Andy Barr knew Lexington town hall was locally organized. He still lied about attendees | Opinion
In the past week, Congressman Andy Barr has made lots of news for skipping a March 22 Town Hall in Lexington, which he claimed was full of paid activists who never coordinated with his office.
But documents show that on March 10, Barr’s district director met at his Lexington office with two members of Gathering for Democracy, a local, recently created grassroots group.
According to emailed notes between Anne Chesnut and Rena Wiseman — two retired Lexington women — they asked director Tatum Dale if Barr could attend the People’s Town Hall at the Kentucky Theatre.
“She again said no, based on security concerns,” Chesnut wrote. Chesnut and Wiseman asked if optics would be bad if he refused to meet with constituents. “She listened politely and said firmly no. We left that topic but said the door would be open if he considers.”
Later that day, Chesnut emailed to Dale: “Tatum, thank you again for your time today. We hope the congressman will reconsider and come on March 22, so we are leaving the door open and the invitation stands.”
Dale responded: “Thank you for coming in to meet with me. We are in the process of scheduling a Teletown hall for Rep. Barr to communicate with constituents and I will be sure to keep you apprised.”
On March 22, the Kentucky Theatre door opened to nearly 1,000 people. About 30 of them stood up and spoke of their fears and concerns about what is going on in Washington, D.C. with President Donald Trump and the unelected Elon Musk. There was no violence and no yelling, just people talking about cancer research and Social Security.
Organizers — who volunteered their time and said they were not paid by anyone — handed out about 700 cards so people could write their names, zip codes and thoughts to be delivered to Barr’s office. Almost 600 of them were returned with zip codes starting in 4050, indicating they live in the Sixth District and were not shipped in from some Democratic compound in Connecticut.
But according to Barr and his staffers, the Town Hall was not “coordinated with his office,” and in Barr’s sneering words on X: “Nice to see Soros + the left lighting money on fire. No amount of manufactured outrage by paid activists will stop the mandate for total overhaul of DC. I stand with @realDonaldTrump and @ElonMusk in our fight to Make America Great Again and make government more efficient and effective. Enjoy your Saturday!
Barr was referring to Holocaust survivor and philanthropist George Soros, whose activism in Democratic politics has led to Republicans commonly calling him some kind of nefarious puppetmaster who uses his vast wealth to help the left. That conspiracy is called antisemitic by the Anti-Defamation League. Nonetheless, Barr, an ardent supporter of Israel, made the claim.
On Tuesday, I emailed Barr spokesman Tyler Staker to ask what proof they had about paid activists. He did not respond.
Of course not. As a Lexington native, Barr probably knew half the people in that audience, and certainly knew they weren’t being paid.
But in his pursuit of Trump’s endorsement and Elon Musk’s cash for his Senate run, he has lost all dignity.
On Monday, he posted a photo on Facebook of himself standing next to a Tesla parked in front of the White House.
“It was great to see this beautiful American Made car at the White House today! Elon Musk sure knows what he’s doing!” he wrote.
It wasn’t so long ago that Barr opposed electric vehicles, agreeing with President Trump’s plan to eliminate federal tax credits for electric vehicles.
Sad!
Another member of Gathering for Democracy, Kate Brinkley, wrote an OpEd on Monday about the gathering, which she said was not a shouting match, but did include tears.
“Dismissing the concerns of the people he serves is a callous and disingenuous response to those who showed up at the Town Hall,” she wrote. “We will deliver to Congressman Barr the stories that the people of his district wrote. I pray that he will listen to the good people of Lexington. And that he will do the work he was sent to Washington to do.”
What’s even more sad is that in his quest for more power, Andy Barr now sees the people of the Sixth District who disagree with him as his enemies, not his constituents.
He’s made it clear he will not work on their behalf, much less listen to their concerns.
