Over the course of 89 minutes, North Carolina Rep. Chuck Edwards endured boos and jeers from an Asheville crowd outraged about DOGE and tariffs.

Summary

Rep. Chuck Edwards’ North Carolina town hall erupted in chaos as constituents furiously protested DOGE, a Trump administration initiative tied to mass federal job cuts and Elon Musk’s growing influence.

Attendees, including laid-off government workers, jeered at Edwards over employment losses and reduced federal funding.

Constituents raised concerns about federal job cuts affecting veterans’ services, national parks, and Hurricane Helene recovery efforts.

Edwards struggled to respond but remained unfazed. The GOP downplayed the unrest, calling it staged, though independent voters like veteran Martin Downie say they feel directly targeted by their own government.

  • CharlesDarwin@lemmy.worldEnglish
    153·
    20 hours ago

    But others, like Downie, aren’t necessarily on the left end of the political spectrum. He’s a registered independent who served under presidents of both parties during his time in the Army.

    “independent”

    How to say you are voting Republican but not exactly proud about it…

    • frog_brawler@lemmy.world
      10·
      15 hours ago

      Nah, 100% fuck that. After I moved to where I live now I registered as an independent because after 23 years of being a democrat, I’m now embarrassed to say that about myself and I also largely disagree with their capitalist bullshit.

    • tomkatt@lemmy.worldEnglish
      8·
      15 hours ago

      Nah, this isn’t true. I’m a Coloradan and registered independent. I generally vote blue, and am very socially liberal and a big believer in safety nets and social programs, providing a floor, and I’m a proponent for the idea of a national basic income, universal healthcare, and free or subsidized education. I just don’t feel that the Democrats have actually represented me or my interests in a very long time. I was originally a registered democrat, but have been a registered independent now for well over a decade.

      If we had an actual progressive party that would be something, but this milquetoast middle-of-the-road Democratic party we have today is essentially the Republican party of my youth. The dems are very conservative these days, and only left-seeming because the Republicans have continually shifted toward insane alt-right extremism since the mid/late 2000s.

      • CharlesDarwin@lemmy.worldEnglish
        11·
        5 hours ago

        Eh, I’m sticking with it. Sure, there are of course legit independents as you appear to be. But all too often I witness someone claiming they are an “independent”, they nearly immediately go on to at least “both sides” the left and the right (thus enabling the right’s very worst behaviors), if they don’t outright parrot some magamaniac talking points, which they often do. It’s almost as reliable as someone that starts off a sentence with “I’m not a racist, but…” - “I’m an independent…” - I’m usually bracing myself for what comes next. Sure, sometimes someone proves that they are actually independent, but that’s rare.

        I always thought it was rather sus, but then, post-teabagger, it went off-the-chart sus, when a zillion people were claiming they were in the “tea party” (not a real thing; the teabagger party is as much a “party” as doge is a real department of government) and never even heard of this Bush guy, even when in many instances I knew they had voted for him, 2x.