FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Ben Gardner, ben@robdavidsonforcongress.com
SPRING LAKE, Michigan (July 6, 2018) — Congressman Bill Huizenga’s constituents today called on him to hold a town hall immediately to explain controversial issues, from rising healthcare costs to child detention — especially after he said in a radio interview that the only reason his constituents asked questions at public forums like town halls was to “disrupt and create spectacle.”
Huizenga’s last in-person public town hall was held Aug. 24, 2017, in Muskegon, nearly a year ago.
Karen Joseph of Kentwood said Huizenga has a lot to answer for, especially for his anti-healthcare votes. At an early 2017 town hall in Grand Haven, her then-16-year-old son, Noah, asked a question about how diabetes patients like him would get treatment without healthcare.
“My son has chronic diseases and he and other people across West Michigan are not a spectacle when we ask our representative in Congress why he’s taking away healthcare that can save lives,” Joseph said. “Until Congressman Bill Huizenga can give a straight answer why he keeps siding with insurance companies and drug makers that keep raising our medical costs, constituents like my family will demand he hold an in-person public town hall so we can keep asking him these important questions. My family is deeply offended that Congressman Huizenga is belittling our concerns and the concerns of families across West Michigan who need to know how we’re going to have healthcare for ourselves and for our loved ones.”
In an interview Thursday with Gary Stevens on WHTC (BEGINNING AT 11:21), Huizenga disparaged town hall attendees: “This is just for pure spectacle for some folks and if they really don’t want to have a conversation, that’s, that’s sad.” Huizenga made blanket generalizations about town hall participants, who number in the hundreds at each venue: “It often will be the same people and they’re the same people that have shown up at various venues and their only goal is to disrupt and to create spectacle.” Huizenga denied the tough questions discouraged him from holding another town hall, saying “bring it on.”
“Now that he has insulted the citizens who attend his town halls, Congressman Bill Huizenga could take this opportunity to go on an apology tour across West Michigan and host a few public, in-person events where his constituents can ask very reasonable questions about holding politicians accountable for taking critical resources like healthcare and Social Security away from people,” said Rob Davidson, an emergency physician challenging Huizenga for the Second Congressional District seat. “Congressman Huizenga is out of touch with reality if he thinks people aren’t angry that their healthcare is in danger, that Social Security they’ve paid into may get cut because of a reckless tax scam, that student loans are crippling the next generation with heavy debt, that corporations are getting a free pass to pollute, that he’s putting the NRA ahead of common sense gun regulations. Congressman Huizenga has challenged his own constituents to ‘bring it on,’ so every day that goes by without him announcing a town hall, we’ll be keeping count and reminding people.”
Brenda Reeber of Ludington said: “Congressman Bill Huizenga should recognize that constituents have genuine questions and demand honest answers, especially with all the uncertainty and dysfunction in Washington that are causing a lot of concern among ordinary folks — and frankly, dysfunction that Congressman Huizenga is doing absolutely nothing to address. When he refuses to answer simple questions, he should expect that hundreds of people in the room will call him out on it. That’s not being disruptive. That’s paying attention."
Mary Minnick of Baldwin said: “We were among the group of Bill Huizenga constituents who showed up for his town halls in Grand Haven and Baldwin. The congressman gave us insight into his plans for the future and answered the questions that the audience asked. Since then however, we have seen precious little of our representative. So many things have happened in Washington and Bill Huizenga has been nowhere to be seen. I saw Huizenga on television when he appeared in the Rose Garden following the repeal of the (Affordable Care Act) and the victory party following the gutting of the Dodd-Frank bill. It is past time for him to explain his positions regarding the issues facing our country. We need more town halls and scheduled debates with Dr. Rob Davidson to give Huizenga an opportunity to explain his anti-worker, anti-family, and anti-West Michigan actions.”
DONATE
Twitter
Facebook