Cardboard cutouts stand in for elected leaders at town halls

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Birmingham residents had questions for their Republican representatives. But instead of people, commenters at a town hall at the Woodlawn Theatre on Saturday, March 22, talked to cardboard cutouts acting as stand ins for Senators Katie Britt and Tommy Tuberville and Rep. Gary Palmer.  

“How can you not speak out and support our veterans?” Peggy Patton asked. 

“You people are criminals,” Tracy Cron said. “You’re going to hurt these children. 70% of the children at the children’s hospital are on Medicaid, if not more. And if they cut Medicaid, those children will not get help.”

“What is the justification for erasing women and people of color from history and government websites?” Deborah Flynn asked.  

They are not the only frustrated constituents. In cities across Alabama, voters have been inviting their elected representatives to town halls. They hoped to air their grievances and pose their questions about federal funding and staff cuts. But as congressmen and senators fail to show, voters found a workaround by propping up cardboard versions of their representatives. 

Crowds asked about ICE raids on immigrant communities and staff cuts to Veterans Affairs. They asked about the dismantling of the Department of Education and funding cuts to the National Institutes of Health and cancer research. One Birmingham resident wondered whether cuts to Medicaid are next. They took up a chant together.

“Shame! Shame Shame!” The crowd shouted at the stage. 

Their questions and objections fell on cardboard ears. Instead of getting answers, one volunteer held up signs over the cardboard representatives’ heads, which read “I work for Elon Musk, not you” and “I fully support President Trump”. 

Residents in Anniston did the same thing with a cardboard Rep. Mike Rogers just days before at their own town hall. 

“If Mr. Rogers don’t start taking care of his neighborhood, his neighborhood is going to take care of Mr. Rogers,” Anniston resident Dwayne Frederick said.

The audience cheered. 

The town halls in both Anniston and Birmingham were organized by local, liberal advocacy groups that oppose President Trump’s agenda. Laura Nadell is a member of Indivisible Birmingham and said even though the organizers are not Republicans, the conservative officials should still attend their town halls.

“The fact that our members of Congress are avoiding town hall meetings and avoiding answering questions is taxation without representation,” Nadell said. “Their constituents deserve answers to the questions that they want to ask.” 

She hoped that the representatives would hear about their voters’ concerns even from Washington.

“We feel that they should do their jobs and that they should follow the Constitution,” Nadell said. “They swore an oath to the Constitution, not to Donald Trump and certainly not to Elon Musk.” 

Most of the elected officials did not return multiple requests for comment. But staff with Senator Tommy Tuberville say he never received an invitation to the Birmingham town hall and called the event a set up intended to smear the senator. 

“This was never about giving Alabamians an opportunity to ask questions and they should be ashamed of themselves,” they wrote.

Rep. Terri Sewell, a Democrat, was also invited to the town hall, but did not attend due to a prior engagement.

Sheila Gilbert with the Calhoun County Democratic Committee organized the event in Anniston. She said that Democrats should also do more on behalf of their voters.

“The Democrats are kind of coming alive right now,” Gilbert said. “At the national level, we gotta do a little bit more. Truly, we need some good work done.”

Laura Nadell of Indivisible Birmingham tried to encourage the crowd to keep pushing for answers from their elected officials.

“We have to keep showing up for rallies,” Nadell said. “And we have to keep calling our representatives every single day. And we have to keep putting one foot in front of the other, one day at a time. And we have to continue to push back. The push back is working, we are making a difference.”

Federal judges have blocked the Trump administration from a few key ventures. These include preventing unauthorized access to private social security information and reinstating thousands of federal workers across government organizations. 

In the meantime, Alabamians will continue organizing and hosting town halls, even if their representatives don’t show up.