Doyle not 'getting it'
Salena Zito's column "'Getting it' yet?" (May 30 and TribLIVE.com) characterizes U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle, D-14, as one congressman who "gets it." She writes of Doyle "saying that congressmen's job, whatever their party affiliation, is to go out and listen." She tells us Doyle "will focus on organized town halls this summer, rather than the tea-party-interrupted events he referred to as 'cattle calls.'"
The problem is that Zito apparently believes what this politician says and not what he does.
One reason I'm running to unseat Doyle is his failure to respond to my e-mails and letters. How many public town hall meetings on health care did he hold? His lone public appearance, at Flagstaff Hill, was a health care promotion. The only listening permitted was by his audience.
His telephone "town hall" on health care was, as reported by his staff, an hour-and-a-half that consisted of 15 minutes of a narrator telling us how great Doyle was, followed by 15 minutes of talking points, followed by one or two questions being answered, and then the entire process starting over again. It's my understanding that more than 200 questions were queued up for the teleconference but only 20 were taken.
Additionally, numerous 14th District residents attempted to visit his Washington office but the closest they got to Doyle was his chief of staff.
Could it be that a little competition for his seat has Doyle pretending to listen between now and Nov. 2? Perhaps Zito could check to see how much input Doyle got from citizens before he voted "no" on an amendment to eliminate a pay raise for Congress and federal employees that would save taxpayers more than $30 billion.