I'm surprised so few members of Congress have announced they won't be attending the day of infamy coming up known as a 3 Doors Down concert Trump's inauguration. What a monstrous thing to attend. The only excuse I can think of to go would be to cause a ruckus. Otherwise, it's better to stay away. Luis Gutiérrez (D-IL), Jared Huffman (D-CA), Katherine Clark (D-MA), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Ted Lieu (D-CA) and Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) had all announced they would be missing the festivities when John Lewis announced yesterday that he's not going either. Grijalva, on the floor of the House, told his colleagues that his absence "is not motivated by disrespect for the office or motivated by disrespect for the government that we have in this great democracy. But as an individual act, yes, of defiance, at the disrespect shown to millions and millions of Americans by this incoming administration and by the actions we are taking in this Congress. Rather than participate in the inauguration, I will be participating in my district and reaffirming and renewing this democracy and the people that are part of it." Ted Lieu's office announced that he'll also be doing something more important. "He is a Colonel in the Air Force Reserves and will be doing his reserve duty." I'd like to see Señor Trumpanzee tweet about that one! This morning Pramila Jayapal told us she's doing a healthcare event in Seattle while Trump is being sworn in.Tomorrow John Lewis will be on Meet The Press explaining not just why he's not going to his inauguration but why he doesn't even consider Trump a legitimate president. Asked by Chuck Todd whether he would try to forge a relationship with Trump, Lewis said "I believe in forgiveness; I believe in trying to work with people. It's going to be hard... it's going to be very difficult. I don't see this president-elect as a legitimate president."Asked why he doesn't see Trump as a legitimate president, he said "I think the Russians participated in helping this man get elected. And they helped destroy the candidacy of Hillary Clinton. I don;'t plan to attend the inauguration, the first one that I'll miss since I've been in the Congress. You cannot be at home with something that you feel that is wrong." I don't think anyone who believes in America and who believes in democracy should go. And, Blue America is asking our members to contribute, even if just a token, to the members of Congress who are coming out publicly and saying they won't go. You can visit the page here... or just tap on the thermometer below. And let's keep in mind what Barbara Lee told her constituents about her decision: "Donald Trump has proven that his administration will normalize the most extreme fringes of the Republican Party. On Inauguration Day, I will not be celebrating. I will be organizing and preparing for resistance." There are now over a dozen members who have decided to stay away from the Trump inauguration-- probably more because of Trump's vicious twitter attack on John Lewis this morning than because Jennifer Holiday pulled out of the wretched event. The most recent members of Congress to announce they're not attending are Nydia Velazquez (D-NY), Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Mark Takano (D-CA), William Lacy Clay (D-MO), Jerry Nadler (D-NY), John Conyers (D-MI) and Jose Serrano (D-NY), who said he's not attending because he "cannot celebrate the inauguration of a man who has no regard for my constituents." Only a minuscule 9.6% of his constituents voted for Trump.
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