New On The Market: 'Empty Chair' Town Halls

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Talking Points Memo

March 23, 2025 7:47 p.m.


They’re happening: ’empty chair’ town halls in Republican districts pretty much all over the place. This weekend we’ve got reports in Columbus, Ohio for Sens, Moreno and Husted, on Maryland’s eastern shore, where Jamie Raskin had to show up in place of Andy Harris, in Little Rock for French Hill, Tom Cotton and John Boozman, in Lexington for Andy Barr.

These are, I must say, quite ingenious. Almost all of these are very red districts. And they’re not a few people showing up holding signs. The one in Little Rock had 800 attendees. There were reportedly 1,000 in Lexington. The others seem to have had comparable numbers if not quite that many.

When people want town halls because they want to express displeasure to their Trump-Elon-supporting members of Congress it’s pretty striking that you can get this kind of turn out when those folks are not even going to be there. These events create a big, fat news pegs for stories and conversation about the fact that Republicans are refusing to face their constituents. On top of that they’re powerful organizing events. It’s basically all win.

From anecdotal reports and eyeballing photos the attendees seem to be mostly middle-aged and predominantly white. That’s not surprising. That’s basically the Democrats’ suburban normie high-voter-turnout base.

Read more: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/new-on-the-market-empty-chair-town-halls

[BoRaGard]

1. Republicons turn their backs on America and Americans

Sad ass corrupted party

[Bengus81]

28. They thought they could do it to the Trump CULT and it wouldn't matter

Guess their finding out when they get their asses handed to them IF they dare to show up.

[Canada Kid]

2. AWOL Republicans

A downright disgrace when you outright dishonor those who voted for you only weeks after you were voted in. But also shame on all you poor, ignorant white folk who were too dense at the time to realize that by voting for your local creep and for DOOFUS as your president, you were putting yourselves and your communities into dire straits. I you would stop believing the garbage rhetoric you were being fed, you would have realized that the social programs that you rely on were going to be scrapped, leaving thousands of small town low and middle income families high and dry. Remember, most of those programs were implemented by DEMOCRATIC governments over the years. You all have successfully shot yourselves in the foot!

[calimary]

6. Yep. Pretty sorry story, that's for sure.

[no_hypocrisy]

3. Ha! I remember Clint Eastwood making an ass of himself over an empty chair.

[BumRushDaShow]

4. And that is who Democrats have been mocking ever since

[IrishAfricanAmerican]

5. I'm still thinking all of these GOP no shows...

are because they have been told the fix is in. Whether it will be martial law, technical interference, "law enforcement" action, or a combination of all of them, I'm suspicious the GOP already knows there will be no free and fair election. All of these rallies are providing "feel good" like they did during the campaign, but if it's going to be stolen anyway, I say be extremely vigilant and prepared to take any action necessary should this go way off the rails.

[dutch777]

7. This is genius. Dems need proxies that can lead these meetings and ridicule lack of GOP backbone and...

...fact that Trump/GOP is not dealing with inflation, settling the world's problems and is in fact increasing the US debt while putting tens of thousands out of work and threatening Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid. I would make this about GOP House and Senate not dealing with real issues for voters not about Trump per se. Goal is to take back House and Senate in 2026 and make current GOP legislators increasingly reluctant to support Trump/Musk nonsense.

[NBachers]

30. I agree- Democrats should show up at these Puke vapor rallies and be ready to lay out some vote-changing info & behavior

[ShazzieB]

8. I hope to God all of these events are getting videotaped.

They need to be posted on YouTube with titles like "Townhall in [state name and district number] - GOP Representative [name] did not attend."

This stuff needs to be publicized far and wide to let people how these sh!t weasels are NOT doing their jobs!

[BumRushDaShow]

9. I expect at a minimum, they are posted on social media

including Xitter, Threads, Blue Sky, Instagram, Facebook, etc. - i.e., those that have video options. It seems to be more difficult for them to get these things on YouTube nowadays unless they have the staff designated to do what was once a default, to do something that now seems to be ancillary due to all those other options.

[ShazzieB]

19. Yeah, social media is better than nothing.

A YouTube channel devoted to this stuff would be awesome, but we can't have anything.

[BumRushDaShow]

20. The DNC created a new "rapid response" entity called "FactPost"

https://democrats.org/news/icymi-dnc-launches-new-factpost-digital-accounts-economic-messaging-to-take-on-trumps-billionaire-cabinet-as-confirmation-hearings-kick-off/

that has a presence on social media although they don't mention youtube (at least yet). I saw some other youtube channels with a similar name so that might be why too...

[sheshe2]

22. I just posted the FL13 town hall.

It is Anna Paulina Luna's district. She was too scared to go, so Swalwell went in her stead. Amazing speech and he got a standing ovation in the end.

[ShazzieB]

23. That's great!

[travelingthrulife]

10. Went to one for Darrell Issa, the last Republican rep in San Diego County

He hasn't done a town hall since 2017. Richest member of Congress. Worthless. Nominated Trump for Nobel.

They announced 750 people but people kept pouring in after that. Standing room only. Mueller She Wrote hosted for Indivisible.

[BumRushDaShow]

16. Here was Mueller She Wrote's Blue Sky post about it (with video)

https://bsky.app/profile/muellershewrote.bsky.social/post/3ll3p7wjfdc2o

Mueller, She Wrote
‪@muellershewrote.bsky.social‬
Chants of TAX THE RICH! From today’s Indivisible empty chair town hall for Darrell Issa - who just so happens to be the richest person in Congress. @velshi.bsky.social @lawrenceodonnell.msnbc.com @maddow.msnbc.com @indivisible.org
0:09
0:00 / 0:09
March 23, 2025 at 10:23 PM

Xitter announcement -

Link to tweet

Mueller, She Wrote
@MuellerSheWrote
·
Follow
NEW: I’ll be hosting an Indivisible empty chair town hall in republican Darrell Issa’s district on March 23rd, and it’s almost SOLD OUT, but there are a few spots left. You can RSVP here! @maddow

https://eventbrite.com/e/darrell-issa-empty-chair-town-hall-presented-by-indivisible-tickets-1274626525249?aff=oddtdtcreator
Image
4:08 PM · Mar 13, 2025

She didn't have an updated Threads post on this that I could find but someone else who was there posted some pics (DU has a Threads embed feature but doesn't have one for Blue Sky yet) -

Post by @gooseeye3

View on Threads

Issa is such slime and I was when he got back into Congress (apparently running in a redder district IIRC).

[democrank]

11. Empty chairs for empty suits

Cowards….every last one

[travelingthrulife]

13. The one I went to was loud with lots of great signs. People are pissed.

[riversedge]

14. Updated Mar. 24 2025 7:27AM Daily Beast: Angry Voters Yell at 'Empty Chair' Town Halls as Republicans Chicken Out

Angry Voters Yell at ‘Empty Chair’ Town Halls as Republicans Chicken Out
RAGING IN ABSENTIA
‘Empty chair’ town halls are in uproar as Republican lawmakers refuse to hold public events.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/angry-voters-yell-at-empty-chair-town-halls-as-republicans-chicken-out/


Janna Brancolini Updated Mar. 24 2025 7:27AM EDT

Link to tweet

[riversedge]

15. Chants of TAX THE RICH! From today's Indivisible empty chair town hall for Darrell Issa - who just so happens to be the

Mueller, She Wrote‬ ‪@muellershewrote.bsky.social‬
·
12h
Chants of TAX THE RICH! From today’s Indivisible empty chair town hall for Darrell Issa - who just so happens to be the richest person in Congress.
@velshi.bsky.social

@lawrenceodonnell.msnbc.com

@maddow.msnbc.com

@indivisible.org

https://bsky.app/profile/muellershewrote.bsky.social/post/3ll3p7wjfdc2o

[liberalgunwilltravel]

17. Andy Harris

Misrepresents my district. As he is a former anesthesiologist, most of his positions seem to a result of huffing his own wares. Combine that with the fact he was Ben Carson's closest colleague at Hopkins, and I think you will have a fuller picture as to how reprehensible he really is. He's a Viktor Orban suckup, and a Trump toady. Maybe when the Eastern Shore farmers suffer from the malfeasance of Trump administration, they'll have a change of heart. Although that's unlikely, since the Eastern Shore thinks much like the Antebellum South.

[Wednesdays]

18. "...mostly middle-aged and predominantly white"

That's not the Democratic base...that's the Fox Newz, MAGAt base!

[Grins]

21. Clint Eastwood's gift that keeps on giving!! NM

[DownriverDem]

24. Now those venting repubs

need to vote for the Dems in the Midterms. That will stop/slow down the trump/musk agenda.

[ck4829]

25. Kick

[swag]

26. MONTANA: Nearly 1,000 attend Billings town hall, raising concerns while Congressional leaders a no-show

https://dailymontanan.com/2025/03/22/nearly-1000-attend-billings-town-hall-raising-concerns-while-congressional-leaders-a-no-show/

It wasn’t a typical Friday night event in the downtown of Montana’s largest city.

The only music played at the event was a closing song, “America,” which brought the crowd of nearly 1,000 to its feet.

About the only people missing from the event that filled the spacious Lincoln Auditorium in Billings (capacity: 1,636) were the three chairs reserved for Sens. Steve Daines and Tim Sheehy as well as Rep. Troy Downing whose congressional district covers the Magic City and all of eastern Montana.

Not unlike dozens of other town-hall style meetings across America, the purpose was to ask questions of leaders about what is happening in Congress, with President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. And not unlike many recent meetings, the elected leaders did not show up.

. . . more

[BumRushDaShow]

27. Thanks for posting that

Read the whole thing. Really comprehensive description of that event!

[MeNotThatKindOfOrc]

29. I know I'm late for this conversation but

if Dems, (like Ro Khanna did last week), can show up at republican town halls where repubs don't show up and are too chicken shit to face their constituents, this is the way to get more votes.