Facing pressure, Cravaack agrees to Duluth town hall

Chip Cravaack (Official portrait)

Rep. Chip Cravaack (R-MN) had refused to hold an open town hall in or near Duluth, the largest city in his district, going there instead for events like one costing $10 a head for the National Federation of Independent Businesses (meaning you not only had to have $10 lying around, you had to be willing to give it to the NFIB). But sometimes, pressure works:

U.S. Rep. Chip Cravaack will hold a hastily called town hall forum at Duluth International Airport this afternoon.

The event, set for 4 p.m. in the second-floor Skyline Room of the main terminal, was confirmed Tuesday afternoon by Cravaack?s staff and appears to be in response to opponents? complaints that the freshman Republican congressman was dodging DFL-dominated Duluth.

In fact, Cravaack emerged from the National Federation of Independent Businesses event and said, directly to protesters, "You guys want a town hall? Be at the airport tomorrow at 4 o?clock."

Allegedly space just happened to open up in his schedule at the last minute; the protesters and bad press he'd been getting for avoiding Duluth had nothing to do with the decision. And he's still making it less than convenient for people:

"For the [NFIB] meeting at Grandma?s (Tuesday) people got a month?s notice. But Cravaack gave 28 hours notice for a public town hall, held during the workday," said Zach Sias, a Duluth resident, in a statement from the North East Area Labor Council. "While he is agreeing to finally meet with constituents, he is making it as difficult as possible."

Additionally, there's no free parking at the airport; people will have to use the short-term lot. Nonetheless, it's a significant victory for protesters and for anyone in Duluth who might want their congressman to listen to what they have to say. Or even for those who won't be able to make it to the airport on a weekday afternoon at a day's notice, but will at least be able to see news reports of what he said when pressed by his constituents for answers on jobs and unemployment.

Source: http://feeds.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/zFO654LcJOE/-Facing-pressure,-Cravaack-agrees-to-Duluth-town-hall

michigan senate florida political polls ohio representatives and senators senate gov