Rantz: On town halls, Sen. Cantwell is no hero – not yet

Let’s get something straight: Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) is no hero for holding three town hall events in Seattle. When she goes to the eastern part of the state? Then let’s talk.

Supposedly under pressure to hold town hall events, Cantwell finally relented. But let’s put this in perspective.

Some progressive activist organizations noticed that some red districts voted for Hillary Clinton in the presidential election (others showed a small gap). So these organizations saw an opening to go after the sitting Republican congressperson. This was what fueled the pressure placed on Rep. Dave Reichert (R-WA), for example.

Activists thought they could convince him to reject an Obamacare repeal and replace bill (which he did not support) by calling on him to have town halls so these people – many who don’t live in his district – can yell at him, bully him, and get it all on camera for local and national media to highlight (it’s what the Tea Party movement successfully did with each of their freak show town hall meetings). Why are Progressives doing it here? It pushes a narrative that Republicans are in trouble due to an unpopular President Trump administration. Of course, that narrative has yet to come to fruition: there’s been no surge in liberals overtaking conservatives in red districts, much to the embarrassment of Democrats who couldn’t even defeat a candidate who body-slammed a reporter.

In this context, these groups were coming off incredibly ideological, so they then started to call on Democratic lawmakers to hold town halls. Cantwell was one of them and finally – she relented – and is holding three town halls. But they’re all in and around Seattle in decidedly blue districts and one of the topics she’s selected – net neutrality – is utterly useless to address any so-called ire.

The ire she’ll likely receive will be on topics she agrees with the people likely to show up. The activists upset about the Obamacare repeal and replace — the ones who tried to go after Reichert? Cantwell already agrees with them. If she wants to talk to people who disagree with her and truly adhere to the spirit of the supposed cries for town hall events, go meet with folks in Eastern Washington where you’ll actually engage in a meaningful debate.

Cantwell won’t start with town halls outside of blue districts because she’ll suffer the same fate as conservative lawmakers who held town halls to get yelled at. Instead, she’ll show up, likely get applause when she criticizes the president, and then the activists will ship the audio out to friendly media outlets that will continue the false narrative of Trump bringing down the national Republican party. Her office tells me she will schedule events in Eastern Washington. I hope she does and, when she holds them, she should absolutely be praised for reaching out to people who disagree, in the spirit of the sudden calls for town halls.

But until then, let’s keep some of the praise of her decision at bay. It doesn’t take guts to show up to a rally with people who think mostly the way you do.

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