A town hall hosted by Rep. Byron Donalds turned chaotic Tuesday, with audience members repeatedly interrupting the Florida Republican, leading authorities to remove two people — the latest raucous town hall dominated by protests against President Trump’s administration.
Donalds, a three-term congressman running in next year’s Florida gubernatorial race, was asked a litany of often-testy questions, several of which focused on billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. Audience members booed or cheered — and, in some cases, angrily left early — throughout the almost two-hour event at Estero High School in southwest Florida. Donalds occasionally verbally sparred with the protesters.
My cousins were at a similar town hall in Florida. Maybe this one. It’s a deep red county and tons of people showed up. From reports from my family, most of the people there were Republican and very very angry. Like the loudest by far were Republican and they were just furious at the absolute chaos this Admin is engaging in.
So, for what it’s worth, that’s our small personal story.
Will it lead to representation? Maybe. Probably not. But it’s not nothing. And it sure ain’t praise.
At least the people who voted for this guy are angry and showing up. It’s absolutely not just “liberals.” I think we might see this more.
People have a right to be heard by their politicians.
They’ll still fucking vote R.
These people will allow them to murder their own family before voting for someone with a “D” next to their name.
Yeah very likely. But the parties have changed spirit without changing name a few times over. Something will break. Change is inevitable. Might not be humanistic change. We can do what we can in our own ways to protect and guard humanism and decency in our immediate communities. It’s probably not enough. But nothing can last forever, even this darkness. So, we can become part of their inevitable failure. Even if it is only a small part.
“People have a right to be heard by their politicians.”
This was a right that the people in the US fought for. Over the last 100 years or so, the mechanisms of government post FDR, have so thoroughly been absorbed by money and lobbying and lobbying money adding in new laws to pry the door of wealthy influence ever more open and close the door of democratic representation ever a smaller crack ajar.
What this means, practically, is that there are now several generations, indeed, entire careers for many of the disgusting nearly life-appointment “representatives”(see lobbying and money influence above) who do not even know that the people they represent don’t fly to DC in jets and visit them in suits to request legislation. After all, that is who has money, or who represents those with money, who drive campaigns, careers and power and influence. Constituents, largely no longer do.
Town halls? Dialogue? Not necessary when the playbook was written 50 or 90 years ago.
This does need to change and I’d guess much more likely than reversion to democracy, a full Pride Rock 🪨🦁 style recapture is what it will take to shake up the horror show.