TOWN HALLS ACROSS AMERICA ARE NOT A THING OF THE PAST, THEY
ARE STILL GOING ON, AND CONGRESSMEN ARE STILL GETTING IN
TROUBLE THANKS TO INTERACTIONS WITH CONSTITUENTS.
HERE WE WILL
SHOW YOU THE PUBLIC AND MARK WAYNE MULLEN, WHO MICHAEL SAYS
IS A FORMER MMA FIGHTER, HE BRINGS THAT SAME ATTITUDE TO
TALKING TO CONSTITUENTS, HE MIGHT END UP REGRETTING IT.
THIS
HAS TO DO WITH WHO HE IS IN OFFICE TO REPRESENT.
YOU SAID YOU PAID FOR ME TO DO THIS, I PAID FOR MYSELF, I PAID
ENOUGH TAXES -- THIS IS A SERVICE TO BRING NO ONE HERE
PAYS ME TO GO.
I DO IT AS AN HONOR.
PAYS YOU TO GO WHERE?
THIS IS A SERVICE FOR ME, NOT A CAREER, AND I THANK GOD THIS
IS NOT HOW I MAKE A LIVING.
THE FUNNY THING IS HE IS SAYING YOU SAY YOU PAY MY
CELERY, YOU DON'T PAY MY SALARY, I PAY MY OWN. AND MAYBE HE'S ON
VERTIGO MEDICINE OR SOMETHING, BUT WE HAVE ANOTHER VIDEO,
ON WHO PAYS HIS HEALTH INSURANCE.
FIRST OF ALL, YOU DON'T PAY FOR MY HEALTH INSURANCE, YOU
NEVER HAVE.
I PAY FOR MYSELF.
WHO PAYS YOUR SALARY?
ME, I'M SELF-EMPLOYED AND I'VE PAID MORE TAXES THAN I WILL EVER
RECEIVE FROM BEING IN CONGRESS.
I PAY MY OWN.
FIRST OF ALL, WAY TO GO IN SHOWING YOUR CONSTITUENTS THAT
YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT THEM AND DON'T CARE TO REPRESENT THEM OR
LISTEN TO THEIR CONCERNS.
BUT ASIDE FROM THAT, AND THIS IS A
BROADER POINT ABOUT PEOPLE WHO MAKE SIMILAR STATEMENTS LIKE
THAT -- I GET IT, WE ALL PAY TAXES.
I CAN'T STAND THE PEOPLE
WHO THINK THEY ARE GOD BECAUSE THEY PAY TAXES.
THEY THINK THEY
ARE BETTER --
EVERYONE PAYS TAXES EXCEPT FOR THE EXTREMELY POOR.
OR THE EXTREMELY RICH WHO AVOID IT
EXACTLY.
AND EVEN THE POOR PAY TAXES AND OTHER FORMS.
YOU ARE
NOT A HERO, YOU PAY YOUR TAXES, IT'S PROBABLY A MINUSCULE AMOUNT
OF MONEY IN RELATION TO THE AMOUNT OF DEDUCTIONS YOU HAVE,
THE AMOUNT OF TAXES YOU CAN GET OUT OF -- THEY PAY A TINY AMOUNT
OF TAXES AND AN EVEN SMALLER AMOUNT GOES TOWARD HELPING THE
POOR AND THEY THINK THEY ARE GOD'S GIFT.
RELAX.
YOU CAN BE FRUSTRATED IF SOMEONE SAYS I PAY YOUR SALARY,
I'M SURE COPS DON'T LIKE THAT -- THAT'S FINE, YOU DON'T HAVE TO
LIKE IT, BUT IN TWO DIFFERENT INTERACTIONS WITH YOUR
CONSTITUENTS, THAT'S HOW YOU EXPRESS IT?
WITH THIS ATTITUDE,
IT WON'T BE YOUR CAREER FOR MUCH LONGER.
SAY TO THEM WE CAN
DISAGREE ABOUT HOW MUCH I'VE TAKEN OUT AND PAID INTO THE
SYSTEM, BUT WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO ME IS I DID COME TO DC TO
REPRESENT YOU, AND WALLY MIGHT DISAGREE I TAKE YOUR CONCERNS
SERIOUSLY --
I'M NOT EVEN A GODDAMN POLITICIAN, THIS IS EASY.
HE SAYS IT'S A SERVICE -- OKAY, IS PUNCHING SOMEONE IN THE
FACE A SERVICE?
THAT WAS HIS FORMER CAREER, AS AN MMA FIGHTER.
I'M PROVIDING YOU A SERVICE BY GIVING YOU THE MIDDLE FINGER
WHEN YOU VOICE CONCERNS?
WHAT HE'S SAYING IS FORGET THE MONEY, I'M A PUBLIC SERVANT, I
WOULDN'T WANT TO DO THIS FOR MY CAREER -- BUT HE RAN FOR
REELECTION, HE'S IN TULSA, THAT'S BEEN KIND OF A YELLOW DOG
DISTRICT, A DEMOCRAT MIGHT DO WELL THERE -- THAT'S IN THE OLD
DAYS, IT'S OKLAHOMA, FORGET IT, IT'S THE MOST REPUBLICAN STATE
IN THE COUNTRY, BUT IT IS AROUND TULSA -- BUT WHAT ANA IS SAYING
IS TRUE, HOW DO YOU GO INTO A ROOM FULL OF PEOPLE AND DON'T
EVEN BRING IT UP?
DON'T SAY THAT, HEAR WHAT THEY HAVE TO
SAY, IT'S A TOWN HALL -- YOU ARE GETTING HEALTHCARE THROUGH THE
GOVERNMENT EVEN IF YOU HAVE A PLUMBING BUSINESS, WHICH HE
DOES.
YOU JUST DON'T BRING IT UP.
BAD POLITICS.
AT THE END OF THE DAY I'M BRIEFLY REALIZING THAT HE'S A
HUMAN BEING, IN 20 MINUTES I WILL HAVE FORGOTTEN HIM, I DON'T
CARE ABOUT HIM SPECIFICALLY, BUT THESE TOWN HALLS AREN'T GOING
AWAY, WHETHER IT IS IN TERMS OF WHO PAYS HIS SALARY OR ANY
INTERACTION THEY HAVE HAD, JOE BARTON YELLING "YOU LIE" AT HIM,
THEY ARE HOLDING POLITICIANS ACCOUNTABLE.
IT COULD GO POORLY
I GUESS, BUT THIS IS WHAT WE NEED RIGHT NOW, PEOPLE HAVE BEEN
TOO APATHETIC BUT FORTUNATELY
THEY ARE GETTING INVOLVED.