Republican members of Congress have been advised by their leaders not to hold open town hall sessions with their constituents because it might get unruly.
Utah Reps. Celeste Maloy and Mike Kennedy correctly ignored that advice and held a joint town hall in Salt Lake City several days ago. It got unruly.
Two things can both be true. All members of Congress owe it to their constituents to appear in person to hear and react to their concerns and questions — even if just to let them blow off steam.
All of those attending those forums should be respectful and civil, if not for the benefit of the politicians, then out of decency to the other citizens in attendance. People can be passionate and still be civil.
It’s not that there isn’t a lot for Utahns to be upset about. The Sledge-O-Matic approach to spending cuts taken by Donald Trump and his proconsul, Elon Musk, as well as the president’s aggressive denial of any judicial authority over his actions, pose great threats to our communities and our republic.
Many of those in attendance may have felt that Maloy and Kennedy were not sufficiently concerned about those problems. Because they weren’t. Though it was encouraging to hear Maloy say that she is worried about too much power being amassed by the executive branch, no matter which party holds it.
But the representatives did sponsor the forum and, mostly, hear out their constituents’ sometimes angry feelings. There’s not nearly enough of that going around.
Rep. Blake Moore has opened the floor in other meetings, though not during this congressional break.
Sen. John Curtis prefers brief one-on-one conversations with Utahns, reasonably arguing that such face time is less likely to get heated and more likely to lead to an exchange of views. (Though it does give him the chance to say one thing to one constituent, and the reverse to someone else.) Sen. Mike Lee has taken his constituent interactions online, and has none scheduled as of now.
Rep. Burgess Owens, meanwhile, has been totally MIA in the public arena. He seems comfortable only on right-wing media outlets, not face to face with his constituents. He owes them better.
Editorials represent the opinions of The Salt Lake Tribune editorial board, which operates independently from the newsroom.