ROUNDUP: Joe Heck Holds Trainwreck Townhall
Las Vegas, NV – Maybe Rep. Joe Heck should just stay in DC next time the House isn’t in session, because he’s not doing himself any favors when he visits Nevada.
Less than 24 hours after calling Social Security a "pyramid scheme" again, Heck held a trainwreck townhall last night where he and his staff said multiple times that the only questions allowed to be asked were those pertaining to veterans issues.
In fact, it was so bad that in a scene reminiscent of last year’s Senate race in Nevada, Heck actually "ran into a private room when approached by reporters at the end of the town hall," despite telling the audience he would stay to address additional questions according to the Las Vegas Sun.
How bad was it? As the Las Vegas Sun reported:
Because the forum was held at an American Legion hall, Heck said he would answer only questions related to veterans’ issues. Social Security arguably falls into that category, but Heck wouldn’t budge, even though an announcement advertising the event, posted Monday on Facebook, listed Social Security, Medicare and Veterans Affairs as the main topics for discussion.
According to Fox News:
It's a question the freshman Republican congressman from Nevada and his communications team desperately tried to avoid Wednesday night during a town hall meeting that was meant only to discuss veterans' Affairs issues in Henderson, Nevada.
The Las Vegas Sun noted:
Republican Rep. Joe Heck on Wednesday was more than happy to answer questions about high school sporting events and Disney’s plans to trademark the “SEAL Team 6” name, but he refused to answer any substantive questions about Social Security.
The AP reported that Heck refused to comment about his multiple assertions that Social Security is a “pyramid scheme”:
"At this point I am not going to comment on that question," Heck told a reporter who probed him about the pyramid scheme gaffe. When another reporter asked him about the comment after the meeting, he ignored the question and walked out of the room, avoiding the crowd of constituents gathered to greet him.
Full articles:
Las Vegas Sun: Heck dodges Social Security questions at forum
AP: Nevada Republican Joe Heck vows to preserve Social Security, dodges questions on scheme gaffe
Fox News: Republican Dodges Question on Social Security After Calling it a “Scheme”