Saturday, May 21, 2011

No Camera’s or Recording Devices at Town Hall Meetings? Can’t take the heat?

I wondered when we would see the day Republicans would start banning recording equipment at their town halls, so concerned citizens couldn't post their own words as "evidence" against them, on the web. What are they’re trying to hide from those who couldn’t make it?



But it’s the logical next step isn’t it, when many Republican candidates avoided the mainstream media and listening sessions, to avoid giving too much information about themselves and their plans once in office.  Think Progress:
citizen journalists have attended town halls and reported about them online, allowing others who couldn’t attend in person to see the event.

However, some congressmen are concerned about what could happen if citizen journalists repost their town halls on the Internet. At least two members of Congress have taken extraordinary measures to shut down the spread of information.

ThinkProgress readers passed along the following photos, taken outside town halls held by Rep. Lou Barletta (R-PA) and Rep. Joe Heck (R-NV). Barletta specifically barred citizen journalists and other non-credentialed media from recording the event, while Heck took a more encompassing approach of “no recording devices” at all.

When Republicans won back the House in 2010, one of their central promises was “to make Congress more transparent.” However, when it comes to their own congressional events, the same standard apparently does not apply.

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