A Running Tally Of All The California Lawmakers Boycotting The Inauguration

Despite the fact that it will be undoubtedly be a tremendous, really, really great event, inauguration attendees are dropping like flies. Thatsuper charming interchange President-elect Donald Trump had with civil rights icon and Congressman John Lewis has led even more lawmakers to boycott Friday's inauguration festivities, though plenty of electeds had already pledged to stay away before The Donald attacked an American hero on Twitter. According to the L.A. Times, more than one in four California lawmakers will be skipping the festivities. Weirdly, all of the officials staying home appear to be Democrats! Anyway, here's our running tally of the Californians who will unfortunately be unable to hear former American’s Got Talent contestant Jackie Evancho perform live on Friday:

Rep. Jared Huffman (CA-2)
Rep. Jared Huffman of Northern California (his district includes Marin, Mendocino, San Rafael, and Humboldt) announced via Facebook post way back on January 7 that he'd be boycotting the inauguration to protest a “dark and dangerous chapter” for America. He plans to join a local rally in Santa Rosa the following day, according to the Press-Democrat.

Rep. Jerry McNerney (CA-9)
Rep. Jerry McNerney of Stockton will also not be in attendance, but his office promises it's not a boycott and just a scheduling conflict, according to the Stockton Record Net. Suuuuuure.

Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (CA-11)
Rep. Mark DeSaulnier of Concord tweeted on Friday that he had decided with "a heavy heart and deep personal conviction" not to attend the inauguration and followed it up with a nice little video explaining his thoughts:

We bet he's super bummed to miss out on hearing Toby Keith.

Rep. Barbara Lee (CA-13)
Rep. Barbara Lee of the East Bay “will not be celebrating or honoring an incoming president who rode racism, sexism, xenophobia and bigotry to the White House.” In a bad-ass statement issued last Thursday, she called out Steve Bannon as a "white nationalist" and denounced Trump's decision to get in bed with both Bannon and Jeff Sessions. Instead of attending the festivities, Lee "will be organizing and preparing for resistance.” One hundred points for Rep. Barbara Lee!

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (CA-19)
Rep. Zoe Lofgren of Silicon Valley "acknowledge[s] the fact that he is the incoming president, but I'm not in the mood to celebrate that fact," according to Rolling Stone. She will therefore not to be attending a certain party.

Rep. Judy Chu (CA-27)
Rep. Judy Chu, whose district includes much of the San Gabriel Valley, will also not be in attendance.

Rep. Tony Cárdenas (CA-29)
The San Fernando Valley's own Rep. Tony Cárdenas gets mad credit for not just avoiding the swearing in, but also planning to attend the D.C. Women's March with his wife and daughter the next day. The meme-ish bilingual graphic his office put together to explain his absence is pretty great too:

Fifty points for Team Cárdenas.

Rep. Grace Napolitano (CA-32)
Rep. Grace Napolitano, whose district includes El Monte, Monrovia, West Covina and San Dimas, has added her name to the long list of no-thank-yous, according to ABC News.

Rep. Ted Lieu (CA-33)
Rep. Ted Lieu wrote in a statement "while [he does] not dispute that Trump won the Electoral College, [he] cannot normalize his behavior or the disparaging and un-American statements he has made." Lieu also noted Trump's attacks on "Gold Star parents, veterans such as John McCain and now civil rights icon John Lewis."

Rep. Raul Ruiz (CA-36)
Rep. Raul Ruiz, who was born in Mexico and represents Palm Desert, will not be attending. “A real president doesn't attack the press because they ask tough questions,” Ruiz said Monday, according to The Desert Sun. “A real president doesn't insult and bully celebrities or everyday Americans because they disagree with him. A real president doesn't use the office to make millions more for his own wealth or his family's wealth.”

Rep. Karen Bass (CA-37)
Anyone who has ever taken to social media to crowdsource what they should Postmates for dinner will really respect the Karen Bass method of deciding whether or not to attend the inauguration. On Sunday, Rep. Karen Bass, who represents parts of L.A., South L.A., and Culver City, decided to survey her constituents via Twitter Poll about the big event:

More than 14,000 people voted, with an overwhelming majority (84% at last count) saying hell to the no. The people have spoken, and Rep. Bass will not be attending the inauguration.

Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-40)
"I thought long and hard about attending the Inauguration because I value our democracy and respect the office of the presidency, regardless of party," Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard said in a statement Sunday night, according to NBC. "However, the disparaging remarks the President-elect has made about many groups, including women, Mexicans, and Muslims, are deeply contrary to my values." In 1992, Roybal-Allard became the first Mexican-American woman elected to Congress, and her district (which includes much of East L.A. and parts of South L.A.) is the most heavily Latino district in the nation.

Rep. Mark Takano (CA-41)
Rep. Mark Takano of Riverside will also not be attending:

Rep. Maxine Waters (CA-43)
Rep. Maxine Waters has no shortage of reasons for why she won't be hearing Three Doors Down serenade the District come Friday, which she helpfully laid out in full on MSNBC:

Waters had already made up her mind before she gave the interview, as she explained via Twitter:

Waters, who represents much of South L.A. as well as parts of L.A., Torrance, and Carson, also served as Grand Marshal at this year's Kingdom Day Parade. All the points for Rep. Maxine Waters.

Rep. Juan Vargas (CA-51)
Rep. Juan Vargas, who represents Imperial County and the southernmost portions of San Diego County will be very busy "praying for our country and for our community" on Friday (God knows we need it!) and therefore will unfortunately not to be able to attend.