U.S. Rep. Dan Lungren, R-Gold River, was greeted in Folsom Monday night with a patriotic song, but the serenade wasn't intended as an honor.

"We wanted to bring attention to the fact that Dan Lungren is out of tune with us, hence the community choir," said Glenda Marsh, chair of the local peace organization Peace in the Precincts.

Members of the peace group, along with a local chapter of Moveon.org, gathered in front of city hall prior to the District 3 congressman's Town Hall forum. They sang songs like "America the Beautiful" and "When Johnny Comes Marching Home," while holding signs and handing out flyers opposing escalation of the Iraq war.

"Dan Lungren is our representative whether or not we voted for him," said Folsom realtor and veteran John Cypher. "We're not here to confront him, but to make it clear that he should be mindful of our views as well."

While Lungren spoke of local issues-like Folsom's new bridge and the need for flood safety at Folsom Dam-the topic often steered to the Iraq war.

Lungren said he recently held a Tele-Town Hall, where he spoke with 5,000 people on one phone line about Iraq. Yet constituents at the forum still had questions.

"Why speak of the war in Iraq as a war on terrorism when you know it had nothing to do with Sept. 11?" asked someone from the audience.

"I never argued that Iraq was part of the specific attack on 9-11," Lungren replied. "But we're now engaged in a war in which, for better or for worse, the Iraq battlefront has been identified as the major battlefront in the war on terror."

"The question of whether we should have gone into Iraq is simply no longer the issue. We ought to talk about what we're going to do now."

Lungren often mentioned Congress's "power of the purse," indicating that if Congress were to have an effect on Iraq, it would be by cutting funding-though he admitted he wouldn't vote for the cut. A direct decision to withdraw the troops, he said, is up to the Commander-in-Chief, not Congress.

As the forum's end neared, someone suggested Lungren ask for a show of hands to get an idea of who was for and against the war.

"Many people who questioned the need to invade Iraq may have been right. Many constituents, people in this room, may have been right," said Glenda Marsh.

Lungren did not think an audience vote was necessary.

"I don't think the obligation of the elected official is to blow with the prevailing wind. I think the obligation is to consider the opinions and judgements of all people and the country is almost evenly divided."

When the topic did turn to Folsom and surrounding areas, flood safety was Lungren's top concern. He worried that local residents might not think Folsom is at risk compared to Sacramento and other downstream areas.

"Depending upon where the catastrophic failure occurs, the loss of life, property...would affect us in an extremely serious way. We're all in this together," he said.

He added the new bridge was the best possible solution to alleviate traffic without compromising dam safety.

"There is good, sufficient reason on the federal level (to close Folsom Dam Road). It doesn't make sense to carry traffic across that dam."