Yes, this is really @DarrellIssa on the roof of his district office building. Too afraid to come speak with assembled constituents below. pic.twitter.com/wCYRjO8Ev8
— Mike Levin (@MikeLevin) May 30, 2017
On Tuesday, Congressional candidate Mike Levin (D-CA) tweeted a photo of what looks like opponent Darrel Issa standing on the roof of his office, gazing at his constituents below and holding what appears to be a smartphone. According to Levin (and who knows if this is true?), Issa had come out briefly to speak with those gathered outside his office before retreating to the roof. Levin captioned the picture, “Yes, this really is Darrel Issa on the roof of his district office building. Too afraid to come speak with assembled constituents.”
And Twitter was ready:
And just like that a caption contest is born.
— Marion Deeds (@mariond_d) May 30, 2017
There were many references to The Office:
— Heather Reid (@hkreid) May 30, 2017
— Danny Goldberg (@dannygberg) May 30, 2017
And others riffed on President Trump’s preoccupation with crowd size following the inauguration and Women’s March:
https://twitter.com/Cole_G_lunz/status/869608331454799872
Some are already anticipating the 2018 Congressional elections:
https://twitter.com/FreehFan/status/869618880393740288
Some referenced other news stories:
— Virgil Texas (@virgiltexas) May 30, 2017
And several brought up other barnyard animals, calling Issa “chicken” with a variety of GIFs featuring fowl:
— DianaLeeMason (@dianaleemason) May 30, 2017
😂Darrel Issa on the roof too afraid to face constituents. 🤣 pic.twitter.com/SB1FhyYrGj
— T.M. Claudia (@CT_Alchemist) May 30, 2017
The Washington Examiner reports that Issa is one of just two Republican Congressmen who have town hall meetings scheduled during the congressional recess. Many representatives on both sides of the aisle have been faced with marathon town halls full of irate supporters as debate has raged over President Trump’s reform of Obama’s Affordable Care Act. Congressmen who have taken a strong stance on Trumpcare have faced great backlash, and several have become increasingly defensive.
For example, earlier this month Congressman Tom MacArthur spent almost five hours weathering concerns about his amendment to the healthcare bill from constituents whose stories and fears ran the gamut from adult pre-existing conditions to childhood diseases to the opioid epidemic. And congressional candidate Greg Gianforte won a seat against a Democrat opponent despite charges of assault the day before the election for allegedly body slamming a reporter who asked Gianforte about his position on healthcare.
Issa, for his part, recently told reporters that his position on healthcare was “none of their business,” according to a report from the San Diego Union-Tribune. According to CNN, Issa’s constituents have been protesting his “yes” vote on Trumpcare reforms by showing up at his office dressed in bandages and carrying mobility aids as props, representing the sick and disabled they feel he has disenfranchised. The town hall he will be hosting during the congressional recess requires registration with special access codes and other hoops for potential attendees to jump through, reports the Union-Tribune. That event alone will require the Congressmen to come down from his roof (if it was indeed Issa himself who was photographed up there — Levin’s tweet is unconfirmed) and meet with the public at a distance conducive to dialogue.