Via Shutterstock

Via Shutterstock


This is kind of sad. America Speaks, a nonprofit profit group that organizes non-partisan community discussions, is planning an town-hall-style meeting about the presidential election for Northern Virginia voters on Saturday.

Trouble is, the group can’t seem to find enough Republicans to fill a room. America Speaks is at such a loss for members of the GOP, it’s resorted to handing out cash and free lunches for any Republicans brave enough to show up to the conversation in Springfield this weekend.

Per a Craigslist post stumbled upon by BuzzFeed:

The Virginia Voters Town Hall meeting in Springfield on Saturday morning, October 6th is bringing together a representative sample of Virginia voters to give their views on issues that are at the center of the election campaign. We expect national media representatives to be present to observe and report on the results. We are short on registered Republicans and so all Republicans who apply in the next few days will be accepted to participate.

Sadder still, the ad’s headline promises $50 and a free lunch to any Republican who volunteers to participate.

Then again, much as America Votes’ mission is to foster bipartisanship and friendliness, Fairfax County might not be the best place to do it. In 2008, Barack Obama claimed 60 percent of the county’s votes, though in the Democratic washout elections of 2010, Rep. Gerry Connolly, a Democrat who represents most of the area, barely eked out a victory. But perhaps the pendulum has swung back. A recent Washington Post poll gave Obama an eight-point lead over Mitt Romney.