Imagine being on an airline flight and having a perfect stranger on the same plane repeatedly send messages to meet up and talk.
Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford faced this reality Thursday on an evening flight as a constituent recognized him and invited him via Twitter to talk about the repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act.
Oklahoma resident Kendall Brown had tweeted that morning in response to the Republican senator’s remarks during a Tulsa radio station interview saying that he felt it was his role to “listen to all voices” on the health care debate.
Senator Lankford says his role is to listen to all voices, yet has never once responded to my letters & emails & tweets—as an Okie—about ACA https://t.co/UMcpTscddE
— Kendally Brown ? (@kendallybrown) March 23, 2017
“OH MY GOD after months of being unable to reach Senator Lankford to talk about the ACA he is ON MY FLIGHT,” she wrote on her Facebook page along with a posted photo of the senator in his seat. “And I just tweeted him this morning and I think he saw because he looked deeply uncomfortable. WHAT DO I DO?!”
Responses came in encouraging her to speak to Lankford.
“Hand him a note if you don’t want to talk to him. Do something or you’ll regret it,” one woman wrote.
“Slip him a note. A polite note that explains your view and personal experience and thank him for representing our state,” another man advised. “I don’t like him either, but, taking the high road is better.”
Brown decided to stalk the senator on Twitter instead, sending him a message that would make many people feel pretty uncomfortable.
Hi @SenatorLankford I still would like to talk about the ACA with you. I haven’t been able to reach you but your on my flight. Want to chat? pic.twitter.com/9vV5RL1IiT
— Kendally Brown ? (@kendallybrown) March 24, 2017
.@SenatorLankford I am free for the next hour, as it appears you are too. What serendipity! I am in row 19 but can come to you no problem.
— Kendally Brown ? (@kendallybrown) March 24, 2017
.@SenatorLankford if tonight doesn’t work (some people get nervous on airplanes, I would understand) we’re headed the same place. Let’s…
— Kendally Brown ? (@kendallybrown) March 24, 2017
.@SenatorLankford schedule a time to get together. Coffee is on me. Love, a constituent of yours that would like my voice heard
— Kendally Brown ? (@kendallybrown) March 24, 2017
With no response, Brown opted to write a note to the trapped senator and tweeted an update saying she was able to speak with him briefly.
UPDATE: I spoke with @SenatorLankford and gave him this. I’m very hopeful we’ll be able to get coffee this week & look forward to chatting! pic.twitter.com/AtbRwkJm6P
— Kendally Brown ? (@kendallybrown) March 24, 2017
After the flight landed, Brown told Raw Story that the meeting with Lankford was “unexpected” as he had approached her seat after she wrote the note she intended to give him.
Brown shared that the senator asked her what “specifically” her question was and she proceeded to tell him she’d be available to talk with him “literally any time.”
“I want to share my story with you and I want to have my voice heard on why the ACA is important to me,” she told Lankford.
She also explained that she had tried reaching him through a letter she sent, as well as multiple emails and tweets over the last month.
“Well, you’ll probably get a letter from me in the mail soon,” Lankford told her, according to Raw Story.
He also responded on Twitter following the encounter.
Great to meet you on our plane tonight @kendallybrown
— Sen. James Lankford (@SenatorLankford) March 24, 2017
“He pretty specifically isn’t listening to all voices right now and that’s why I approached him,” Brown said, admitting that she doesn’t expect he’ll meet with her in person.
“I know there are a lot of people out there that have just as compelling stories about why they need the ACA. So, I had an obligation to approach him, not just for me but for everyone,” she said, adding that she hopes he will at least call her.
And since Lankford hasn’t held a town hall on the health care debate, Brown will be doing him a favor and collecting stories from people in her Facebook and Twitter mailboxes on how they claim Obamacare has benefited them.
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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida where she has been writing for the BizPacReview team since 2015.
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