GOP Town Halls: Reps Forced To Screen Questions, Duck Out Of Meetings In Secret

WASHINGTON -- The wave of town hall protests targeting House Republicans, and aided by labor and progressive groups, is forcing lawmakers to put restrictions on the forum’s traditionally open structure.

On Tuesday night, Rep. Allen West’s office (R-Fl.) reportedly screened questioners during his town hall event by requiring individuals to fill out index cards which were then vetted by his staff. This was, the Boward County Sun Sentinel noted, different from “his usual practice at previous town hall meetings, where West took questions from people who lined up at microphones.”

Separately, House Budget Committee Chair Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.), who has chosen to publicly broadcast his town hall locations rather than avoid the protests, was forced to leave Tuesday night’s forum in a different car and from a different exit out of security concerns. The Wisconsin Republican told a local reporter that the decision to leave hastily was precautionary but not something that should be “blown out of proportion.”

Nevertheless, those groups and individuals trumpeting (and assisting) the town hall disruptions found in Tuesday's latest stories another favorable narrative.

"Is this the type of transparency Alan West promised when he ran for office?" emailed one labor source, whose members and retirees have been attending town halls.

The source, who pointed out the West news, declined to go on the record but didn’t shy away from touting the role played by his and other organizations in causing discomfort for West and others. The labor union, the source said, had been sending members to other West town halls (though not the one Tuesday night), “to ask pointed questions of their members where they stand on privatizing Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security versus ending spending on tax cuts for the richest 2% of all Americans.”

UPDATE: Jonathan Blyth, West's Chief of Staff, emailed the Huffington Post on Wednesday morning to clarify some of the process issues from the townhall the night before. The questions, Blyth said, were not vetted by staffers but by a "third party," meaning that the congressman had no way of knowing what he was about to be asked.

"The two moderators who reviewed and picked the question were individuals who invited the Congressman to do the Town Hall at that location," said Blyth.

Comments

[GreggyMark]

07:47 PM on 05/17/2011

If you're not a millionaire and you vote republican then you are truly a fool.

[stacknef]

04:44 PM on 05/17/2011

West is a coward when faced by 70 year old grandmothers.

[Marcusarilius]

10:10 PM on 04/28/2011

"On Tuesday night, Rep. Allen West’s office (R-Fl.) reportedly screened questioners during his town hall event by requiring individuals to fill out index cards which were then vetted by his staff."

Do any of us really need further proof that we now live in a media/political controlled government. When the majority of the media does Not challenge the public servants who "work for us" with even mild softball questions, and our "Public Servants" now act like the Gods from Olympus ready to throw down thunderbolts to the disbelievers.

[non-radical]

08:51 PM on 04/28/2011

Union thugs infiltrating town halls. No surprises there.

[An Independent Woman]

09:35 PM on 04/28/2011

Are you hi?

[non-radical]

09:49 AM on 04/29/2011

Nope. The leftist loonies watched what happened in 2010 and learned a lesson. The problem you have is that the dems keep screwing up the country. 2012 is ah'com'n and it won't look good for the dems. More pink slips.

[cjdotcom]

10:31 PM on 04/28/2011

NO, actually Republican congressional thugs bidding for their corporate masters.

[non-radical]

09:49 AM on 04/29/2011

Wishing and hope-in, singing and praying.....

[ggs83]

07:07 PM on 04/28/2011

The Rove people already have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on ads and robo calls lying about the ending of Medicare.
We need a voluneer group called Keep Rove Honest and where we can send flyers and calls to tell the truth after he tells his lies.
Lies on Iraq an lies on Medicare.

[ggs83]

07:02 PM on 04/28/2011

Just think back to all the hostile town hall meetings democrats had to tolerate last summer without cowering away from them. But the GOP are too used to quiet get aways with big money supporters but real people with real complaints--oh no, not for them
Ryan said he sleeps well at night--probably dreaming of all those big money donations coming his way at the expense of working people.

[American 69]

02:58 PM on 04/28/2011

Sneak in and sneak out ! Accept only those questions that you pre-clear. Eject those that disagree with you from the meeting.....

It's not fun when it's done to you is it ? During the election, the "people's revolt" was celebrated by all these right wingers; even going so far as to suggest about their opponents, "Let's make sure that he's afraid to leave his house". (Rep. West)

I don't like it done to anybody but, the Republican party has lowered the bar so far that shouting and name-calling and lies have become a normal part of political discourse. I had hoped that we had progressed beyond that. Now, we see that these "brave" politicians just can't stand the heat and need to hide from the people that elected them. They also seem to think that misdirection and outright lies are still OK when describing pending legislation....
REMEMBER THIS IN NOVEMBER 2012

[bswell]

02:57 PM on 04/28/2011

You can't fool all of the people of Wisconsin all of the time. They're not cheeseheads for nothing.

[non-radical]

08:52 PM on 04/28/2011

Depends on where that "Cheese" comes from.

[lindabear]

02:54 PM on 04/28/2011

HA HA HA - how funny! They have to screen their questions and tell people they are rude if they ask questions not approved. Remember how much the GOP loved it when the Koch Brothers brought all those folks to town hall meetings regarding healthcare and they turned loud and bad. Guess they aren't loving being questioned about their devious manipulations they consider governing. Looks like voters are starting to smarten up and ask questions.

[non-radical]

08:53 PM on 04/28/2011

MAO'bama has been screening his questions since the campaigne of 2008. With the exception of the "Joe the Plumber" interview.

[instarx]

10:48 PM on 04/28/2011

Baloney.

[Querent]

02:15 PM on 04/28/2011

Screening questions and comments in advance in order to control what's said about the political process? Who do they think they are? Huffington Post?

[KaAp]

01:50 PM on 04/28/2011

Allen West is a fascist and he can kiss my a**

[non-radical]

08:55 PM on 04/28/2011

How is he a facist? Ret. Colonel from the Army makes him a facist? Thought that made him an Honorable Verteran, being a elected official also makes him an hornorable citizen. Or does that label on get tagged onto dems?

[An Independent Woman]

09:42 PM on 04/28/2011

He was asked to retire. Did he retire with an honorable discharge? Probably. The Army takes care of its own. But he was retired under less than honorable circumstances.

[KaAp]

12:05 AM on 04/29/2011

He was not honorable at all. He was facing a court martial and was forced to resign and pay a fine for violating the UCMJ ...

[doctorwang]

12:56 PM on 04/28/2011

Looks like Ryan has hired Sharron Angle as a running trainer.

G0P = cowards

[ritamary]

10:39 AM on 04/28/2011

Allen West is a fascist thug.

[KaAp]

12:05 AM on 04/29/2011

Yes he is!

[Carolyn LeBeauf]

08:15 AM on 04/28/2011

Allan West is a tool of the birthers. Pretty soon they will be referring to him as the BOY,or you BOY.Let's see if he will keep his kool than.

[dna user]

11:40 AM on 04/28/2011

It seem like you started already.

[bswell]

02:57 PM on 04/28/2011

More like Uncle Al..........................

[dayzee10]

08:14 AM on 04/28/2011

Big mouth Retealibanbaggericans are now begining to understand what goes around comes around. They were the first to say that those town meetings held on health care reform that were disrupted by inane questions and implied physical violence were just the people expressing their first amendment rights, now they get a little questioning about their plans for the country and they cry (wa,wa,wa) about the unfairness of it all. Typical Retealibanbaggerican Party hypocrisy! I can only hope that people whose lives will be changed for the worse by these creeps will wake up even more and continue to let them know how they feel and keep intense pressure upon them. As for the Reatealibanbaggericans cry fest........I can only laugh....HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!

[isadora]

08:58 AM on 04/28/2011

You leave out the fact that a number of town meetings that were held in the last two years by Democrats in office had hostile, sometimes Tea Party connected (proudly identified by shirts and buttons) visitors who disrupted the meetings with exemplary Republican behaviors like pounding on glass walls to drown out discourse. At Alan West's town meeting on Tuesday, held outside his district at a friendly right wing extremist church, young female staff members required those who entered to fill out cards with their information and submit written questions. When asked why this was necessary the women answered "to make sure the people are from his district, not bussed in..." A man who came in with me stated, erroneously, that he was "bussed in by Acorn." Last year Alan West brought in supporters by the wagonload to stack town meetings of then Congressman Ron Klein. Seems like West is trying to protect himself from what he did to the previous guy. Tea Party Alan, it seems, can't stand the heat.

[American 69]

03:02 PM on 04/28/2011

Rep. West may be brilliant but he ain't so smart....