This is one of the best chapters of the new era of progressive political activism yet. The Indivisible KC group has been showing up at Senator Roy Blunt’s Kansas City office every single week since Donald Trump took office. Full disclosure: I’ve participated in these weekly gatherings and I know and admire the women who coordinate these protests. Week after week, this group shows up to make their voices heard to Senator Blunt’s staff. Each time asking for Blunt to come back to Missouri to talk with voters in person at a town hall. After all, these weekly protesters represent thousands of other voters who can’t take time off on a Tuesday afternoon in the middle of a work day to air their grievances and try to get answers from Roy Blunt’s staff.
The Indivisible KC group was hopeful Blunt would agree to a town hall over the two week April recess break, but alas—Roy Blunt seemed to avoid his home state entirely. That didn’t sit right with Blunt’s constituents (via an Indivisible KC press release):
“When I first saw that Senator Blunt was going to be at a Knox County GOP event, I thought that was great -- after all Knox County is only a few hours from here. Then I realized it was in Knox County, Tennessee. That just didn’t sit right with me. How can Senator Blunt justify going to a fundraiser out of state and without holding any public events in Missouri? I knew I had to do something,” says Hillary Shields of Lee’s Summit, MO, one of the organizers with Indivisible KC.
Shields and other organizers from Indivisible KC contacted their resistance counterparts 700+ miles away and several people from the Indivisible East Tennessee group agreed to show up and deliver the town hall letters to the missing Senator from Missouri. And deliver they did!
“The Senator was visibly displeased to receive the letters and tried not to take them from me. Finally he accepted them wordlessly and entered the fundraiser. I was honored to work in solidarity with Indivisible KC to deliver their messages. I hope all elected officials learn a lesson from this: if you refuse to meet your constituents in public events we will find you in your private events, whether they be in state or across the country,” says Ms. White.
Shortly after the messages were delivered, the local police showed up and sent the East Tennessee group packing. Regardless, it was a successful mission and the model of teamwork. Will Roy Blunt finally come back to Missouri and meet with voters? He’s in the Senate to represent Missouri, all of Missouri—not the outside groups funding his campaigns. The people want to meet with him. Will they get their chance at the next break? Or will he avoid the state again all together?
Either way, we know the messages pleading for a town hall made it directly into Senator Blunt’s hands. Watch the celebration when the Tennessee crew called to relay the good news—mission accomplished!
See their Storify collaboration below: