Media support for the fake town hall craze
Around the nation, Democrats are organizing “town hall” meetings in the districts of Republican Congressmen, in the hopes of regaining control of the chamber in the 2026 election.
Nothing wrong with that. That’s what political parties do. What is disingenuous is the media-promulgated idea that these “town hall” meetings are somehow spontaneous eruptions of grassroot opposition to 2nd-term Pres. Donald Trump’s implementation of the policies that he ran on in the past three Presidential elections.
Case in point is the Saturday “town hall” event held in Duluth. KARE-11 TV reports:
Organizers say about 900 citizens braved the icy aftermath of a winter storm to voice their concerns at a town hall meeting in Duluth Saturday.
The town hall, sponsored by the political action committee Practicing-Democracy.org, was promoted as a chance for residents of Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District to share concerns about the actions of President Donald Trump and Elon Musk and their impacts on northern Minnesota.
As my friend Bill Walsh would say, “Stop the tape!” Who is Practicing-Democracy.org? It turns out that the organization is a registered federal political action committee (PAC), according to filings at the Federal Election Commission (FEC). According to the PAC’s website, it is:
If you scroll down to the bottom of the org’s About Us page, you discover:
Jennifer Schultz is a former DFL state representative and two-time Democratic-party nominee for the 8th District seat. She lost by a wide margin to incumbent Republican Rep. Pete Stauber in both the 2022 and 2024 elections.
In fact, on the official FEC website, all links to the Practicing Democracy PAC automatically redirect to Schultz’s congressional campaign committee.
None of this information is included in the KARE-11 story. Instead, KARE-11 reports:
Practicing Democracy noted that 8th District U.S. Congressman Pete Stauber was invited to attend the town hall, but according to a post on his Facebook account, Stauber was at an event in Baxter.
It’s absurd to believe that Rep. Stauber should attend a campaign rally hosted by his election opponent.
Local affiliate Fox 21-TV was more revealing. They report:
Practicing Democracy, a local political action committee hosted the town hall which saw residents engaging in the discussion surrounding local, state and federal issues.
Former Minnesota State Representative Jen Schultz is a co-leader of the effort and spoke at the town hall.
Fox 21 adds, without mentioning Schultz’s two congressional runs:
Current Minnesota State [sic] Representative Pete Stauber was invited to the event but did not attend, which many citizens voiced their concerns about.
To repeat, Rep. Stauber is a member of the U.S. Congress. Local ABC affiliate WDIO originally described Practicing Democracy as “nonpartisan” in their report on the Saturday event:
The Aitken (MN) Age appears to have also fallen for the “nonpartisan” hoax,
Practicing Democracy, a new, local political action committee will host a non-partisan People’s Town Hall on Saturday, March 29, from 2-4 p.m. at Duluth East High School.
As it happens, the PAC raises funds via the Democratically aligned online fundraiser ActBlue. ActBlue itself clearly states,
Powering Democratic candidates & progressive causes across the country.
As the old saying goes, “A lie will go round the world while the truth is pulling its boots on.”