Kean ‘Town Hall’ Produces not a Single Question about Trump
The last time Tom Kean Jr. had a telephone town hall, he was criticized for not telling many people about it in advance.
This time, the congressman gave almost 24 hours advance notice for a town hall Monday evening.
That was different.
Quite candidly, however, the rather abbreviated 45-minute town hall produced no provocative or critical questions.
Did anyone other than me think it odd that the CD-7 congressman was not asked about Donald Trump’s latest indictment?
Puzzling, no?
One does not know how the questions were screened, but the results were a series of supportive comments.
As he has done previously, Kean offered strong support for Ukraine. That is not as cut and dry as it seems. A number of Republicans in recent months have criticized what critics say is a “blank check” for Ukraine.
The most consequential congressional action of recent vintage was the debt ceiling agreement, which Kean backed. Again, this was not legislation universally loved by all Republicans. Most Republicans in the Senate, for example, opposed it.
Kean defended the agreement as a good exercise in bipartisanship, adding that it “protected Social Security.”
The congressman also spoke of energy legislation passed by the House to stimulate oil production. This was very much symbolic verbiage, given the fact the bill has no chance to pass the Senate.
Oil prices will continue to be a Republican issue. That’s understandable, but it is also true that gas prices at the pump are more than a dollar cheaper than a year ago at this time.
The congressman was also asked about “congestion pricing” and agreed with just about all New Jerseyans that this is a “money grab” by New York City and state.
The meeting host also asked listeners to vote with the telephone keypad on a number of questions.
Probably the most interesting one going forward had to do with Kean town halls.
Just how should they be held? In person, via Zoom or by phone?
In the world of CD-7 politics, this is a big issue.
Tom Malinowski, the man Kean unseated last fall, had by his count more than 100 town halls or public meetings with residents during his four years in office. Most were in-person and many were lively as questions were unscreened.
Democrats and Malinowski himself said during the campaign that part of serving in Congress is unfiltered discussion with voters.
That would suggest that poll respondents will endorse in-person town halls.
Then again, it all depends on who was listening in.
Malinowski’s town halls were all screened questions! That is a flat out lie. He filtered what he wanted to answer and you know it. STOP THE DAMNED LIES!
Hi Fred,
I was selected to ask a question but they screened it and told me I was being put back into the que . I asked “Aldit” why were questions being screened, because I thought this was a town hall format and questions can be random. He just repeated that I would be returned to que. it was obvious that this was all staged. Jr was poorly reading the answers. He couldn’t handle a real Town Hall. BTW, my question was why has he never made a comment about 1/6/21 and now DJT’s indictment. With his political pedigree, education and being a history major, he is pathetic!
Many of us who participated in this so-called “town hall” had questions about Kean’s reactions to Trump’s indictment. But the calls were pre-screened, and those who had such questions were sent back into the queue, never to be heard from again. Curious, isn’t it?
Truly disappointed in this sham of a Town Hall. You could tell he read some answers, a number of us had questions taken by the screener but of course they couldn’t get to them. He wasn’t interested in hearing from his constituents- it was simply performative to be able to say he held a Town Hall.
There were many constituents on the call who very much wanted to ask Kean about the Trump indictment, about the deportment and rhetoric of Kevin McCarthy and others in the Republican caucus, about gun safety, about abortion rights, about the assault on teachers and public schools but, of course, we did not get the chance. It was clear the staff had softball questions lined up and that Kean had scripted answers ready for them and he was able to run out the clock.
Once again, Kean demonstrated his disdain for constituents. We knew exactly what he was doing we know he’ll keep doing it.
Btw, in his set piece about energy costs and oil production, Kean continued to repeat disinformation about “energy independence.” The U.S. is, and has been for a considerable time, energy independent.
Does the Congressman still standby his remark to Trump?
“No matter what I’ll still have your back.”