Republicans Only Welcome

Dean slams Bush on town-hall meetings
By Jonathan Kaplan

Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean said yesterday that President Bush’s policy of excluding non-Republicans from town-hall meetings on Social Security reform was “not an American thing to do.”

Patrick g. Ryan DNC Chairman Howard Dean met yesterday with House Democrats.

Dean spoke at the House Democrats’ weekly meeting for 15 minutes and took questions from lawmakers, according to several sources inside the well-attended closed-door gathering. He made the comments about the town-hall meetings at a press conference after the closed-door session. At the press conference, House Democratic leaders said they were most exercised about Bush’s town-hall meetings, which are open only to Republican voters and party activists. “We continue to hold hundreds of town-hall meetings that are open to all Americans. … We have honest discussions,” said Rep. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), criticizing Bush’s most recent event, last Friday in Westfield, N.J., which was open only to Republicans. MORE