Town Hall Meeting with Congerscritter Schauer.

Last Friday we attended a town hall meeting, in our fair burg, with freshman congerscritter Mark Schauer (D). There were around two dozen constituents in attendance. There was a palpable tension in the coffee shop; many families in our town have their financial fortunes tied to the Big Three. In the past week the mammoth "Stimulus" Bill had been whisked through both houses of Congress and signed by the President. The pre-meeting conversations around the tables expressed frustration of citizens unable to slow or alter the course of the massive spending juggernaut. It was a clear sentiment eager to be expressed to the new representative, and hoped he would listen.

Mr. Schauer's priority, however, was not to listen, but to talk. And talk, and talk, and talk. After nearly forty-five minutes of a nearly uninterrupted monologue, some of the attendees began to shoehorn comments into what seemed to be a soliloquy.After a long lecture into the minutiae of a proposed high-speed rail in Michigan, time had run out, and many left extremely frustrated, including this correspondent.

We hope that Mr. Schauer's deafness toward the people he represents will pass with time and experience.