Members of Congress are beginning to announce their town hall schedules for the upcoming Easter recess, but only the Republicans are getting extra scrutiny for how meetings are conducted.
It’s sort of like the pass Democrats received for holding teletown hall meetings, but Republicans were heavily criticized for it, especially if the calls occurred during working hours.
U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet held his first town hall in two years just a few weeks ago, during working hours, but we didn’t see any complaints.
U.S. Rep. Jared Polis held a town hall last month with lots of rules for attending. Attendees had to pre-register, and arrive early to go through a security checkpoint set up for the event. No signs or large banners were allowed.
U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman announced his first town hall meeting this month for April 12 in Aurora, and here’s how the media is portraying that event.
But you can’t just show up and expect to get in.
An interesting conclusion, because Coffman’s rules are the same as Democrat’s with a few positive exceptions.
Tickets are being distributed for Coffman’s event so folks don’t have to arrive early to get a seat like they did at Bennet’s meeting.
Priority seating will be given to residents from his congressional district, and an overflow room is reserved to make sure everyone gets in.
No large banners and no weapons. And no yelling and making an ass of oneself, our words, not his.
Sounds reasonable, right? Not to Democrats.
“It’s a fake town hall in the sense it’s screened, it’s staged, it’s choreographed,” Morgan Carroll, chair of the state Democratic Party said.