Republicans are developing tactics to avoid protesters' wrath at boisterous town halls

Rep. Dave Brat might have found a strategy for dealing with town hall protesters.

(Image credit: Richmond Times-Dispatch)

published 22 February 2017

Republicans have faced hostile, anti-Trump crowds at their town hall meetings across the nation, with some officials apparently choosing to forgo the procedure, rather than face what is sure to be a firing squad of their constituents. Rep. Dave Brat (R-Va.) is not backing down, though, and his latest approach Tuesday evening might offer "his colleagues a potential blueprint for defusing tense constituent town halls that have bedeviled his Republican colleagues as they've been swarmed by protesters," Politico reports.

That is not to say Brat wasn't heckled Tuesday evening during his town hall in Blackstone, Virginia — he was. But rather than field questions from the audience, including from Ginny Bonner, who has five immediate family members who would be uninsurable without ObamaCare, Brat's staff collected questions on index cards beforehand. The local mayor then picked which cards to read and Brat cheerfully plowed through the protests and heckling of the crowd.

"I don't mind boisterous. I'm having fun!" he told the audience at one point, the Richmond Times-Dispatch writes.

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Other Republicans might soon follow Brat's lead. Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) also faced furious constituents on the topic of ObamaCare on Tuesday. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) also faced protests and boos. A change in tactics by the Republicans doesn't bode well for protesters, who are "attempting to recreate the Tea Party fervor that swept Republicans into control of Congress in 2010," Politico notes.

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.