In America, a town hall is not just a place but an idea. It’s an event where local officials can meet with ordinary citizens and answer questions about their concerns and explain what the government is doing to better their lives. It’s a practice that originated in colonial New England even before our independence from Mad King George. It fit in with the American character as the first self-governing representative democracy.
Republican no-shows
It’s regrettable that in the era of mass media and the Internet, the town hall has fallen into disuse and disfavor as a kind of quaint historical artifact, like Puritan hats.
In recent years, however, the town hall has taken on a new life, especially for congressional representatives who, by law, must run for election every two years. It gives constituents the opportunity to see their duly elected representatives in person and hold them accountable. At least, in theory.
But since Trump’s inauguration, congressional GOP representatives in all corners of the nation have been getting an earful at their town halls – if they deign to hold one at all.
In my area (suburban Long Island, New York), a section which was once reliably blue is now a MAGA stronghold represented by two hardcore Trumpers (although they like to pretend otherwise).
Neither one of them has made any effort to hold in-person town halls, preferring orchestrated tele-town halls or carefully curated appearances. Heck, one of our GOP reps doesn’t even live in the district he claims to represent. And yes, while it’s not against the law, it’s just another example of hypocrisy as he lambasted his opponent in the 2024 race for having two homes (and conveniently forgetting that one of the residences was actually in the district).
Gap in the market
So, it should come as no shock that enterprising Democrats saw an opportunity to pounce. Cue AOC and Bernie Sanders for their widely popular Fighting Oligarchy tour.
And in my case, local Democratic (Dem) groups banded together to organize a We The People event on a recent Saturday afternoon hosted by the esteemed Rep. Jamie Raskin, one of the few Dems in Washington willing to speak up vociferously against the anti-democratic forces of the Trump administration (both one and two).
Naturally, both Republican representatives released statements dismissing Raskin as a rabble rousing, out-of-touch, and out-of-state liberal. Their presence at the town hall were two empty chairs.
Over 1,000 people came to hear Raskin speak, with hundreds more in an overflow venue or protesting outside. Look, Democratic voters have been protesting all along. But here in Suffolk County, they were hungry to hear someone speak for them, not against them, and to be assured that there was at least one powerful voice on their side. And that they weren’t alone in their desire to protect democracy from a wannabe strongman.
Raskin is a congressional representative from Maryland, currently on his fourth term. He served in the Maryland legislature and taught constitutional law at American University in Washington for 25 years.
In Congress, he was a key member of the House congressional investigation into the 6 January 2021 insurrection attack on the Capitol, and he challenged the legitimacy of Trump’s 2016 election because of its taint of foreign influence by Russia. He was the lead representative on the second Trump impeachment. And he has consistently pushed progressive policies on social issues such as racial inclusion and gender identity. He’s had a book banned in Texas and in Russia, which he called “a singular honor”.
In other words, he’s got the goods. And he delivered them to this audience.
Raskin the comedian
Raskin spoke for 30 minutes before answering questions from the audience for 45 minutes more; it could’ve gone on much longer. He interspersed his speech with quips and observations on the current state of our government, most notably that “we are being governed by morons”.
Referencing the scandal-plagued secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth: there have been “way too many DUI hires”. Regarding the Christian right’s efforts to require prayer in public schools: “As long as there are math pop quizzes, there will always be prayer in schools”. On attempts at imposing the Ten Commandments on government: “You can’t vote for commandments you have violated”.
Raskin the scholar
But because he is a serious constitutional scholar, Raskin also spoke authoritatively on what the Constitution actually says and allows rather than what a certain president thinks it does. He reinforced that it cannot be ignored on a whim – or at all.
Raskin pointed out that the Preamble begins “We the people of the United States…” and states that the power of the government is vested in the people’s representatives in the government, not in one single person. “All legislative power is in the Congress. The President cannot decide what laws to make or unmake.” And he referenced specifically to two sections of Article I:
“The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States.
“To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.”
“It could not be clearer where the power is,” Raskin declared to thunderous applause. “The president is not the commander-in-chief of the Congress.” He is, however, required to see that the laws “are faithfully executed, not rewritten or trashed”.
While many Republicans these days like to proclaim that they are “champions of the people,” Raskin reminded us that “Political office is nothing more than being servants of the people”.
On the subject of due process in the legal system, which Trump has blatantly ignored or pretended to be unaware of, Raskin noted that Trump repeatedly “availed himself” of just that principle: “Due process applies to the guilty, too.”
Q&A: bipartisan relations
In the actual town hall, or Q&A, portion of the event, Raskin addressed questions regarding gerrymandering (“Get rid of it”), impeachment (“Nobody is afraid of it. I can’t say there won’t be”), voting (“Voting is like driving: to go forward, put it in D; to go backward, put it in R”), and gutting Social Security (“It’s the greatest anti-poverty program ever. You can’t find a better-run program”).
When asked if Democrats and Republicans in Congress even talk to each, he responded, “It’s gotten harder.”
The congressman mentioned two Republicans he can relate to, the neoconservative Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, two of the most vocal Republicans critical of Trump , both no longer in office. Cheney lost her Republican primary in 2022 to a more die-hard Trump supporter, while Kinzinger’s Illinois district was largely eliminated in a redistricting and he did not run again in 2023.
Raskin also stated he was friends with Lauren Boebert, a far-right congresswoman from Colorado to a healthy round of boos and catcalls, which Raskin took in stride. “You take Republican friends as you can find them. My father taught me never to give up on anybody.”
Antidote and call to action
Overall, Raskin’s appearance was a welcome dose of reason and passion against the relentless onslaught of destruction emanating from the White House and a cri de coeur for those who still believe in democracy and the American experiment. As usual, the online detractors insisted we were all paid by some nefarious organization or person. (Why can’t they get that idea out of their stinking minds?)
Town halls hosted by Republican politicians across the country have not gone well for them, even in safely Republican districts. Their own constituents are turning on them, demanding to know why they are being subjected to policies – mostly the economic ones – they feel they didn’t vote for. The politicians are forced to defend their support for Trump’s agenda out of fear of retribution and being primaried by an even more extreme challenger as Cheney was. Or, like our two Republican congressmen, they don’t even bother.
But as Raskin said repeatedly, it’s up to us – you and me – to keep turning up the heat. Call your reps, voice your fears, attend protests (‘a rally a day keeps fascism away’), and otherwise make your concerns known. Even though Congress was just elected, due to the two-year cycle, they’re always running.
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