First, in a big district like Shorewood, where 60 people may show up, he allocates only two hours for all to speak. Time is short, he says, so make it fast.

Forget that a lobbyist can get an hour one-on-one with him in his private office, even a whole day if he buys him and his wife an airplane ticket to Lichtenstein, as was recently done.

For 60 "nobodies," though, time is short.

And I should have realized it up front -- in Sensenbrenner's meetings the filibuster is not limited to the senate. You ask a 1-minute question and he spends five minutes expounding on an answer -- even if it is mostly unrelated to the question. I complained how campaign contributions got the immigration mess to where it is today and he spent the next 5-minutes bragging about his immigration bill. Another question and the same thing. Then he called me on time.

Forget that HE used all of my time explaining his position!

So here’s a hint. If you speak at Jim’s meetings, let him know that your questions will be short and to the point; and you'd appreciate that his answers were the same. Equal time is all you are asking for. I didn’t do that, but the next time I will. Also, don't go first, especially now. Let him spout his immigration heroics using someone else's time.

One constituent connected the money Jim has personally invested in the drug industry with his vote for the Medicare drug bill (which gave drug companies a $750 billion windfall over the next decade). Jim is good at this. He said “you can’t expect congressmen not to participate in the market!” Yes, we can. They can participate in the market via a true blind trust which would avoid these conflicts of interest. He can then vote on laws while not knowing if he owns stock in the industry affected. He opposed a bill by Bernie Sanders (R-VT) requiring blind trusts.

Jeanne Nakamoto (of Grassroots North Shore www.grassrootsnorthshore.org ) asked him about his record of having taken the most special-interest-paid trips than any other member in congress. That’s okay, Jim says, because then the taxpayers don’t pay the bill. That's what he said to me when I publicly challenged him on a paid-trip to China.

But the taxpayers do pay, and they pay dearly. Probably a hundred times more than the original ticket price, and we pay it in the form of government graft to the special interests who bought the ticket.

I must say, though, Jim was quite civil to his adversaries. Didn't tell any of them to shut up and sit down this time, and I don't think his kind demeanor had anything to do with Les Nakamoto's video-taping of the session (wink, wink).

Also, Sensenbrenner likes to boast when he has voted against a bill backed by the Republicans, but understand his strategies. He will only oppose Republican bills when he can grandstand and his vote is not needed for passage. He did that on the highway bill when his was one of only eight (out of 435) and he knew the outrageously expensive bill would pass handily. So he presented as a hero. He first railed against CAFTA because it would cost American jobs; but then he voted for it because his was one of two votes moving it to the win column for Bush. You may not like him, but he is no dummy.

(Sensenbrenner's next town hall meeting is Monday, May 1, West Allis Libraqry at 7:00pm. See complete posting at: http://www.house.gov/sensenbrenner/townhall_meetings.htm)