty on Capitol Hill I find it disheartening that our new Congressman couldn't break away from such a controlled forum to give his constituents a bit more time to get to know him. In my humble opinion, Raul told us what we wanted to hear revealing that he is not a leader to be reckoned with but just another suit in a very being assimilated into a very corrupt political machine. God help us all.

JOSHUA HARRISON

Coeur d'Alene