My statement on the upcoming inauguration: pic.twitter.com/dQXE0ztvTf
— Katherine Clark (@RepKClark) January 5, 2017
That’s my Congressional rep, Ed Markey’s replacement. I haven’t seen any Don’t Blame Me, I Voted for Hillary bumperstickers yet, but maybe I just don’t get out enough. From the Boston Globe:
In a break from tradition and from the rest of the Massachusetts congressional delegation, Representative Katherine Clark plans to boycott the upcoming inauguration of Republican President-elect Donald Trump as a form of ceremonial protest…
Senators Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, two fierce critics of the incoming president, confirmed their attendance through statements.
Representative Seth Moulton of Salem, who considered not attending the inauguration, said in an interview he later decided to go because he thought it was “the best thing to do for our democracy.”…
Representative Michael Capuano of Somerville said he could have a scheduling conflict that would prevent him from being in Washington.
“If I don’t attend, it would not be to make a statement,” he said.
Representative Jim McGovern said he’s “attended every presidential inauguration” since he was elected to Congress in 1996 and will attend this year.
Representative Stephen F. Lynch of Boston said he always planned to attend. “I will be there,” Lynch said. “It’s out of respect for the office you should attend the inauguration. It’s a basic courtesy that you extend to the president of the United States.”…
McGovern said he plans to attend the women’s march scheduled in Washington for Jan. 21, the day after the inauguration. Moulton, who plans to attend the same protest, said he is chartering a train car so a group of Massachusetts residents can attend.
Because interest was so high from his constituents, Moulton is looking into procuring a second car. Each holds more than 80 people.
“I’m trying to empower people,” Moulton said.
Clark — whose office said Thursday that she had won a coveted spot on the Appropriations Committee — said she respected the opinion of others who disagree with her choice.
“People will come to different decisions,” Clark said. “But there is nothing about this presidency and his rejection about his core American values that I want to normalize.”
Seth Moulton‘s a progressive up-and-comer in the Democratic party, but he’s also an ex-Marine. Mike Capuano‘s got larger (state-wide) ambitions, while Jim McGovern is part of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Steve Lynch is our token voice for the ‘economically anxious white working class’, aka the Howie Carr demographic — he’s got his current job for life, as long as he doesn’t do anything reckless like giving it up to run for something larger.
Massachusetts Democrats seem to leading charge against Trump. Clark boycotting inauguration, Warren constantly antagonizing, now McGovern: https://t.co/4yGJ54IXb9
— Matt Viser (@mviser) January 6, 2017
American democracy was compromised in 2016 by #RussianHacking. I refuse to sit quietly while our democratic institutions are under attack. pic.twitter.com/prmDKfIewV
— Rep. Jim McGovern (@RepMcGovern) January 6, 2017
More happy news, Senator Professor Elizabeth Warren is running for re-election:
… In an interview with the Globe, Warren said her decision to run for a second term had been growing on her for some time. With the election over and questions back home mounting, “I just wanted to make it clear. I love this job,” she said. “I fight every day for working families across our Commonwealth. This fight is about to get a lot harder, and I want everyone to know I am in all the way.”
Warren suggested that Trump’s unexpected victory was among the factors that swayed her. “Trump has made the fight for working families a lot harder and more urgent,” she said, when asked if Trump’s White House win had influenced her decision. “I feel so strongly about the need to be in Washington and fight to protect the things that we have built, fighting Trump’s dangerous Cabinet appointments,” she said, pointing to Trump’s pick of Tom Price, a Republican congressman from Georgia, to lead the Department of Health and Human Services as one example.
Price, she said, wants to privatize Medicare, which would hurt the 1.2 million Massachusetts residents who receive health benefits under the government program. Warren is a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee which will hold a confirmation hearing on Price later this month.
She also vowed to fight Republican efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, weaken post-crisis financial laws, and defang Warren’s brainchild — the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau…
The usual unicorn-hunters perennial optimists point out this doesn’t preclude Warren running for President in 2020, but I (selfishly) believe she’ll have as much fun as she can stand getting under the President-Asterisk’s thin skin, and maybe smacking around Curt Schilling for a change of pace.
and a reminder, Warren just got herself on a powerful new committee, both for #mapoli and a presidential runhttps://t.co/KAry3hv8y9
— Victoria McGrane (@vgmac) January 6, 2017