Call Lisa Blunt Rochester
Your job today is to call Lisa Blunt Rochester and tell her that you would like her to boycott Trump’s Inauguration. Call her office at (202) 225-4165. Thanks to Paula in the comments for suggesting this. The list of congresswomen and men who are not attending is getting longer.
Tags: Lisa Blunt Rochester
FYI… Just tried and got the voice mail. Guessing office doesn’t open till 9am. I’m going to ring back because I’d prefer to speak to a person rather than leave a message if it’s possible.
Get on this today.
To what end. Promote obstructionist that the Dems complained about for the last 6 years of the Obama Admin? It is the act of a spoiled child having a tantrum. Grow up time guys.
You’re a very confused person, Chris. Maturity (growing up) has nothing to do with it. I accept the election outcome, but there’s no reason to go celebrate it. The guy’s a clown and a con-man. He’s an embarrassment. If you want to roll over for it, that’s cool. Just speak for yourself. I’m standing up to it.
And turning down a party invitation is hardly obstructionist. What’s it obstructing?
RE Vanella And turning down a party invitation is hardly obstructionist. What’s it obstructing?
Having the best time!
I was just getting to respond because I’m still trying to figure out what Democrats would be obstructing by not going. Maybe a better view for the record-setting crowd?
When I call I will suggest that she stand with John Lewis, and suggest that she participate in an alternate event or activity.
What are some specific events or activities LBR could participate in instead on Inauguration Day?
This is silly. I voted for a Congresswoman, not a protester. This gains nothing. It’s the same bs that the Tea Party did. Fight back against Trump for the next 4 years, but boycotting the Inauguration does nothing. I’m not judging John Lewis. He’s an historic figure and an activist Congressman. His action in this regard gets great attention to his issues. However, Blunt-Rochester doing the same thing won’t have the same impact. She’s a freshman Congresswoman from Delaware who sits on the Education Committee. That’s the absolute bottom of the barrel. There are hill staffers who’d get more attention by boycotting the Inauguration.
On the contrary, LBR is a “historic” congressperson, and skipping the inauguration would make an impact. We only have one congressperson and all eyes are on her. Attending the inauguration (or not) is a symbolic event that sets a tone, one way or the other.
It’s about numbers too. The more the merrier.
It’s about explicit resistance to a con-man and a farce. It’s not about what her status is in Congress. That’s irrelevant. Like the demonstration planned for Saturday. What concrete results will come from it? Probably nothing. But that’s not the point.
But this rationale, Bane, why should anyone not well-known or powerful or of a high status do anything at all? I think you’re applying a very poor standard for action.
You have your opinion though. That’s fine.
Done. Just spoke to an aide answering phones. I said that I wanted to pass a specific message to the Congresswoman.
I think deep down she knows she should be standing with John Lewis rather than on tradition.
I hope she considers that fact.
@Bane: You invoke the Tea Party as if it failed. It did not.
Anonymous beat me to it.
@Chris R: “Grow up time, guys.”
On the contrary, Chris. Children do what they’re told. We’re not children.
One’s viewpoint of government depends a great deal on what kind of family structure one prefers, authoritarian or nurturing. The authoritarians, the people who do what they’re told, are on the other side. On this side, we are the cats that someone is always trying to herd.
“To what end. Promote obstructionist that the Dems complained about for the last 6 years of the Obama Admin? It is the act of a spoiled child having a tantrum. Grow up time guys.”
Every time I hear talk like this, I think… Merrick Garland… then I go back to ignoring this nonsense. To what end, indeed.
“then I go back to ignoring this nonsense. ”
That’s because you’re a nice person. I am not a nice person, so I try to school people like this. Usually with a metaphorical 2×4.
I got through to a staffer who said they were getting a lot of calls (although he didn’t say the calls were about attending the inauguration).
If you haven’t called yet, do it now!
Good point, puck. I’ve tacked it to the top of the page as a constant reminder to call if you haven’t.
Whoever answered a minute ago said the Congresswoman would be releasing a statement on this “within the next 24 hours.”
She will likely release a statement with glowing tributes to John Lewis but say its about a civic duty and respecting a peaceful transfer of power. She will attend with Coons and Carper.
Being right with Coons and Carper will have a strong pull. I put the odds at 50/50 right now.
I lean towards Chris’ prediction, but I’m hoping she stays away.
Her decision will help determine whether she is part of the problem or part of the solution.
Below is the full running list of Congress members who are planning not to attend the inauguration as an hour ago (link):
Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz.
Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz.
Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif.
Rep. Tony Cardenas, D-Calif.
Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif.
Rep. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Calif.
Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif.
Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif.
Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif.
Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Calif.
Rep. Grace Napolitano, D-Calif.
Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, D-Calif.
Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Calif.
Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif.
Rep. Juan Vargas, D-Calif.
Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif.
Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Fla.
Rep. Darren Soto, D-Fla.
Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla.
Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga.
Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill.
Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill.
Rep. John Yarmuth, D-Ky.
Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine
Rep. Anthony Brown, D-Md.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md.
Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Mass.
Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich.
Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn.
Rep. William Lacy Clay, D-Mo.
Rep. Carol Shea-Porter, D-N.H.
Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-N.J.
Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y.
Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y.
Rep. Grace Meng, D-N.Y.
Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y.
Rep. Jose Serrano, D-N.Y.
Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y.
Rep. Nydia Velazquez, D-N.Y.
Rep. Alma Adams, D-N.C.
Rep. G.K. Butterfield, D-N.C.
Rep. Marcia Fudge, D-Ohio
Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore.
Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore.
Rep. Kurt Schrader, D-Ore.
Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa.
Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Pa.
Rep. Dwight Evans, D-Pa.
Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn.
Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas
Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas
Rep. Al Green, D-Texas
Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash.
Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash.
Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis.
This is useless as hell. Maybe y’all can use try using this platform when she actually has to make a vote that matters
Even if you are right, you don’t make yourself ready to spring into action for the “vote that matters” by sitting around waiting for that moment.
It seems some here really never have heard about the tea party.
to be fair… the “tea party”, as we know it, was never anything more than an astro-turf organization created by Fox News and the Kochs. It did kind of get out of control once the Klan got involved, but grass-roots organizing was never really their thing.
Dont expect the DNC or “liberal media” to give any kind of consideration to progressive causes. the louder we are, the harder they punch us. Im for punching back.
@Ben: It might have been funded from above, but plenty of regular folks turned out without knowing they were being played, and forced the media to pay attention.
@Everybody but “Delaware Left”: Beware people calling themselves “something Liberal” or “something Progressive” yet pooh-poohing any sort of resistance. Paying trolls counts as “strategic thinking” for these jag-offs, so expect to see lots more like “Modern Progressive” in weeks and months to come.
Yes, as I recall Dr. King saying after Bloody Sunday on the Edmund Pettis Bridge…. “Guys, they won. Let’s start being violent just like them so we can win too”
Next thing you know, he got a holiday.
“Tea Party history class”
True…. also, GOP have always been scared of their base, while Dems view their’s with contempt. We need to change that.
When was the Tea Party violent?
Your arguments are far from persuasive. Non-violence is an appeal to the conscience of a higher authority — it requires those watching to feel empathy for those being beaten up.
When there is no higher authority to appeal to, non-violence goes by the name “victimization.”
Also, you seem confused by the facts. You are not arguing for marching on Selma. You are arguing for avoiding the confrontation.
Your squeamishness is noted. You won’t be counted on to help.
Representative Lisa Blunt Rochester told me live on-the-air yesterday that she had decided to attend, and she offered several reasons, including that she was representing the “whole state” of Delaware.
So I asked the logical follow-up: Well, would your decision be different if you were representing, say, just Philadelphia? She said she’d still be inclined to attend the Inauguration.
She also told me she hadn’t consulted with either U.S. senator before reaching her decision, but, of course, was aware of what one or both had said in the media.
[I didn’t ask whether an avalanche of calls/emails to her office could change her thinking.]
Just thought I’d note this for you.
Allan Loudell
WDEL
That was yesterday, Allan. Let’s see what difference 24 hours of calls might make.
@Ben, you said, “to be fair… the “tea party”, as we know it, was never anything more than an astro-turf organization created by Fox News and the Kochs. It did kind of get out of control once the Klan got involved, but grass-roots organizing was never really their thing.”
You obviously haven’t read this yet: https://www.indivisibleguide.com/
“The authors of this guide are former congressional staffers who witnessed the rise of the Tea Party. We saw these activists take on a popular president with a mandate for change and a supermajority in Congress. We saw them organize locally and convince their own MoCs to reject President Obama’s agenda. Their ideas were wrong, cruel, and tinged with racism — and they won. . . .
“To this end, the following chapters offer a step-by-step guide for individuals, groups, and organizations looking to replicate the Tea Party’s success in getting Congress to listen to a small, vocal, dedicated group of constituents. The guide is intended to be equally useful for stiffening Democratic spines and weakening pro-Trump Republican resolve.”
November Election Results
Donald Trump: 185,127 votes
Lisa Blunt Rochester: 233,554 votes
The racists in congress didnt need urging from their hoards of knuckle-draggers to try and hamstring Obama. Saying the Tea Party was grass roots, is an insult to real activists. Within WEEKS of it’s beginning, the Tea Party/ 9/12ers, Klan… whatever you want to call them, were fully funded and supported by right wing media.
For the record, I get that this decision considered alone is meaningless. But it isn’t considered alone, is it? You either oppose this embarrassment or you don’t.
If you think we’re focusing on this and we’ll have nothing left next week (or next month), I think you’re wrong. If you believe we won’t also turn up for the big legislative decisions, I believe you’re wrong.
It needn’t be this or that. In my view sustained pressure is what’s required. And it needs to commence right now.
@anon all I’m saying was where was the the call to action when carper and coons voted to rebuke the abstention on the UN Israeli settlement resolution? that’s obviously something much more important than whether or not LBR should attend a fucking parade. I’d just like to see further calls to action when they start voting on shit that matters.
As a white guy from Hockessin, I never dreamed that one day I would be calling Delaware’s first African-American congresswoman and pleading with her to stand with John Lewis.
And don’t worry about further calls to action. I have her on my speed-dial.
“where was the the call to action when carper and coons voted to rebuke the abstention on the UN Israeli settlement resolution? That’s obviously something much more important than whether or not LBR should attend a fucking parade.”
I’m trying to calculate how much more wrong you could be, and I keep coming up with imaginary numbers.
What kind of dope thinks a useless UN resolution matters more than this?
“I’d just like to see further calls to action when they start voting on shit that matters.”
Bullshit. You attacked this. You call when you want to and we’ll call when we want to. You have made no case at all that we should have called about that.
“Saying the Tea Party was grass roots, is an insult to real activists. Within WEEKS of it’s beginning, the Tea Party/ 9/12ers, Klan… whatever you want to call them, were fully funded and supported by right wing media.”
The Tea Party people in Delaware were rallying before any money flowed. To write off those people as somehow not real is beyond odd.
And in case you hadn’t noticed, we are being supported by the left-wing media. What part of this has you so upset?
There are hardcore leftists in Delaware who have been railing at everything for a long time. We are not them, and I do not want to be associated with them.
The more I think about it, the more I realize that boycotting the inaugural is just a convenient way to stay out of the cold.
Far more effective would be to have all of them show up holding “NOT MY PRESIDENT” signs … and hopefully blocking the view of hundreds of Trumpistas.
for those of us who are holding up the Tea Party as a model for Indivisible-style activism – are you ready to rally against Democrats? Because that’s what it will take. Marching against Republicans is just a feel-good distraction. Republicans don’t care if you march.
Keep in mind that the Tea Party’s most memorable moments were calling out Republicans for not being Tea Party enough. The Tea Party wielded power through its purity purges, using effective primary campaigns to drive Republicans even rightward and keeping wayward Repubs from crossing party lines.
Remember Crazy Eileen? One of us on the progressive side has to be crazy enough to scream at Coons, Carper, or LBR “I want my (liberal) country back!” and the rest of us have to be crazy enough to erupt in cheers.
Yes, our senators voting to condone a genocide is less important than a parade.
She’s attending.
Chris@12:01 nailed it almost word-for-word:
Note the News Journal’s twist on the rationale for skipping the inauguration:
Right. It’s all about that bickering John Lewis, not about Trump at all.
Wait – read the article all the way through. Your calls are having an effect. Keep calling!
“Yes, our senators voting to condone a genocide is less important than a parade.”
Why don’t you take your simpleminded bullshit frame for this and shove it up your ass sideways? A UN vote, already taken, means nothing, which you know. And you know perfectly well where Coons stands on Israel. So don’t play the naif here, dickwipe.
Howzabout you get in his face instead of ours? After you’re done fucking off, I mean.
So I just called and made clear that this will determine whether or not I vote for her again. Either she stands with us or she stand with our delegation of corporate fluffers, and I’ll make up my mind by whether or not she attends.
Get more flies with honey, than vinegar! Good for you Senator!
She’s not a Senator, and why would you want flies? Even if you do, the best way to attract them isn’t honey, it’s dog shit, which is why Trump attracts so many.
The decision is out: she’s going
Keep calling and let them know how disappointed you are in her decision and ask her to change her mind. Today she said:
Keep calling!
Many people don’t yet understand the power at our disposal. But a growing number do. From Philly.com tonight:
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20170119_800_turn_out_in_King_of_Prussia_to_learn_how_to_confront_a_Trump_administration.html
This was at Upper Merion — until very recently a reliably Republican area — and 800 people turned out to learn more about how to resist the Trump regime.
Remember the lesson of the Tea Party: They only win if we let them govern.
I congratulate our Delaware Representative on the beginning of bringing our country back together. It appears the gap between all races, creeds, political affiliations & religions is getting wider as time goes by. I propose she do all she can to bring our entire country together as she represents Delaware. Attending Fridays events is a good start. delawareliberal.net should encourage the same!
Thank You Rep. Rochester Blount. Continue to stand for the people of Delaware and not an obscure few that want to separate us all.
Yeah, she spends the week quoting Martin Luther King and paying homage to John Lewis, and then turns her back on what they fought for.
Thank you, Lisa. For nothing. You have officially exposed yourself.
She will have many opportunities to get back on the right side of history with her votes.
True. But to me this was such an easy choice. And she blew it. Doesn’t fill me with optimism.
Mr. Greenwood: Your sentiments, while sweet, are unwelcome.
Republicans had their chance to play nice. They have failed to do so since the ’94 midterms.
Donald Trump, like the last Republican president, lost the popular vote. We the people — that’s who the Constitution is written in the name of, not the individual states but the people — will have our say.
Ms. Blunt-Rochester can get on the side of history, or she can be swept away by it. The choice is hers.