The Showdown Begins

Even before the elections frenzy had reached its zenith, Washington CAN!’s Spokane Team was busy organizing a rally to call out Cathy McMorris Rodgers on voting to cut Medicaid and Medicare benefits for low and moderate income Americans while preserving extra tax benefits for the richest 2%.

With the 2012 elections now over, the mandate from the people is clear. The mantra of “we’re all in this together” beat “you’re on your own.” And Washington CAN! members and allies came together in Spokane on Thursday, Nov. 8th to relay that message to Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers.

Last session, McMorris Rodgers voted in favor of the Ryan budget, which would have privatized Medicare and gutted Medicaid, putting at risk the programs that hard working families rely on.

The theme of the rally was a “Worker’s Appreciation Rally to Protect Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security.” The location was the gateway to the University District because it is the men and women who work in physically demanding jobs, such as nurses and the people constructing our new Medical School, who are the real engines of our regional economy. McMorris Rodgers constituents highlighted that instead of balancing the budget on working class families, it’s time to make the wealthy and large corporations pay their fair share by ending the Bush tax cuts on the top 2%.

We had great involvement from about a half dozen local partner groups who all did their part in the last few days leading up to the election. Timm Ormsby was the MC and we heard rousing speeches from leaders Amanda Hunt, Mike Foley, John Driscoll and Darlene McCarty.

At the event, thirteen people held a lobby visit at the Congresswoman’s Office. She had already flown back to D.C. and her staff could give us no assurance that she would address our group in any personal way. Unless she changes her tune she will not have the luxury of evading us much longer. The public is clearly in favor of preserving and reinvesting in these popular and successful programs and it’s time for McMorris Rodgers to represent her constituents.

The year-end fiscal showdown is a choice between two different visions: prosperity for working families and the middle-class, or more for millionaires and CEOs. Will McMorris Rodgers choose tax breaks and loopholes for millionaires and CEOs, while cutting benefits in the programs that support our seniors, people with disabilities, and low-income families? Or will she choose to repeal the tax breaks for those earning over $250,000, and say no to any cuts or changes to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid?

Thanks to all our Spokane members who participated and our allies who helped make this possible. Click here to see some photos from the day taken by leader Aaron Kathman! And click here for a full recap from Spokane organizer Mariah McKay on her blog.