In Wake of Health Care Vote, Garrett and Brat Face Wrath of Constituents at Town Halls

The Roanoke Times reported, “Tensions ran high at Rep. Tom Garrett’s town hall Tuesday, where constituents demanded to know why the freshman congressman voted for the Republican health plan designed to replace the Affordable Care Act.”

Meanwhile, WTVR reported that “Chaos erupted immediately as Congressman Dave Brat (R-7th District) responded to hundreds of his constituents after voting ‘yes’ on a bill to replace Obamacare.”

CNN also covered Brat’s town hall, reporting that attendees “were enraged over the congressman’s answers on a range of issues, especially health care and investigations of President Donald Trump’s ties to Russia.”

Highlights of the town halls included:

• When a moderator at Brat’s town hall asked the audience to raise their hands if they were there to talk about the AHCA, the entire audience raised their hands.

• When pressed on why he had dismissed Virginians whose lives were saved by the ACA because “none of those people did vote for me”, Garrett brushed off his remarks as an “internet meme.”

• Garrett had approximately one security official for every eight people at the event, who were tasked with “going around silencing folks.”

• The audience at Brat’s town hall stood up and applauded when Brat was asked why he thought it wasn’t important to see President Trump’s tax returns.

• The audience was “not happy” when Brat declined to say whether he would support a special prosecutor in the wake of Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey.

• When asked about Donald Trump’s decision to fire Comey, Garrett offered a “rather rambly answer” before concluding Trump was “small potatoes to Nazi Germany.”

Prior to Garrett’s Moneta town hall, which was only the second he’s held since taking office, the Congressman dismissed NBC29’s suggestion that voters actually wanted their elected officials to look them in the eye and listen to them. His first town hall, held in March, was met with protests at the University of Virginia.

“Tom Garrett and Dave Brat voted to jeopardize the health care of 3.4 million Virginians with pre-existing conditions, as well as that of every Virginian who has purchased insurance through the exchange,” said DPVA spokeswoman Katie Baker. “Their callous disregard for the well-being of working Virginians was met with the justifiable wrath of the people they purport to represent. We challenge Congressmen Garrett and Brat to look more of their constituents directly in the eye and tell them why they voted against their health care.”