take19 - TAKEN!!!

We couldn't help but notice during a recent trip to Hawaii the large ad in the local newspaper encouraging people to come meet Congressman Ed Case and share their stories with him. It even had a kitschy-sounding name: Talk Story, which seemed downright sentimental, hearkening back to a time when members of Congress did more than hold fundraisers from dusk to dawn. We had no idea whether Case was a Republican or a Democrat, but the idea seemed absolutely intriguing. Imagine a Congressman who actually encouraged his constituents to get in contact with him! One who even provided his direct email address in the ad instead of the ridiculous filter that Sue Kelly has set up to respond to constituents.

When we got back home and spent a few minutes on Google, we realized that Case, a Democrat who represents Hawaii's second district, has a pretty aggressive schedule for these meetings. Which made us wonder -- yet again -- why it's next to impossible for ordinary people to get in contact with Sue Kelly. Do we really need to fork over a big fat check or swear undying loyalty to the Republican party to get some love from Sue? Why can't she hold Talk Story meetings -- or whatever other name she wants to use -- across the 19th district? Why doesn't she provide constituents with a direct email address like Ed Case does? After all, according to this site, she has a "government-issued BlackBerry", which needless to say, we're all footing the bill for.

We're betting that Case is far from the only one doing this sort of thing. So if you happen to find other examples, please post them in the comments section, particularly if they involve New York Reps. After all, don't the people in New York's 19th deserve the same opportunity to talk to their elected officials as the people in Hawaii have?