Observations of a Townhall Tea Party

My Republican Congressman recently held a Townhall Meeting, and, for the first time, I decided to show up. So did about 100 other people. I did not know what to expect, but I probably should have. I live in a congressional district where Republicans constitute the largest political party. It would figure that Republicans would dominate the meeting, but I was still surprised by some of the things I saw and didn’t see.

Although the population in our district is roughly 10% Hispanic and 6% African-American, the Townhall audience was almost entirely Caucasian and elderly. From what I could see, there was only one gentleman with a dark complexion.

Several candidates for office were present and handing out literature. All of them were Republicans. I was struck by the fact that their literature now prominently mentioned their sympathy for the Tea Party, whereas they used to highlight the fact that they were Christians.

During the meeting, the usual Republican talking points were made about the deficit, immigration, prosecution of alleged terrorists and Guantanamo. But I was most impressed by the extent to which members of the audience brought up the Constitution. A gentleman with an “Oath Keeper” patch ran around handing out political cards. I discovered later that Oath Keepers say they will refuse to obey any orders which they believe contravene the Constitution. Another gentleman held up a sign telling the congressman to vote “Constitutionally always.” And a lady announced to the congressman that she was taking an online course regarding the Constitution, and she was upset by a Supreme Court decision in the 1930's that had something to do with taxation. I suspect that Tea Party Republicans believe the Federal government should have no more responsibility, power or authority than it did when the U.S. Constitution was ratified Forget history. Forget that the language of the Constitution is sometimes vague and open to interpretation. Forget the decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court over the centuries. The USA of the 1700's is the utopia for modern conservatives.

What I did not see were signs that other Democrats were present. Maybe they knew it would turn into a Republican pep rally. I left the townhall meeting early, out of disgust with the rhetoric. But I also went away with a greater resolve to link up with other progressives in the area, for the purpose of political activities.