Congressman Brian Baird, D-Vancouver, has issued an apology for his remarks equating the actions of some opponents to health care reform as “close to brownshirt” and has announced five town hall meetings to discuss the issue.

    Baird raised the ire of many constituents and political opponents last week when he told a reporter that he would not hold town hall meetings on health care due to the “lynch-mob” mentality of many of those attending similar events. He said he and others had received threats, and that the demonstrations were destructive to democracy.

    The remarks garnered demands for an apology, which Baird ultimately delivered in a four-page letter released by his staff Wednesday.

    “In the heat of the moment, I compared threats and disruptive tactics to ‘brownshirt’ tactics and a ‘lynch mob’ atmosphere,” he wrote. “At no point, did I compare opponents to health care reform to ‘Nazis,’ certainly I do not believe that to be the case. Nevertheless, my words were unfortunate and I regret them. I understand how people who have legitimate concerns about health care or other policies came to feel that I was speaking about them personally rather than about the specific tactic and rhetoric of a few. I also appreciate that any reference to ‘brownshirts’ or ‘Timothy McVeigh,’ on either side, left or right, is itself inflammatory and counterproductive. Again, I regret that and apologize for it.”

Baird made a comment comparing the behavior of some town hall protesters to McVeigh’s on the Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC.

    In the release, Baird said he will hold five town hall meetings on health care, and the events will be held at large venues. Speakers will be chosen via a random lottery performed by an independent observer, and will be held to three minutes at the podium, according to the release.

    Only one meeting has been scheduled thus far. It will be held in Clark County at the Skyview High School auditorium Tuesday from 7 to 9 p.m. The school is located at 1300 NW 139th Street in Vancouver.

    The four other locations are yet to be determined.

Reason for Remarks

    In the letter, Baird wrote that he never cancelled any meetings, and had always planned on holding only “telephone town halls” during the August recess. He said his comments were made after reading news of death threats and disruptions at other town halls across the country.

    Baird, who has held more than 300 town halls during his six terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, said civil discourse is important “but the word ‘civil’ matters.”

    “In using such derogatory and inflammatory references, I violated that principal myself and I will do my best to avoid that in the future,” Baird wrote. “My hope would be that just as I have had occasion to reconsider some of my own words, others will do the same and we can work together on all sides to restore civil dialogue and accurate discussion of facts.”

    Baird’s apology came Wednesday as both Republican and Democratic activist groups prepared to mobilize to attend an unannounced meeting in Longview where Baird and Washington Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell were set to hear recommendations from the Mount St. Helens Advisory Committee.

    That meeting, which was originally scheduled for 2 p.m. today, was cancelled due to safety concerns, according to a release from Baird’s office.

    Lewis County Commissioner Lee Grose, who serves on the committee, said the meeting was cancelled after Longview Police Department representatives expressed doubts that it could control the crowds.

    “We feel like they didn’t have a choice but to shut it down,” Grose said.

    Grose said he isn’t sure when the meeting will be rescheduled. The committee was expected to release its final recommendations for the future of the Mount St. Helens National Monument. Conservative and liberal groups were planning to force the health care issue at the meeting, according to numerous Web sites set up to organize demonstrations.

    Town halls focusing on health care reform have become the subject of debate and discussion in recent weeks. As legislators headed back to their districts for an August recess, sometimes raucous crowds have greeted them. Congress members have been shouted down and there have been scattered reports of scuffles and verbal altercations.

    Baird wrote in the letter that he still hasn’t decided whether or not he will vote in favor of health care reform proposed by President Barack Obama currently making its way through Congress. There are five versions of the bill in the House and Senate. None of them have been brought to a vote as Democratic leadership tweaks the measures and looks for the necessary votes to pass it.

    “What has been proposed has a number of merits but there are also legitimate questions,” Baird wrote. “In fact, I had sincerely hoped, and still do, that discussions during August will help everyone learn about how the bill as it stands now would affect the people and health care in our district.”

Baird, in His Own Words

Congressman Brian Baird, D-Wash., ignited an intense debate after a series of comments on health care reform opposition over the past two weeks. Baird has held more than 300 town hall meetings, but said the climate of similar health care meetings had reached a fever pitch. Below is a selection of his comments:

    “What we’re seeing right now is close to Brown Shirt tactics. I mean that very seriously.”

    “It’s a lynch-mob mentality out there. There is an ugliness to it.”

    — August 5, The Columbian

    “Some of the rhetoric we’re hearing is vaguely, not vaguely, but eerily reminiscent of the kind of things that drove Timothy McVeigh to bomb the federal building in Oklahoma.”

    — August 6, the Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC

    “I never, nor would I ever, say people who oppose this bill are Nazis. People are welcome to disagree with health care reform but they are not welcome to intimidate or threaten people’s lives.”

    — August 7, The Chronicle

    “I also appreciate that any reference to ‘brownshirts’ or ‘Timothy McVeigh,’ on either side, left or right, is itself inflammatory and counter-productive. Again, I regret that and apologize for it.”

    — Aug. 12, written letter from Baird