Tea party, reversed? How GOP town halls look from the inside. – Christian Science Monitor
February 15, 2017 AtlantaSitting in the front row of a congressional constituent day in Greensboro, Ga., with one of his daughters perched on his knee, Ron Denham felt like he was witnessing democracy in action.
The people at the meeting were loudly, assertively, and peacefully demanding accountability and clarity from a federal government official. This, Mr. Denham told his 10-year-old twin daughters, was a real-life civics lesson.
Then he walked outside after the event, and there were state police cars everywhere. Someone had called for backup. Such a tremendous police response to free speech, Denham says, dismayed.
Then former North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory suggested that a series of similarly contentious town halls across the country were the result of paid protests.
As a result, Denham says he has gone from galvanized citizen to one on fire.
Until last month, Denham did not know which congressional district he lived in, he says in a phone interview. But last Friday, he drove an hour and a half from his suburban home near Atlanta to the constituent event held by the offices of Georgia's two senators and a representative from a different district just so he could see and be heard.
He is one of the citizen activists who has risen up in what appears to be an uncanny reprisal of the 2009 birth of the tea party but this time on the left.
In 2009, the Democratic playbook involved avoiding town halls and dismissing protesters as paid stooges. Then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D) famously said the protesters were not grass roots but fake Astroturf. A year later, tea party fervor reshaped Congress, with Democrats losing 63 seats in the House and five in the Senate. The Democrats have never recovered.
Today, the Republican playbook involves avoiding town halls and dismissing protesters as paid stooges. Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R) called the protest that shouted him down at a recent town hall a paid attempt to bully and intimidate. Only 10 Republicans members of Congress are planning town halls next week, notes David Hawkings of Roll Call.
Thats a dangerous gamble, for democracy over the long haul but also for the lawmakers own self-preservation as soon as the next campaign, he writes in his blog.
Many political analysts agree. Republican lawmakers ignore Denham and his twin daughters at their peril. The events are certainly uncomfortable. Chants of Shame! and Do your job! have punctuated recent town halls. But, as in 2009, they speak to a deep unease that cannot be conveniently ignored.
Democracy is a messy thing, and this shows it and its also a fragile thing, says James Thurber, founder of the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies at American University in Washington. Thats why members of Congress have got to get used to this and listen to the feedback or there will be consequences for them, electorally.
Some have. Rep. Justin Amash (R) of Michigan stayed an extra 40 minutes to talk with angry constituents. And Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R) of Florida rejected the allegations that boisterous constituents at his events were bused in and paid, responding: Most of these people are my constituents."
But many Republicans have been knocked off-balance. One California representative was escorted out of a recent meeting by police, and several others have canceled events, citing the uncomfortable atmosphere.
On one hand, the trend so soon after the tea party anger of 2009 points to the rise of what political scientists call negative partisanship.
One of the things were seeing in American politics right now is its easier to get people energized in opposition to things they dont like than to get them energized to support anything their party or president is doing, says Alan Abramowitz, a political scientist at Emory University in Atlanta. People are really angry and worked up, and I dont think its going to stop. In some ways, this is even more organic than the tea party.
Yet for Caroline Keegan, the Greensboro event was about saving something she sees as positive: the Affordable Care Act.
At the Greensboro meeting, Ms. Keegan, a 20-something graduate student at the University of Georgia in Athens, for the first time in her life told strangers about a chronic medical condition that could ruin her financially should ACA be repealed. The speech, she says, was well-received by both the crowd and the aides to Georgia's two US senators and the area's US representative all Republicans.
Afterward, she says, her hands wouldnt stop shaking.
I felt deeply thrown off balance, because this wasnt just sort of a political issue that I was concerned about, this was a feeling of intense vulnerability and fear for my own body, and it really surprised me, says Keegan.
So when a spokesperson for Sen. David Perdue one of the legislators holding the event called it a manufactured protest, Keegan felt like she had been slapped in the face.
To be sure, some crowds have been unruly and disruptive. And attendees say there have been partisan anti-Trump elements. The constituent day in Georgia was not even a town hall but a routine meeting to help elderly citizens navigate Social Security and Veterans Administration benefits.
Initially, there was some concern amongst the sheriffs that there was going to be civil disobedience and some rowdy protesting, Keegan says. At the same time, the sheriff was very hospitable and welcoming, and the mood was really energetic. It was amazing.
While Republicans have cited personal safety as a reason to cancel such gatherings, crowds so far have applauded, cheered, even defended police officers.
Representative Chaffetz pointed to an incident where two men wearing bandannas and handguns (which are legal to carry in Utah) urged the crowd to rush the police. But local police said the crowd instead stepped in to defend the police by forming a barrier.
The crowd was great with us, police Lt. Dan Bartlett told CNN.
Republicans conundrum is how to play for time, says Sarah Binder, a political scientist at George Washington University.
My guess is accusing the protesters of being paid rabble-rousers helps these lawmakers justify fewer or no town halls and buys them time to figure out what to do, she says.
For all the their power in holding the White House and both houses of Congress, Republicans are in a sensitive situation. The same was true of the Democrats in 2009, after all. On average, 37 seat shifts when theres a president with less than 50 percent approval rating, according to Professor Abramowitz. So far, Trump is hovering around 40 percent.
I dont know if the Republicans realize how vulnerable they really are, Abramowitz says.
For his part, Denham says his concerns are hardly partisan, but really just kitchen table issues. He wants to know whats going to happen with Obamacare. And hes worried that the tone Washington is hurting women. One of his daughters recently said I cant be an astronaut because Im a girl.
So far, the technology worker from suburban Peachtree Corners says response from elected representatives to his questions has been all adversarial.
But Americans demand a response. They are getting off their couches and coming out, says Denham.
And for lawmakers concerned about their safety, he offers a solution.
Dont worry, my twin 10-year-old daughters will protect you.
Staff writer Francine Kiefer contributed tothis report fromWashington.
Continue reading here:
Tea party, reversed? How GOP town halls look from the inside. - Christian Science Monitor
- Brevard Federated Republican Women Celebrate 75 Years of Sisterhood With Tea Party, Fashion Show - Space Coast Daily - July 22nd, 2025 [July 22nd, 2025]
- Axe Vale Canoe Club hosts tea party and river paddle - Midweek Herald - July 22nd, 2025 [July 22nd, 2025]
- The Tea Party, Headstones and Finger Eleven to perform at Caesars Windsor - CTV News - July 22nd, 2025 [July 22nd, 2025]
- The Tea Party, Headstones & Finger Eleven Bring Canadian Rock History To The Colosseum This December - windsoriteDOTca News - July 22nd, 2025 [July 22nd, 2025]
- Midsummer Afternoon Tea party at Cottonwood Mansion - The Haldimand Press - July 18th, 2025 [July 18th, 2025]
- Norfolk hospital support group hosting tea party support group - Great Yarmouth Mercury - July 18th, 2025 [July 18th, 2025]
- Friends of the Athenaeum Host Annual Afternoon Tea Party - The North Star Monthly - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- You Can Attend A Reimagined Six-Course Mad Hatter's Tea Party At This Glasgow Restaurant This Summer - And It's Only Available For A Limited Time -... - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- How the Tea Party 'abandoned its small-government principle' and became a Trump 'personality cult' - Alternet - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Care home celebrates Alice in Wonderland Day with Mad Hatter tea party - Basingstoke Gazette - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- First Primrose Tea Party raises nearly 2k for hospice in Bromsgrove - bromsgroveadvertiser.co.uk - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Fancy Nancy tea party invited children and their favorite teddy bear - Orange County Register - July 14th, 2025 [July 14th, 2025]
- Care home throws Mad Hatter's Tea Party for Alice in Wonderland Day - Daily Echo - July 14th, 2025 [July 14th, 2025]
- Women in military honored at tea party hosted by American Legion - WALB - July 14th, 2025 [July 14th, 2025]
- Tea Party by TeaMarrr - notion.online - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Garden tour and tea party set for July 15 at Plover library - Point/Plover Metro Wire - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- How Much Tea Was Dumped During the Boston Tea Party? - Britannica - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Stoke-on-Trent Smashes Guinness World Record with Big Centenary Tea Party! - FE News - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Manchester goes mad for Oasis: Cardiff will look like a tea party compared to this - telegraph.co.uk - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Is there really a Tea Party within the Democrats? The answer may surprise you - rawstory.com - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- Tea Party experience open to the public at AC Hotel Saturday - Madison County Journal - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- A Taste of Wonderland: Six by Nico Introduces Mad Hatters Tea Party Menu for Summer - Dublin Town - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- Bristol restaurant to introduce 'Mad Hatter's Tea Party' menu for summer - here's what to expect - BristolWorld - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- Wonderland Tea Party returns for a third year of whimsical fun - veronapress.com - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- Host A Garden Tea Party And We'll Match You To A Bird Persona - BuzzFeed - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- Greg Gutfeld likens Musks third party idea to a tea party - Fox News - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- On This Day: NHS worker from Watford invited to tea party hosted by Prince William - Yahoo - July 6th, 2025 [July 6th, 2025]
- 'Fabulous' Mad Hatter tea party fundraiser for Northamptonshire's Animals In Need - Northamptonshire Telegraph - July 6th, 2025 [July 6th, 2025]
- Host your own Alice in Wonderland tea party - Times of India - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- 5 Things to Do: Yankee Doodle Tea Party, Dabblers: Painting for Adult Beginners, and more in Kendall County - Shaw Local - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Is No Kings a new Tea Party in the making? - The Hill - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Host A Royal Tea Party To Reveal Your Inner Disney Princess - BuzzFeed - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Doves Garden Tea Party Collection Brings 'Bridgerton' Vibes to Your Shower - The Daily Beast - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Dove channels afternoon tea with limited-edition Garden Tea Party collection - Drug Store News - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Dove Debuts Garden Tea Party-Inspired Body Care Collection Exclusively at Target - PR Newswire - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Visiting the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum: What You Need To Know Before You Go - Mommy Poppins - June 29th, 2025 [June 29th, 2025]
- York care home celebrates Pride Month with tea party and cupcakes - uk.news.yahoo.com - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- Governor, state reps speak at county Tea Party meeting - Pendleton Times Post - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- 'Twisted Tea Party' brings fashion and philanthropy to Rancho Mirage - The Desert Sun - June 24th, 2025 [June 24th, 2025]
- Win Tickets to The Tea Party - Indie88 Toronto - June 24th, 2025 [June 24th, 2025]
- What the Boston Tea Party was fighting and why it still matters | Opinion - The Topeka Capital-Journal - June 22nd, 2025 [June 22nd, 2025]
- Tea Party in the Garden - Lac Ste. Anne County - June 22nd, 2025 [June 22nd, 2025]
- Tea Party to headline CanRock triple bill with Headstones and Finger Eleven at Rogers Place - Edmonton Journal - June 22nd, 2025 [June 22nd, 2025]
- School Nutrition Pros Treated to Tea Party - fayette-news.net - June 20th, 2025 [June 20th, 2025]
- A Royal Saturday Show: Princess Peigh's Sword Fighting Tea Party - WENY - June 20th, 2025 [June 20th, 2025]
- The Tea Party, Headstones and Finger Eleven Map Out Canadian Tour - Exclaim! - June 20th, 2025 [June 20th, 2025]
- The Tea Party making a tour stop in Windsor - AM 800 - June 20th, 2025 [June 20th, 2025]
- Finger Eleven To Tour Canada With The Tea Party & Headstones This Fall - Theprp.com - June 20th, 2025 [June 20th, 2025]
- Tea Party to headline CanRock triple bill with Headstones and Finger Eleven at Rogers Place - Yahoo - June 20th, 2025 [June 20th, 2025]
- THE TEA PARTY, HEADSTONES, FINGER ELEVEN Join Forces For Canada-Wide Tour Kicking Off In November - BraveWords - June 20th, 2025 [June 20th, 2025]
- The Tea Party, Headstones & Finger Eleven Announce Joint Canadian Tour - iHeartRadio Canada - June 20th, 2025 [June 20th, 2025]
- The Tea Party, Headstones and Finger Eleven announce tour stop in Penticton - Penticton News - Castanet - June 20th, 2025 [June 20th, 2025]
- The Tea Party, Headstones And Finger Eleven Team Up For Canadian Tour - live in limbo - June 20th, 2025 [June 20th, 2025]
- Learning Disability Week marked with Mad Hatters Tea Party in Kirkstall - West Leeds Dispatch - June 20th, 2025 [June 20th, 2025]
- School nutrition pros treated to tea party - Peachtree City Citizen - June 14th, 2025 [June 14th, 2025]
- Angry Democrats could face Tea Party-like movement from the Left - Washington Examiner - June 14th, 2025 [June 14th, 2025]
- Its dj tea party all over again - Roll Call - June 14th, 2025 [June 14th, 2025]
- Kildare public encouraged to throw a tea party for Team Hope - kildare-nationalist.ie - June 14th, 2025 [June 14th, 2025]
- Afternoon tea party on the way in County Waterford - waterford-news.ie - June 14th, 2025 [June 14th, 2025]
- Street Style Look of the Week: Wonderland Tea Party - The New York Times - June 10th, 2025 [June 10th, 2025]
- Sanrio Mascot Kuromi Gets Her Own 20th Anniversary Tea Party - Crunchyroll - June 10th, 2025 [June 10th, 2025]
- Tea Party and a Play with The Little Mermaid - geddieconnections.com - June 10th, 2025 [June 10th, 2025]
- PHOTOS: Crowds pour in as Oak Bay Tea Party heats up the weekend - Saanich News - June 10th, 2025 [June 10th, 2025]
- PHOTOS: Oak Bay Tea Party kicks off a weekend of festivities - Vancouver Island Free Daily - June 10th, 2025 [June 10th, 2025]
- A Wonderland of Wellness: The Mad Hatters Tea Party in the Mountains of Mallorca - Majorca Daily Bulletin - June 10th, 2025 [June 10th, 2025]
- Music, parade and teacup-race rematch on tap at Oak Bay Tea Party this weekend - Times Colonist - June 10th, 2025 [June 10th, 2025]
- EXCLUSIVE: IRS Official Tied To Obama-Era Tea Party Scandal Now Running Tax-Exempt Division - AOL.com - June 10th, 2025 [June 10th, 2025]
- Spring is the perfect time for a tea party - Monroe County Reporter - June 1st, 2025 [June 1st, 2025]
- Defying the British dev behind their MMO's "casual doubling of our taxes," Old School RuneScape player recreates the Boston Tea Party:... - June 1st, 2025 [June 1st, 2025]
- Medicine Park Tea Party to add class to the rugged Wichita Mountain scenery - The Lawton Constitution - May 19th, 2025 [May 19th, 2025]
- Malti's adorable tea party with Priyanka Chopra's manager is the cutest thing. Pics - India Today - May 19th, 2025 [May 19th, 2025]
- Priyanka Chopra's Daughter Maltie Marie's Tea Party PICS Are The Cutest Thing On Internet Today - Times Now - May 19th, 2025 [May 19th, 2025]
- Tea Party on the Porch and Patio to be hosted at Mountainsides Levi Cory House - Union News Daily - May 17th, 2025 [May 17th, 2025]
- Care home marks 80th anniversary of VE Day with afternoon tea party - Yahoo News UK - May 17th, 2025 [May 17th, 2025]
- Wiltshire care home celebrated VE Day anniversary with 1940s tea party - Wiltshire Times - May 17th, 2025 [May 17th, 2025]
- Abundant Life hosts free mother-daughter tea party next Saturday in New Bern - WCTI - May 11th, 2025 [May 11th, 2025]
- Channel your inner 'Bridgeton' on this Texas tea party tour bus - MySA - May 11th, 2025 [May 11th, 2025]
- Cinderellas Tea Party kicks off enchanting afternoon at Berks Ballet Theatre performance - Berks Weekly - May 11th, 2025 [May 11th, 2025]
- NOTL in Bloom - Setting up for a tea party fit for Alice at the NOTL Museum: Photo Gallery - Niagara-on-the-Lake Local - May 11th, 2025 [May 11th, 2025]
- VE Day 80 marked at Newport Castle with community tea party - The Pembrokeshire Herald - May 11th, 2025 [May 11th, 2025]