In the midst of the heated national debate on health care, the man who claims to represent me as my U.S. Senator is hiding from me and all his constituents who might disagree with him. This is just the latest example of a long list of actions by our public officials in Maryland who think the power and influence granted to them by the people allows them to selectively disregard or dismiss the citizens they claim to serve.

Ben Cardin, the junior senator from Maryland, held a town hall meeting in supposedly "safe" territory, Prince George's County, a majority black jurisdiction with a six to one Democratic advantage in voter registration. I noted cynically at the time that he ought to drive 40 minutes south to my county and put on his dog-and-pony show if he wants honest feedback rather than unmerited praise for yet another $1 trillion-plus program that the Congressional Budget Office says will accomplish neither of its intended goals of reducing costs or achieving near-universal coverage.

He made the town hall meeting open to the public, which was the correct thing to do since he is in the Senate representing all of Maryland and he is duty-bound to listen to all of us, not just a selected few who will validate his decisions. I guess he thought picking friendly territory like Prince George's County would shield him from criticism. He failed to realize that true defenders of liberty travel well and are unafraid to speak out in its defense. Robert Broadus of Clinton, who had recently lost his job and took one that paid less so he could be employed, took to the microphone:

"I decided not to get the health insurance. That's working out for me because I'm able to save that extra money and give it to my family members and use it on myself. Senator Cardin, I want to know are you going to tell me an individual...that I have to buy health care or else you're going to fine me 25 hundred dollars every year I don't get it? Our founding fathers assured us we have a Bill of Rights and I want to see you uphold that."

The senator, apparently caught off guard by the comment, responded by accusing Mr. Broadus of being a drain on the rest of his fellow citizens. He declared, "You don't pay. You are part of the population that shifts its costs over to a person who does pay, and they're paying for you." Bad form, Senator Cardin - the employee (you) isn't supposed to disrespect the "employer" (Mr. Broadus and the voters - all the voters).

Liberal bloggers and commentators went after Mr. Broadus when they learned he was a former Republican candidate for the U.S. Congress, a participant in the "Tea Party" movement and a devotee of Congressman Ron Paul, declaring that people like him are "what's wrong with America." We've seen them employ this tactic before to intimidate private citizens who don't fall in line - find anything you can to destroy hard-working, taxpaying Americans exercising their First Amendment rights. Steal their Social Security numbers, get a government dependent working in the records division to rifle their confidential files to find dirt, it doesn't matter as long as they are silenced.

A man who works rather than expect the government to sustain him, and who makes a choice as a free man that he believes is best for him and his family, is a liability in Obama's America and must be destroyed? If this doesn't anger you, then what will? People, we are guaranteed the freedom in America to chart our own destiny and enjoy the fruits of our labor and liberty, yet the collectivists are stalking the nation seeking to devour the last vestiges of individual thought, expression and opposition.

What's more, those who question Mr. Broadus' commitment to his fellow citizens probably don't know that he is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and served as a naval officer for four years, placing him in the fraternity of men and women who walked the talk when it came to sacrificing their time and in many cases their lives to protect liberals' rights to curse them.

Senator Cardin is scheduled to hold another "town hall" meeting in Towson on August 10th at 7 pm. This one, however, is essentially by invitation only. First, you have to be on the Senator's constituent email list. Second, you have to contact Sean McKew in the Senator's Washington office (sean_mckew@cardin.senate.gov) to verify that you're attending. Third, you have to submit your questions in writing at the door as you enter the Towson University Center of the Arts where the faux "town hall" meeting is being held. Apparently, Senator Cardin doesn't like anything but spoon-fed pabulum when he faces the "public." As with too many of our elected officials, the servant has become the master.

If you disagree with Senator Cardin's interpretation of his contract with his employers, the voters of Maryland, rally with like-minded people at the Townson University Center of the Arts on August 10th at 6:30 pm.

By the way, don't bother to write letters to our elected officials asking tough questions about the health care bill. You'll get a canned response singing the praises of the bill and declaring all opposition to be of Satan. The positional relationship of the elected to the electors has been turned upside down.

The liberals have missed the boat entirely on the health care debate and so many other far-left policies flowing out of Washington these days. Debates about cost, coverage and other policy specifics are bypassing the main question: "Are we free men and women in America or are we not?"

Benjamin Franklin declared, "They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." Thomas Jefferson wrote, "The boisterous sea of liberty is never without a wave." They got it - liberty doesn't promise safety or security, but it does offer unlimited opportunity to those who will grasp it and accept its blessings and challenges with faith in God and trust in the institutions of family, community, commerce and charity. Government is, in George Washington's words, "a dangerous servant and a fearful master," which they well knew coming from a European continent where kings and autocrats made your decisions for you, and you had no choice but to adhere to them. Government is protection and enforcement, not provision.

In their quest to make every American a cradle-to-grave ward of the state, liberals are more than willing to wrest your liberty from you by any means necessary. They have no issue with relinquishing their own, deciding it's worth the price to secure the false hope of protection from the inevitable storms of life. To them, I say "feel free to surrender your liberty if you wish, but keep your hands off of mine. Don't tread on me."