A group of St. Louis-area citizens calling themselves St. Louis Indivisible is protesting U.S. Senator Roy Blunt on Tuesday, February 21 because of his stubborn refusal to host a town hall meeting to answer concerns about the presidency of Donald Trump, whom Blunt endorsed for election.
They are demonstrating at his Clayton office, 7700 Bonhomme Ave. in Clayton on Tuesday at noon, during a congressional recess designed for senators and House representatives to come home to talk with constituents.
“In our view, and in the view of an awful lot of ordinary Missourians, events since the inauguration of President Trump are historic and troubling,” Scott Wilson of St. Louis Indivisible said in a statement.
“President Trump has actively undermined the judiciary and has made anti-American statements, suggesting that the U.S. and Putin’s Russia are moral equivalents in the specific context of Putin’s politically motivated killings. Trump’s National Security Adviser has resigned in a Russia-related scandal and leaked intelligence information has been reported indicating that the Trump campaign was in continuous contact with Russian intelligence prior to the election.”
Wilson also cited concerns that Trump described the news media as enemies of the American people, “a deeply troubling statement in a free society that depends on a free press.”
“All of this raises concerns about national security and respect for democracy under the Trump administration, concerns that are properly shared across the ideological spectrum,” Wilson said.
Wilson said they scheduled the demonstration because the group’s members have been consistently turned aside by Blunt’s staff when asked for Blunt to hold a town hall meeting in St. Louis. He said one member was told by a Blunt staffer that holding such meetings “is not his job.”
We appreciate Senator Blunt’s expressed willingness to investigate Trump’s ties to Russia – but we need him here, at home, as soon as possible, so that we can talk to him, as his constituents, about these and other pressing concerns,” Wilson said.
Wilson said he and his wife Michelle formed the group according to principles contained in the “Indivisible Guide,” which was written by former congressional staffers to adapt successful Tea Party tactics for use by liberals and progressives. They have no background in political activism; he is a civil appellate lawyer, Michelle is a trauma nurse. They had 56 people at their January 29 startup meeting, and their Facebook group membership has grown to more than 1,000 since then.
Wilson said Blunt’s refusal to face his constituents “would be unacceptable at any time in our history, but it’s grossly unacceptable now.”
For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/events/544986865709119/.
