The last few weeks there has been a lot of debate and discussion over the town hall meetings and the disruptions of those meetings by those upset over the health care proposals. I certainly agree with Joe that both sides need to lighten up a little bit. I’m a big fan of free speech but I do think that some of the protesters have gone a little bit overboard in their efforts to disrupt these events.

At the same time however, I think it is worth remembering why some of these protests have come up. In many cases things started out with citizens simply going to the town hall meetings to ask their member of Congress about the plan only to find the response less than sufficient. In some cases members outright refused to even hear questions on the topic (unless they were pro reform) and we are now even hearing about invitation only town halls.

This is certainly not what I have in mind when I think of my member of Congress being available to me when I have concerns about what they are doing in Washington. Whether you support the Obama plan or oppose it the fact remains that we are talking about a huge change to our economy and our daily lives and that warrants questions.

I find it particularly hypocritical that many of those on the left who cheered on pretty much any form of protest against the past administration now seem to think that no questions should be allowed. This is hardly the kind of democracy that we expect in our country.

I think if members of Congress are willing to answer questions then the protests and disruptions need to stop. On the other hand if you ask the questions politely and the member refuses to answer then I do think some form of protest is warranted.