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Rep. Darrell Issa Went Up On A Roof To Avoid Angry Constituents, Or Maybe Just Get Some Fresh Air
It's an exciting time for government officials looking to avoid public scrutiny, from White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer hiding in among the bushes to Montana congressional candidate Greg Gianforte body-slamming a Guardian reporter (and winning anyway). Now, Congressman Darrell Issa of California's 49th Congressional District is taking the game of political hide-and-seek to new heights—literally. A Tuesday tweet from Mike Levin, a challenger to Issa's Congressional seat in the 2018 election, shows Issa appearing to avoid protesters outside his district office by taking to the roof of the building.
Yes, this is really @DarrellIssa on the roof of his district office building. Too afraid to come speak with assembled constituents below. pic.twitter.com/wCYRjO8Ev8
— Mike Levin (@MikeLevin) May 30, 2017
Levin's photo shows Issa using his phone to snap a photo of the constituents below, who were part of a regular Tuesday-morning protest at Issa's district offices in Vista, CA. "The crowd below was yelling 'Don't jump, don't jump,'" Parker Skelton, a campaign consultant for Mike Levin, told LAist. When asked if Issa engaged with protestors at any point, Skelton laughed, "He disappeared off the roof, came downstairs with a plate with one piece of cake on it, offered it to a man in a Trump T-shirt, then went back inside." Let's hope the cake was as good as the one Donald Trump enjoyed while discussing Syria with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Several hundred in front of @DarrellIssa's office this AM. Issa came out for 5 minutes but refused to engage with those across the street. pic.twitter.com/z6XEw1FPLy
— Mike Levin (@MikeLevin) May 30, 2017
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Issa framed Tuesday morning's events somewhat more favorably on Twitter, explaining that he "popped upstairs" for photography purposes only:
Spent the morning talking with constituents gathered outside the office today, then popped upstairs to take a quick pic! pic.twitter.com/K2CFdenOIj
— Darrell Issa (@DarrellIssa) May 30, 2017
Issa may be fond of Michael Scott-style rooftop evasions, but he's one of just six of the 217 Republicans who voted for the American Health Care Act who has publicly committed to holding a town hall, according to the Town Hall Project. And honestly, it's hard to hate on a Congressional representative who comes bearing cake—next time, Darrell, just remember to bring enough for the whole class.
LAist reached out to Rep. Issa's district office for comment, but did not immediately hear back. Twitter, meanwhile, had plenty to say:
"when this old world starts gettin' me down/and people are just too much for me to face/I climb way up to the top of stair" -- Darrell Issa
— John Podhoretz (@jpodhoretz) May 30, 2017
Here's @DarrellIssa speaking from the roof to constituents earlier today pic.twitter.com/0AVJStY06x
— Adam Thomas (@RunninRebe1) May 30, 2017
Sean Spicer: I hid in the bushes to avoid people! No one can top that!
— Lily Herman (@lkherman) May 30, 2017
Darrell Issa: Hold my beer. https://t.co/txY2wpKBKI
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