What if you invited legislators to a town hall meeting, but nobody came? Well, improvise:
Cardboard cutouts of Senators Evan Bayh and Richard Lugar, who were not present, were carried up to the podium so attendees could address them.
[. . .]
It was a relaxed atmosphere laced with humor, as fake Secret Service agents roamed through the crowd. Prizes were given out to people with the best signs and what organizers call the 'best Youtube moments.'
I've heard Bayh and Lugar both speak and, really, cardboard cutouts aren't much of a step down from the real thing.
By having a senator-less meeting, the standing-room-only crowd was able to vent, which is what they wanted anyway, and demonstrate the refusal of Bayh and Lugar to engage their constituents. As political stunts go, not bad.
