Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) may have thought a town hall meeting this week in San Antonio would be a fairly pedestrian affair, but it turned contentious when he began attacking other members of Congress, most notably Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN).
The Austin American Statesman reports that Roy set of a firestorm when he remarked:
“One of the things that we are missing in our country is the sense of community, sense of purpose, collective purpose,” he found in Israel, Roy said. “Now well, by definition for Israel, it has to be because they have to find a way to come together and protect themselves, because they are constantly under assault. But that sense of purpose, collective sense of purpose, that binds them together, is something.”
“I think this lack of binding together as a community is part of our cultural rot,” Roy said.
But, Roy continued, “I took great offense at how my two colleagues, congresswoman (Ilhan) Omar and congresswoman (Rashida) Tlaib approached their visit to Israel.”
When someone in the audience told Roy to stick to the issues and not personal attacks, Roy defiantly replied:
“I’m going to talk about what I think is important to be talking about, which is what we’re facing among the Democratic leadership and what we’re facing among those Democrats in Washington led by the four speakers of the apocalypse, in terms of Tlaib and Omar and (U.S. Rep. Alexandria) Ocasio-Cortez” — a Democratic freshman from New York — “and those that are actually running the show with the Democratic Party.”
That’s when a constituent, Eva Perez, called out:
“Let it go, already.”
Roy refused to relent:
“I’m not going to let it go.”
Perez then told the congressman:
“You’re scared of brown women. Let it go.”
To that charge, Roy replied:
“Now that is an interesting charge.”
A few minutes later, Roy raised the issue of protesters taking down an American flag at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Aurora, Colorado. That drew this reply from Trish Florence, the leader of an anti-Trump group:
“Here you go again, inciting the base with fearmongering.”
Roy then attempted to suggest that Congressional Democrats don’t want to have a real debate on the issues:
“What you’re seeing here today is the modern face of the Democratic Party. This is why we can’t get anything done in Washington. At the end of the day, you’re not even willing to listen.”
When Roy left the stage, Perez noted:
“He doesn’t really want to have a town hall.”
Roy will face former Texas state senator Wendy Davis (D) in 2020, and it remains to be seen if his next town hall at the end of August will be any less contentious.
Here’s more on the raucous town hall from KVUE:
Featured Image Via KVUE
