{"id":134633,"date":"2025-03-15T06:29:50","date_gmt":"2025-03-15T06:29:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/alabama\/is-the-republican-town-hall-freeze-affecting-alabama\/"},"modified":"2025-03-15T06:29:50","modified_gmt":"2025-03-15T06:29:50","slug":"is-the-republican-town-hall-freeze-affecting-alabama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/?p=134633","title":{"rendered":"Is the Republican town hall freeze affecting Alabama?"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Since Trump\u2019s second inauguration, videos of voters shouting at Republican members of Congress during town halls have been making headlines<\/a> and going viral on social media<\/a>. Earlier this month, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, advised<\/a> Republican representatives to stop holding town halls, claiming that the issue was \u201cprofessional protestors.\u201d<\/p>\n

At least one member of Alabama\u2019s Congressional delegation is heeding Johnson\u2019s advice. On a recent radio show<\/a>, Alabama Congressman Gary Palmer agreed with the host\u2019s characterization that these protestors are \u201ca bunch of malcontents.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI tell people I do a town hall every Sunday between worship and Sunday school,\u201d Palmer quipped. \u201cI get stopped in the hall. But no, I\u2019m not going to do one of these because it\u2019s exactly as you described. These are not constituents, most of them. They bring in paid agitators.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also disparaged the utility of one town hall he held during the first Trump term, saying that there were \u201clicense plates from New Jersey, Kansas, Illinois\u201d and \u201cthree people that I recognized.\u201d A better alternative, Palmer suggested, would be rallies in the style of the Tea Party meant mainly to appeal to his base.<\/p>\n

But despite Palmer\u2019s suggestive comments about license plates and the number of people he didn\u2019t recognize at that 2017 town hall, the Congressman actually stated<\/a> at the time that the people who showed up were not paid protestors.<\/p>\n

A plurality of the recent comments on Palmer\u2019s official Facebook page have been left by people who say they are District 6 residents and are demanding the Congressman hold a town hall.<\/p>\n

\u201cTown hall???? Naw, just want to keep the constituents at arms length. Sure don\u2019t want to hear about the mess Trump is making,\u201d one man complained. Another asked why Palmer is \u201cso scared to have a town hall\u201d and claimed the Congressman has been sneaking into town for photo ops.<\/p>\n

These calls for town halls aren\u2019t limited to Palmer\u2019s social media pages. On one post to the Facebook page of Congressman Dale Strong, R-Ala., about meeting a Decatur resident who was a guest at Trump\u2019s recent joint address to Congress, someone commented, \u201cWhat about the rest of your constituents, Dale? When will you be meeting with us?\u201d<\/p>\n

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Satirical posters from social media calling on Reps. Dale Strong and Mike Rogers to hold town halls.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Reporter Brian Lawson with northern Alabama news channel WHNT found<\/a> that several people represented by Strong had received communications about a forthcoming telephone town hall but remained unaware of when it would actually be held. Republican members of Congress outside of Alabama<\/a> have also opted to hold telephone town halls rather than in-district ones in recent months.<\/p>\n

Use of town halls as a venue to protest the policies of the party in power is a frequent feature of politics in recent decades. Notably, protests at Democratic town halls were one of the hallmarks<\/a> of the Tea Party movement Palmer hearkened back to during his radio interview.<\/p>\n

And in 2017, then-Congressman Mo Brooks, R-Ala., opined<\/a> that the Affordable Care Act would not be repealed because there was a \u201csignificant number of congressmen who are being impacted by these kinds of [town hall] protests and their spine is a little bit weak.\u201d The repeal eventually failed due to a last minute reversal by Senator John McCain, R-Arizona, not members of the House scared of town hall protests.<\/p>\n

Despite Brooks\u2019 likely overstating of these protests\u2019 importance, liberal politicians and organizations have continued to call for Republicans to hold more town halls in the last couple weeks.<\/p>\n

Minnesota governor and 2024 Democratic vice presidential candidate, Tim Walz, just kicked off a series of rallies<\/a> that will be held in districts where Republican members of Congress aren\u2019t holding in person town halls.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese folks need to be heard,\u201d Walz told CNN. \u201cThey need to be heard, and to be candid with you, Democratic leadership needs to hear them.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

In Alabama, the Huntsville chapter of the liberal group, Indivisible, shared<\/a> a seemingly satirical flyer inviting Rep. Strong to a \u201ctown hall meeting,\u201d explaining to commenters that the event is meant to draw attention to how Huntsville is \u201cnot represented at all\u201d in Congress.<\/p>\n

As one of two Democrats representing Alabama in Congress, Representative Terri Sewell told APR that \u201cwe as elected officials cannot represent our constituents if we are unwilling to listen to them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I am hearing is that Alabamians are frightened,\u201d Sewell stated. \u201cThey see this Administration coming after their health care, Social Security, and so many other vital programs. Now more than ever, we as Members of Congress need to listen to their concerns, bring them back to Washington, and take action accordingly.\u201d<\/p>\n

The offices of Reps. Palmer, Strong and Aderholt did not respond to APR\u2019s requests for comment.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Since Trump\u2019s second inauguration, videos of voters shouting at Republican members of Congress during town halls have been making headlines and going viral on social media. 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