Congrats, You Held a Town Hall. Now What?

Activity Doesn't Equal Progress

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) meets citizens at a town hall meeting in Omaha, Nebraska (Courtesy, Bernie Sanders/Twitter)

As spring breaks across America, the sunshine has fed the next big (old) thing in politics: The town hall meeting. I’ve gotten in on the action. Just last week,

The Union

co-hosted our Congressional event in Florida’s 7th Congressional District. Please read my report below.

Field Report :: Oviedo, Florida Town Hall Meeting

If these events are a series of one-offs, as I suspect, then there aren’t broader objectives or an overall strategy to illustrate the real pain, anger, and second-guessing many citizens are feeling less than three months into the new (old) Republican administration. Without a plan, they’re just collective screaming into the wind.

Cornering the Bear

If tactics are how you kill the bear, strategy is how you corner it. So far, we have a lot of people going on a bear hunt (a bear hunt, a bear hunt) without knowing where to find him or what to do if you, in fact, encounter the bear (end of tortured metaphor.)

Let’s break the town hall trend strategically:

• Is there anyone or group deciding where to go, what to say, and/or why you’re going to those places and saying those things? (Answer: No)

• Are the places these events are being held in districts with vulnerable Congressional Republicans or is there some other metric? If so, what is it? IE, communities hit hardest by cuts to food pantries?

• After the event, are the attendees being followed up with? Did you even gather the information on who came? If so, for what purpose? There are two wrong answers: 1) So they can volunteer next year 2) So we can ask them for money. My gut says if the folks coming to hear people speak are being collected, they’re seen by the consultant class as small-dollar donors, not community activists.

• Did the speakers (read: politicians) spend any time with the locals or did they come in, do their 45 minutes, and leave? Did they take questions and answer them honestly? Or did you give them the same kind of pablum that helped drive belief in government into the toilet in the first place?

• Are you finding individuals who can and should serve as leaders in their communities? Who can speak to their neighbors? Who could serve as a candidate?

If any of these things are happening in the town halls going on around the country, I’d 1) be impressed and 2) be beyond surprised.