Editor 's note : Gloria Borger is a senior political analyst for CNN , appearing regularly on CNN 's `` The Situation Room , '' `` Campbell Brown , '' `` AC360° '' and `` State of the Union With John King , '' as well as special event coverage . Gloria Borger says we could be in for a month of venting sessions aimed at members of Congress . WASHINGTON ( CNN ) -- Ah , the summer . Time for all those members of Congress to go home , meet with their constituents , get their input on health care reform and take back what they have learned from the voters . Not exactly . In some town hall meetings around the country , anger and fear are trumping any constructive argument -- at least so far . Recently , for instance , Sen. Arlen Specter held a town hall meeting with Kathleen Sebelius , the Health and Human Services secretary . In attempting to answer questions , they were shouted down by folks more interested in venting than discussing . On the conservative FreedomWorks Web site , the display was headlined `` Specter Gets Schooled . '' Above the video of the event , the site says `` ... this is a must watch and a must emulate at town halls across the country over the next month . '' Really ? What about those folks who are actually interested in debating and discussing a very complex issue they 're trying to digest ? There are some who may actually want to figure out the best way to solve the health care problem . What ever happened to asking questions about the quality of care , the cost of insurance , the impact of any public plan on the health care system ? After all , this has been a turbulent economic time for this country , and another huge shock to the system is naturally worrisome . Especially when it comes to an issue as complex as health care . But it 's not just the folks at these town halls who have learned how to heckle . Their bad behavior is a derivative of the questionable quality of the political debate they listen to every day . Indeed , if there 's one thing we 've gotten really good at over the years , it 's this : reducing complicated problems to bite-sized slogans . It seems to work , so we keep doing it . Ipso facto , Obama 's reform ideas become `` socialism '' to his Republican critics . And the administration is not above creating a handy bogeyman of its own : the insurance companies . At least according to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi , who accuses them of `` full-force carpet-bombing and shock and awe against the public option . '' Too bad they actually support the rest of reform , and are still running positive ads about the effort . They were n't at the table at all 16 years ago when Hillary Clinton 's effort at reform failed . The world has changed since then , and the congressional plans for reforming health care have changed , too . But the invective of the debate , sad to say , has not . The effort on Capitol Hill has been serious . I hate to sound like Pollyanna , but members of Congress are actually doing some real work . Some policy differences may never get resolved because they are too ideological ; others are regional , and that 's tough , too . But they 're working at it , for hours on end , behind closed doors . No cameras , no grandstanding . One of those working the hardest , Republican Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa , was derided at a town hall recently on the matter of his own health insurance . So here 's the fellow who is spending every waking hour trying to get a bipartisan measure that can pass the Senate -- and be fair to Iowans -- and he goes home and gets an earful . Maybe the discourse will become more productive as the summer progresses . And maybe not . But the health care dilemma remains , no matter how loud the discussion . As John F. Kennedy told us , `` To govern is to choose . '' Especially when the choices are not easy . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Gloria Borger .
Gloria Borger : Congressional recess provides chance for health care discussion . The House is expected to vote on a bill that would repeal the Affordable Care Act in coming weeks. She says Congress is grappling with a tough , complex issue . Borger : Stop reducing complicated issues to simplistic sound bites .