One Week of Being Home and Target Dems Have Already Gone Into Hiding?

August 6, 2010

FYI, a version of the release below went out to the following incumbent and challenger districts: John Adler (NJ-03); Jason Altmire (PA-04); Michael Arcuri (NY-24) Sanford Bishop (GA-02); Tim Bishop (NY-01); Leonard Boswell (IA-03); Rick Boucher (VA-09); Allen Boyd (FL-02); Russ Carnahan (MO-03); Chris Carney (PA-10); Ben Chandler (KY-06); Travis Childers (MS-01); Gerry Connolly (VA-11); Mark Critz (PA-12); Kathy Dahlkemper (PA-04); Lincoln Davis (TN-04); Joe Donnelly (IN-02); Steve Driehaus (OH-01); Chet Edwards (TX-17); Bob Etheridge (NC-02); Bill Foster (IL-14); Gabby Giffords (AZ-08); Alan Grayson (FL-08); John Hall (NY-19); Debbie Halvorson (IL-11); Phil Hare (IL-17); Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (SD-AL); Baron Hill (IN-09); Tim Holden (PA-17); Rush Holt (NY-12); Steve Kagen (WI-08); Paul Kanjorski (PA-11); Mary Jo Kilroy (OH-15); Ann Kirkpatrick (AZ-01); Larry Kissell (NC-08); Ron Klein (FL-22); Suzanne Kosmas (Fl-24); Frank Kratovil (MD-01); Rick Larsen (WA-02); Dan Maffei (NY-25); Betsy Markey (CO-04); Jerry McNerney (CA-11); Mike McIntyre (NC-07); Mike McMahon (NY-13); Walt Minnick (ID-01); Harry Mitchell (AZ-05); Patrick Murphy (PA-08); Scott Murphy (NY-20); Glenn Nye (VA-02); Bill Owens (NY-23); Ed Perlmutter (CO-07); Earl Pomeroy (ND-AL); Nick Rahall (WV-03); Ciro Rodriguez (TX-23); John Salazar (CO-03); Loretta Sanchez (CA-47); Mark Schauer (MI-07); Kurt Schrader (OR-05); Carol Shea-Porter (NH-01); Heath Shuler (NC-11); Ike Skelton (MO-04); Zack Space (OH-18); John Spratt (SC-05); Betty Sutton (OH-13); Harry Teague (NM-02); Dina Titus (NV-03); John Yarmuth (KY-03); Tim Walz (MN-01); and David Wu (OR-01).

One Week of Being Home and Chet Edwards Has Already Gone Into Hiding?
As the Dems’ “Run for Cover Summer” Unravels, Chet Edwards Refuses to Hold Town Halls With His Constituents

Washington- One week into August and it is clear that Chet Edwards has dedicated the recess period to avoiding the public at every possible turn. Instead of engaging with his constituents face-to face and owning up to the unpopular, job-killing policies of the Obama-Pelosi agenda, Edwards has decided to simply ignore the Texas families who put him in elected office.

“After 18 months of ignoring his constituents and maintaining his unflinching support for the Democrats’ failed agenda, Chet Edwards has plenty of reason to hide this recess,” said NRCC Communications Director Ken Spain. “Unfortunately for Edwards, laying low isn’t part of his job description. With the elections less than 100 days away, will Chet Edwards attempt to own up to his partisan voting record and engage his constituents face-to-face this August, or will he cowardly go into hiding and avoid talking about his party’s reckless agenda?”

Is Edwards going into hiding in order to avoid the disastrous town hall meetings that made last year’s August recess period so memorable?

“A year ago, in August 2009, Democrats returned home to their districts and probably started to lose control of Washington.

“Overheated, confrontational town hall meetings, as seen in grainy cell phone videos on YouTube, dominated news coverage, gave public voice to the tea party movement and drove moderate Republicans from the health reform debate.”

“As lawmakers head home for the summer this year, it’s not the fate of the health care bill that is at stake for Democrats, it is their majority in Congress.” (Z. Byron Wolf, “Meet the People: Lawmakers Head Home and Prepare for the 2010 Campaign Season,” ABC News, 08/03/2010)

By avoiding confrontation with his constituents at all costs, Edwards has shown an utter lack of respect for Texas families. As the Democrats’ so-called ‘Recovery Summer’ continues to fall apart at the seams, voters across the country are left asking: “Where are the Dems?”

Visit the nrcc.org for the latest on Democrat town halls.

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