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Public service can get a little messy when you actually have to answer to the public. U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris had a chance to learn that lesson, once again, at a recent town meeting in Bradenton.
Hundreds of people showed up last week to get answers from Harris on topics ranging from Medicare and the conflict in Iraq to phosphate mining and veterans benefits. The patrician Harris had other ideas. She delayed opening the floor to those in attendance until near the end of the meeting, and then insisted that all questions be asked before she provided any answers. That way, Harris wouldn't be pressed by any embarrassing follow-up questions or be forced to stray from her script.
The immediate reaction was anger and a chorus of boos. "We want our answers now," shouted a man in the crowd.
Harris wouldn't relent, and she imposed other arbitrary rules on those in attendance. Some retirees came prepared with a flier that analyzed Medicare prescription drug bills pending in Congress and another that showed Harris' voting record, reported the Bradenton Herald. Those entering the meeting hall were forced to leave the literature outside. Harris staffer Connie McKee came up with this explanation: Ethics laws prohibit the distribution of political information at a town meeting.
So what did Harris do? She handed out her own fliers, on the president's economic plan and Medicare reform. The rules, even if they're apparently made up by her staff, don't apply to Harris.
We've seen this act before. At the center of controversy during Florida's 2000 presidential election debacle, then Secretary of State Harris would make pronouncements, then leave it to subordinates to clean up the messy details.
We are left to wonder if Harris is uninformed on the responsibilities of public office, or just disdainful of them.