Ridgefield Barbie stupidly defends her lack of guts and town hall meetings.

We all know the deal.  Unable to think for herself, Babs ignored her constituency and set up a carefully screened series of "coffees" with past and possible future campaign donors while the rest of us were ignored.

Open town hall meetings?  Fugetaboutit.  Screened meetings with "business leaders?"  Check.  Fundraiser with the Speaker, again, carefully screened with a checkbook to match... at $2500 a head?  Check.

Meeting with The People?

Are you kidding?

Her lack of guts, intelligence and vision are shameful in this day and age.

In short, her decision to hide from her constituency, NO MATTER THE EXCUSE, in no way provides any justification for her cowardice.

Someone smarter then I once observed it's best that, of you can't stand the heat, then get the hell out of the kitchen.

Our congressional bimbette would be well-served to follow that advice.

And for God's sake, woman, will you STOP WHINING?

Where's Allen West when you need him.

Chronicle Newspaper Guest Commentary: Congresswoman Defends Use of ‘Community Coffee Meetings’

Washington, Nov 17 -

Last month, I hosted my 12th Southwest Washington “community coffee meeting” in Chehalis.

There were some media inquiries and news stories looking at how and why I hold these events, and I’d like to give a detailed account here. Folks in Southwest Washington deserve to know the facts.

Providing Southwest Washington residents with the opportunity to speak face-to-face with their member of Congress is a responsibility of my job. In my first 10 months in office, I have hosted multiple traditional town hall meetings in large auditoriums throughout the district.

For these, my office shares the details with local newspapers, who publish them well in advance. Here’s what we experienced: well-organized interest groups would use the information to mobilize their members — many from Portland to Seattle — to follow me around to each event and protest. Audience numbers swelled up in size, giving only a small fraction of attendees the chance to ask questions. Those who were able to speak often had questions interrupted by booing or screaming from others. You can see an example for yourself; watch my Vancouver town hall online at www.cityofvancouver.us/cvtv.

Organized groups from Seattle and Portland got their messages across. But my first responsibility is to hear from the people I represent, who live in Southwest Washington. And I have no obligation to create a stage for people outside our district to come and put on a show. Nor do I intend to let citizens in Southwest Washington be disenfranchised in their right to meet publicly with me.

These giant-sized town hall events beg the question: are residents being served by events where whoever shouts the loudest gets heard? People are sick of partisan bickering in politics, and I believe such events actually discourage many residents from participating. So I’m trying a new method.

You're a coward, Herrera. And it's just a damned shame you're in Congress.

Cross posted at Jaime Herrera Watch.