Commentary: Las Cruces, NM—The failure of U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce (R-NM) to communicate face to face with his constituents even once during Congress’s Recess Week of Feb. 18-25 has inspired a group of Truth or Consequences citizens to stage a Fake Town Hall. The event, complete with stand-in wearing a Pearce face mask, will take place outside Pearce’s Telshor Boulevard offices on Friday, February 24.
Las Cruces’s Indivisible chapter, WE’RE IN: Southern New Mexico, has joined forces with Indivisible Truth or Consequences in organizing this satirical event to protest Pearce’s lack of accessibility during a time specifically set aside for Congresspeople to return home to listen to their constituents’ concerns.
The Fake Town Hall will begin at 1 p.m. on Friday at 570 N. Telshor Blvd. It follows a larger Indivisible rally starting at Pearce’s office at 12 noon.
Indivisible TorC founding member Tom Hinson will stand in for the missing Congressman. WE’RE IN member Tom Biglen will be the town hall moderator.
Indivisible members—all citizens of southern New Mexico and none a paid protestor—will question mock-Pearce about his stands on issues ranging from immigrant deportations to women’s rights to the sale of public lands. While the Fake Town Hall is not a sanctioned event, their questions will be serious and deserving of real answers.
The rally organizers are 2 of the 14 Indivisible chapters that have formed in District 2 since the November 7, 2016, election. Each group is dedicated to peaceful, nonviolent, nonpartisan communication aimed at holding Rep. Pearce accountable for his policies, votes and actions. A national grassroots movement, Indivisible chapters now number more than 7,000 nationwide.