Clarkston

Cathy McMorris Rodgers is now critical of the sequester that slashed billions of dollars across the board in funding for government programs and services including birth control for low income families and air traffic controllers.  However, McMorris voted for the sequester.  The blogger at thelastofthemillenniums suggests that McMorris is stupidly contradicting herself, and I offer another possibility.

McMorris Getting Orwellian on the Sequester

I am not one to defend Cathy McMorris Rodgers, but I don’t’ believe it was a mistake.  I believe it as a calculated rhetorical strategy to shift the blame for the impact of the sequester to the President and away from Republicans.    Logically, of course, it makes no sense.  How can you be critical of something you just vigorously supported without be a blatant hypocrite?   You can’t.

However, it is still an effective rhetorical strategy.  Average Americans do not remember who voted for what.  All they see is a attractive, middle aged mother of three who was elected to the U.S. House criticizing President Obama for the harmful effects of the sequester.

By the way….US Representative  Cathy McMorris-Rodgers voted FOR the sequester cuts but now proudly and stupidly stands in front of the sign proclaiming ‘Obamaquester’.

Cathy McMorris-Rodgers is my US House Representative and also part of the Republican leadership.

And she actually sat there with a straight face and said splitting up the farm bill will ‘speed up the legislative process’….

The only question is does she think we are that stupid or is she that stupid?

Trick question.

I have rocks in my backyard smarter then Cathy McMorris-Rodgers…….

People are speculating that McMorris might run for Governor of the State of Washington in 2016.  I don’t think she will, but can you imagine what Olympia would be like?

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers is pregnant with her third child. McMorris Rodgers has the unusual distinction of being the only woman in Congress who has given birth to two children while in office.

.                                                                                         Alas, Ms. Rodgers, we fear as a career politician your job is soon going to be over for you.

As the wise and angry people of the 5^th district of Washington State clearly see what you do.

Partisan politics and climbing to the top are your goals; representing the people is just not you.

It’s clear that caring or knowing what we want, Ms. Rodgers, you just haven’t got a clue.

Like a lemming you blindly follow your party; too self-absorbed, uncaring and blind to see.

That with your personal and political desires the people in the 5^th district no longer agree.

We no longer are willing to accept your lies, your hiding from us and spinning what you say.

Eight years of misrepresentation, the people of the 5^th district are tired of you being this way.

Your form letters tout how very much you care, and not to worry, as you’ve got our backs.

Then you oppose paycheck fairness, protection for women and the Affordable Care Act.

Cutting funding for education from small children through college is where you stand.

Privatizing and educating only the wealthy children is your belief, not lending a helping hand.

Concerning the elderly, well to you they should get vouchers , and certainly no cost inflation.

And Medicaid, well, capped block grant programs is what you desire for the needy of our nation.

Billions in cuts for feeding hungry children, the elderly or the disabled, you agree wholly to support.

Stating protecting some women is a “side issue” is the representation of women that you purport.

You view the wealthy as truly important; the working class and poor just aren’t your concern

After all, it’s their problem that they didn’t work hard enough, so lots of riches they would earn.

So what if thousands of jobs are lost through the sequester, it won’t financially harm you

There’s no need for gun purchase background checks; just let people do what they’re inclined to do.

A strong, caring woman who is compassionate and listens to reason is simply not your forte

Instead we’ve been shown a weak, partisan, party-climber who is trying to have it her own way.

We didn’t put you in D.C. to be a rigid conservative with thoughts only of your personal power

We elected you to be strong leader, not stand in the background behind the GOP men and cower

Our nation is described as a place where our leaders believe in liberty and justice for all who live here

And fortunately the people in the 5^th district’s chance to vote in an election is coming very near

Ms. Rodgers, your actions have shown us that it is definitely time for you to go back to your farm

Where your blind ambition and untruthful, uncaring ways can never again do the 5^th District harm!

Patricia Bates

Clarkston, WA

.                                                                                                      Unfortunately, the hyper partisanship that the Walla Walla Union Bulletin sees in Cathy McMorris Rodgers can be found elsewhere. Morialekafa comments that

 

” …it is becoming more and more obvious our elected Congresspersons are now operating on the basis of personal grudges and animosities.

John McCain has confessed the Republican opposition to Senator Hagel can be traced to his criticism of former President Bush and his opposition to the Iraq war (never mind that Hagel was quite right about  all of this).

More importantly, however, is the now openly admitted opposition to President Obama because they do not like him. This is playground childishness if ever there was such, pathetic to the point of infantile rage. “

From Eastern Washington Liberal . . .

Listening to John McCain attempt to sound Senator-like, or as he has said “Country First”-like is very much akin to listening to a junior high jock try to defend his hazing of someone who has made him look bad.

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“Mothers across the state will be negatively impacted by cuts to WIC, Working Connections Childcare, and other programs.”

Dozens of residents from Spokane, WA, will take action to encourage Congress to raise new revenue instead of cutting vital services for seniors, mothers, kids and low income families.  McMorris Rodgers’ actions have left voters angry across Eastern Washington.  To symbolize the impact that the sequester will have on the WIC program (a supplemental nutrition program for Women, Infants and Children), working mothers from Representative Cathy McMorris-Rodgers’ 5th Congressional District will deliver empty milk bottles to her office, with personal messages inside the bottles.  (Below are quotes from a Washington CAN  media advisory dated March 15th, 2013).  

Constituents will also call on McMorris Rodgers to oppose the Ryan budget, which was released earlier this week and would end Medicare as we know it, repeal Obamacare, and make drastic cuts to Medicaid, all while providing more tax breaks to the wealthy. McMorris Rodgers has voted for the Ryan budget in the past.

After delivering the empty milk bottles, community members delivered a thank you letter to Senator Murray’s office in support of the Senate budget that was released Wednesday. The Senate budget includes $1 trillion in new revenue and would reverse the sequester cuts. Senator Murray has been a champion for working class families throughout the session and has stood firm on the need for the wealthiest and large corporations to pay their fair share.

Sequestration Cuts Forced by McMorris and other Republicans

The sequestration cuts are an effect of an impasse Congress unable to compromise and find a better solution for the middle class.  Because they were unable to work together to raise revenue, these automatic, across the board cuts will have a drastic effect on people across the country.

These ill-conceived, automatic cuts are harmful not only to families but to our economy as a whole.  There will be cuts to child care, nutrition assistance programs for seniors, nutrition assistance for families, vaccine programs for children, domestic violence support programs for women, early education programs, work study programs for college students, job training and placement services, primary education for Washington state, military readiness, public health services, environmental funding to ensure clean air and water, and other cuts as well.

“Approximately 600,000 women and children would be dropped from the Department of Agriculture’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) from March through September. At least 1,600 State and local jobs could be lost as a result,” according to the White House release of sequestration cuts. (See documents below).

Sequester:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/sequester-factsheets/Washington.pdf

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/02/22/what-sequester#states

Ryan Budget:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/12/paul-ryan-budget-house-gop_n_2860696.html

Senate Budget:

http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/budget/287625-senate-dem-budget-includes-nearly-1-trillion-in-new-taxes

Rep. Cathy McMorris-Rodgers voting record can be found here.

.                                                                                                                Local activists went to meet Cathy McMorris-Rodgers and caught her lying about her votes on Medicare. McMorris Rodgers says she voted to save Medicare, but the facts show she voted for a budget that contained devastating cuts to Medicare.

(Update: Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers was an advocate for and voted to enact the sequester.  The bill contained budget cuts to vital services including healthcare.  Among one of the stupidest budget cuts ever , it “slashed $86 million from family planning and reproductive health care for poor women”  and likely to result in thousands of unwanted pregnancies.  Republicans are still trying to role back access to birth control, despite the fact that birth control technology is safer and more effective than ever with fewer side effects.)

.                                                                                                                     The media and blogosphere has been focusing on how Mit Romney running mate Paul Ryan’s budget would end medicare as we know it. Good. People need to know the truth about Paul Ryan. However, they also need to know that most Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives voted for the Ryan budget including Cathy McMorris Rodgers. So did our own Rep. Cathy McMorris-Rodgers.  Medicare would work just fine if it had more revenue going into the program.

Rep. Cathy McMorris-Rodgers votes to end Medicare as we know it

Some local Spokane activists got Cathy McMorris-Rodgers on tape trying to deny her involvement in destroying Medicare.  Cathy McMorris-Rodgers is not a friend to the elderly.

Below is an email from Democracy for America that explains the national scene for Republicans such as Cathy McMorris-Rodgers.  Paul Ryan and his budget to destroy Medicare is not very popular among Americans.

Mitt Romney’s decision to name Paul Ryan as his VP has nationalized Ryan’s radical right-wing budget. Ryan’s plan to turn Medicare into a voucher program is front-page news across the country — and it’s killing House Republicans in their reelection campaigns.

Politico reports House Republicans are so panicked that John Boehner had to schedule a major conference call to calm them down.

So, what’s the Republican plan to counterattack? Lie about Democrats’ plans and try to convince the American public that Republicans are trying to “save” Medicare.

We can’t let them get away with that. They’re running scared and we need to deliver the knockout punch right now. We need to back up our Dean Dozen candidates — our 12 top-tier endorsed candidates — and deliver the resources they need to win.

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Ryan’s plan to voucherize Medicare was a huge liability for Republicans — even before Romney named him as VP. Need proof? Just check out these polling numbers we got back last week in four of our Dean Dozen candidates’ districts:

Question: If you were faced with the choice of two candidates — one who supported preserving Medicare and Social Security without any cuts, and one who advocated for transitioning to a privatized voucher system — for whom would you vote?

CA-10 – Voters would vote for the candidate who would preserve Medicare 67-15

CO-06 – Voters would vote for the candidate who would preserve Medicare 59-22

NH-01 – Voters would vote for the candidate who would preserve Medicare 64-18

PA-08 – Voters would vote for the candidate who would preserve Medicare 67-16

Now that Paul Ryan is on the ticket, the Republican plan to voucherize Medicare is a national news story and a huge political loser for House Republicans.

Simply put: Paul Ryan’s plan to turn Medicare into a voucher program puts the House in play.

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Thank you for all that you do.

-Michael

Michael Langenmayr, Political Director
Democracy for America

Stay tuned for more information on Cathy McMorris Rodgers’ efforts to undermine medicare and access to healthcare in general.

(Update: Cathy McMorris Rodgers also actively supported and voted for the sequester, which contained “automatic cuts”  to vital services and “slashed $86 million from family planning and reproductive health care for poor women.”  This was one of the stupidest budget cuts ever and likely to result in thousands of unwanted pregnancies.  Despite the fact that birth control technology has few side effects, Republicans are still trying to role back access to it.)