Freshman Rep. Mike Grimm, the lone Republican in New York City's congressional delegation, came home for the first of two town halls last night. Based on the New York Times' account, he most definitely felt the heat—and did not acquit himself with glory. For starters, he didn't seem to grasp how actions taken in the past might effect events in the future:

“The deficit is due to the Bush-era tax cuts,” said someone else. “The whole deficit is due to the Bush- era tax cuts?” Mr. Grimm asked. “A good part, a good part,” came the resounding reply. Former President George W. Bush was one of the evening’s frequent scapegoats, prompting Mr. Grimm, at one point, to ask: “This year’s deficit is due to George Bush? That’s insanity! That’s insane.”

How hard is it to grasp that tax cuts in the early part of the last decade are still crimping federal revenues today? Apparently, for Mike Grimm, the answer is "very."

He also seemed to have a poor understanding of how representative democracy works:

“We’ve heard your opinion,” he said, growing increasingly loud. “We know you disagree. You saying it 10 times isn’t going to change my mind. I get it, I respect it, I think you’re wrong.” When Ms. Devane said that Mr. Grimm was supposed to be representing her, he added: “You wouldn’t vote for me and I know that. I respect that. So don’t pretend you voted for me. You didn’t.”

I suppose Mike Grimm would be amazed to learn that in a republic, elected officials are supposed to represent the interests of all their constituents, regardless of whether they voted for you, the other guy, or not at all.

But when the going got really tough, he showed his true colors, alternately accusing the crowd of magical thinking:

“What did I take away from this meeting? We need to tax the millionaires and billionaires and that’s the magical formula.”

And treating the assembled gathering like schoolkids who just need to work out their energies on the playground:

As the crowd erupted into a loud chorus of “Boos,” he continued: "Get it all out, get it all out. It’s good to get it out. Get it out of your system.”

These raucous town halls are never easy for a congressman, I'm sure, but if you're going to vote to destroy Medicare, your life is just not going to be easy. Grimm sits in a swing district, and with the right opponent, he could wind up with a short tenure. More nights like these—indeed, he's hosting another town hall tonight (details here)—won't help him.

P.S. Lucky for Grimm, one topic that did not come up were the New Yorker's explosive allegations this week that Grimm, a former FBI agent, improperly interfered with a police investigation of a fight he was involved in with the husband of a woman he was dating. My summary makes this story sound much more anodyne than it really is, so click the link for more details. This one definitely seems like it's going to get worse before it gets better—if it ever does.