Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has a strong message for lawmakers avoiding meetings with their constituents.
“If you don’t have the guts to face your constituents, then you shouldn’t be in the United States Congress,” Sanders told CNN’s Erin Burnett on Thursday.
Republican lawmakers have been avoiding town hall events after several recent meetings turned contentious. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), and Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) in particular made headlines for facing heated protests over their promises to repeal Obamacare. Republicans have accused angry attendees of being “paid protesters” rather than legitimately concerned citizens. But Sanders says that’s hogwash.
“If you need police at the meetings, that’s fine, have police at the meetings, have security at the meetings,” Sanders said. “But don’t use that as an excuse to run away from your constituents after you support repealing the Affordable Care Act, throwing 20 million people off of health insurance, doing away with preexisting conditions. If you are going to do all those things, answer the questions that your constituents have.”
Watch his response in the video above.
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