How Different Would Congress Act if They Had to Regularly Interact With Voters?

Charlotte Hays makes a good point at The Corner:

Nancy Pelosi would be foolish to try to fly commercial now, given that outraged citizens might want to accost the speaker (only verbally, one hopes) in airports across the land. But could the predicament in which we find ourselves have been prevented by simply forcing our employees in Washington to fly commercial?

An article in today’s Washington Post reports that in the wake of the passage of the hated health-care bill, threats against members of Congress have risen threefold. I don’t condone this, of course, but I can’t help wondering: What if our legislators had known in advance of that dastardly vote that that they would have to rub elbows with us? What if (heaven forfend!) Nancy Pelosi had to sit next to one of us on an airplane? Call me crazy, but I think a lot of what ails America could have been prevented if we had refused to pamper Congress. As Marie Antoinette might have said, Let Them Fly Commercial. This should be part of any new Contract with America.

Never underestimate the political value of fear and intimidation. If members of congress knew that they would be meeting the voters they regularly betray face-to-face (and not just their hand-picked town hall crowds) I would have to believe they wouldn't be so quick to enact laws that those voters detest.

While threats of harm are clearly out-of-bounds, I'm all for vigorously informing your nearest Democrat what you think of their plans to turn America into a socialist European wannabe.