SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) on Thursday was among those telling Republicans to toughen up or find another job. (Photo: AP/Carolyn Kaster)
Sanders, Giffords Call Out Cowardly Republicans for Ditching Town Halls
'To the politicians who have abandoned their civic obligations, I say this: Have some courage. Face your constituents,' says former Rep. Giffords
Feb 24, 2017
To the Republican lawmakers dodging their constituents, refusing to confront engaged voters at local town hall meetings, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) on Thursday issued similar messages: toughen up and do your job.
"If you don't have the guts to face your constituents, then you shouldn't be in the United States Congress," Sanders said in an interview with CNN's Erin Burnett. "That's what you're elected to do," he said.
One such lawmaker is Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas), who used the shooting of Giffords during a 2011 town hall meeting to provide cover for his absence.
"Unfortunately, at this time there are groups from the more violent strains of the leftist ideology, some even being paid, who are preying on public town halls to wreak havoc and threaten public safety," Gohmert said in a statement Tuesday. "Threats are nothing new to me and I have gotten my share as a felony judge. However, the House Sergeant at Arms advised us after former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords was shot at a public appearance, that civilian attendees at Congressional public events stand the most chance of being harmed or killed--just as happened there."
But Giffords responded by saying that lawmakers should, in fact, hold town halls to engage with voters lest they forgo "their civic obligations."
"Town halls and countless constituent meetings were a hallmark of my tenure in Congress. It's how I was able to serve the people of southern Arizona. I believed that listening to my constituents was the most basic and core tenet of the job I was hired to do," she said.
"I was shot on a Saturday morning. By Monday morning my offices were open to the public. Ron Barber--at my side that Saturday, who was shot multiple times, then elected to Congress in my stead--held town halls. It's what the people deserve in a representative."
"To the politicians who have abandoned their civic obligations, I say this," she continued. "Have some courage. Face your constituents. Hold town halls."
What's more, added Sanders, if the flurry of recent, contentious public meetings where Republican lawmakers have faced heat on issues from healthcare to immigration didn't already make them anxious, they ain't seen nothin' yet.
"If [Republicans are] worried about the protests they're seeing, they're going to see more," he told CNN. "This coming Saturday we believe there will be well over 100 protests, most of them in Republican offices around the country, district offices, demanding that Republican members of Congress meet with their constituents and answer the questions that their constituents have." Watch:
\u201cIf you support repealing Obamacare and throwing 20 million off health insurance, then face your constituents and answer their questions.\u201d— Bernie Sanders (@Bernie Sanders) 1487951032
To keep track of local resistance taking place, follow the hashtags #ResistanceRecess and #ReclaimRecess:
Tweets about #resistancerecess OR #reclaimrecess
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
To the Republican lawmakers dodging their constituents, refusing to confront engaged voters at local town hall meetings, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) on Thursday issued similar messages: toughen up and do your job.
"If you don't have the guts to face your constituents, then you shouldn't be in the United States Congress," Sanders said in an interview with CNN's Erin Burnett. "That's what you're elected to do," he said.
One such lawmaker is Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas), who used the shooting of Giffords during a 2011 town hall meeting to provide cover for his absence.
"Unfortunately, at this time there are groups from the more violent strains of the leftist ideology, some even being paid, who are preying on public town halls to wreak havoc and threaten public safety," Gohmert said in a statement Tuesday. "Threats are nothing new to me and I have gotten my share as a felony judge. However, the House Sergeant at Arms advised us after former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords was shot at a public appearance, that civilian attendees at Congressional public events stand the most chance of being harmed or killed--just as happened there."
But Giffords responded by saying that lawmakers should, in fact, hold town halls to engage with voters lest they forgo "their civic obligations."
"Town halls and countless constituent meetings were a hallmark of my tenure in Congress. It's how I was able to serve the people of southern Arizona. I believed that listening to my constituents was the most basic and core tenet of the job I was hired to do," she said.
"I was shot on a Saturday morning. By Monday morning my offices were open to the public. Ron Barber--at my side that Saturday, who was shot multiple times, then elected to Congress in my stead--held town halls. It's what the people deserve in a representative."
"To the politicians who have abandoned their civic obligations, I say this," she continued. "Have some courage. Face your constituents. Hold town halls."
What's more, added Sanders, if the flurry of recent, contentious public meetings where Republican lawmakers have faced heat on issues from healthcare to immigration didn't already make them anxious, they ain't seen nothin' yet.
"If [Republicans are] worried about the protests they're seeing, they're going to see more," he told CNN. "This coming Saturday we believe there will be well over 100 protests, most of them in Republican offices around the country, district offices, demanding that Republican members of Congress meet with their constituents and answer the questions that their constituents have." Watch:
\u201cIf you support repealing Obamacare and throwing 20 million off health insurance, then face your constituents and answer their questions.\u201d— Bernie Sanders (@Bernie Sanders) 1487951032
To keep track of local resistance taking place, follow the hashtags #ResistanceRecess and #ReclaimRecess:
Tweets about #resistancerecess OR #reclaimrecess
To the Republican lawmakers dodging their constituents, refusing to confront engaged voters at local town hall meetings, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) on Thursday issued similar messages: toughen up and do your job.
"If you don't have the guts to face your constituents, then you shouldn't be in the United States Congress," Sanders said in an interview with CNN's Erin Burnett. "That's what you're elected to do," he said.
One such lawmaker is Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas), who used the shooting of Giffords during a 2011 town hall meeting to provide cover for his absence.
"Unfortunately, at this time there are groups from the more violent strains of the leftist ideology, some even being paid, who are preying on public town halls to wreak havoc and threaten public safety," Gohmert said in a statement Tuesday. "Threats are nothing new to me and I have gotten my share as a felony judge. However, the House Sergeant at Arms advised us after former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords was shot at a public appearance, that civilian attendees at Congressional public events stand the most chance of being harmed or killed--just as happened there."
But Giffords responded by saying that lawmakers should, in fact, hold town halls to engage with voters lest they forgo "their civic obligations."
"Town halls and countless constituent meetings were a hallmark of my tenure in Congress. It's how I was able to serve the people of southern Arizona. I believed that listening to my constituents was the most basic and core tenet of the job I was hired to do," she said.
"I was shot on a Saturday morning. By Monday morning my offices were open to the public. Ron Barber--at my side that Saturday, who was shot multiple times, then elected to Congress in my stead--held town halls. It's what the people deserve in a representative."
"To the politicians who have abandoned their civic obligations, I say this," she continued. "Have some courage. Face your constituents. Hold town halls."
What's more, added Sanders, if the flurry of recent, contentious public meetings where Republican lawmakers have faced heat on issues from healthcare to immigration didn't already make them anxious, they ain't seen nothin' yet.
"If [Republicans are] worried about the protests they're seeing, they're going to see more," he told CNN. "This coming Saturday we believe there will be well over 100 protests, most of them in Republican offices around the country, district offices, demanding that Republican members of Congress meet with their constituents and answer the questions that their constituents have." Watch:
\u201cIf you support repealing Obamacare and throwing 20 million off health insurance, then face your constituents and answer their questions.\u201d— Bernie Sanders (@Bernie Sanders) 1487951032
To keep track of local resistance taking place, follow the hashtags #ResistanceRecess and #ReclaimRecess:
Tweets about #resistancerecess OR #reclaimrecess
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.