Public Response from Indivisible Douglas County

Congressman Cliff Bentz says he can’t hold in-person town halls anymore because they’ve become “disruptive.” Let’s call that what it is: cowardice. A town hall is not supposed to be comfortable or scripted. It is democracy in its rawest form — messy, loud, sometimes even angry. When a congressman can’t stand in front of his own constituents and take questions, it isn’t leadership. It’s failure. And when he replaces real forums with stage-managed “telephone town halls” where dissent is muted, that isn’t engagement. It’s escape.

Bentz may boast of “hundreds” of meetings but look closer at where he hasn’t been. In Jackson and Douglas Counties — where dissatisfaction with his record runs deepest — he avoids open forums, opting instead for private meetings with officials and handpicked groups. That isn’t representation. That’s filtering. And filtered democracy is no democracy at all.

He also claims the large crowds at his recent town halls were packed with outsiders. That is false. Oregonians showed up in greater numbers because they are dissatisfied with his loyalty to Donald Trump over the needs of his district. Many attended multiple town halls, not because they were outsiders, but because he refused to answer their questions the first time. When leaders ignore legitimate concerns, constituents return louder, not quieter. That is not disruption. That is democracy.

Bentz further insists he wasn’t “learning what he could do to make lives better” at those forums. The truth is, he wasn’t listening at all. He told constituents that Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” wouldn’t cut Medicaid or harm rural Oregon. Independent experts said the opposite: thousands would lose coverage, rural hospitals would close, and lives would be put at risk. He also supported budget-slashing nutrition assistance, then scapegoated immigrants to defend it. That kind of blame doesn’t feed a single family in Medford, shorten the wait time for a VA appointment for a veteran in Grants Pass, or help seniors in Roseburg and La Grande who rely on Medicaid. It only divides communities while ordinary Oregonians pay the price.

Which brings us to January 6th. When a mob stormed the Capitol to overturn a free and fair election, Congressman Bentz did not stand unequivocally for democracy. He voted to object to Pennsylvania’s results, joining 138 Republicans in the House who sought to cast doubt on the outcome. His objection was based on false claims about mail-in voting that were repeatedly disproven in court and rejected by election officials of both parties. By voting to sustain that lie, Bentz helped sow distrust in our elections and gave legitimacy to the conspiracy theories that fueled the attack. He later compounded that failure by voting against impeaching Donald Trump for inciting the insurrection. To call town hall dissent “disruptive” while ignoring actual insurrectionists is hypocrisy beyond the pale.

The most dishonest part of his statement, though, was his attack on Indivisible. He smeared us as an “anti-Trump gang” and a “left-wing group.” That is false. Indivisible is a grassroots, volunteer-driven movement of everyday Oregonians — progressives, moderates, independents, and even some Republicans. We are teachers, nurses, farmers, veterans, and small business owners who are also his constituents. We are the very people he was elected to represent, and we will not be delegitimized or dismissed.

We are not disruptors of democracy — we are its defenders. We are patriots who love our country enough to demand better for it. We will not be silenced. We will not be gaslit. And we will never stop demanding a government that serves the people.

If Congressman Bentz is uncomfortable with citizens holding him accountable, then he should take the advice of President Harry S. Truman, who said, “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.”