The Countdown Continues… Vitter Calls On Melancon To Listen To Voters During Town Halls

Monday, 16 November 2009 13:58

In the News

WASHINGTON – After completing his 60^th town hall meeting in 2009 alone, U.S. Senator David Vitter (R-LA) called on Democrat Senate hopeful U.S. Representative Charlie Melancon (D-LA) to hold similar events in his home state in order to hear the comments and concerns of people across Louisiana.

Unfortunately, Melancon has refused to hold a town hall meeting in more than 171 days, while Vitter has conducted more than 190 town hall meetings since being elected to the U.S. Senate. In light of his refusal, the Vitter campaign launched a countdown clock to help track the number of days since Melancon held a town hall meeting.

In April 2009, the Daily Iberian reported that, “Melancon ‘took a beating’ from a crowd of fiery residents” in his home District “as he defended his recent voting record on several bills in Congress including the economic stimulus package, corporate bailouts and the federal budget.”

Just this year, Melancon has voted for President Obama’s $787 billion “stimulus” bill, supported the President’s bloated budget, and voted with Speaker Nancy Pelosi more than 91 percent of the time in Washington.

All the while, Louisiana’s unemployment rate continues to rise.

“Clearly, Charlie Melancon has mastered the D.C. double-speak as he tries to cast himself as a Blue Dog at home while voting like a lap dog for Nancy Pelosi and President Obama more than 91 percent of the time in Washington,” said National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) spokeswoman Amber Wilkerson Marchand.

“As he seeks a promotion to the United States Senate, Melancon has refused to listen to the concerns and questions from voters in this state for more than 171 days. Instead of continuing to cater to Pelosi and Obama, Melancon needs to reset his priorities and start putting the people of Louisiana before the politics in Washington,” Marchand concluded.