This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen
on .
It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
Congressional Town Hall: Of Tums, Death Panels and ‘Shut Your Hole’
At Town Halls, Doses of Fury and a Bottle of Tums
(about 3 hours later)
IOWA FALLS, Iowa — Republicans home for the congressional recess have been greeted with an earful at town hall-style meetings. Many lawmakers have no such meetings scheduled — sparing them the possibility of a YouTube moment — but opening them up to criticism that they are ducking their constituents.
FAIRVIEW, Tenn. — Representative Marsha Blackburn may have expected to draw a friendly crowd by scheduling a town hall-style meeting in a Tennessee community that had voted overwhelmingly for President Trump, but she instead faced a hurricane-strength blast of disapproval on Tuesday.
A number of other Republicans are hearing from constituents on Tuesday, and reporters for The New York Times are there to gauge the sentiment. Come for the stories, stay for the videos.
Ms. Blackburn, an eight-term Republican, was sharply questioned about a wide range of issues that have unsettled Mr. Trump’s first month in office, including health care, the environment, education and the president’s links to Russia.
■ Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa wrapped up two meetings in rural counties after being greeted by standing-room-only crowds in Iowa Falls and Garner, Iowa. He was questioned about the United States’ relationship with Russia, health care; the newly confirmed education secretary, Betsy DeVos; and several other issues.
At many moments, her replies elicited boos or shouts to “tell the truth.”
■ President Trump derided as “sad” reports of angry crowds that he said were orchestrated by liberal activists.
“We’re not stupid; you have to do better,” Renee Armand said at one point, interrupting Ms. Blackburn as she was defending the new education secretary, Betsy DeVos, for bringing “a true love of education reform.”
The angry placards were everywhere inside the raucous meeting hosted by Representative Dennis A. Ross, one of the most conservative members of Congress and an enthusiastic defender of Mr. Trump: “Disagree,” “Nyet My President,” “No Pipeline” — even some fans with signs bearing sad-face emoticons.
Ms. Blackburn, who represents a safe Republican seat west of Nashville, was among the latest wave of Washington lawmakers to face angry constituents in what, inevitably but perhaps prematurely, has been called a progressive echo of the Tea Party anger that boiled over in town halls eight years ago.
It was not a happy crowd. “Liar,” people shouted. “Boo.”
During the first weeklong recess of the new Congress, many Republicans have chosen not to hold events at all, wary of protests that might greet them.
“Let him speak,” said someone in the crowd. “We have to be respectful.”
Others gamely faced the music, including Representative Dennis A. Ross of Florida and Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, who faced largely hostile audiences on Tuesday in districts that, like Ms. Blackburn’s, had strongly endorsed Mr. Trump at the polls.
There was little that Mr. Ross could or would say to placate this crowd of mostly Democrats who packed the room here in this small, rural Central Florida town that was known for its plentiful citrus fields not so long ago.
At one point, Mr. Grassley, a long-serving senator, was offered a gift from a 62-year-old Democratic pig farmer named Chris Petersen: a bottle of Tums.
A few supporters of Mr. Ross walked out, saying they were upset that he was unable to talk without catcalls. But many more stayed to make sure Mr. Ross heard their messages: keep the Affordable Care Act, fight climate change, stop deporting undocumented workers and support the Environmental Protection Agency.
“You’re going to need them the next few years,” Mr. Petersen told the senator, drawing laughter from a crowd packed into a room at a firehouse in Iowa Falls, north of Des Moines.
“This is democracy in action,” said Mr. Ross, before the crowd got grew incensed. “There are a lot of people who want to participate in the dialogue. I only ask that you give them that respect and civility.”
Mr. Grassley later quipped that “the only time I need Tums is when I have chocolate ice cream before I go to bed.”
Mr. Ross shouted patiently into the microphone. He was for saving Social Security and Medicare. He wants a strong defense. And — in one of the few lines that earned him applause — he said he wanted to reduce the cost of flood insurance.
Anxious and agitated constituents of Mr. Grassley’s clapped and yelled out in frustration in a rural county that voted overwhelmingly for Mr. Trump.
But there was little common ground here. The vast majority of those in the room — some who were part of the group Indivisible East Hillsborough and other protest organizations — wanted him to hear their fears and concerns, and few issues went unmentioned.
Mr. Petersen, the vice chairman of the Iowa Democratic Party’s Rural Caucus, gave a stern warning about the repeal of the Affordable Care Act.
First on the agenda was discussion of the Affordable Care Act. Speaker after speaker talked about the need to cover pre-existing conditions and worries that they will lose their insurance.
“With all due respect, sir, you’re the man that talked about the death panels,” Mr. Petersen said. “We’re going to create one great big death panel in this country.”
“Only one solution to our health care problems,” one man said into the microphone to thunderous applause. “And that’s universal health care coverage.”
Republicans have accused the protesters who have roiled town hall-style meetings of not representing a true grass-roots outpouring but instead being an AstroTurf movement paid by shadowy groups.
But Mr. Ross made clear his position early on: “We will do a repeal and replace of Obamacare.”
Mr. Trump added his own voice to the criticism on Tuesday.
“What’s the plan?” they shouted. “What’s the plan?”
The forums have faced threats of violence, prompting some lawmakers, citing security concerns, to cancel events after being briefed by law enforcement.
“If you will be quiet for three minutes, I will give you some sneak previews,” Mr. Ross replied.
But Mr. Grassley suggested the crowds were no less bona fide than the more friendly ones he usually gets when he makes his annual tour of all 99 Iowa counties.
“Even if it has some issues,” said Colter Roche, 20, one of the few young people in the crowd, “the damage that would be done by repealing it entirely would be tragic. I wouldn’t be able to afford health insurance. I have asthma, allergies.”
“I want to make clear it’s all legitimate,” he told reporters after his second meeting of the day, in Garner, Iowa. “If Hillary Clinton had been elected president, there’d be people from the conservative end of the spectrum to probably be doing the same thing.”
Known as one of the most conservative Republicans in his state’s congressional delegation, Mr. Ross is popular in his district, winning handily in 2016. First elected in 2010 as part of the Tea Party wave that challenged the political establishment and has fought to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Mr. Ross is now trying to carry out that promise. He has also embraced another Trump initiative: securing the nation’s borders.
Mr. Ross, one of the most conservative members of Congress and an enthusiastic defender of Mr. Trump’s, was called a liar by participants in his town hall in Clermont, Fla., about 20 miles west of Orlando. They held signs reading “Disagree,” “Nyet My President” and “No Pipeline.”
Few Florida Republicans are as enthusiastic about Mr. Trump’s election as Mr. Ross. He has spoken at several of Mr. Trump’s rallies, including one last week, and flew on Air Force One with the president to Washington from Tampa recently.
Elected in 2010 as part of the Tea Party wave that challenged the political establishment and fought to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Mr. Ross has embraced Mr. Trump’s agenda, including securing the nation’s borders.
In Garner, Iowa, people chanted at the outset of a meeting with Mr. Grassley in an unsuccessful bid to move the forum outside. Speaking to reporters afterward, the senator suggested the heat he faced on Tuesday — at two packed town hall-style meetings — was the result of organization by people who were on the losing end of the presidency, aided by social media.
A few supporters of Mr. Ross’s walked out of his meeting, saying they were upset that the congressman was unable to talk without catcalls.
“But I want to make clear it’s all legitimate,” he said. “If Hillary Clinton had been elected president, there’d be people from the conservative end of the spectrum to probably be doing the same thing.”
One protester tried to reason with the passionate crowd, urging people to let Mr. Ross speak and adding that if they were angry, the correct response was to vote.
Mr. Grassley also got an earful from Iowans during meetings in 2009 when he was working with Democrats on a health care overhaul. He said his second meeting on Tuesday was “kind of calm compared to 2009.”
“But in the meantime, let him talk so we can hold him accountable,” she added.
Mr. Grassley acknowledged the difficulty of being questioned at a town hall. “It comes at you like a machine gun,” he said. “You can’t keep up with it.”
“This is democracy in action,” Mr. Ross said at one point. “There are a lot of people who want to participate in the dialogue. I only ask that you give them that respect and civility.”
Earlier, in Iowa Falls, Chris Petersen, 62, a pig farmer and proud progressive Democrat, brought a present for Mr. Grassley: a bottle of Tums.
But most of the people in the crowd wanted to be heard, loud and clear, on a litany of issues. One woman said she could not understand how Mr. Ross could oppose the presence of undocumented immigrants, given that the district was dependent on agriculture. “It’s so detrimental to our identity as a state and to the economy,” she said before disappearing into the crowd.
“You’re going to need ’em the next few years,” Mr. Petersen told the senator, drawing laughter from the crowd that packed into a room at a firehouse in Iowa Falls, north of Des Moines.
Back in Tennessee, a number of those facing Ms. Blackburn were rallied by the local branch of Indivisible, a national movement started by Democratic activists. The group had held two meetings to discuss which issues to raise.
It was a spirited meeting, considering it was scheduled for 7:45 a.m. in rural county that voted overwhelmingly for Mr. Trump. At times, the mantra of “Iowa Nice” was put to the test.
One of the organizers, Elizabeth TeSelle, a university administrator, disavowed the Tea Party comparison. She said Indivisible supporters were not seeking to push moderate Democrats further to the left, or to oust them by running more extreme candidates against them in primaries. “My concern is what the Tea Party ended up spawning was Trump,” Ms. TeSelle said.
“Shut your hole!” a man yelled at a woman at one point.
Ms. Blackburn, one of Mr. Trump’s high-profile supporters in the House of Representatives during last year’s campaign, defended him on nearly every issue raised by critics.
Mr. Petersen gave a stern warning about the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, telling the senator he was a diabetic who would not be able to afford insurance if not for the health care law.
One man called Stephen K. Bannon, the president’s chief strategist, “a notorious white nationalist.” Ms. Blackburn replied, “My interactions with him have all been fine.”
“With all due respect, sir, you’re the man that talked about the death panel,” Mr. Petersen told him. “You’re going to create one great big death panel in this country.”
A high school senior, Taylor Ayres, asked how she could support Ms. DeVos, “someone who doesn’t have real knowledge in the education field.” Ms. Blackburn said coolly, “She is going to do a fine job.”
Mr. Grassley also heard from a man who said he had worked as an interpreter in Afghanistan and was trying to get asylum in the United States. Mr. Grassley said he would try to help the man and also said that Mr. Trump’s executive order on immigration “wasn’t carefully drafted.”
Bruce Sullivan asked why Republicans had no real replacement for the Affordable Care Act after seven years. Ms. Blackburn referred him to a C-Span video from 2010 in which she and other Republicans had met with President Barack Obama to seek a bipartisan program.
Mr. Grassley prides himself on spending time with the people of Iowa, visiting all 99 of the state’s counties each year.
“I appreciate that,” Mr. Sullivan said, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. “You are showing us you have been in Washington too long.”
That tradition is so central to his persona that it has its own term — it’s called a “full Grassley” (though its fullness has been disputed).
At least one lawmaker, Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, had a quieter day. Appearing before a few hundred residents in a high school cafeteria in Denham Springs, La., after the students had spilled out into a warm afternoon, Mr. Cassidy, a Republican, spoke to anxious residents mostly about their more pressing concern: flood relief.
After the town hall-style meeting, Mr. Petersen noted that Mr. Grassley had not taken the bottle of Tums.
Their parish, Livingston, had received more than 25 inches of rain in three days during a catastrophic flood in August, overwhelming the rivers and devastating the city. Protesters said they had steered clear of Mr. Cassidy’s forum out of respect for the flood victims.
“The only time I need Tums,” Mr. Grassley told reporters, “is when I have chocolate ice cream before I go to bed.”
As Mr. Cassidy answered queries submitted on slips of paper, a woman asked if he would take questions from the floor, saying she worried they had been screened.
It was a quieter day for Senator Bill Cassidy. Appearing before a few hundred residents in a local high school cafeteria after the students had spilled out into a warm Louisiana afternoon, Mr. Cassidy, a Republican, spoke to anxious residents mostly about their more pressing concern: flood relief.
As if to prove that they were not, Mr. Cassidy read aloud a question about Mr. Trump’s tax returns, eliciting applause and cheers from many of those assembled.
Scattered piles of debris still dot the landscape between vibrant pink and purple azaleas in Denham Springs, which sustained catastrophic flooding six months ago. The area, Livingston Parish, received more than 25 inches of rain in three days, overwhelming the rivers and devastating the city. The flooding killed 13 people and caused billions of dollars in damage.
“Looks like we have some folks who don’t like Donald Trump,” he said to more cheers. “A lot of us do.”
The local Capital One Bank branch, just down the road, greets visitors to its temporary quarters — a trailer propped like a set piece in front of its damaged offices — with signs that say, “Nice to see you again.”
Charlie and Sandra Murry do not have much time to think about politics these days. Asked about chatter on health care or immigration, they exchanged glances. They spend most of their time working on their house, Mrs. Murry said, which filled with more than three feet of muddy water during the flood.
“We’re trying to get back in our house,” Mr. Murry said.
Out of respect for those working to rebuild their lives, protesters granted Mr. Cassidy a reprieve for the afternoon.
Yet some constituents still showed up with tough questions. As Mr. Cassidy answered queries submitted on slips of paper, a woman asked if he would take questions from the floor, saying she worried they were screening them. As if to prove that they were not, Mr. Cassidy read aloud a question about Mr. Trump’s tax returns, eliciting applause and cheers from many of those assembled.
“Looks like we have some folks who don’t like Donald Trump,” he said, to more cheers. “A lot of us do.”
Mr. Cassidy said Mr. Trump should release the tax returns — “I’m for transparency,” he said — though he conceded that it is complicated.
Mr. Cassidy should not get too comfortable, protest organizers said Tuesday: More than 1,100 people had already responded via Facebook for his meeting on Wednesday, booked at a library with space for just a couple hundred — many of them associated with local branches of the group Indivisible and Planned Parenthood.
A staunch foe of the Affordable Care Act, Representative Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee got a surprise result last month when she conducted an unscientific poll on Twitter, asking, “Do you support the repeal of Obamacare?” and the results were overwhelmingly opposed to repeal.
Tennessee’s Seventh Congressional District, which Ms. Blackburn has held since 2003, is a safe Republican seat. Williamson County, the site of the meeting and of Ms. Blackburn’s home, is the wealthiest county in Tennessee.
The city of Fairview, Tenn., where the meeting will be held, voted overwhelmingly for Mr. Trump: 69 percent, versus 24 percent for Hillary Clinton.
Most of the seats at the sold-out gathering were reserved for town residents, which a group calling itself Marsha Blackburn Must Go says was done to ensure a friendly audience. The group is rallying critics via Facebook to show up outside with protest signs.
