from ProgressIowa: ROD BLUM: 500 DAYS WITHOUT A TOWN HALL

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Matt Sinovic (press@progressiowa.org)
For Immediate Release
September 21, 2017
Contact
Matt Sinovic, (515) 423-0133

ROD BLUM: 500 DAYS WITHOUT A TOWN HALL
Iowans hold Rep. Blum accountable for dodging public town hall meetings with demonstrations, concerts, full-page newspapers ads, events featuring a cardboard cutout of Blum

Cedar Rapids, Iowa - Iowans are speaking out to hold Rep. Rod Blum accountable as he continues to avoid holding public town hall meetings. Sunday, September 23rd will be the five hundredth consecutive day since Blum's last public town hall meeting in Marshalltown on May 11th, 2017. Blum’s popularity has plummeted as public pressure has mounted in the wake of his votes to enrich wealthy Americans like himself with a fiscally irresponsible tax break, to threaten the health care of thousands of Iowans, and as he faces a Congressional ethics investigation.

In response to Blum failing to hold public town halls for five hundred days, his constituents demonstrated outside one of his private events in Dubuque on Thursday, there will be full-page newspaper ads on Sunday in the three largest papers in the district, they held a concert featuring ‘Cardboard Rod Blum’ (a cardboard cutout who has appeared at events in the Congressman’s five hundred day absence), and they plan on delivering 500 ‘unexcused absence’ pink slips signed by Iowans to the Congressman’s office next week.

"Rod Blum has been running away from public meetings since last spring, and it's easy to see why," said Chris Schwartz, Black Hawk County Supervisor and director of Americans for Democratic Action Iowa. "Since that last town hall meeting in Marshalltown Blum has lined his own pockets by voting for a massive tax giveaway, he voted to take health care away from thousands of his constituents, and he's now facing a Congressional ethics investigation. There isn't a lot for him to tout in front of his constituents, so it's no wonder he's staying behind closed doors with his wealthy campaign donors."

Blum’s appearance at a private event for the Dubuque Chamber of Commerce on Thursday, where Schwartz and a group of Iowans led a demonstration, was not open to the general public. It is the latest in a series of events where the Congressman excludes the public in favor of friendly audiences, refusing to hear directly from constituents who might disagree with him. Frustration with Blum’s runaway routine has reached new heights as the five hundredth day approaches, and as Blum has resorted to calling peaceful demonstrations harassment, in addition to his lashing out at members of the media.

Beginning last fall, Blum’s constituents resorted to transporting a cardboard cutout of the Congressman to a variety of events across the district in his absence, Cardboard Rod Blum, who even has his own Twitter account: https://twitter.com/CardboardRod. Cardboard Blum has visited every county in Iowa’s first congressional district, and has heard from a number of Blum’s oft ignored constituents, who have expressed their disappointment in his votes to take away health care and tilt taxes even further in favor of the extremely wealthy.

"Blum's vote to take away our health care hits hard against families and small business owners," said Sue Dinsdale, director of Main Street Alliance of Iowa, a statewide coalition of small business owners. "After years of Blum telling us that he's on the side of business, we now know what he really means. Blum is on the side of wealthy corporations who donate to his campaign. Local businesses are at the back of the line for Blum, and we're tired of being shut out of the process as he's ducked public meetings for five hundred days."

At present, Congressman Rod Blum has no plan to hold a public town hall meeting. Actions in response to that decision will continue throughout the next week, led by Americans for Democratic Action Iowa, Iowa Citizen Action Network, Indivisible Iowa, Main Street Alliance of Iowa, and Progress Iowa.

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Background:

Full Page Newspapers Ads To Appear Sunday, September 23, the 500th day since Rep. Rod Blum’s last public town hall meeting

Cedar Rapids Gazette
https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.progressiowa.org/images/Progress_Iowa_-_Cedar_Rapids_Gazette.pdf
Dubuque Telegraph Herald
https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.progressiowa.org/images/Progress_IA_-_Dubuque_Telegraph_Herald.pdf
Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier
https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.progressiowa.org/images/Progress_IA_-_Waterloo_Cedar_Falls_Courier.pdf

Dubuque Telegraph Herald: Blum claims constituents harassed him at his last town hall
http://www.telegraphherald.com/news/tri-state/article_8525877f-498a-57f2-a42a-7c84747a8649.html

“Blum said criticism of his town hall stance is an example of the “totally unfair” and “all political,” protesting he was referring to. He referenced a May 2017 town hall at Dubuque Senior High School that drew more than 1,000 people. He said the event was completely derailed by the shouting masses.
“They’re saying that because they want me to go to a place, with the media in tow, and boo and harangue and harass,” Blum said.”

Cardboard Rod Blum live in concert
https://www.facebook.com/events/664624877257069/
Cardboard Rod Blum appeared live in Concert with jazz trio False Indigo on Thursday, September 20. Cardboard Rod sat in as the “guest singer” for this special tour to sing about his ethics violations and votes to take away health care and pass tax breaks for the ultra-rich. The concert took place as part of Jazz Night at The Smokestack in Dubuque.

Des Moines Register: U.S. Rep. Rod Blum lashes out at media in final months of Iowa re-election bid
https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2018/09/05/iowa-republican-congress-rod-blum-tweets-criticism-reporters-media-journalism-trump-ethics-campaign/1192956002/