Members of Congress have a general duty, and a strong incentive, to enact policies that align with the ideologies and priorities of their states and districts. However, they often have access to additional information with which to make policy judgments. To enable Members of Congress to balance constituent input and their own policy judgments, and to effectively communicate and gain support for their policy decisions, many Members conduct town hall-style meetings with constituents. Traditionally, these interactions take place in person with the Member meeting directly with constituents to both communicate with them what is happening in Washington and to get feedback from those they represent. While most Members still conduct these in-person town meetings during breaks in the legislative calendar, technology now allows them to conduct similar sessions online and by telephone. These additional tools allow Members to engage much larger and more diverse groups than can attend a physical meeting and give them the opportunity to remain in touch even while they are in Washington.

While Members have a responsibility and an opportunity to conduct these types of direct interactions with constituents, there has been an alarming increase in incivility and dissatisfaction on the part of both Members and citizens. Sessions that should ideally be a deliberative exchange of views and ideas have devolved into shouting matches between different factions. In fact, even before the August 2009 healthcare town hall meetings, there was growing dissatisfaction with these types of exchanges. Citizens have grown frustrated feeling their views are not being heeded, and Members feel it is increasingly difficult to get a sense of what the majority of their constituents think. We have seen recent examples of town hall meetings targeted by busloads of non-constituents with a goal of disrupting the meeting.

Protests have a legitimate place in our system of government, but they should not stifle all other forms of communication. For town hall meetings to be effective and deliberative - defined as the discussion and consideration of all sides of an issue - citizens need to be able to hear each other and the Member. Likewise, Members of Congress need the opportunity to explain their own policy positions in a face-to-face venue and to hear feedback from as broad and representative a group of their constituents as possible.