U.S. Rep. Steve Southland faced a restless group of constituents Monday at a town hall-style meeting in Bay County; many in the audience were upset at the way the Congressman handled the federal government shutdown.
According to Addie Hampton of WMBB.com, the raised voices and heated tempers brought concerns that the event in the Bay County Government Center represented the national dissatisfaction with Congress — specifically the Republicans who supported the shutdown.
“Stupid, white, fool-headed people,” one woman called out from the audience.
As Southerland listened to resident complaints, he defended his vote on the country’s debt, saying he had a compelling reason to vote against the Affordable Care Act.
“I think it fulfilled my promise that I would do everything I could to protect constituents from a bad law,” Southerland said.
“I’m optimistic that our budget committees in the house and the senate are going to work together to find the proper framework to address our biggest underlying issue and that is our spending,” he added.
Southerland is confident that Congress can reach a compromise, Hampton reports since another $24 billion shutdown would be a reminder that something needs to be done.
