How To Hold A Town Hall (A Quick Guide For Republicans)

How To Hold A Town Hall (A Quick Guide For Republicans)
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Merriam-Webster Dictionary describes a town hall as “an event at which a public official or political candidate addresses an audience by answering questions posed by individual members.”

Very cool!

Some even say that the first town hall meeting can be traced back to 1633 when Kathleen Martell, town clerk, held an event in Massachusetts.

And I thought I was getting old! Lol. I hate everything.

Town hall meetings are to a healthy democracy as being stressed out is to 2017. They’re important. That’s because at the most basic level it’s essential for us, as constituents, to be able to voice opinions to the officials who are (supposed to be) representing us. You can turn Twitter off. You can mark your emails as read. You can have interns answer phones. But you can’t hide from face-to-face interaction.

Looking for Carmen Sandiego and also some transparency

While transparency is always imperative, it’s especially necessary during times when decisions will affect lives. Quite literally. But after the American Health Care Act a.k.a. the AHCA a.k.a. Trumpcare a.k.a. Wealthcare a.k.a. Shitcare a.k.a. Steve Bannon Personified as Legislation recently passed 217-213 in the House of Representatives, some Republicans who voted ‘yes’ on the bill are MIA in their very own communities. Have you heard?

But why the absence?

Is it because votes were made without a CBO score? Is it because the bill has been said to benefit the wealthy? Is it because there are worries surrounding the coverage for those with pre-existing conditions? Is it because they are just cowards? Is it because this is really a tax bill? Is it because they just found out about Netflix (lots of good shows this month)? Or is it for the magnitude of other valid reasons?

For the record, some have shown up (good). And this is what has happened.

Regardless, representatives owe it to the communities who elected them to show up, hear questions, and engage in dialogue. This holds true for reps of every party, when there is a dangerous bill being proposed, and even when there is not.

How to hold a town hall, if you’ve forgotten

I’m not a politician, but I’ve watched Parks & Rec and I also went to middle school so I feel like it can’t be that hard to organize a town hall event. Especially when you have staff that work for you.

So, for all of you officials out there who are confused on how to hold a town hall and instead are staying home to watch Fox & Friends or trying to fire Stephen Colbert, listen up and then show up to a fucking town hall event.

Here’s how you can do it!

  1. Find a place to hold the event. There are a lot of buildings. Like, so many buildings. Pick one!

  2. Set a time and date, or have your intern figure it out. IDGAF. Every weekend high school kids pull off parties while their parents are out of town. You can do this.

  3. Do you have a budget? You might need a budget. Tip: you should provide refreshments for the people in your city you are about to kill. Also, get good A/V equipment. Nobody likes a faulty microphone.

  4. Set an agenda. You should probably carve out a large chunk of time for attendees to ask you questions. Because, again, you are ruining lives.

  5. Promote the event. Use social media. Put up flyers. Get a tattoo of the date and time.

  6. Get volunteers. It may be tough because you probably aren’t very popular right now.

  7. Make sure someone is taking notes. Writing down clear action items and next steps is key.

  8. Thank your informed citizens for actually caring about one another and the greater community, then apologize for being a scumbag and promise that you won’t let the AHCA pass in the Senate.

Also, here’s a collection of every representative who voted ‘yes’ and whether or not they are having town halls.

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