A woman walks a llama as people take part in a protest outside Raritan Valley Community College before a town hall  meeting on health care with Republican New Jersey Congressman Leonard Lance on February 22, 2017 in Branchburg, New Jersey.
GOP lawmakers confronted by angry voters
03:05 - Source: CNN

Story highlights

Many questions directed to Republicans are about Obamacare

People express concerns about the Trump administration and policies

CNN  — 

Faced with chants of “Do your job,” Republican lawmakers have been flustered by rowdy town hall meetings in their home turf over the past few weeks.

Using tactics similar to the tea party that roiled Democrats during the Obama years, attendees flooded town halls in largely conservative districts to ask pointed questions to longtime Republicans about their support for President Donald Trump and his policies.

Some Republicans have dismissed the wave of contentious town halls as merely angry voices of paid protesters. White House press secretary Sean Spicer called them, “a very paid, AstroTurf-type movement.”

Nevertheless, crowds have stood in long, snaking lines hours before the events for a chance to pressure their representatives.

They have focused on Trump’s policies on health care, ties with Russia, his tax returns, stance on immigration and refugees. Through a series of raucous gatherings, the following demands have emerged from the crowds:

1. They want answers on health care

Since Trump’s inauguration, fired-up constituents who oppose the dismantling of the Affordable Care Act have aggressively confronted congressional Republicans. Some of the most personal exchanges have come from people who are worried changes to the act will cut their health care coverage.

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Tempers flare at Republican town halls
02:46 - Source: CNN

“I have to have coverage to make sure I don’t die,” said Mike Carlson, a 32-year-old student, at a Tennessee town hall earlier this month. “There are people now who have cancer that have that coverage, that have to have that coverage to make sure they don’t die.

“And you want to take away this coverage – and have nothing to replace it with! How can I trust you to do anything that’s in our interest at all?”

When it has appeared the lawmakers are ducking the question – protesters have turned to screaming “ACA! ACA!”

Many want to know if Republicans repeal Obamacare, what will replace it.

“All we hear is repeal and replace, but we don’t hear about a real clear plan,” one man told Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst.

Progressives have banked on the town halls during the congressional recess to pressure Republicans to break from Trump and back away from their pledge to repeal the health care law.

Meanwhile, two surveys released this week indicate that support for Obamacare has risen to an all-time high.

But the crowds aren’t entirely pro-Obamacare, as some have come out to speak in support of repealing the law.

2. They want to know if Republicans will hold Trump accountable

Even in deeply red states, Republican lawmakers have received a barrage of questions over their views on the President and whether they’re going to hold him accountable.

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GOP congressman booed at town hall
00:59 - Source: CNN

This issue has largely dogged Rep. Jason Chaffetz, who was caught off-guard in his deep-red Utah two weeks ago.

Crowds fuming with resentment over Trump have accused Chaffetz, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, of coddling the President. He’s been criticized for not using his position to properly investigate Trump’s financial dealings and communications with Russia.

Hundreds of people waited outside his town hall chanting, “Chaffetz is a coward” in a district where he was just re-elected with a margin of victory of 47 percentage points.

Chaffetz said that attendees intended to “bully and intimidate” him.

3. They have concerns about Russia

Another popular topic is the one of Russia’s purported interference in the US elections and talks with Trump campaign officials.

Some have even accused Republicans of prioritizing their political party over the country on this issue. New Jersey Rep. Leonard Lance was told at a town hall, “I suggest now is the time to put country before party” to a standing ovation.

In Iowa this week, veteran Trinity Ray pressed Ernst to investigate Trump’s ties to Russia and alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 American election.