article: There's never a good time to talk politics, but democracy starts early in the state of Iowa. By 7:30 am, as the morning fog was still lifting and the sun was starting to appear, the meeting room in the Iowa Falls Fire department was already at full capacity. A few hundred people had travelled from across the state to attend a town hall meeting, filling every chair and corner, and spilling into the hallway. Town halls are traditionally a forum for constituents to discuss their concerns with elected officials, face to face. But in the Trump era, they've taken on a new purpose - with many aggrieved voters seeing them as a way to put pressure on President Trump, by ensuring their members of Congress hold him to account. Republican officials across the country have found themselves on the receiving end of questions and demands from voters. Many, but not all, of those attending are Democrats, some from progressive groups who are organising around these events to ensure people show up. But others are simply frustrated residents, who want their voices heard. All are represented by Senator Chuck Grassley. The vast majority of the crowd at the fire station was older, in their fifties or above. Some of them came with handwritten protest signs, others clutched pieces of paper with their questions written on them. "I'm new at this," a woman named Ingrid told me. She said Trump's victory made her angry. "I felt I had to come. I'm hoping our voices get larger and that we can make sure Republicans don't just vote along party lines and listen to their constituents." And listen is exactly what Senator Grassley did, even if some felt he didn't quite answer all of their concerns. As the seven-term senator entered the room, he began by asking the group which topics they'd like to cover. As hands flew in the air, and people jostled for his attention, a range of topics were raised - everything from Russia to guns, healthcare to education. Senator Grassley wrote the questions down in a small notebook, promising to answer them in the order they were asked. A large majority of questions were about President Obama's healthcare law - the Affordable Care Act. The questions on this were impassioned, as people talked of their personal experiences of Obamacare, and their fears they could lose coverage under a Trump presidency. One elderly man attended on behalf of a friend whose son was seriously ill. He told the senator of how "his parents will probably have to face bankruptcy just as they face retirement". Other testimonies reflected the extent people here rely on government subsidised health insurance. "I'm on Obamacare, if it wasn't for Obamacare we wouldn't be able to afford insurance," said Chris Petersen, an insulin dependent diabetic who runs a farm more than an hour away. "I got a present for you," he told the senator, as he held up a box of Tums, a medicine used to relieve heartburn, "you're going to need them in the next few years." When
summary: Republican politicians are returning to their home districts to a barrage of criticism, as many constituents demand to know how they'll hold President Trump to account.