Rep. McMorris Rodgers will connect with constituents -- on the phone

Speaking at a Spokane Martin Luther King Day rally, U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers was greeted with chants of "liar" as she took the stage. It then broke into the "Save Our Health Care!" chant.U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., who has declined...

Rep. McMorris Rodgers will connect with constituents -- on the phone

Speaking at a Spokane Martin Luther King Day rally, U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers was greeted with chants of "liar" as she took the stage. It then broke into the "Save Our Health Care!" chant.

U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., who has declined to offer  face time to her Eastern Washington constituents, has scheduled a "telephone town hall" at 7 p.m. on Monday night.

McMorris Rodgers, a member of the House Republican leadership, posted notice Sunday on her campaign Facebook page. The event, she wrote, is "geared towards addressing issues and questions from people round the district."

She asked for first and last names, email addresses, phone numbers and full addresses, to be submitted before call information would be emailed.

Known for keeping tight control on district events and accessibility, McMorris Rodgers has found herself under unaccustomed fire from the home front.

She was greeted with chants of "Save Our Health Care!" at a Martin Luther King Day rally in Spokane. Demonstrators showed up at her Spokane office earlier this month. A rally, keyed to preserving the Affordable Care Act, is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Thursday.

The face-the-telephone town meeting is unlikely to quell calls for direct face time and dialogue with critics.

"This is pathetic: Face your constituents, cowards," Sam Mace, an Eastern Washington leader of Save Our Wild Salmon, posted in response to McMorris Rodgers' announcement.

Chants of "Save Our Health Care" greeted Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., when she appeared at a Martin Luther King Day event in Spokane.  With constituents calling for face time, McMorris Rodgers has hastily announced a "telephone town hall" for 7 p.m. Monday..

Chants of "Save Our Health Care" greeted Rep. Cathy McMorris...

Controversies swirling around President Trump, from his refugee travel crackdown to Trump campaign contacts with the Russians, have caused a blow back in the districts of Republican House members.

House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz, far less interested in Trump scandals than he was in Hillary Clinton emails, was confronted by a hostile crowd of 1,000 back home in Utah.  The crowd took up the chant: "Do your job."

As chair of the House Republican Conference -- which oversees "talking points" for Republicans' visits back home -- McMorris Rodgers has reacted with alarm. In 2009, it was Republicans who were demanding that Democratic colleagues face right-wing Tea Party activists.

McMorris Rodgers called in "the Sheriff," U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert, R-Wash., earlier this month for advice on security measures to take in the face of rowdy citizens. Reichert advised such steps as having an exit readily available. Reichert is a former King County Sheriff.

"The Sheriff" himself has grown a little gun shy. Reichert has eschewed open town meetings in recent years. He will hold a "Facebook town meeting" at 1 p.m. on February 23rd, moderated by KCTS anchor Enrique Cerna.

The state's Democratic House members are doing in-person town halls.

U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer will hold a town call in Tacoma's Lincoln High School at 5:30 Tuesday, followed by a similar event Wednesday at the Admiral Theater in Bremerton.  He will hold meetings across the Olympic Peninsula next week.

Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., will meet with constituents at 10 a.m., on Saturday, March 4, at the Rainier Arts Center.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., announced Sunday that she will hold a March 6 town hall, likely in Town Hall Seattle.

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