About 80 people showed up at the Springfield offices of Massachusetts U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey to thank them for at least trying to resist the cabinet nominees of President Donald Trump and to urge all fellow Democrats to do the same.
Victoria Kaplan is with the activist group Move On, which organized local rallies across the country. At the Springfield one, she started by leading the group in a chant — though, since many were new to activism, they had to be taught the words.
“OK, let’s try that again,” Kaplan said, after one false start. “When working people are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!”
One participant, Anne Sweeney of Holden, Massachusetts, was holding a sign thanking Warren and Markey for “fighting the good fight.”
“I am just a citizen. I am fed up with the new president and his attitude and his policies,” Sweeney said. “And this is my first political event, and I’m proud to be here.”
Other participants spoke about their fear that Trump’s cabinet will try to gut the very departments they’ve been nominated to lead, and expressed concerns for the environment, health care, women’s rights and public education.
Staffers for Warren and Markey, who themselves were in Washington, invited the group into their building, promised to follow their constituents’ lead when it comes to resisting the Trump agenda and urged them to stay in touch throughout the next four years.