Free Republic

House Republicans and Democrats alike plan to aggressively tout their positions on health-care reform over the five-week August recess, as both sides see an opportunity to shift public opinion on the issue before members return to vote on a plan in September. With the House expected to leave for recess on Friday, Democratic leaders have urged members to use town halls and other events to get away from the complicated debates on subjects such as a government-insurance option that have resounded in Washington and focus instead on simpler issues, such as telling voters that the legislation will bar insurance companies...

Had a chance yet to read the House healthcare bill? At just 1,017 its prescription for how to cure the nation's medical ills is only 198 pages shorter than the latest edition of Tolstoy's masterpiece War and Peace. While there likely will continue to be more war than peace when it comes to congressional debates over the controversial bill, actually reading line by line through its 2,541 sections is a slog akin to having to read the phone book. Just ask 180 House Democrats who last week attended a five-hour seminar in the Capitol basement. Leaders organized the staff-led tutorial...

Illustration by Matt Wuerker Screaming constituents, protesters dragged out by the cops, congressmen fearful for their safety — welcome to the new town-hall-style meeting, the once-staid forum that is rapidly turning into a house of horrors for members of Congress. On the eve of the August recess, members are reporting meetings that have gone terribly awry, marked by angry, sign-carrying mobs and disruptive behavior. In at least one case, a congressman has stopped holding town hall events because the situation has spiraled so far out of control. “I had felt they would be pointless,” Rep. Tim Bishop (D-N.Y.) told...

<p>Screaming constituents, protesters dragged out by the cops, congressmen fearful for their safety — welcome to the new town-hall-style meeting, the once-staid forum that is rapidly turning into a house of horrors for members of Congress.</p> <p>On the eve of the August recess, members are reporting meetings that have gone terribly awry, marked by angry, sign-carrying mobs and disruptive behavior. In at least one case, a congressman has stopped holding town hall events because the situation has spiraled so far out of control.</p>

Screaming constituents, protesters dragged out by the cops, congressmen fearful for their safety — welcome to the new town-hall-style meeting, the once-staid forum that is rapidly turning into a house of horrors for members of Congress. On the eve of the August recess, members are reporting meetings that have gone terribly awry, marked by angry, sign-carrying mobs and disruptive behavior. In at least one case, a congressman has stopped holding town hall events because the situation has spiraled so far out of control. “I had felt they would be pointless,” Rep. Tim Bishop (D-N.Y.) told POLITICO, referring to his recent...

Pelosi’s August recess memo takes the cake By Bob Cusack and Hans Nichols House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) made sure Democrats left for their home districts armed with a recess brief full of suggested talking points to bolster her party’s national prospects. So far, so normal. But her recess packet also includes detailed instructions on how to throw a local party—a 38th birthday bash for Medicare. The minute instructions have raised concerns among Democratic aides and lobbyists that Pelosi is developing a didactic style that can be too patronizing to be helpful. Leaders on both sides of the aisle...