Rep. James Comer visited Paducah on August 26th to attend the Paducah Chamber of Commerce’s annual Policy Luncheon at the Carson Center for the Performing Arts. Four Rivers Indivisible, which I co-lead, protested outside. We were there to raise concerns about his continued refusal to hold a town hall or to directly address constituent concerns about issues from changes to Medicaid and the social safety net to the use of military and masked ICE agents in our cities. Our group was not there to protest any actions of the Paducah Chamber and respects their right to engage with Rep. Comer in such forums.
In March, when our group held a “Chicken Comer Town Hall” on the sidewalks outside his Paducah office, he responded to press inquiries with “I’m not here to provide therapy to people with Trump Derangement Syndrome”.
Really, James Comer? Is that the contempt you have for constituents who spoke to your staffer about fears and concerns their grandchild with autism would lose needed services? To the disabled veterans who were at that time losing access to their counseling for PTSD because of DOGE cuts? As I said at the time, “We don’t want therapy, we want our Social Security checks and our health care benefits!”
On August 26th, he had new excuses. The most egregious was to say that he “considers today’s event to be a town hall”, as reported on local broadcast news.
Really, James Comer? Do you think that only the small business community in Paducah represents your constituents? What about the rest of us?
Comer stated that his staffer “already” spoke with a handful from our group earlier this year.
Really, James Comer? Do you not realize there are other people in the community that would welcome a public forum to express concerns. What about them?
Do you think that nothing new has happened since March that people have concerns about? What about due process, ICE raids, increasing attacks on free speech, and the failure to release the Epstein files? What about the effect of the new budget you helped pass on our local hospitals and the cost of health insurance in this state for 2026? 
Comer had more excuses. He said our group was saying things that “were not true” because “I do more interviews than anybody in Congress, and we post our interviews on social media. There's nobody in Congress that does more interviews."
Really, James Comer? Do you really think the public will accept that your interviews on conservative media with journalists are the same as taking questions from your actual constituents? How is our statement that you haven’t held a town hall “not true?”
Comer also said that he already heard what we had to say and “doesn’t agree with us."
Really, James Comer? You don’t agree that your Oversight Committee should look into the effect of current policies on our local hospitals, healthcare, and social safety net services? On our veteran’s care? On our farmers who are struggling due to the erratic tariff policies? On how ICE raids that were supposed to target criminals are instead rounding up large numbers of workers based on racial profiling who have no criminal record, some actual U.S. citizens, and denying thousands of people appropriate due process? On the effect of having masked agents with detention powers on our streets like we are a third-world dictatorship? On why the chair of the FCC is calling for networks to attack free speech and fire late-night comedians? On how Health and Human Services is implementing an anti-vaccine policy that experts agree will lead to unnecessary deaths of children?
Member Rev. Leah Eubanks spoke to a reporter at the event, “He needs to hold a town hall so that he can hear the voices of the real people, and not just the ones who are spending $900 for a seat at his table. We need to be hearing from all people, Black and brown and women and men and people of different races and creeds and colors. Everybody needs to have an opportunity, even at a town hall, to be able to have their voice be heard."
Do you want to explain why you disagree with that? Really, James Comer?
Congress is on recess again, Sept 21-25. Are you going to tell us again why you won’t hold a town hall?
Really, James Comer?
Leslie S. McColgin, Co-leader Four Rivers Indivisible.
Four Rivers Indivisible is a pro-democracy non-partisan grassroots organization based in the western Kentucky region. For more information visit www.fourriversindivisible.org
