Congressman Goodlatte finally took time Monday to meet with some of the folks who have been active in the effort to get him to hold in-person open town hall meetings in the Sixth District.

Jennifer Kitchen of the SAW (Staunton-Augusta-Waynesboro) Action Movement– one of the participants– wrote about it here.

When pressed about holding a town hall meeting, even under tightly-controlled conditions, Goodlatte repeated that he had no intention of doing so “at this time.” He also repeated previous positions on health care and on President Trump’s taxes (no need to release them) and travel restrictions.

If this represents a new willingness by Goodlatte to engage with those who disagree with him, it’s an encouraging sign. If he thinks this will help take the pressure off, he’s surely mistaken. At any rate it won’t stop anyone from continuing to oppose him when he’s wrong. And it won’t stop his constituents from continuing to call for in-person town hall meetings.