A political activist group founded by a former Hillary Clinton staffer is pushing back against GOP claims that the surge in attendance at town halls held by Republican lawmakers is being driven by paid protesters.
“Town Hall Project began with a simple belief: town halls are a vital forum for civic engagement, and a central list of all congressional town halls and other public events would be a valuable resource to all voters,” stated the group’s chairman, Jimmy Dahman, who was a field organizer for the Clinton campaign.
“[S]ome have made the charge that the constituents attending these town halls in the hundreds — sometimes in the thousands — are ‘paid protesters’ and that this amazing level of civic engagement is somehow manufactured,” he said. “This defies common sense and our own eyes and ears. Thousands of people from the bluest parts of America to the reddest are politically engaged like never before, and they expect their representatives to take them seriously.”
The group’s new website, which shows who is holding meetings back in their districts and when, is available for use by Democrats and Republicans, Dahman said.
“Town Hall Project has never and will never pay anyone to attend a town hall,” he added. “The very idea is completely in conflict with our values of local civic engagement. And, frankly, if any member of Congress actually believes that these mobilized citizens are not real — and that their concerns are not real — they might find someone else sitting in their chair after Election Day in 2018.”
Another progressive group is taking credit for aiding the movement, but is similarly denying ties to established Democratic organizations. Indivisible, which emerged since Election Day, says local groups in every congressional district are using its guide to learn how to counter President Trump by interacting with their own lawmakers.
There are postings on sites such as Craiglist looking for volunteers to protest Republican members, although none offer compensation.
“Looking for volunteers to hold signs on the KI entrance ramps at evening rush hour to shame Congressman Harris into having public meetings,” read one posted on the site’s page for eastern Maryland. “Depending on the number of volunteers, we could do different KI exits different days,” it read. “KI” is a reference to Kent Island on Maryland’s eastern shore, which is represented by Rep. Andy Harris, who was first elected in the 2010 Tea Party wave.
