When news broke earlier this week that Rep. John Lewis and 18 other Democrats planned to boycott Donald Trump inauguration, I fired off a “Where you at???” tweet to Congressman Lou Correa. Whoever runs his social media liked it the next day. Was there hope? By last count, sixty congressional Democrats joined plans to skip the “Make America Great Again” pageantry today, with many Latino lawmakers representing (but NOT Linda Sanchez—I thought you were the radical one?).
But where was Lou?
With Trump’s “Build the Wall” bluster and promise to deport millions of undocumented immigrants, many more people asked Correa the same question. After winning Loretta Sanchez’s open seat last November, it’s now his turn to represent the heavily Latino 46th congressional district. And besides, Correa spent part of his early childhood in Zacatecas before moving back to Anacrime’s Penguin City barrio, where he struggled with English in elementary school.
On the eve of Inauguration Day, the freshman congressman and sole OC Democrat in the House of Representatives finally gave his answer. “The presidency is about our nation and our constitution, not an individual,” Correa said in a press release. “This inauguration is another event in a line of peaceful transitions of power that are the hallmark of our country.” Save it for high school civics class, Lou!
The congressman continued on with platitudes of working across the aisle, always with the best interest of the middle class in mind, ending on a note perhaps inspired by his younger days waiting tables at the Tony Roma’s in Fullerton. “I’m going to D.C. to be at the table when decisions are made that affect my constituents,” Correa added. “Either we are at the table or we are on the menu.”
And sometimes the wait staff goes out on strike!
Gabriel San Román is from Anacrime. He’s a journalist, subversive historian and the tallest Mexican in OC. He also once stood falsely accused of writing articles on Turkish politics in exchange for free food from DönerG’s!