WASHINGTON -- The last time Congress took a break, Rep. John P. Sarbanes held a series of town hall gatherings at local libraries and a volunteer firehouse with his Baltimore-area constituents. This week, he conducted conference calls instead.
Sarbanes said the "virtual" meetings allow him to reach thousands as he spends his August recess trying to convince constituents of the merits of Democratic health care ideas, compared with a few hundred who might show up at a school or community center. But the electronic sessions provide other advantages, too.
They can't be disrupted by opponents, and there's no chance that embarrassing video of a loud-mouthed critic will show up on the TV news or YouTube.
Ever since congressional Democrats began promoting their health care overhaul plan to folks back home this month, highly publicized confrontations between lawmakers and angry constituents have threatened to drown out their reform message. The showdowns have attracted considerable media exposure, and elected officials are scrambling to adjust.
Freshman Rep. Frank Kratovil Jr., whose district includes the Eastern Shore, drew national attention after a man showed up outside his Salisbury headquarters carrying an effigy of the congressman with a noose around the neck. Kratovil, a vulnerable Democrat, removed his public schedule from his official Web site after getting jeered by critics at several stops.
The outbursts aren't limited to health care. In upstate New York, where he was campaigning Tuesday on behalf of a local Democrat, House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland was loudly accused of "lying" by an anti-tax protester; footage of the confrontation made the network news that night.
"I want to hear different views," said Rep. Elijah E. Cummings. "What upsets me is when people are intentionally trying to shout down other people."
The Baltimore congressman said he is concerned that media coverage of the outbursts may only intensify public skepticism about the president's health care plan, which has already lost support in national opinion polls. And that's exactly what the opponents want, said other Democrats, who have accused the insurance industry and conservative activists of helping to orchestrate the protests.
One leading advocate of overhauling health care said he hopes that all the noise doesn't prevent those "with honest questions" from being heard.
