GOP lawmakers face angry, worried constituents at town halls
ASSOCIATED PRESS
A person shouts to Rep. Jason Chaffetz during his town hall meeting at Brighton High School, Thursday, Feb. 9, 2017, in Cottonwood Heights, Utah.
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. >> The voter identified himself as a cancer survivor, and he had something to say to Republican Rep. Justin Amash: “I am scared to death that I will not have health insurance in the future.”
The comment earned 61-year-old retiree Paul Bonis a standing ovation from the crowd packed into a school auditorium in Amash’s Michigan district Thursday night. And the congressman was booed for his response: That the Affordable Care Act has “hurt a lot of people,” and he supports his party’s plans to repeal and replace it, even though the GOP still hasn’t united around an alternative.
It’s a scene that’s played out around the country over the past several weeks as Republicans and President Donald Trump have assumed control of Washington and begun moving forward on their long-held promise to undo former President Barack Obama’s health care law. In an echo of the raucous complaints that confronted Democrats back in 2009 as they worked to pass “Obamacare” in the first place, Republicans who want to repeal it now are facing angry pushback of their own at constituent gatherings from Utah to Michigan to Tennessee and elsewhere, even in solidly Republican districts.
And just as the protests in 2009 focused on health care but reflected broader concerns over an increasingly divisive new president and Democrats’ monopoly control over Washington, now, too, constituent complaints at town hall meetings appear to reflect more general fears about the Trump administration and the implications of one-party GOP rule of the nation’s capital.
In a Salt Lake City suburb on Thursday night, GOP Rep. Jason Chaffetz faced irate constituents chanting “Do your job!” as they pressed the House Oversight Committee chairman to investigate Trump. Chaffetz struggled to be heard as he faced a litany of sharp questions and screams from a crowd of people who grilled him on everything from Obamacare to Chaffetz’s desire to overturn a new national monument in southern Utah.
“Come on, we’re better than this,” Chaffetz protested over the hubbub at one point, practically pleading with the deafening crowd to let him speak.
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In Tennessee, GOP Rep. Diane Black faced questions from impassioned and well-informed constituents defending the Affordable Care Act, including one man who told her that he and others with health conditions might die without insurance. “And you want to take away this coverage, and have nothing to replace it with,” the man said. Black argued that the Affordable Care Act has been ineffective because although 20 million people gave gained coverage under the law, millions more have chosen to pay a fine and remain uninsured.
And in southern Wisconsin, GOP Rep. James Sensenbrenner faced a voter who asked him: “Who’s going to be the check and balance on Donald Trump?” Like others interviewed at town halls around the country, the woman asking the question, Barbara Kresse, said she has not been politically active, another similarity to 2009 when the advent of the Obama administration seemed to cause enough anxiety to awaken groups of voters who had never previously gotten involved.
Indeed the recent protests are being amplified by liberal activists modeling their opposition to Trump on the tea party groups that sprang up to oppose Obama and the Democrats. Calling itself “Indivisible,” a non-profit group that grew out of a how-to guide written by former Democratic congressional staffers has advertised town hall gatherings nationally, suggesting at least some level of coordination, which was the case with the anti-Obamacare protests as well. Some Republicans, including White House press secretary Sean Spicer, have dismissed the protesters as orchestrated and even paid, though there’s been no evidence of that.
House GOP leaders have taken note of the protests, and took time during a regular meeting of their conference this past week to give lawmakers “best practices” advice for dealing with them, including to treat protesters with courtesy and respect, consider hiring security or a moderator for town hall gatherings, or even “kill them with kindness” by offering cookies or coffee.
Lawmakers insisted that they are not changing their public schedules out of concern over being met by protesters, but town hall meetings have grown rarer in recent years anyway, with some lawmakers citing the shooting of Democratic Rep. Gabby Giffords at a constituent gathering in Tucson, Arizona in 2011 as one reason. In some districts and states, constituents have been trying to shame lawmakers into holding town halls to discuss Obamacare or other issues, showing up at district offices with signs demanding a meeting.
In a letter to fellow House Republicans on Thursday, Rep. Doug Collins of Georgia, vice chairman of the GOP conference, downplayed the opposition and sought to encourage lawmakers to stay committed to their agenda.
“We have been charged with holistic reform,” Collins wrote. “And to the extent that we are leading our communities in a new direction, we remember — with sadness — that, because a broken system became the status quo, even those who have suffered under that brokenness may resist its repair.”
61 responses to “GOP lawmakers face angry, worried constituents at town halls”
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Best mob money can buy. âScreamersâ earn a bonus.
Call them what they are PROTESTERS. It says right in the article that they are liberals who are trying the same tactics as the tea party. They are called “Indivisible” they should make themselves invisible. Sick of the BS. Accept that Trump is our President.
New health plan to be explained as soon as his personal income taxes is explained; maybe in a book after his presidency.
POTUS is not required to disclose his tax returns.
What is Trump hiding in his tax returns. He must be hiding a lot of very serious and incriminating conflicts of interest, by being so adamant about not releasing them. I am sure Putin and the Russian intelligence and cyber agency, the FSB, have all the information about Trump and all his business dealings and personal affairs, to make Trump very maleable and pliant to Putin’s objectives.
Excellent picture of howling monkeys.
Grow up you sound like a child.
Protecting the cry baby losers!
These are angry Republicans who are just realizing that Trump is no conservative and is not a Republican. They elected a bad man and now realize it.
Did you read the article? These are paid protestors/aggitators. Thats the problem when you only read the headline. Just like the headline in another biased pub that said Melania did not give a tour of the WH to Age’s wife. In the article it States that Abe’s wife had prior commitments and wouldn’t be there. Read the article not just the headline.
@ nalogirl
KaBoom!
So she really didn’t give her a tour. She had other commitments, right?
Who’s paying? I’d like to sign up.
The Tea Party was a hate filled lynch mob of racists, KKK, White Supremacists, White Nationalists, and extremist fascist Christianists. The millions upon millions of protestors around the world and in this country, during the Women’s March, and the many others, we’re not paid by anyone, they were grandmothers, grandfathers, men and women young and old, with their children and even babies in strollers. It was beautiful to see so many people coming together to show their solidarity in defense of Democratic principles and values of liberty, equality, fraternity and justice for all under our Constitution
The Women’s March was hatefilled and disgusting.
Amen!
Vector has a very rich imagination.
And baby killers are not a hate group.
Anarchists not really interested in a fix to the abominable Obamadon’tcare, but in disrupting the flow of process. Silencing the opposition is not the way to accomplish a fix, both sides need to be heard, but not to the fascist Left Anarchists. Sad really.
IRT MaiPono, fully agree with your post. The end result of all the screaming and yelling from the Left Anarchists will be a Repealed and Replaced Obamacare with a medical plan controlled and managed by the States. Hawaii can then continue to fine tune the most effective medical system in the United States.
So where is the plan they had six years to come up with one?
Black knees
Good catch on who these folks really are…Anarchists…or if you want to be polite we could call them RINO’s…which I doubt! đ
I do not believe the protesters are âconstituentsâ of the GOP lawmakers and instead are rabble-rousers brought in by Democrats from outside lawmakersâ districts.
Your belief is the same belief the democrats had of the tea party years ago. The republicans has to analyze the democrats mistake years ago and determine the proper way to handle these protesters. If you think these are paid protesters, you are living in lala land.
Absolutely Correct…Republicans making the same mistakes the Democrats did…This is the Democratic Tea Party, and just like the Republicans version loonies will rise to power the next wave…This Dem Tea Party will be bigger and more dangerous since this Tea Party is VERY emotional…#MAGA
Tea party? No way, the “protesters’ we’ve been seeing are organized, coached, and even paid to disrupt.
Keep denying it…Tea Party, Pity Party whatever the heil you want to call it, it’s coming and you guy are making the same mistakes that Democrats did…#MAGA
Did I say paid protesters?
The Women’s March in Honolulu had thousands, men, women, young and old, children, I was there. It was spontaneous and no one was paid, Another big lie from the Right Wing Nazis
Ronin006> You are absolutely correct!!!!! Good recognition of bad people, trying to disrupt the process of good government. All the blame and finger pointing should be directed to the liberals and their self-proclaimed leader and “GOD,” GEORGE SOROS …the banker for all things BAD……
Right. A cancer survivor who is scared to death of having no insurance is just a “rabble-rouser”. Why do you think women have the right to vote in our country, or why there are no separate drinking fountains for “whites”and “coloreds”? It’s because of protesters! Yes we must accept that Trump is our President, but that doesn’t mean we all have to be like sheep and just follow without question or challenge. We all need to think independently and take positions based on fact, logic and reason. And there is nothing wrong at all in voicing our well-thought out opinions. As a citizen of this great country, that is our right.
You are right, everyone has a right to protest, but it would be nice for a change if the people protesting understood what or why they are protesting. The Trump administration and Republicans have said repeatedly that no one covered by Obamacare will be left uncovered when Obamacare is replaced, yet people like the guy claiming to be a cancer survivor are going nuts believing they will be left uninsured. They believe that because that is what leading Democrats keep saying. It is nonsense. With regard to protesting in general, interviews of many anti-Trump protesters shown on TV reveal just how uninformed and ignorant they are about the issues they are protesting. Some people in a recent protest about Trumpâs immigration Executive Order could not give any specifics about what was in the EO that was causing them to protest. Several students interviewed said they were protesting because they were told to do so by their professors or teachers. So much for independent thinking based on fact, logic and reason.
Why do you believe people who lie daily?
Btaim, I did a little research about Paul Bonis, the cancer survivor who is scared to death that he will not have health insurance in the future. It appears from the story that Paul Bonis depends on Obamacare for his health coverage and that he may not or will not have health insurance without it. I do not believe that. Paul Bonis happens to be the former President of Spectrum Health Blodgett Hospital in East Grand Rapids, MI., a 300-bed major medical center and teaching hospital. It has been rated among the top 100 hospitals in the nation for seven consecutive years, and as a member of the Spectrum Health System it is recognized as a significant member of one of the top ten integrated healthcare systems in the nation. I would be willing to bet he has a very nice retirement package that includes free medical care for life at Blodgett Hospital and a health insurance package that covers him if he needs health care elsewhere.
How would you know what his retirement package is?
Why is it that you constantly lie like this?
Klastri, there you go again, trying to find fault with everything or anything someone says. Where in my comment did I say I know what his retirement package includes? I am not a brilliant lawyer like you, but I have high level management experience, perhaps spanning more time than you have been alive. I do know that golden parachute retirement packages are as common as flies on dog poop for people who hold positions like Paul Bonis and I believe he is the recipient of one. You are free to believe the poor guy depends on Obamacare for his health coverage and I am free to believe otherwise.
Agreed. đ
Whether it be Tea Party or Indivisibles the right to protest is what makes us great. to take a play out of the playbook of the other party is not something we need to be concerned about.
We do need to be concerned about all the missteps of the administration. Now we are hearing about a possible unacceptable conference with the Russian ambassador about the sanctions. The conference, to me, is not a problem. What they discussed and if a deal was made is. The Vice Pres. went out on national media and backed up the security advisor. Now he’s in a pickle as new vetting of the intel is being made public. Did the general give our VP some alternative facts about what he spoke to the Russian ambassador about? Now he says he doesn’t remember what they spoke about after telling everyone including the VP that they never spoke about the sanctions. If you were a law enforcement person, how do you treat this set of information coming from the same person?
Guilty, Guilty, Guilty…But it’s not what you know it’s what you can prove, so…innocent đ #maga
Are they really constituents or are they simply far left organized protesters who opted to use the town hall meeting to behave in a manner to disrupt the meeting? Regardless of political party proper decorum would be appreciated by all. It’s beginning to sound like a typical AOAO Condominium Annual Meeting. đ By the way, just watch the fireworks when the Owner’s find out about the additional fees they will have to pay into the Kakaako Community Association in addition to their HMO / AOAO’s Maintenance Fees and who will have governing influence of their Community. Maybe they may just want to secede the C&C Honolulu and become a city unto themselves? Just saying đ
Have you taken a really good look at the people protesting at these town hall meetings? White working class people and retirees.Much alike to those that filled the conference centers for the Chumps campaign rallies. These people are realizing that they were duped big time and coming to their senses. Why should anti Chumpers go to town hall meetings to protest in heavily republican districts. These are districts where the Chump and other republicans won handily. His supporters would easily overwhelm the opposition. The Chumps support has been minimal at these meetings. As someone who didn’t vote for the Chump I shouldn’t hold him accountable for his actions so far. It is the responsibility of those who got him elected to make him accountable to them and not the top one percent. In other words he’s your dog so when he sh-ts in your neighbors yard you clean it up.
Looks like the chumpster is moderating tonight.
Come on moderator put down your big gulp and extra thick crust pizza and make a call.Its been more than 3 hours and I have used the word sh-t countless of times before.
We shall see because my neighbor is an attorney and he is telling me it looks like you are doing selective censorship which is a violation of my civil rights. That is the only word that may be considered to be offensive but like I’ve said I and others on this commentary forum have used it countless times before.
Lookâs like a complete success to me. First president in a long time doing what
he said he would do and is doing it even before he went to office. I watched CNN
for almost 10 years, great coverage if a world event happened, but when it comeâs
to politicsâ they are extremely biased. I switched over to FOX NEWs. Much better
coverage of what this new president has done.
Yes, the world is scared of him and they should be. Everything was in there favor
to do whatever they wanted under a Obama presidency. And they did it and laughed.
They are not laughing now. Even Russia knows it is a new time. Even the president
of Syria is now bowing his head. And when Trump gets done with China, China will
put the hammer down on N. Korea.
Canada will profit very well under Trump. And if his financial plans get passed,
guess what the market will be on a tear upwards after a brief correction.
Corporal stop jerking yourself –f. The Chumps so called presidency is a fu—g mess. Even the child dictator from North Korea is calling him out and the chicken s— was tongue tied when the press asked him about the missle launch. I’m convinced that the Chumps parents threw away the baby and raised the afterbirth.
Easy for Republicans to campaign against the Affordable Care Act; MUCH more difficult to actually govern and propose a feasible alternative. Republicans in Congress could have fixed ACA while Obama was still in office, but they only wanted to obstruct and completely repeal it. Now that they have the power to repeal it…guess what…duh….not so easy
Repeal, Repeal, Repeal…OK let’s repeal, to what??? Uhhhh, we didn’t think it through…ALL these years and they never thought they would get in the game…They was only grumbling out of habit…#MAGA
OrangeMan said there’d be a replacement the same day (or even the same hour) ACA is repealed. Great! (if it actually happens)
@ Maxie
Let’s not forget…YOUR PARTY’S LYING MESS to begin with.
@ mazie..excuse me.
Not surprised by this backlash, and very glad it’s happening. I hope it occurs to these politicians that the people who take the time to show up at town meetings are committed voters, concerned about what’s happening in this country. If they want to be re-elected they need to listen to their constituents, and not just a radical fringe.
They are not commited voters they are paid, organized protesters
I am glad that you, I and many others saw through the charade! đ
@ wn
I 3rd that!
@ nalogirl
again Kaboom!
Have you taken a really good look at the people who are protesting at these town hall meetings? White working class people and retirees. Much alike to those who filled the conference centers for the Chumps campaign rallies. These people are realizing that they were duped big time and are coming to their senses. Why should anti Chumpers go to town hall meetings to protest in heavily republican districts. These are districts where the Chump and other republicans won handily. His supporters would easily overwhelm the opposition. The Chumps support has been minimal at these meetings. As someone who didn’t vote for the Chump I shouldn’t have to hold him accountable for his actions so far. It is the responsibility of those who got him elected to make him accountable to them and not the top one percent. In other words he’s your dog so when he defecates in your neighbors yard you clean it up.
I know that it wasn’t that word that you were moderating but the message. You can go ahead and finish your big gulp soda and triple crust pizza now.
All you crickets where are the long lines of his supporters to come to his defense. According to the idio- and his supporters you are the majority but it looks like these town meetings are definitely proving the opposite. The fact is that his base is shrinking because the Chump is an idi-t and his presidency is a f——- mess.
I submitted my original message at 3:33pm. The moderator shut me down for more than three hours for using an edited word that I have used countless times before. The word was s—. You all know that I have submitted commentary that could be considered to be offensive. It has always been edited so it’s up to you to fill in the blanks and not the moderator. Whoever is the moderator tonight is definitely a supporter of selective censorship. It is my suggestion to the SA that they counsel this moderator like how the Chump counseled Kellyanne.
My original comment was published at the same time of my previous commentary. What a coincidence but I know that it wasn’t. I hope that whoever the moderator was tonight that they get their sorry as–s fired.