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Michael Moore: Raucous Town Halls Make 'Tea Party Look Like Pre-School'

"I'm telling you folks ... this hasn't happened since 1970," Moore said of recent voter activism.
Image: A woman shouts during a town hall meeting for Republican U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy in Metairie
A woman shouts during a town hall meeting for Republican U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy in Metairie, Louisiana, Feb. 22, 2017.Jonathan Bachman / Reuters

Filmmaker Michael Moore, who predicted Donald Trump's presidential victory long before many pundits thought it possible, says the recent wave of voter uproar at Republican town halls "makes the Tea Party look like pre-school."

"Nobody is being paid. They are there because they love this country and they are coming out," Moore said on MSNBC's "All In With Chris Hayes" on Wednesday. "And you know what, you're just seeing, really, the first week of these town halls."

Several Republican congress members have faced raucous town halls during the last week. Trump even weighed in on Tuesday, claiming on Twitter that some angry demonstrations in Republican districts were organized by liberal activists. He provided no evidence.

But Moore, who on Tuesday posted a "10-Point Action Plan to Stop Trump," said the recent demonstrations and marches had reached a level of activism that reminded him of the Vietnam War era.

"I'm telling you folks, those of you who are younger, this hasn't happened since 1970," Moore told Hayes. "You do have to go back ... you'd have to go back before Kent State, before to where you saw crowds like this. And even then, you didn't see middle class. You didn't see grandmas."

Related: Town Hall Protests Revive Art of Bird-Dogging Politicians

Sen. Tom Cotton felt some of that heat at a town hall in Springdale, Arkansas, on Wednesday. The Republican senator was booed at times by many in the crowd of 2,000 over nearly two hours.

A 25-year-old woman with a genetic life-threatening condition affecting connective tissue demanded that he give details about the replacement to Obamacare. When Cotton tried to take other healthcare questions before answering, the crowd erupted in to a chant of "Do your job!"

Cotton struggled to make himself heard, and eventually said he favors keeping the Affordable Care Act's guaranteed coverage for preexisting conditions and providing coverage for young people.

Related: Angry Lawmakers Unleash on GOP Lawmakers at Town Halls

At another point, Cotton responded to an outburst over Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and possible school funding cuts by acknowledging that among the crowd "Betsy DeVos may not be the most popular secretary of education."

"I would say this, though, if you feel that strongly about the secretary of education maybe the Department of Education has too much power," Cotton said. He was again met with boos.

Despite sometimes having to wait in silence for the crowd quieten down, the senator thanked everybody for showing up. "Whether you agree with me or disagree with me, this is part of what our country’s all about," he said.