Summary
Democrats are holding town halls in Republican districts, highlighting GOP lawmakers’ absence by leaving empty chairs on stage.
Wisconsin Rep. Mark Pocan hosted a town hall with an empty chair for absent Republican Derrick Van Orden, drawing 300 attendees in a town of 4,500.
Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, Kamala Harris’ former running mate, has also held events in GOP areas, calling Elon Musk a “dipshit” and a “South African nepo baby.”
Republicans, facing backlash over Trump’s federal program cuts, have avoided in-person events, citing disruptive protests. Democrats, including Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, are hosting events nationwide, while the DNC plans billboards urging constituents to demand town halls.
The strength of this move is the empty chair. It is one thing to not have town halls. That is easy to forget and go, business as usual. It is another to have a town hall by the opposing party and have it highlighted that they are willing to meet to discuss but your elected representative was not. It highlights the deficit instead of allowing it to be overlooked.
Would be nice to see some advertising campaign comparing representatives to dads that left to get some milk and never came back.