George Takei posted on Bluesky, “they had tea parties; we have town halls.” This could be read a bunch of different ways, all of which are interesting. There’s the historical take, comparing the original Boston Tea Party to the current raucous town halls as a form of protest. But then there’s also the idea that the resistance movement now is using town halls in the same way the tea party movement of the right rallied in response to the ACA.
Both gave me ideas and some inspiration around ideas inspired by The Atlantic article, What Would a Liberal Tea Party Look Like? (gift link). To me, I think it’d look a lot like the town halls we’ve been seeing all over the country.
In the wake of our betrayal by the Cowards’ Caucus (no idea if that’s a name that’ll stick, but I like it) and calls for a third party, I think that a strong faction within the existing party is the best option. As proven by the GOP Tea Party which was subsumed by the GOP but also fundamentally transformed it.
Ultimately, I think this is what 50501 is all about. 50 protests. 50 states. 1 movement. Town halls have been the most powerful representation of the movement, because it has been voters standing up to their representatives and demanding they represent them.
As we move forward after the CR, I believe this should be a guiding aim. We want the party – and the government – to be as accountable to the voters every day as they are during town halls. Town halls are a model for what we want. That’s what Bernie, AOC, and Tim Walz are delivering. They are leading the town hall movement. We need to work to carry that movement into the party itself.
Jordan Rapp 