Bwak, bwak. Congressional GOP told to avoid town halls. Things might get confrontational. I wonder why.

Are Republican meet ‘n greets done for? Apparently, yes.

Town halls, a long-standing element of representative democracy in this country might be a thing of the past for Republicans in congress. I mean, isn’t the legacy of elected officials staying in close touch with their constituencies via town halls one of the foundational traditions of the U.S.A.?

If you’re a GOP member of congress the answer is, I guess not.

According to Politico and other media sources, the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., told GOP lawmakers to hold tele-town halls instead of the in-person affairs that have been their standard means of contact with constituents for as long as I can remember.

This isn’t a particularly surprising turn of events, considering how nasty some recent confrontations between Republican congresspeople and their constituents have been. Some Republicans are claiming that there are paid activists at the meetings that have been disrupted, but have offered neither evidence nor proof of that claim. President Trump has also made the claim without providing evidence to back it up.

What I’m wondering is if all this will affect plans for public meetings between us South Dakotans and our congressional reps.

I also wonder if converting these events into tele-meetings will make much difference in the way that constituents will approach our representatives.  

People are just plain mad about the chaotic nature of Trump’s agenda and I think that will show up in both live and electronic formats. 

ABC says that 38% of respondents approve of the way Trump is operating, while 46% disapprove. CBS has it more closely divided, but reinforces the sense that half or more Americans are unhappy with Trump’s performance so far.

On the question of Elon Musk, polls are much more in sync on one thing:  Musk has too much power. News reports about the contentiousness between Musk and some cabinet heads give a telling picture of unhappiness with Musk in the administration. President Trump has denied that there is anything particularly unpleasant going on, but his actions seem to tell another story. After what was reported to be quite the brouhaha at a recent cabinet meeting, Trump effectively “demoted” Musk by assuring cabinet secretaries that they, not Musk, are in charge of staff cuts

Much of the public, of course, is wise to all of this turbulence and has good reason to be unnerved, frustrated and plenty angry about how things are going thus far. There are many Americans who are dependent on the very agencies and programs that Republicans are targeting for cuts, including, for example, Medicaid, the VA , and the Dept. of Education.

Given that, Republicans should expect public outcries over what they’re doing, so it’s no surprise that they’re dodging their constituents. It’ll be interesting to see if Dusty Johnson, Mike Rounds and John Thune will have the moxie to meet the people or go missing in action should they try to schedule a town hall.

A more compelling consideration is this: why are Republicans, who control the government, creating an atmosphere that raises so much discordance among the people in the first place?

This is as much about facing the truth as it is facing their constituents.

John Tsitrian is a businessman and writer from the Black Hills. He was a weekly columnist for the Rapid City Journal for 20 years. His articles and commentary have also appeared in The Los Angeles Times, The Denver Post and The Omaha World-Herald. Tsitrian served in the Marines for three years (1966-69), including a 13-month tour of duty as a radioman in Vietnam. Republish with permission.

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