Town Hall Season Is Here! Sen. McCain To Tea Partier On ‘Hobbit’ Quip: ‘I Am Not Sorry’

Congress has been out of session for little more than a week, but it’s never too early for boisterous Town Hall meetings where constituents get a chance to lash out at their representatives for their perceived incompetence. First up this year is Sen. John McCain, who confronted an enraged (but polite) Tea Party member who demanded an apology for the Senator having mocked her movement on the Senate floor during the debt debate. “I am not sorry for what I said,” the Senator replied dryly.

The town hall meeting occurred yesterday in Gilbert, Arizona, where local reports describe the crowd as frustrated and upset at Congress in general. Sen. McCain fielded many questions on the economy, but it was a Tea Party supporter’s demand for an apology that got the boldest answer from the Senator. “I’m just asking you for a simple apology,” the woman stated, though Sen. McCain replied only, “I’m sorry if it was misunderstood– I am not sorry for what I said.” Asked repeatedly to apologize, Sen. McCain continued to retort “Why should I when it’s the facts?” While not audible on video, a report from the East Valley Tribune notes that he gave a longer explanation for why he wouldn’t apologize:

McCain continued: “There was no way that a balanced-budget amendment would have passed the Senate. If anyone said that it could, they were not being truthful. Hobbits are not real, and the point is that it was not real. You should not deceive people and say that something like a balanced-budget amendment could happen… It’s not my fault that it was misunderstood. I’m sorry that it was misunderstood.”

The Tribune reports there were also a number of rowdy moments that didn’t make it on film: “You are so out of touch, dude!” one audience member apparently yelled out, while another kept asking “Where’s our fence?” Given the disastrous state of the economy and what appears for now to be a stock market freefall in light of the S&P downgrade, expect this to be the first of many heated encounters between members of Congress and their constituents.

A report on Sen. McCain’s town hall via KTVK 3TV Arizona below: