Town Hall Revolt
Rep. Peter King says he's done with town halls because his angry constituents 'diminish democracy'
Republican Rep. Peter King of New York said Thursday that he is done holding town hall meetings because his angry constituents "diminish democracy," CNN reports. King, speaking on AM970 The Answer, explained: "There are people who are just angry, they're angry that Trump won, that Hillary lost. There's others who are being, I guess, egged on, if you will. So I'm assuming that they're all legitimate, but to me it just does not serve a purpose. It really diminishes democracy if you're gonna show up to a meeting to just scream and yell."
Instead of appearing in person, the Long Island representative is scheduled to hold a "tele" town hall that requires anyone interested in participating to "opt-in" online, Long Island Press reports. "I am not having these town hall meetings because to me all they do is just turn into a screaming session," King said. "What I am doing, I have done every national TV show."
King added that he is meeting with people who both support and want to repeal ObamaCare, which has proved to be one of the largest motivators for town hall dissenters. King said he will "try to explain that, when you're in front of a room and everyone is screaming and yelling [and] makes no sense, [it] really trivializes democracy."