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The first congressional recess of the new Congress is playing out exactly how a group of dejected former Democratic Hill staffers had hoped in the wake of President Trump's victory.

Liberal activists across the country have apparently read a 26-page "how to" manual created by a new non-profit called "Indivisible" and are flocking to Republican lawmakers' town hall meetings, ribbon-cutting ceremonies and district offices to support the Affordable Care Act and protest Trump.

"Indivisible: A practical guide for resisting the Trump agenda" was written by former Democratic staffers that outlines how progressives can use the most successful tactics employed by the Tea Party to their advantage.

Just as the guide's main authors envisioned, the Tea Party town hall shoe is now on the other foot.

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Some Republicans welcome the feedback while others are avoiding open-ended forums, opting for small group meetings, conference calls and closed events.

Videos of rowdy meetings dot social media sites, with members requiring police presence to control crowds and hecklers peppering Republicans with questions and jeers.

Residents of Charleston scoffed when Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., repeated Trump's claim that Mexico will pay for the wall he wants to build along the U.S.-Mexico border. Virginians broke into choruses of "Thanks Obama!" when Rep. Dave Brat, R-Va., said the economy is doing well.

A women's group called Ultraviolet, gathered scores of supporters outside of House Speaker Paul Ryan's Janesville, Wis., office Wednesday to deliver nearly 86,000 post cards urging him not to repeal Obamacare. They came with guitars, cake and a singing telegram, signs reading "Impeach Trump" and "Hands off our health care" but Ryan was in Texas touring the southern border.

For members who refuse to hold open meetings or have canceled town halls, locals are posting "missing" signs and declaring them "AWOL."

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"I think one of the most pivotal moments in modern American history was his immediate withdrawal from TPP."

02/23/17 2:37 PM

Trump and some Republicans are dismissing the demonstrations as paid affairs but "Indivisible" says neither its founders nor its members accept salaries or payment from any political group or organization.

"We simply are providing constituents with the information and tools to make their voices heard," spokeswoman Sarah Dohl told the Washington Examiner.

"As of today, we have a group registered in every congressional district in the country. The website has been visited over 13 million times. We're floored by the momentum building and the number of people showing up and speaking out for the first time to hold their members of Congress accountable. These constituents are effectively changing the narrative from coast to coast, and everywhere in between, and we're more confident than ever that, together, we will win," Dohl said.

Trump took to his favorite medium to refute the authenticity of the protests.

"The so-called angry crowds in home districts of some Republicans are actually, in numerous cases, planned out by liberal activists. Sad!" he tweeted Tuesday evening.

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"Hold us accountable to what we promised, and delivering what we promised," Bannon said.

02/23/17 2:28 PM

"Indivisible" denies "targeting" any specific member but Republican offices with close ties to Trump think they are being singled-out.

Rep. Chris Collins, R-N.Y., who was the first lawmaker to endorse Trump has never held a town hall he prefers meeting constituents in smaller groups his spokesman explained but voters inspired by "Indivisible" are hounding him to hold one, his office said.

Under the banner "reclaim recess," former Labor Secretary Robert Reich takes to a white board to draw how Democrats can make Republicans feel the pressure.

"No town hall, no problem," "Indivisible" explains.

"Something strange has been happening in the last month or so: Members of Congress from all over the country are going missing," the group wrote on its website. "They're still turning up for votes on Capitol Hill, and they're still meeting with lobbyists and friendly audiences back homebut their public event schedules are mysteriously blank. Odd."

Lawmakers "do not want to look weak or unpopular and they know that Trump's agenda is very, very unpopular," it reads. Some "have clearly made the calculation that they can lay low, avoid their constituents, and hope the current storm blows over. It's your job to change that calculus."

Their strategy is apparently paying off in terms of making some members of Congress look silly.

"Heller now says he'll do a town hall if 'no applauding and no booing.' Seriously? He's a U.S. senator!" well-known Nevada pundit Jon Ralston tweeted Wednesday about Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev.

Continued here:
Liberals copy Tea Party tactics to protest Trump at town halls - Washington Examiner