Summary
Democrats are holding town halls in Republican districts, highlighting GOP lawmakers’ absence by leaving empty chairs on stage.
Wisconsin Rep. Mark Pocan hosted a town hall with an empty chair for absent Republican Derrick Van Orden, drawing 300 attendees in a town of 4,500.
Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, Kamala Harris’ former running mate, has also held events in GOP areas, calling Elon Musk a “dipshit” and a “South African nepo baby.”
Republicans, facing backlash over Trump’s federal program cuts, have avoided in-person events, citing disruptive protests. Democrats, including Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, are hosting events nationwide, while the DNC plans billboards urging constituents to demand town halls.
Show me a single example of a Republican ever changing their mind.
Well, a number of them in Montana flipped to block an anti-trans bill: https://thepulp.org/montana-republicans-flip-to-defeat-anti-trans-bills/ (just a semi-random link to the story, there are many other sources). Some of them can be persuaded to change their minds. Perhaps not many, or by much, but it is possible.
I have a friend of a friend, I’ll call him RustGamer, who is a 3 time Trump voter. He marched with me last Friday for the 50501 Veterans protests. The week before he learned for the first time since it’s occurrence that two people died on J6. He was willing to read the Jack Smith report and was deeply troubled by it.
Sure there are some absolute shitmunchers and some so deluded they’re unsaveable. But for some, these people are misled, or downright brain washed.
Rustgamer has no technical literacy outside of Rust. He watched whatever Facebook, Instagram, or ticktock pushed. And of course fox news since that’s what his parents taught him. He wasn’t good at searching for dissenting opinions because Google would just push him more propaganda sites when trying to, sponsored search results are evil.
He’s been in a different reality for the last decade and is just now waking up. It took a lot of talking, a lot of biting my tongue, and showing him I a “radical leftist” actually wanted what’s best for both of us. It’s not easy and I completely understand if people aren’t in a mental place to do it with what’s going on. But we only get through this if we do it together.
United we stand. Divided we fall.
I don’t even like talking to people in the first place.
Ugh don’t remind me. Dealing with a bunch of psychotic apes is my least favorite part of existence.
SAME SAME SAME. When I started confronting these people in my life my anxiety would flare up to the point my voice would shake lol. And I never in my life thought I’d be out marching in the streets.
It gets easier, but it takes practice (Prozac helps too). Now the anxiety has become anger. But not anger at them, rather anger at the system. Anger at what we let this country become. Anger at how lazy and complacent I’ve become.
Do your best, stay safe, and most important of all don’t get scared. Get angry.
That’s the problem: I’m always angry. My voice doesn’t shake, it just gets louder until I walk off angry and never talk to them again.
JD Vance turned from criticising Trump to licking his boots. Does that count?
This is just grifting though - totally on brand.