Priceless: Rep. Brian Baird, D-Wash., has routinely held town hall meetings in his district throughout his five terms in Congress. This year he isn’t, reports The Columbian newspaper.

Instead of appearing in person, where “extremists” would have “the
chance to shout and make YouTube videos,” Baird said Wednesday, he’s
holding what he calls “telephone town halls” instead.

“What we’re seeing right now is close to
Brown Shirt tactics,” Baird, D-Vancouver, said in a phone interview. “I
mean that very seriously.”
Baird said
he’s using the new system because he fears his political opponents may
be planning “an ambush” to disrupt his meetings, using methods Baird
compared to Nazism.

Here’s the best part. (Maybe. The Brown Shirts reference was pretty good.) He’s not announcing when the telephone town halls will occur.

Here’s how it’ll work: if you happen to be sitting near a publicly
listed Clark County telephone line on the right day at the right time,
your phone will ring.

In order to avoid software problems, Baird’s office says, the exact date and time will be kept secret from the public.

If you answer your landline, an automated message will ask whether you have a question for your Congressman.

Press
*3, and you’ll be asked your location and the subject of your question.
Sitting at his own telephone at an as-yet-undisclosed location, Baird
then will choose a name based on its location and the topic.

There will be no further pre-screening, Baird said. After the call is over, the recording will be posted on his Web site.

Baird said the phone interviews will include “a much better cross-section of the public” than some live town halls.

Another Profile in Courage.