Heather Curtis
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON – Rep. Gerry Connolly is the latest Democrat from the D.C. metro area to say he will not be going to President-elect Donald Trump’s Inauguration Friday. A local political scientist said the boycotting sets a bad precedent.
He came to this decision after looking at Trump’s behavior. Connolly finds the President-elect’s attitude toward women, relationship with Vladimir Putin, criticism of NATO and America’s European allies, racist appeals and tolerance for bigotry, and calling out of civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis unacceptable in a democratic America.
“I simply can not pretend to celebrate this inauguration. It’s a very sad decision,” Connolly said.
Other Democrats boycotting the election from the D.C. area are Congressman Jamie Raskin, Anthony Brown and John Beyer. Representatives Elijah Cummings, John Sarbanes and Steny Hoyer will be attending Friday’s ceremony.
Last week Lewis, who will also be skipping the Inauguration, told NBC’s Chuck Todd he doesn’t believe Trump is a legitimate president because the Russians helped get him elected with their release of hacked information.
Trump tweeted in response “Congressman John Lewis should spend more time on fixing and helping his district, which is in horrible shape and falling apart (not to mention crime infested) rather than falsely complaining about the election results. All talk, talk, talk – no action or results. Sad!”
“Describing a man [Lewis] who had his head bashed in at the Edmund Pettus Bridge and almost died from cranial fracture, who was incarcerated for his beliefs in pushing this country toward equality is just really a repugnant kind of behavior by the president- elect,” Connolly said.
Raskin wrote in a press release he is “outraged and confounded’ by those comments.
“Skipping Inauguration. @RepJohnLewis a civil rights hero. Enormous responsibility to be POTUS. I respect the office, can’t tolerate disrespect,” Brown tweeted Monday.
Connolly acknowledged that he doesn’t expect the president-elect to take the message sent by him, his colleagues and protestors seriously, nor does he expect him to change.
“A tiger doesn’t change his stripes,” Connolly said.
So why bother sending a message that won’t be heard? Connolly said asserting political freedoms is the cornerstone of what it means to be an American.
Political scientist Todd Ebberly with St. Mary’s College of Maryland said the boycotting sets the country on a bad path.
“The bitterness, the partisanship needs to be put aside. The people in Washington, whether they be a member of Congress or the president-elect, need to recognize that they are adults with adult responsibiliteis, and that includes sometimes just sucking it up and doing what you need to do for the betterment of all the people and not just for your partisan allies,” Ebberly said.
He added members of Congress need to remember they represent people on both sides of teh political aisle, and boycotting the inauguration sends a message that they don’t care about the Republicans they represent.
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