Isakson Encounters Testy Town Hall In Kennesaw

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A crowd of more than 600 gathered at Kennesaw State University Monday night for Sen. Johnny Isakson's first in-person town hall of the year. / GPB

This weekend’s violence in Charlottesville, Virginia was front and center at Senator Johnny Isakson’s first town hall of the year Monday night.
Before taking his first question from the capacity crowd of over 600, Georgia’s senior senator got right to the point.
 
He said America is no place for the KKK or white supremacists.
“We can have differences over lots of things, but there’s never going to be a difference over human dignity and the right to live in the freest greatest country on the face of this earth without fear of intimidation because of your race, your national origin, or any other discriminatory factor,” Isakson said to applause.
But any goodwill garnered by the statement quickly wore off.
 
The crowd spent the next hour peppering Isakson with questions about health care, North Korea, climate change, and net neutrality.
Many of the senator’s answers were met with shouts of disapproval from the crowd, like his proposition that caps on immigration be tied to the U.S. unemployment rate.
Isakson brought up the proposal when asked about the Raise Act, a plan to cap legal immigration sponsored by his Senate colleague David Perdue that’s received the backing of President Trump.
Even though many of those who asked questions thanked Isakson for holding the event, not everyone felt the town hall contained much substance.
“He was very evasive, and didn’t answer vary many questions,” said constituent Mike Holzknecht after the event. “All he did was upset some angry people. I don’t know if we’re going to see him again.”
Still, speaking to reporters after the event, Isakson said he felt the night was productive. He also encouraged all 99 of his Senate colleagues to have town halls of their own.
“Jump in,” he said. “The water’s fine.”