ThinkProgress filed this report from Carmichael, California.

On Wednesday, a constituent in a town hall meeting challenged Rep. Dan Lungren (R-CA) about his loyalty to Grover Norquist, an anti-tax activist and noted corporate lobbyist. Politicians who sign Norquist’s Americans for Tax Reform pledge, a popular commitment among Republicans, promise never to vote for anything designated as a tax increase by Norquist’s organization.

During the meeting, held in the Sacramento suburb of Carmichael, a young woman asked Lungren why he took Norquist’s pledge when he should only pledge an “oath of office to the Constitution.” Lungren seemed dazzled, and first misinterpreted the comment as an accusation that he opposes the Constitution. The constituent asked the question again, only to hear Lungren sneer that she hasn’t “been reading the newspapers.” A few in the crowd yelled “answer the question!”:

CONSTITUENT: How are we supposed to feel safe if you’ve gone around taking pledges for everybody instead of just staying with the pledge to the Constitution?

LUNGREN: If you’re surprised that I’m not for more taxes, then you haven’t been reading the newspapers. I’ve never changed my position on that. [...] Next question.

Watch it:

Norquist’s pledge is a thinly disguised political gimmick to provide cover for politicians seeking to protect corporate loopholes and other giveaways to the rich in the tax code. In Norquist’s world, even a vote to end ethanol subsidies is a terrible tax hike.

While Lungren has not shied away from supporting Norquist, a longtime corporate lobbyist, the relationship may turn out to harm the congressman’s image. Lungren, himself a former lobbyist, has a history of his own lobbying controversies, including the sponsorship of a new chemical facilities bill, seen by critics as a giveaway to companies reluctant to comply with anti-terrorism regulations. Many in the town hall audience that night, even some Lungren supporters, asked questions about the undue influence of special interests and powerful corporations like GE.

Last week, ThinkProgress reported on a town hall in upstate New York in which a constituent accused Rep. Chris Gibson (R-NY) of being a “slave” to the Norquist pledge.

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), the ranking member of the Budget Committee and incoming chairman if Republicans capture the House in November, has a budget plan called “America’s Roadmap.” Right-wing pundits have applauded the plan, calling it “bold,” but reporters have noted that few Republicans have been willing to go on the record and actually cosponsor the legislation.

Yesterday at a town hall in Carmichael, California, a constituent got up and told Rep. Dan Lungren (R-CA) that she had visited the America’s Roadmap website after Lungren had told her at a previous town hall to visit it to see how Republicans would operate differently than the current Congress. She said she was unimpressed, and, as someone who “watches Fox News all day,” she wanted to see Tea Party principles of eliminating “almost everything” the federal government does. Lungren largely sidestepped her comment, and told the audience that he would promote national defense but cut spending for bicycle trails. After the town hall, ThinkProgress approached Lungren — who has not cosponsored Ryan’s budget — for clarification:

TP: Well, what about the Roadmap?

LUNGREN: The Paul Ryan Roadmap is, that is the best long term look at trying to deal with our fiscal insanity right now that anybody has done. But that doesn’t mean I would sign on to everything. Paul Ryan would probably look for some changes. But no one else has had the courage to try to come forward with a comprehensive approach, that’s what I said.

TP: But when you talk about “courage,” you haven’t cosponsored the Roadmap even though you’re endorsing it now. Would you endorse it before the election and cosponsor the bill?

LUNGREN: I don’t know.

Watch it:

Lungren tried to remain coy about many of his policy positions. Asked by another person at the town hall if he would sign onto a bill to repeal the Wall Street reform law passed by Congress earlier this year, he said he would “consider” it.

There is a reason why Republicans have tried to hide their support for the Ryan budget. The budget plan privatizes Social Security, creates a privatized-style voucher system for Medicare, and freezes nonsecurity discretionary spending from 2010-2019. As the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities notes, the Ryan budget would not even balance the budget or seriously reduce the national debt. It would, however, cut benefits for generations of elderly Americans and place millions into poverty.