The Plain Dealer

 

U.S. Rep. Marcia Fudge carried on a cordial conversation with constituents on Saturday, telling them that "I want to hear from you," at a town hall meeting at Tri-C's Corporate College East.

 

The tone of the Democrat's meeting was in sharp contrast to recent town halls where Republican legislators have been lambasted by constituents, whether or not the public officials attended.

 

President Donald Trump became a virtual pinata for Fudge and her constituents  during the meeting that ran more than two hours, drawing an over-capacity crowd of more than 500.

 

Fudge said that while President Barack Obama was criticized by political opponents for issuing executive orders, "we have had one every day for 30 days" since Trump took office.

 

One attendee pointed out that Obama was also castigated for spending $8 million over the course of eight years for travel and lodging. Trump has spent $10 million already, the constituent said.

 

Healthcare was a significant topic because the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid and Medicare are under siege by the Republican-controlled government.

 

Fudge told the Democratic-majority town hall that being vocal and visible still counts, even if every branch of government is in GOP hands. She quoted the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., saying that "There comes a time when silence is betrayal."

 

Fudge told the crowd that some of Ohio's state legislators "are as bad as the people I work with. I won't say dumb as a box of rocks, but they are." She said both groups are recklessly forging ahead, taking actions that will have repercussions long after the public officials are out of office.

 

Fudge said repeal or reduction of ACA coverage will not just hurt the poor, "It will affect every single American."

 

She asked how many doctors and nurses were in attendance Saturday, and dozens in the crowd raised their hands or stood up.

 

School funding, gun violence and immigration also were hot topics.

 

An Iranian immigrant who has a master's degree in engineering and works in Solon said he "doesn't feel safe." He said his girlfriend, who is also a credentialed engineer, has been assaulted twice at a Walmart.

 

"What can you do in Congress, and what do you expect us to do in the meantime?" he asked.

 

Fudge said "we are all immigrants,'' and told the man "the next time you have a problem call me and I will come and stand by you."

 

She said she is trying to set up a meeting with Trump. One person in the audience told her to "make sure he brings Frederick Douglass," referring to recent remarks by Trump suggesting that he might not have known the 19th-century abolitionist died in 1895.