I attended a town hall meeting with Tim Bishop in Hampton Bays on August 17th, the video of my question to him is below, and below that is a letter I sent him after that meeting.

From: Christopher C. Cantwell [mailto:mypersonalemailaddress]
Sent: Tuesday, August 18, 2009 2:11 AM
To: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Subject: I attended your 8/17 meeting in Hampton Bays

Mr. Bishop,

So you know who I am, I asked the first question at the meeting tonight (10^th Amendment), and thanked you at the end for sponsoring 1207.

I want to thank you again for holding this event, I know it took some courage on your part, seeing all that is going on in this country and in your district. Some have said you once “needed a police escort” to protect you from the groups who are protesting, I want you to know that you have absolutely nothing to fear (in terms of violence or vandalism) from us, I am a very active member in the groups who are attacking the public option and HR2454, I know these people, we seek peaceful solutions and talk of violence is unacceptable within our ranks. Additionally, the outrage and outbursts taking place at town hall meetings are truly genuine and spontaneous, our leaders discourage disrupting open debate.

Are we organized? Of course! You don’t get hundreds of people in one place without some organization, we all know that but we are organized locally with no central management nationally. If you are not already aware, your opposition is primarily made up of 4 groups (that I am aware of), The Libertarian Party, Campaign for Liberty, Conservative Society for Action, and The 9/12 Movement (in no particular order). Most of us have had it with the Republicans as much as we have had it with the Democrats. None of us receive a single dollar from an insurance company, a pharmaceutical company, or for that matter any publicly traded company that I am aware of. We have optional monthly member dues, we pass a hat around at meetings and sometimes do a 50/50 raffle, these sorts of things. We are the constituents of you, and of Steve Israel for the most part, not people who are bussed in from other areas. The only busses our members will be boarding are those to take us to Washington DC on September 12^th, and the ones some members use for public transportation if they don’t have a car. We are taking off of work and losing money often to do these things, and we do so because we truly believe Washington is acting dangerously, and outside their Constitutional Authority.

These are valid concerns, I really hope you truly recognize these facts, and I would request that you make a public statement that you do in fact recognize such. One of your most essential roles as our representative should be to support our God Given Rights guaranteed to us by the First Amendment.

I support the principles of your ideas on immigration, the idea of deporting every illegal immigrant is ridiculous, Congress has the Constitutional Authority to make immigration laws, your comment about the Constitutional issues surrounding the “Anchor Baby” are 100% correct, and I can tell that you are truly speaking from the heart on this issue. The Folks appreciate that, even the ones who disagree with the policy itself.

When you spoke of Abortion, I could also tell that you truly believed what you told us. I can tell that you do not take your positions on the subject lightly. On the subject of Partial Birth Abortion, I also support a ban with the exception of grave danger to the life of the mother. My heart tells me all abortion with that exception should be illegal, but I certainly respect the political opinion of those who wish to keep first trimester abortions legal, even though nothing in the Constitution (except perhaps the 9^th Amendment) protects such a right. I do however oppose in the strongest possible terms, any tax dollars being spent on such things. The people have the right to demand that their money not be spent on such provocative things. Government funding of Abortion screams population control and I wish you would recognize that our tax dollars should not be spent on such things.

That said, I still don’t believe a word you say on the Health Care Reform Debate, or Cap & Trade, and I think your view of the Constitution is tantamount to treason.

But you did manage to convince me, that you are at least trying to do what you think is right, and even though I am sure you are completely wrong, you did gain some respect from me tonight that I am relaying to my friends in the movements I am involved in.

In Closing, Thank you Congressman Bishop. Making yourself accountable to your Constituents is one of your primary responsibilities, you did that tonight, and you deserve some respect for that.