Democratic Members of Congress, through the Democratic Caucus New Media Working Group, will be participating in a Congressional Twitter Town Hall, Thursday (tomorrow), from noon-1 PM EST, and I wanted to personally invite you to join us. We’re taking questions with the #AskDems hashtag. You’ll be able to follow Democratic responses here.

We’re focusing on budget issues and spending priorities. Since we anticipate far more questions than we can possibly answer, we’re encouraging Twitter users to retweet the questions they’re most interested in seeing answered. Remember, if you don’t use the #AskDems hashtag, we won’t see it during the town hall.

The Twitter Town Hall is being ‘hosted’ by Rep. John Larson, chair of the House Democratic Caucus, Rep. Mike Honda, chair of the New Media Working Group, and me, Rep. John Garamendi. I’ll post a list of Members of Congress confirmed to participate on my Twitter feed soon. It would be great to see this community participate in the conversation.

We’re focused on the budget and job creation, because America’s highest priority is job creation. We are in the midst of a fragile recovery. Indeed, February was the twelfth straight month that the private sector job growth. According to nonpartisan estimates, over three million Americans are employed because of Democratic policies passed in the last two years, including the Recovery Act. These are good numbers, but far too many Americans are still out of work through no fault of their own.

Unfortunately, as we enter the tenth week of this 112th Congress, the Republican controlled House has not presented a single job creating bill. I’m a patient man and understand that with a caucus in disarray, House Republican leadership would be slow out of the gate to propose legislation that actually creates jobs and helps our economy grow.

Yet here we are, ten weeks into the new 112th Congress, and the two signature bills pushed through the House by the Republican Majority destroy 700,000 jobs and take away health care coverage from 33 million Americans respectively. That’s not what the American people sent us to Congress to accomplish. Ten weeks, zero jobs. Where are the jobs?

There are plenty of good ideas floating in Congress and across the country that would help more Americans secure the peace of mind and dignity that comes with having a good job. America is waiting for action by House Republican leadership. I, for one, am running out of patience. Millions of Americans facing skyrocketing credit card bills, mortgage and rent payments, school costs, and health expenses are running out of time. I hope you’ll join us tomorrow to talk about the jobs problem, and more importantly, the jobs solution.

In the days of Washington and Jefferson, Members of Congress had a difficult time reaching the people they represented. A horse and buggy ride from Washington, DC to most states in the union was quite the journey, and most Americans were lucky to have access to their Congressperson one month a year. From the railroad to the telegraph to commercial air travel to this blog, new technologies have made it easier for Members of Congress to reach the American people. On Tuesday, February 8th, at 9:15 PM EST/6:15 PM PST, I’m honored to continue in this tradition by becoming the first Member of Congress to host a live mobile video town hall – or as Josh Richman at the Oakland Tribune coined it, “Garamendi on the Go.”

‘Visible Vote’ is a free application for Facebook, the web, and smartphones (Apple iPhone, Google Android, and Blackberry). It connects you to the lawmakers that represent you and the lawmakers you want to follow. With this American-made technology, you can view live mobile video hosted by Members of Congress on your smartphone and ask questions in real time. With Visible Vote, you can also participate in public policy by voting on past and pending legislation, accessing and comparing your votes to your legislators’ records, and submitting your preferences and messages directly to our offices here in Washington. Information on how to set up Visible Vote is available at their get started page.

As a Member of Congress, I want to use the best and latest technologies to engage the residents of my district. Visible Vote’s innovative and free video town hall software will enable thousands of people to reach me with the tap of a touchscreen. In 2010, I hosted 15 in person and 10 telephone town halls. I host many events in the district, but logistics and travel time keep many of my constituents from attending. Visible Vote makes it easier than ever to attend a town hall.

With Visible Vote, Members of Congress can visit the public instead of the other way around. The cliché that you can participate from the convenience of your own home is incomplete, however, since you can participate from the convenience of any location with cell phone reception. I’m looking forward to being the first Member of Congress to take advantage of this exciting new technology, and you’re all invited to join us Tuesday as we debut what may be the most critical innovation in the Congressional town hall since central air.

When you read this story, I want you to do something.

I want you to substitute “left-wing” every time you see “right-wing.”  And I want you to substitute “Democrat” when you see the word “Republican.”

I then want you to ask yourself how quickly this story would be up every single right-wing media outlet in existence front and center for the next week until the Congressman in question were forced to issue a tearful apology, and the person who made the remark had a Bill O’Reilly producer permanently camped outside his house while freepers investigated his entire family tree for potential ties to Muslims.

According to the Redding Record Searchlight, an incident broke out at a town hall at Simpson University in Redding on Tuesday when Herger signaled encouragement to a 67-year-old town hall attendee, Bert Stead, who called himself a “proud right-wing terrorist.”

“Amen, God bless you,” Herger reportedly replied to the comment. “There is a great American.”

Attention right-wingers: THE PUBLIC ADVOCACY OF VIOLENCE BY CONSERVATIVE ACTIVISTS MUST END.  We had an election.  You lost it big.  That’s small-d democracy.  And if you are “afraid for your country” and all that other jazz, try winning an election with views and policy prescriptions that are popular with people.  Because otherwise, the country is what the voters make of it within the framework of the Constitution.

I’m sorry you have to wait until 2010.  But anything else would be fundamentally un-American, wouldn’t it?