Face-to-face at last

Culberson should expect to hear a frustrated audience when he takes the stage here.

Kids usually end up at school on Saturdays when they’re in trouble, and U.S. Rep. John Culberson has found himself in a lick of trouble. At 3 p.m. Saturday, the nine-term congressman is holding a town hall meeting at the Spring Branch Middle School auditorium. He has no reason to expect a friendly audience. Here’s our advice: Deal with it. Last November, Culberson watched his comfortably gerrymandered constituency become one of those rare swing districts when voters cast their ballots for Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump. Now once-placid Houstonians in his wealthy, westside district are starting to engage with politics. Protests and phone calls have become routine.

Democracy is messy. People want to be heard. Being yelled at by angry constituents is part of a politician’s job. Culberson had no problem riding the tea party wave back in 2009, but now the political tide is flowing in the other direction.

Around 100 protesters showed up when Culberson hid behind the iron gate of Lakeside Country Club for a closeddoor meeting with the Village Republican Women’s group last month. Many of the protest signs simply called for an open-door town hall.

After much delay, the people are finally getting what they requested. Pentup pressure of a frustrated constituency could make for an explosive meeting. The measure of skilled politicians isn’t whether they can avoid this sort of conflict, but how well they defuse it.

Culberson’s constituents have plenty to be angry about. All too often, the lifelong politician has dedicated his political efforts to out-of-district fights like immigration enforcement in California. Or he’s meddled with local authorities on issues like Metro.

Primary voters might eat it up like candy, but the rest of Houston would rather see a congressman use his seniority to promote meat-and-potatoes issues. We’re disappointed that Culberson is keeping his meeting limited to people who live in his district. The congressman hasn’t hesitated to stick his nose into issues beyond his boundaries. He also sits on the House subcommittee in charge of NASA’s funding — and plenty of Johnson Space Center employees don’t live in Texas’ 7th Congressional District. They deserve the ability to look Culberson in the eye and have their questions heard.

Culberson can expect his constituents to ask about healthcare and budget cuts, but here’s a few Houston-wide questions that deserve answers:

• NASA probably has no bigger fan than Culberson, and he’s used his seniority to promote a mission to Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons that the congressman believes could be harboring alien life. Once this life is discovered, according to Culberson’s plan, support — and funding — for NASA will skyrocket.

But what happens if NASA’s planned Europa mission does not discover alien life? What is the Plan B to ensure that Houston’s Johnson Space Center receives the steady funding it needs?

• According to Culberson’s own telephone town hall survey, a plurality of voters say that boosting the economy is the most important issue. The Trump administration’s plans for a border tax, promotion of coal at the expense of natural gas and attacks on free trade and immigration all undermine the Houston economy. What will he do to defend our city’s economic engines?

• “I don’t want prayers, I want money!” was the takeaway quote from the town hall meeting that Culberson held after the April 2016 flood. So where’s the flood money? What is Culberson doing to draw down federal dollars for Project Brays and other flood prevention initiatives? Will he fight to reinstate earmarks, which give Congress more control over funding?

Culberson was first elected to public office back in 1987, when he was little more than a law student. Over the decades, he’s failed to become an influential fighter for conservative ideals, nor has he become an invaluable link between local needs and federal resources. Democrats have put a bullseye on Culberson, and if wants to survive then he needs to remind voters how, exactly, he’s working for Houston in Washington.