Last weekend, Congress took its first recess of the year. Normally, lawmakers devote this time to meeting with constituents in town hall meetings. But over 200 Republican lawmakers skipped their traditional town hall meetings this month.
As of Feb. 16, Republicans in Congress had scheduled about 90 in-person town hall events in January and February. Of the scheduled events, 35 were scheduled by a single member of Congress, Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin.
By comparison, Republicans held 222 in-person town hall events in 2015.
The decision to limit in-person town hall meetings comes after a number of Congressional Republicans suffered embarrassing confrontations with concerned constituents. Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah.) was criticized at a town hall earlier this month for refusing to investigate President Trump’s business conflicts, ties to Russia, and unreleased tax returns. When Rep. Tom Reed (R-N.Y.) pledged to repeal and replace Obamacare at a local town hall last weekend, he was met with equally vocal condemnation.
This week, similar outbursts of organized anger plagued GOP Reps. Dave Reichert (Wash.), Leonard Lance (N.J.), Louie Gohmert (Texas), and their many counterparts across the country.
Instead of holding town halls or ducking their obligations completely, some Congressional Republicans are scheduling Facebook Live events or “tele-town halls” as a kind of compromise. In digital town halls, elected officials have more control over the proceedings. This helps them avoid the embarrassment and inevitable viral videos that follow being booed by a room full of people.
Some Republicans have criticized their colleagues’ cowardice. Rep. Mark Sanford of South Carolina, for instance, said:
“What happens in politics is that over time, you can get increasingly insulated from people that have a strongly held point of view that’s different [from yours].”
In tele-town halls, he explained, Representatives can screen the calls and questions, which makes the entire enterprise open to manipulation.
At the height of Tea Party activism, Congressional Democrats demonstrated a similar reluctance for town halls. Instead, they limited outreach activities to touring local businesses, participating in community service projects, or holding events in controlled settings.
Today, the situation is flipped, with Republicans operating all levers of government but facing a broad-based grassroots opposition.
Some on the Right have been dismissive of the town hall activists, calling them paid protesters – an ironic accusation considering that the Tea Party movement that swept many Republicans into office was one of the most successful implementations of Astroturfing in history.
Others have been more conciliatory. Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) – who was recently blasted by angry constituents at his own town hall event – said:
“I’m not afraid of protesters. This is an open country; people have an opportunity to come express themselves. As long as they do it peacefully I’ve got no problem with it.”
Featured image via New York Times video via Facebook.
