GOP town halls go viral
House Republicans, on guard after passing an unpopular healthcare bill that would replace parts of ObamaCare, are seeing their town hall meetings go viral.
In Lewiston, Idaho, conservative Rep. Raúl Labrador told a rowdy crowd that “nobody dies because they don’t have access to healthcare,” setting off a frenzy in the room and on social media. Fact-checker Politifact promptly ruled that Labrador’s statement was a “pants on fire” lie.
Vulnerable two-term Rep. Rod Blum (R-Iowa) went viral even before setting foot in his town hall. At a Dubuque youth center, he ripped off his microphone and stormed out of a local TV interview after a reporter asked why he was pre-screening nonconstituents for his town hall if he’s willing to take donations from those people.
“I'm done here. This is ridiculous. This is ridiculous,” Blum said as he stood up and walked out of the room as a half-dozen children from the center looked on. “He’s going to sit here and just badger me.”
http://thehill.com/homenews/house/332553-gop-town-halls-go-viral