The Red State-Blue State Divide: Summer Session

Using Town Halls to Turn Up the Heat - with or without your legislators!

Jul 31, 2025

Cardboard cutout displayed during an Empty Chair Town Hall in Indiana

Typically, the Congressional Summer Session is set aside for direct constituent engagement, fundraising, and leadership meetings at the local level. But Republicans, terrified of angry voters, aren’t feeling eager to meet face-to-face with residents in their districts. In fact, Republican leaders have advised against it, urging their members to make use of digital communications instead.

I get it! Red state legislators are still traumatized by the tongue lashings they received from their own supporters this Spring. But, if they thought things were heated then, they’ve done themselves absolutely no favors since! Working-class voters in Republican strongholds were already upset about Trump’s illegalities, rising grocery bills, and looming health care cuts, but they are downright explosive when it comes to the Epstein saga! Trump broke his campaign promise to release Epstein’s client list and hold pedophiles accountable for their abuses. So, understandably, so-called conservatives are pissed!

For their part, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) advised Republican members of Congress to use the 6-week summer session to push falsehoods about the Big Ugly Bill, packaging it as a law that “puts working class Americans first.” Lol!

In reality - by passing that horrific legislation - they chose to disregard the life and death needs of their voters, putting their BILLIONAIRE DONORS first! While the NRCC continues to ridiculously paint Democrats as “out of touch” elites, it’s the Democratic Party that always stands strong with trade unions and blue-collar Americans.

Household budgets have been busted by rising inflation, unnecessarily worsened by Trump’s weak on-again-off-again tariff games. GOP voters are increasingly waking to their party’s attempts at deflection, and they’re looking for opportunities to point fingers!

According to recent CNN reporting:

“It may just be a matter of time until inflation accelerates faster and more broadly as inventories dry up and businesses feel more acutely the sting from tariffs.”

There’s also this: Republican Congress members, who once exalted Trump as a super-human, crime-busting defender of the law, don’t want to be told to explain themselves in the wake of Trump’s cover-up scheme. They don’t want to be asked complex, SUPER hard questions. For example, just as a hypothetical, “Why is Donald J. Trump, the guy who Q said stayed up all night – every single night – to save trafficked children from molesters, suddenly burying his party buddies’ records and protecting child rapists?” Or, here’s one that’s even trickier: “If President Trump isn’t one of the Johns who paid Epstein and Maxwell to abuse child victims, what does he have to hide?”

Perfectly fair questions, right?

Getting Answers and Making the Most of Congressional Summer Session

Your elected officials owe you answers and transparency, no matter your party affiliation. After all, they work for YOU, not the President! They can run home to avoid floor votes, but they can’t escape hometown demands for accountability!

If you have questions, you have the right to ask them! So, call to schedule an appointment with your elected official. If you aren’t provided a time slot, show up as a walk-in. If you aren’t given the attention you need, check their calendars for public events. If there aren’t any scheduled public events, force their hand by planning a town hall in collaboration with local grassroots organizations (such as Indivisible, The League of Women Voters, or Common Cause)!

Sound impossible? Stop underestimating yourself! (One 2017 town hall was said to have been planned in just four days!)

Follow the above steps to plan your Town Hall event. Give careful thought to your group’s objectives, but expect imperfection. Life’s a little messy, and that’s okay!

When your GOP official declines your invite - and they probably will - consider asking a Democrat to attend in their stead. Because, while Team Fascism’s too scared to answer the tough questions, Democrats - in cities across America - have been more than happy to oblige! Shout out to Democrats Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY), Sen. Bernie Sanders (VT), Rep. Maxwell Frost (FL), Sen. Chris Murphy (CT), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (MA), Rep. Jasmine Crockett (TX), Rep. Ro Khanna (CA), Rep. Mark Pocan (WI), Rep. Yassamin Ansari (AZ), and Sen. Mark Kelly (AZ), and others who have all participated or plan to participate in red district town halls and rallies! Let‘s keep it rolling! 🔥🔥🔥

While we’re at it, let’s also give a shout out to Republican Rep. Thomas Massie (KY). He co-sponsored, along with Ro Khanna, the push to force a vote on the release of the Epstein files - a move that pannicked Speaker Mike Johnson so badly he threw his crayons down and told House members to book early flights.

Johnson’s tantrum didn’t buy him anything nice, as Massie and Khanna aren’t giving up. They plan to resume their effort when Congress returns in September. On Meet The Press, Massie said, “I don’t know why it should be so politically painful to be transparent!” Gosh, I couldn’t agree more!

Call to Action

Send a Letter via Resistbot to Your Representative NOW. Tell them to vote YES on the release of ALL Epstein-related files, because VICTIMS DESERVE TRANSPARENCY!