Georgia’s GOP U.S. Representatives Need to Hold In-Person Town Halls
When you write for a political blog, there is an understanding that a group of people will disagree with whatever you post, regardless of the subject matter. This is one of those times that people I truly respect, including some members of Congress, will disagree with me. It is okay to hold and discuss differing opinions, though.
One of the largest contentions I had with my former Representative John Barrow (D, GA-12) was his apparent aversion to listening to different opinions than his own. I often complained of the lack of in-person town halls that would have allowed opposing voices to be heard in a public forum. Rep. Barrow would occasionally have an hour-long “Congress on the Corner” session where his staff was “available to help anyone with problems they may be having with a government agency, such as the Social Security Administration, Medicare, or the Veterans Administration.” Important, indeed, but not the right type of venue for discussing political issues. He also occasionally had telephone town halls that were not conducive to sharing opposing opinions, as we were told that those asking the questions were pre approved prior to the call.
The problem is that now most of our Republican Representatives from Georgia are resorting to just having telephone town halls. As a former Party first flag bearer, I can attest to the fact that it is so easy to find yourself in an echo chamber where people shout “Amen!” to everything you say. However, this can lead to a person becoming deaf to the concerns of those who may hold a different view. People often get frustrated with politicians because they feel their voice is not being heard, and I can see the rising tide of those who are growing more and more frustrated with the political process. The time to listen is now before the voters ultimately share their voice at the polls.
I have been involved in politics and political campaigns for a long time, so I fully comprehend the political reasoning behind the decision not to hold in-person town halls, but it does not make it the right decision. I recently had an opportunity to sit in with Rep. Mark Sanford (R, SC-1) and he stated that he has never experienced the current political divide in all his years in politics. He shared the story of going to a nursing home and hearing residents yelling, cussing, and putting down one another over politics. He also shared that town halls had become full of vitriol and usually began with a period of people shouting at you. The fact of the matter, though, is that he was still holding town halls and going to the people, which Representatives are supposed to do.
Kudos to Rep. Buddy Carter (R, GA-1) for holding nine town halls and Rep. Doug Collins (R, GA-9) for holding one during the August recess. According to the AJC, Rep. Carter was one of only 10 Georgia GOP House members to hold a town hall during the February break. The AJC also reports that the only Democratic Representative from Georgia holding a town hall will be Rep. David Scott (D, GA-13).
About Author
lawtonsack
Lawton is a graduate of Georgia Southern University (the GSU) with a degree in Information Technology. He has held numerous positions within the Georgia Republican Party throughout the years.
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Oh well..you tried.
Both of these “Town Halls” are generally held in courthouses, where convenient deputies and holding cells are close by, meant to intimidate.
Carter is culling his crowd. He claims a public meeting, but when Lisa Ring (one of the first citizens in the 1st to score a ticket, and a candidate against Buddy) got notice last night her ticket was ‘canceled’, it was not an outlier. Several other democratic supporters of Ring found their tickets suddenly canceled. One activist, who was on Carter’s list, got a ticket hours after the other people were told the event was sold out.
Preacher Doug Collins is holding one session in the middle of the afternoon tomorrow in Gainesville, not the epicenter of the 9th, I must say. His is in the courthouse as well, no doubt to keep the pitchforks at bay. Collins, like Carter, are part of the Ryan led Congress, following Ryan’s agenda to the letter (100% of every vote from those two was in lockstep with Ryan’s demands).
Personally, I don’t care about their support of Trump, I want to know why they blindly support Ryan. Because in doing so, they horribly neglected the needs of their constituents in favor of some national agenda that failed.
Given the results of Gabby Giffords and Steve Scallise it is also prudent for a congress critter to make announced appearances behind the metal detectors found at all courthouses. If not, God forbid, actually vote against guns everywhere, anytime, and always bills.
“These representatives support Paul Ryan because he is an unparalleled policy genius and master legislative tactician. He has the unassailable book smarts that one can only gain with a Bachelor’s degree in economics and political science from some random school in the Mid-America Conference. His upbringing in an upper-middle-class family gives him unique perspective into the struggles of the working poor. He just understands America, which one can only do when they’ve spent literally every moment of their adult life in Congress or working for Freedomworks. Paul Ryan is God’s gift to both Crossfit and Congress.”
I laughed and I laughed.
10 out of 10.
I KNOW! I was like..”what is this…gushy drivel”? Someone has a mancrush on Paul Ry-aaaaan.
Talk about drinking the Kool Aide! Or perhaps I missed the /s emblem somewhere…
I give Carter credit for holding town halls. However, they are ticket only events. His donnor list got a heads up first for tickets, and then the newsletter subscribers. By the time he made a public announcement some venues were already filled.