Peekskill, Jan 25 — “The senator knows that there are fights to be had,” said Allison Biasotti, the Regional Director for United States Senator Chuck Schumer. “Our main job now is to know when to fight and when to dance.” The 20 Rockland and Westchester activists who made the Tuesday pilgrimage to the Senate Minority Leader’s Peekskill office were not pleased with that response, and told Schumer’s representative that he needs to do more.
The Lower Hudson residents crowded into the senator’s district office to protest actions by the four-day-old Trump administration and encourage New York’s senior senator to lead the fight to oppose President Donald Trump’s cabinet nominations.
“We need Senator Schumer to vote no and to lead the Democrats,” said Nyack resident Michael Lockett from the citizens group Rockland United.
The impromptu meeting, which included constituents from Nyack, Suffern, Mount Vernon and Croton, was broadcast on Facebook Live.
Among the issues the activists raised with Schumer’s staff was the senator’s vote on Monday to confirm CIA Director Mike Pompeo. The former congressman from Kansas has made contradictory statements regarding his support for enhanced interrogation techniques like waterboarding.
Biasotti praised the group for their activism, confirming that phone calls, e-mails and in-person meetings like this were all effective. “An angry crowd gets things done… [but] an angry crowd dissipates fast,” she said, referring to the weekend’s protests across the country. “We appreciate everyone coming out strong. So keep calling. Your voices are being heard.”
Lockett said despite their concerns about Schumer’s vote to confirm the new CIA director they support his efforts. “The senator doesn’t have to be afraid,” he said. “If he wants to be bold we’ll stand behind him. We need him out in front. We are New Yorkers, we like to fight and we will fight with him.”
See also:
- Mike Pompeo Approved As CIA Director, Yahoo News 1/23/17
- Trump’s choice for CIA director once said US Muslims who don’t reject terrorism are ‘complicit’ in it, Business Insider 11/18/2016
- Rockland United website
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