Matheson says phone meetings have drawn 100,000

"Telephone town hall meetings" may be blasted by those who want to see their congressman face-to-face, but Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, says 100,000 Utahns have participated in the 21 such telephone meetings he's held so far this year.

"Hearing from Utahns has always been a top priority for me in this job," he said in announcing Friday that he went over the 100,000-person mark. In contrast, he said old-fashioned town hall meetings would attract only a few dozen people at a time.

But this summer when health care reform debate was hot, some groups nationally complained that he and others were ducking face-to-face confrontation with voters who may not like their stands. One group of about 150 people organized to take a town hall meeting to Matheson with a protest on his route to a fundraising dinner.

Matheson said he actually quit holding traditional town hall meetings about two years ago because of low attendance. He said phone meetings allow him to dial to thousands of homes, let them decide whether to listen and how long, and ask questions.

"It makes me a better representative," he said. "It's also a way for me to learn about the good ideas that my constituents have about solving problems."

Reps. Jason Chaffetz and Rob Bishop, both R-Utah, are the only members of the Utah delegation who continue to hold traditional town hall meetings. Sens. Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett, R-Utah, like Matheson, also no longer hold them.

Chaffetz has criticized those who don't have the traditional meetings. He said earlier this year, "I think you need to be able to stand the heat in the kitchen. … I stand up to the microphone and answer the hard questions. I think that's what it's all about."

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