Democratic Congressman Rick Boucher, who represents the Ninth District in southwestern Virginia, has come under fire recently for his support of the cap-and-trade bill (see Boucher Responds To Carbon Tax Critics).  The letters-to-the-editors columns in the local papers have been burning up with criticisms, along with a smattering of support.  Recently Boucher voted “no” on the current House version of the Obamacare bill, however, and he has scheduled a “town hall meeting” later this month to take some constituent input on the matter.

From the Chicago Trib:

Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., is in a tough spot when it comes to overhauling the nation’s health care system.  Major hospitals in his largely rural district have told him the bill pending in the House would cripple them financially. But Boucher also believes that the need for change is painfully obvious: When a free medical clinic was offered in a remote area in his district, some 2,700 people showed up.

“It put an exclamation point on the fact that we have 47 million uninsured Americans,” said Boucher, who was one of five Democrats to vote against the bill when the House Energy and Commerce Committee approved it Friday night, setting the stage for a House vote in the fall.

“But there are clear practical problems for rural areas,” he said. “This is not about philosophy. It’s about the survival of hospitals.”

Well, sure it is . . . but the cap-and-tax bill was all about the survival of the coal industry, and Boucher (as many of his constituents see it) sold out the industry for some earmarks.

Perhaps to put pressure on Boucher, President Obama recently had one of his well-orchestrated “town hall” meetings in Bristol, Virginia. See Obama’s Town Hall Scam.  Outside the worshipers-only conclave, some 200 protesters expressed their own viewpoints.  President Met With Protests In Virginia.

Boucher has scheduled a “Public Town Meeting on Health Care Reform” for Thursday, August 20, 2009, beginning at 9:00 AM at the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center in Abingdon, Virginia.

Boucher’s statement on the current health care reform bill is available on his House of Representatives Web site.