Hardball Time? A Tale of Two Town Hall Approaches

By Evan at August 7th, 2009.

If you’ve been following the Washington State Congressional delegation on recess, you might have noticed things got a little bizarre today.

Brian Baird suddenly took a sharp turn to the left, and adopted the same tack as Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, going on the attack against critics of health care reform.  Baird compared critics’ tactics at town halls as similar to the “Brown Shirts.”

The response to his new plan of attack, as you might guess, has spanned from ridicule to indignation.

Commentary at the Seattle Post Globe, however, reveals a key part of the story the mainstream media has so far overlooked:

The national health care debate is setting up an interesting compare-and-contrast back home concerning the strategies of neighboring congressional Democratic Reps. Adam Smith (Tacoma) and Brian Baird (Vancouver). Smith is making himself available to constituents, whereas Baird is canceling his town hall meetings.

Smith’s approach, as he was quick to point out in an article by Les Blumenthal, differs sharply from his Democratic colleague Baird.  In fact, a critical look at their statements show the two contradict each other on nearly every point.

Smith is willing to take the heat at town halls, though he’s apparently dreading the thought - as evidenced by putting the task off until the end of the recess (August 25 at Lakewood City Hall).

So how to explain first, Baird’s suddenly more partisan approach, and second, the divide between Baird and Smith (or Larsen, who’s also slogging ahead with town halls)?

Here’s one thought: Baird likely already had his mind made up on how he was going to vote on ObamaCare before he left for recess.  The bill is written, and his deals have been made.

Unlike Larsen and Smith, Baird has been vocal in his support for a “public option,” as reported by The Olympian last week. Why take more heat than it’s worth when his mind is already made up?  Furthermore, Baird’s adoption of a page from the Pelosi playbook, was likely done with exactly the media in his sights, believing it would give him political cover.

Instead, the dividends of the new play appear to be nil.  In fact, some might say it has backfired, horribly, and made him a perfect poster child for critics who charge he is unresponsive and out of touch.  But, as the strange evolution of this story has demonstrated, it’s anyone’s guess what the next volley will hold.

Tags: Adam Smith, Brian Baird, featured, Health Care, Jay Inslee, Town Halls

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