Let’s Create “Town Hall Night in America”
It’s time for Democrats to institutionalize our oldest form of democracy
Stephen Colbert mocked the props Democrats brought to President Trump’s big boring speech. He joked that the paddles they raised — “Save Medicaid,” “Musk Steals” and “False”— made it seem as if they were bidding on an antique tea set. Whichever genius came up with that idea forgot to check whether the pool cameras in the chamber could pick up the words on the paddles. Most of the time they couldn’t. The pink outfits didn’t do much and even Rep. Al Green’s disruption (shouting “No Mandate on Medicaid” before being ejected) — while energizing — cannot serve as a model of resistance because it puts off the independents needed for our side.
One bright spot: freshman Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin delivered the best Democratic response in years: “Whether you’re in Wyandotte or Wichita, most Americans share three core beliefs: That the Middle Class is the engine of our country. That strong national security protects us from harm. And that our democracy, no matter how messy, is unparalleled and worth fighting for.”
Those are the three right themes for Democrats to flesh out, though the message needs to sound more like this brilliant and biting speech by a French senator, who nailed Trump as a traitor. The larger problem is that Democrats have no effective way to disseminate their arguments — no media ecosystem like the right-wing has built or even a DNC capable of producing sticky talking points.
But there is one time-tested democratic structure that has been working lately: the town hall meeting, evoked in 1943 in Norman Rockwell’s quintessentially American image. Republican House members got an earful last month — especially about DOGE — at town halls in Texas, Wisconsin and Georgia. These are the perfect venues for publicizing the human wreckage of Trump’s assault. Stung by the raucous videos, Trump called attendees “paid troublemakers” — just another lie — and National Republican Congressional Committee Chair Richard Hudson (R-N.C.) told fellow Republicans to host tele-town halls or live-streamed events instead of in-person ones.
Democrats, who have been holding their own well-attended town halls, tried to fire back. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries posted a video on Monday saying:
What’s wrong with y’all? We don’t need to send paid protesters into your town hall meetings. The American people are with us, all across the country. People are rising up to push back against the assault on the economy, the assault on hard-working families, the assault on our democracy, and the assault on Medicaid. We don’t need paid protesters, bro.
That riposte was necessary but hardly sufficient. After the speech, Jeffries, Chuck Schumer and other Democratic leaders took heat for not having a plan to capitalize on this new anti-Trump energy.
So here’s an idea that originated, as far as I can tell, in this tweet from conservative-operative-turned-Never-Trump-stalwart Bill Kristol. So far, Democrats don’t seem to have taken Kristol up on his idea of the party hosting town halls this month in all 435 congressional districts. They should. In fact, they should go further and hold town hall meetings in every district, every month, every year.
That’s because the best way to channel our anger, fear, and patriotism is to speak out not just on cable news and in elite institutions but in the schoolhouses, libraries, municipal buildings, and churches where American democracy was born.
In the last Congress, House members, on average, held four town hall meetings a year. Upping that to 12 would have a powerful impact. Many Democratic members report that their impassioned and often traumatized constituents have been asking them what they can do. One answer is: Come back next month to this time-honored tradition, where you will meet more people like you who are willing to take part in community building, party building, and effective resistance to MAGA vandals.
This inspiring form of local cohesion and accountability — which goes back to the 17th Century in colonial New England —could be the organizing structure for saving democracy at the grassroots level. By institutionalizing the town hall as a permanent forum, Democrats would acquire the cross beams necessary to build a new kind of in-person platform — one that gets people out of the house to meet and draw energy from one another. Zoom town halls are fine, but only if sign-ups lag or the weather is bad.
Town Hall Night in America, held all across the country in the first week of every month, would give the resistance tone and heft.
Imagine the reaction in town halls to Co-President Elon Musk telling Joe Rogan on Wednesday, “The fundamental weakness of Western Civilization is empathy.” No, Elon, you cartoon villain, some ordinary American would say. You’ve got it exactly backwards. Love and compassion are fundamental strengths.
If all 214 House Democrats were required by the party to hold monthly town halls, the press and public would plan around them. In the 218 Republican districts, Democrats can place an empty chair where the Republican incumbent should have been, creating interest and goading the Republican to show up. The subject matter and specifics of the Democratic town hall meetings will vary, but a few things should be standard:
Civility
The meetings can be boisterous, even angry, but should maintain a basic level of civility and respect so as not to make a fat MAGA target. While free speech (per the Rockwell illustration) is the animating spirit of the events, anti-Trump Democrats and independents should be strongly discouraged from attacking each other. Keep the fire trained on the bad guys.
Simultaneous
The 435 town halls should all take place on the same night of the same first week of the month. This would create a Town Hall Night in America tradition that voters could count on, driving attendance and media coverage.
Streamed Live
The events should be live streamed and stored on a single site, allowing ordinary Americans to hear themselves talking once a month. This will creates “destination content” for local media, reach younger demos, and yield videos much stronger than Schumer peering down through his glasses. Late in the evening, Democrats can blast out “Best Of” clips.
Informational
The town halls should focus on accountability but also provide new information to the public, meaning that Democratic members of Congress — or well-informed state and local leaders (including Democratic U.S senators) in the GOP districts — should mostly answer questions, not give speeches. And the audience should be encouraged to ask questions, not give speeches.
DNC-Organized
The DNC should work with Democratic House members in blue districts and designated leaders in red districts to make sure these events take place in all 435 districts once a month. It will be a powerful party-building activity.
V is for Victory
Jeff Dearth, a former president of the New Republic, wrote me to say that “now is the time for resistors to Trump to take ownership of the V-sign, that simple gesture of holding up two fingers that has come to mean “peace.” But it also stands for Victory ( ala Churchill) and, depending on the circumstances, can also mean F**K You, or “Up yours” in the UK. Its multiple meanings are one of its strengths.”
I love the idea of once a month seeing thousands of people flashing the V-sign at the same time on videos from across the country. It’s better than big street demonstrations, where any community-building takes a back seat to estimating whether this crowd was bigger or smaller than at the last protest.
If Democrats execute on town halls, I like the match-up. MAGA has the Nazi salute; we have the “V.” They have the chain saw; we have the gavel. They have the Congress, for now; we have the oldest form of democratic participation in America, a beautiful institution whose spirit infused the Constitution and can give it new life today.
Brilliant idea!! How can we make it so?
Yes yes yes