Algernon D'Ammassa

There are a few non-negotiable responsibilities of a member of Congress. Pass legislation and fund government, honor obligations that have been made and engage in debate about future priorities, provide constituent services, and serve as faithful representatives of the people who live in their district. All of them. Not just the ones who agree with them, and not just the ones who make large donations.

“Meeting with constituents is top priority,” proclaims a post on the website of District 2’s representative, Steve Pearce. The post continues: “Representing New Mexico’s Second District is an honor, and I am in office to serve you. Town hall meetings allow me to listen to your concerns and hear examples from your daily lives. The meetings also give constituents what they deserve — government accountability, a voice in state and national matters, and a strengthened democracy.”

The post is dated Aug. 23, 2011, which after one month of today’s tarring and feathering of the presidency, seems like a very long time ago indeed. Back then, President Obama’s approval ratings were at a record low and still sinking. Republicans had just successfully held the debt ceiling hostage, extracting concessions by bringing the nation to the brink of a budget crisis. Nonetheless, the Standard & Poor’s credit rating agency downgraded our long-term credit score for the first time in history. The president and the Democrats looked weak.

Pearce boasted in that post of holding 13 town halls in just one month, with more constituent meetings planned. He went on to criticize other members of Congress: “Many of my colleagues have not held any town halls during Congress’ August district work period, and some have asked me why I would keep such a strenuous schedule when Congress isn’t in session. The answer is simple: because I know how important it is for our government to be accountable to the public. It is time to regain the responsibility that has been vanishing from our government by addressing issues with open, honest discussion.”

Those were the days, weren’t they? One month into the chaotic Trump administration, Congress recessed for “District Days,” a time for our elected representatives to make themselves available to constituents. Just like Pearce wrote in 2011, this is part of the job. Yet things have changed in 2017 and those meeting places look and sound a bit different. Across the United States, Senate and House members find themselves in unusually crowded rooms with people who are organized, confident and demanding answers about new immigration orders, threats to their health insurance, the executive branch’s ties to Russia and the basic competence of our new president, among other issues.

In a break from his previous sociability, Pearce suddenly got shy on us, opting for no public events with his constituents, and instead scheduling a single “Telephone Town Hall” for which registration was required and questions screened. The following day, a party of citizens presented themselves at Pearce’s Las Cruces field office, where staff locked the door and slipped out the back. What kind of representation is this?

When voters were restive during the Obama administration, Republicans seemed to welcome robust civic activity. Now they make allegations without evidence of “paid protesters” and complain about the heightened activism as if it were something nefarious for working-class citizens to engage in politics. A great many of them, including our own House representative, are brazenly avoiding their constituents.

This is cowardice. A congressman who cannot look constituents in the face is unable to serve and does not deserve the honor.

Algernon D’Ammassa is Desert Sage. Write to him at DesertSageMail@gmail.com