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There has been some grumbling both nationally and locally about the lack of town hall meetings by members of Congress during the August recess, with some suggesting that lawmakers are trying to avoid the wrath of voters.

Triangle members of Congress have been meeting with voters, but in controlled environments.

Republican Rep. Renee Ellmers held a $13 per plate federal employees forum in Fayetteville on Wednesday at the local Holiday Inn.

Politico, the online national political journal, has called such events as “pay-per-view” events.

Ellmers has held several tele-town halls during the recess in which voters are invited to call in questions by phone.

Democratic Congressman David Price has scheduled two “senior citizen town halls” Friday in which he will given an update on what is going on in Congress and then open the floor to questions.
    The first one will be held 10:30 a.m. at the Community Family Life & Recreation Center at Lyon Park in Durham and the second one at the Durham Senior Center at 1 p.m.

They are follow ups to teleconference town halls he held.

Democratic Rep. Brad Miller has apparently not held a town hall meeting, but he is moving across the state meeting with constituents.

Miller, for example, is speaking today at 12:15 at the Crabtree Rotary Club in Raleigh.

LuAnn Canipe, Miller's spokeswoman, said it is Miller's practice to meet with constituents one one one, and also holding office hours in district offices.

Wake County Commissioner Tony Gurley, a Republican who plans to run for lieutenant governor, named Malia Zaytoun as his campaign finance director.

According to Gurley's campaign, Zaytoun was assistant finance director for U.S. Rep. Renee Ellmers last year.

Current and former Republican Wake commissioners are hosting a fund raiser for Gurley on Sept. 1 at Caffe Luna in Raleigh.

U.S. Rep. Renee Ellmers is one of the subjects of a Politico article about House members forsaking open town hall meetings during the recess, but making appearances where people have to pay to attend.

In the article, her spokesman Tom Doheny said Ellmers, a Republican from Dunn, is holding tele-town halls.

The New York Times notices that freshman GOP Congresswoman Renee Ellmers is everywhere. A profile notes her support for House Speaker John Boehner.

Ellmers, from Dunn, represents the 2nd Congressional District.

Tea party-backed candidates split on the debt ceiling vote 76-34 according to a Washington Post tally. U.S. Rep. Renee Ellmers, a Republican representing the 2nd Congressional District who received Tea party backing in her campaign, cast her vote for the final debt deal.

"It was not an easy vote to make," said the freshman from Dunn.

"The reason I voted for it - it has no tax increases in it, it cuts spending greater than than the ceiling, it puts in place effective spending controls, and (it has) a balanced budget amendment," she said.

The final deal requires Congress vote before the end of this year on a joint resolution proposing a balanced budget amendment. Passage is not required.

Under the deal, the Pentagon is facing at least $350 billion in cuts over a decade.
Ellmers said those cuts can be made without harming soldiers, their families or veterans.

Ellmers has been a constant presence on national television in the last few weeks.

She was on Fox & Friends on Monday morning and on the Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer in the afternoon. She had to miss a schedule appearance on Lou Dobbs last night because the House was still voting.

Voters from the district catch her on television, she said, and call the office and post on her Facebook page.

"It draws attention to North Carolina, it draws attention to our district, who we are and what we stand for," she said. "We think it's great."

Among the three Triangle members of Congress, Republican freshman Renee Ellmers has been the busiest fund raiser during the first six months of the year, according to reports filed with the Federal Elections Commission.

Freshman are often viewed as vulnerable so Ellmers has been busy making sure she will have enough cash to hold her 2nd district seat. It will also likely help that the GOP legislature is likely to give her a more Republican leaning district.

Ellmers had raised $244,917 this year and had $263,658 on hand as of June 30th.  She had raised $87,813 from individuals and $141,020 from PACs.

Democratic Rep. David Price of the 4th district had raised $165,434 and had $71,581 on hand. Price looks to be in a safe Democratic district next year.

He had raised $111,079 from individuals and $52,000 from PACs.

Democratic Rep. Brad Miller of the 13th district had raised $126,306 and had $126,877 on hand.

He had raised $54,440 from individuals and $67,500 from PACs. He will likely be a sharply reconfigured district that will be part for him or any other Democrat to win.

North Carolina will be well represented on Fox News tonight with U.S. Reps. Renee Ellmers, Virginia Foxx and Sue Myrick participating in a Congressional women's focus group during a segment of the Sean Hannity show, according to Ellmers' office. 

The show is on at 9, with the roundtable segment at about 9:40, according to Ellmers' office. Hannity repeats at midnight.

Update: Ellmers double-header

She'll appear Lou Dobbs on the Fox Business Channel at 7 tonight, discussing negotiations on the debt ceiling and the economy. 

Congresswoman Renee Ellmers of North Carolina Thursday called for an investigation into Planned Parenthood.

At a DC news conference with Rep. Randy Hultgren of Illinois, Ellmers said a report by Americans United for Life raised questions about Planned Parenthood. “This afternoon, Congressman Hulgren and I spoke with several of our colleagues to call for hearings and an investigation of the nation's largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood, which receives more than $1 million a day in taxpayer funds,” Ellmers said in a statement.

“In light of our current fiscal crisis and economic uncertainty,” Ellmers said, “Americans should be appalled at the fact that their money is being used to fund abortions, and on such a massive scale.”

The anti-abortion group alleges a whole range of violations by Planned Parenthood, ranging from misuse of federal health care and family planning to providing women with inaccurate and misleading information.

Freshman Republican Congresswoman Renee Ellmers appears to have found an issue she can sink her teeth into.

In an appearance on Fox Business this week, Ellmers lambasted the Obama Administration's efforts to combat childhood obesity by placing limits on advertising for high-sugar, high-fat foods featuring cartoon characters.

Ellmers, a nurse from Dunn, said she had been exposed to ads featuring Tony the Tiger her whole life, and that she's doing just fine.

"We need to be creating jobs in America, not targeting the food industry for their advertising," Ellmers said. "It's up to the parents to make choices for their children, not targeting advertising for peanut butter and cereal and all these other silly notions."

The Democrats today began an automated call campaign against freshman Republican Rep. Renee Ellmers, criticizing her on Social Security.

The robo calls, paid for by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, are part of the Democrats “Drive for 25” effort to recapture the House next year.

The calls criticize a GOP initiative that allows workers to partially opt out of Social Security immediately and fully opt out after 15 years. Under a plan by Rep. Pete Sessions, workers could opt to have the 6.2 percent of their earnings that now go to Social Security instead into a private SAFE account instead.

The robo call says.

“Hi, this is Clare calling on behalf of the DCCC. What does Congresswoman Renee Ellmers have against seniors.

“First Ellmers voted with the Republican leadership to end Medicare while protecting subsidies for Big Oil and tax breaks for billionaires. Now, they are trying to privatize Social Security.

“Republican leaders' scheme to gamble the Social Security that seniors worked a lifetime to earn on Wall Street is way too dangerous. One bad market could wipe out years of savings, putting generations of retirees at risk. Call Congresswoman Renee Ellmers at 910-230-1910 and tell her not to gamble Social Security on Wall Street.”

Update: Andrea Bozek, National Republican Congressional Committee said, "Democrats can try to distract from their policies that let Medicare go bankrupt and make a bad economy worse, but middle class families realize that they're suffering from a weak economy because of the Democrats' addiction to taxing, spending and borrowing.”