February, 19 2017, 11:00pm EDT
Members of Congress Duck Constituents, Dodge Town Halls to Avoid Accountability
More than 46,000 people joined a call on Sunday night to find out how they can get the attention of their member of Congress during the Congressional Recess this week.
Constituents want to ask them questions about defending health care, protecting immigrants and refugees, and standing strong against President Trump's agenda of hate.
The call, the fourth in a series, was coordinated by MoveOn, People's Action, Working Families Party, Indivisible and other organizations.
WASHINGTON
More than 46,000 people joined a call on Sunday night to find out how they can get the attention of their member of Congress during the Congressional Recess this week.
Constituents want to ask them questions about defending health care, protecting immigrants and refugees, and standing strong against President Trump's agenda of hate.
The call, the fourth in a series, was coordinated by MoveOn, People's Action, Working Families Party, Indivisible and other organizations.
The Congressional Recess is a time for Congress members to meet with their constituents. It's not a vacation. It's not time to raise money for their next election campaign.
In-person town halls are scheduled throughout the country - but Republican members of the 115th Congress are missing. Some are literally running away. Many are opting instead for scripted telephone calls or private meetings in their offices. In response, many communities are organizing their own "missing person" town halls and saving an empty chair for the elected leader.
Others on the call last night said they are prepared to drive hundreds of miles, if that's what it takes, to get a chance to ask a question of their Congress member. Organizers emphasized peaceful town halls, focused on asking questions and getting responses on the record from Republicans in Congress.
Town halls and other events are scheduled around the country this week. Event locations are searchable by zip code here.
People's Action builds the power of poor and working people, in rural, suburban, and urban areas to win change through issue campaigns and elections.
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Republican U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas on Tuesday again blocked the passage of House-approved bipartisan legislation meant to shield journalists and telecommunications companies from being compelled to disclose sources and other information to federal authorities.
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) brought the Protect Reporters from Exploitative State Spying (PRESS) Act—which would prohibit the federal government from forcing journalists and telecom companies to disclose certain information, with exceptions for terroristic or violent threats—for a unanimous consent vote.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) argued Tuesday that passing the PRESS Act is "more important now than ever before when we've heard some in the previous administration talk about going after the press in one way or another," a reference to Republican President-elect Donald Trump's threats to jail journalists who refuse to reveal the sources of leaks. Trump, who has referred to the press as the "enemy of the people," repeatedly urged Senate Republicans to "kill this bill."
Cotton, who blocked a vote on the legislation in December 2022, again objected to the bill, a move that thwarted its speedy passage. The Republican called the legislation a "threat to national security" and "the biggest giveaway to the liberal press in American history."
The advocacy group Defending Rights and Dissent lamented that "Congress has abdicated their responsibility to take substantive steps to protect the constitutional right to a free press."
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"American families are the big winner today, thanks to the Federal Trade Commission. The only people who stood to gain from the potential merger between Albertsons and Kroger were their wealthy executives and investors," asserted Liz Zelnick of Accountable.US. "The rest of us are letting out a huge sigh of relief knowing today's victory is good news for competitive prices and consumer access."
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Trump has picked Harmeet Dhillon as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. She has stated that it must be "made unsafe" for hospitals to provide trans care, and frequently shares Libs of TikTok posts. She intends to target trans people in blue states. Subscribe to support my journalism.
[image or embed]
— Erin Reed (@erininthemorning.com) December 10, 2024 at 8:14 AM
Reed continued:
Dhillon's most prominent work includes founding the Center for American Liberty, a legal organization that focuses heavily on anti-transgender cases in blue states. The organization's "featured cases" section highlights several lawsuits, such as Chloe Cole's case against Kaiser Permanente; a lawsuit challenging a Colorado school's use of a transgender student's preferred name; a case against a California school district seeking to implement policies that would forcibly out transgender students; and a lawsuit against Vermont for denying a foster care license to a family unwilling to comply with nondiscrimination policies regarding transgender youth.
Reed also highlighted Dhillon's attacks on state laws protecting transgender people, as well as her expression of "extreme anti-trans views" on social media—including calling gender-affirming healthcare for trans children "child abuse."
Last year, The Guardian's Jason Wilson reported that the Center for American Liberty made a six-figure payment to a public relations firm that represented Dhillion in both "her capacity as head of her own for-profit law firm and Republican activist."
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As Maya Wiley, president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, said in a statement Tuesday, "The Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division has the critical responsibility of enforcing our nation's federal civil rights laws and ensuring equal justice under the law on behalf of all of our communities."
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