Voters at town halls wonder: Just where are our lawmakers?
But it's Republican members of
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"I support the Affordable Care Act. This is the reason I called his office every day," said
Trott was a no-show at the meeting, which was organized by
Several other
That movement has morphed into smaller protests by individuals and groups and congressional town hall meetings, many of which have devolved into shouting matches between constituents and lawmakers.
Hundreds of people showed up at the
Other protests have been held in recent weeks by constituents who want in-person meetings with Trott and
Huizenga had a town hall meeting scheduled for Saturday in
"We didn't always get the same level of media coverage," Amash told a crowd of about 250 in
Postcards and pints
This spring break has been dubbed #resistancerecess by local and national organizers, who have publicized some sort of protest in nearly every congressional district in
The movement has been fueled by the fledgling Women's March on
On a recent Sunday evening, 30,000 people across the nation tuned in for a teleconference training session organized by MoveOn, Indivisible and other groups to learn how to be more effective in getting their voices heard.
"Where we take our inspiration is from an unexpected place. It's the tea party," said
Some of the advice on the training call was basic: Be polite but persistent when asking questions of a member of
"A quick lesson learned is that a representative is very vulnerable to negative press," he said. "And all of this can be used in a general election. This is a long game of chess."
On the phone
Most of
Trott, Bishop, Huizenga, Upton and Walberg have all used that method of communication with varying degrees of success.
Huizenga posted the audio of his two February tele-town halls on his congressional website, revealing that every single caller had a question that was either critical of him for not holding in-person meetings with constituents or disagreed with his position on issues.
"Over the years of doing this, we have found that telephone town halls by far reach the most people in the district," he told the first caller on the
Constituents of Huizenga, Bishop and Trott have complained about the tele town hall, however, because glitches have caused dozens of people to request to get on the call, but they're not included. The questions also get screened by staffers and the member of
Trott's tele-town hall
Bishop's office didn't release audio of his two tele-town hall calls in February, citing privacy concerns for the callers, said his spokeswoman
"
Moolenaar said he's had 26 public "listening sessions," including three this year around the district, since he was first elected in 2014. One of the sessions earlier this year was with a smaller group of people from Indivisible and other people critical of the Trump administration's policies.
"The one thing I think is really important is that these sessions generate some light and not just heat," he said. "What's the right setting for people to get their voices heard and not feel intimidated by people who might disagree with them."
Moolenaar wouldn't concede that meeting with constituents with other viewpoints has led to him changing his mind on an issue, "But they've helped me to understand their perspective. For example, there's a commitment to have a new health care policy for our country and that hasn't changed. But listening and understanding people about what they think a successful plan looks like, that has been helpful getting that feedback."
See you in person
The town hall sessions that have been held this year by Amash have been raucous with people booing him and cheering speakers who express views against the Trump administration. But there has also been a level of respect by crowds who appreciate that they get a chance to confront their lawmakers in person.
The meetings are reminiscent of tea party gatherings in 2009-10 in the wake of
"Town halls are not new. Every congressional district has had them. What has changed has been the policies and executive orders that have really touched the core of our democracy. People are coming out and saying, 'I don't like what's going on,' and their voices need to be heard," said
"We went through this when Obamacare was being rolled out and
While constituents clamor for meetings with their representatives in
Dayna Polehanki, a
"I think we may be overestimating his concern about what we think at all. The only time he has to care is November in 2018," she said of Trott. "This meeting is good, but I think it's going to be largely ignored by him. We have to spend some time finding a candidate who can beat him."
That was something that
"We have to target
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