Congressman Brad Miller met with local bloggers last night in Greensboro, NC. Some of the people attending have already posted on their own individual sites their views and photos from the meeting. I’ll post a couple of quotes from their sites and mine, but I recommend going to the sites so you can see all the pictures!
Greensboro101:
The evening was informal and Miller was very gracious with his time and willing to engage in candid conversations on a wide variety of issues.
I'm the redhead in the second picture!
Waiting for Vizzini:
So Brad is here he's talking substanantive policy and he's talking blogging. Brad and I got into it over his PATRIOT ACT vote and why he has not yet filed an ethics complaint.
Juan talked to Brad for a really long time and asked some really great questions. I was actually surprised by Brad’s support for the Patriot Act, but his explanation made sense, even if I still disagree with him.
EdCone.com:
people tossed out a lot of ideas about using the web to the Congressman and his campaign manager, PJ Puryear. If half of the ideas are any good, and if Miller can figure out which half, then I guess it was worth his time...
The Blogging Poet:
I found Congressman Miller to be knowledgeable, informed, and in touch with the needs of the working class of North Carolina and the rest of the nation. He was easy to talk to and listened to what others had to say. (Talk about a breath of fresh air.)
We didn't have time to talk about every issue and I can’t speak for the Congressman, but I’ve no doubt he has the concerns of the working class on his mind. As a matter of fact: we talked about the very issues that the working poor of America face every day and I’ve no doubt Congressman Miller wants to do something about those things.
I agree. I was impressed with the depth of his knowledge about the issues. Everyone wanted to talk about their pet issues, even me, and he answered all our questions easily and thoroughly.
Matt Hill:
I did take the time, however, to take advantage of the opportunity to ask Congressman Miller and PJ Puryear about the Congressman's stance on various LGBT issues.
Here is the run-down:
• On Marriage Equality, the Congressman stated that he felt as though it was “inevitable” and that my generation and the generation after mine are more likely to approve of it and make it legal. Of course, he gave a great political answer to this one, as he didn’t state either way on whether or not he personally supported it.
• On civil unions and domestic partnerships, the Congressman is pretty much in support. He stated as though he felt same-sex couples should have some legal recognition to their relationships.
• The Congressman and I also discussed his support and co-sponsorship of HR 1059 (The Military Readiness Enhancement Act, which would repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”) and HR 3006 (The Permanent Partners Act, which would grant same-sex, bi-national couples the same immigration and visa statuses of straight, bi-national couples). I asked the Congressman if other members of the North Carolina Congressional Delegation might be willing to co-sponsor and to this the Congressman had no clear answer; he was only able to state those who he thought might be pursuaded to support the bills. He also stated that it was the HRC which helped to convince him in supporting the bills. Congressman Miller is the only member of the NC Congressional Delegation to be a co-sponsor of HR 1059 and HR 3006.
And of course, my blog, Keeping Reality In Sight:
All in all, I was very impressed. He was very easy to talk to, when I finally got a chance to talk to him. Both he and PJ made even me, Mrs. Nervous, feel comfortable.
I hope you take the time to fully read all of these and check out the pictures. For those of you who missed the meeting, I'm hoping that Brad and PJ can find time for another one.