Congressman Chuck Edwards (R-NC11), had the guts to come out and face his constituents last night. He learned that’s not enough to get our approval.

Thanks for coming out, Chuck. I really do appreciate you coming, facing us and talking to us.

Not all of us behaved well, but the more I think about it, the more I get it. I have decided that as long as you are civil to me, I will be civil to you. After all, Mark Meadows sneered at me and told me he wasn’t interested in anything I had to say, turned on his heel and left.

I sat and listened to you and didn’t try to shout you down. That does not mean I approve of your stands on pretty much anything except Ukraine, if indeed you are as willing to support Ukraine as you said.

I disagree that Elon Musk is a “very smart man,” or that he’s doing “necessary work” allowing his incel tech bros to go wading through my personal data.

I disagree that these cuts are necessary, even though you read from an already debunked list of crazy expenditures (they sound crazy because they’re not true for the most part — you know, like the millions in Social Security benefits being paid out to 150-year-olds).

On on the subject of Social Security, two more things: Number one, Social Securoty can be kept solvent by raising the income cap on the Social Security tax and making the wealthy pay their share, and two, when you promised that benefits won’t be cut for anyone receiving them already, that tells me you’re going to screw our children and grandchildren, which to me is no more acceptable than screwing me over.

Social Security adds nothing to the debt. I paid for these benefits, as do my son and his children and their spouses. We deserve to collect, period.

Let me also issue a warning on Medicare and Medicaid while we’re on the subject. You know my son died 17 years ago because he couldn’t access care. I do consider that murder, since doctors decided they wouldn’t treat him, even though they knew he would die without treatment. And tens of thousands of Americans die from the same cause every year. That’s murder on a massive scale, and cutting Medicaid or privatizing Medicare will not save a single life. It will, in fact, cause more innocent people to die.

And yes, it is the government’s job to regulate things to protect its citizens.

Also, you’ll want to choose a bigger venue than last night’s auditorium. Only about 300 people got in, which is just over 10 percent of the crowd that showed up. I understand you might not have expected between 2,000 and 3,000 people. And you might have expected more supporters (I didn’t see anyone holding up a pro-Republican sign), but you had to expect that more than 300 people would show up (the auditorium holds 340, but at least 40 seats were roped off for media and staff). I showed up three hours early and I was not the first one there. I knew it was going to be an overflow crowd and I wanted to be sure I got in.

Yes, the crowd was angry at what’s happening and at your votes supporting so much of it. No one gave the “president” a line-item veto. He canot defund things Congress has funded because under the US Constitution, he doesn’t control the purse strings — you do, and you have no business handing that duty over to the “president” or to his unelected overgrown adolescent sidekick.

On education, I understand the Department of Education isn’t specified in the Constitution, but it’s necessary to ensure an equal education for all Americans. It’s far from perfect, but it needs to be improved, not shut dowm because too many parents are not the best judge of what theit children need to know in a competetive and challenging world. One key thing fascists need to succeed is an uneducated populace, and that’s what the aim is here.

A lot of the people who did get into the auditorium were rude and that pissed me off a little. I actually wanted to hear what you had to say, since the last time we met, you spent almost an hour listening to me and the people who were with me. But I also understand why people shouted over you. You are, after all, one of very few Republicans willing to face your constituents. So, you have to understand that you’re getting all the vitriol because you’re the only one willing to speak to us.

That vitriol is not undeserved, by the way. Your willingness to face us does NOT give you a pass to help a fascist unravel our Democracy. You did a good job keeping us informed and advocating for us after Helene, but now you’re allowing benefits to be slashed for veterans, children, people with disabilities and others who need your help.

I’m glad you came out to talk to us. I really am. But you also need to listen. You need to heed the warnings that were issued last night. We will not sit by and let you and others destroy this country. We will fight. The rude behavior from the crowd may have been annoying, but we the people are just getting started.

You need to listen. You need to heed the warnings.