Republican Bedfellows/Rally This Evening (8/2/18)

Dear Group,

If you had any doubts as to what the Republican Party, even the local Spokane County Republican Party, has become and what it stands for, look no further than the video links in the following article. By the time you read this some of these videos posted on youtube by NWGrassroots may have been pulled. I watched enough on youtube to make me very nearly physically ill. Cecily Wright of Green Bluff is not only the new chair (since this spring when Stephanie Cates resigned) of the Spokane County Republican Party, she is also the Cecily prominent on the NWGrassroots webpage (scroll to page bottom). 

It is worth your while to check out the videos. You’ll see Cecily praising and welcoming James Allsup. On the longer one you see Rod Higgins, Mayor of the City of Spokane Valley, (around 41:00) candidly and nastily discussing his grip on the City Council. The contrast between the bland public statements of Cecily Wright disavowing James Allsup’s politics and videoed praise of him should make you ill. That any Republican candidate allows themselves to be associated this party apparatus taints any respect I had left for them. Remember the years it took to rid the northwest of the Aryan Nations? It feels as though the Aryan Nations has been resuscitated in the form of the local Republican Party. Chad Sokol of the Spokesman posted an article Tuesday evening on this topic. After you watch the video you will find laughable Wright’s, Higgin’s, and Chase’s pleadings of innocence and/or ignorance of James Allsup’s history and racist rants. Read also Shawn Vestal.

If you think you can stomach watching James Allsup’s self-congratulatory video documentation of his actions in Charlottesville it has been preserved here. He later deleted his post. 

Here’s the press release documenting all this:

 

#NoWhiteSupremacySpokaneCounty
Spokane County Courthouse
1100 West Mallon
Today, Thursday, 5:30PM
Facebook event here:
https://www.facebook.com/events/890479127742600/

Spokane County Republican Leaders Host White Nationalist James Allsup.

Local organizations are holding a rally to unite the Spokane community against white nationalism on Thursday at 5:30pm in front of the Spokane County Courthouse.

Organizations uniting to respond include the Spokane Community Against Racism, Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane, the City of Spokane Human Rights Commission, Spokane NOW, Families Against Bigotry, Fuse Washington, Western States Center, Spokane Veterans for Peace, Raiz of Planned Parenthood, Greater Spokane Progress, and others.

An online video (archived here) shows key GOP leaders in Spokane County hosting hate group organizer James Allsup at a July event. Allsup is a prominent member of the white nationalist group Identity Evropa and participated in the deadly August 2017 Charlottesville, VA hate rally.

In June, Spokane County GOP Chairwoman Cecily Wright denied any affiliation with Allsup and stated that his “past statements, affiliations and actions are deeply out-of-step with the values of the Republican Party, as well as the values of the Spokane County GOP and our members.” However, the July 11th video shows Wright hosting — and praising — Allsup at a Northwest Grassroots gathering of conservative activists. City of Spokane Valley Mayor Rod Higgins and Spokane County Treasurer Rob Chase also participated in the event, as documented in this longer video (archived here).

“We cannot take for granted the integrity of our public officials when they denounce white nationalism in the press, while privately endorsing their leaders and values. We can’t reasonably assume public officials will uphold our rights when they applaud those who would harm us,” said Pastor Walter Kendricks, spokesman and co-founder of Spokane Community Against Racism.

“Our Spokane region has a strong track record of standing up against white nationalism. Together, we’ve defeated the Aryan Nations; we’ve defeated anti-immigrant, anti-gay, and anti-trans policies; and we’re committed to standing shoulder-to-shoulder with targeted communities to defeat this harmful ideology any time it tries to gain a foothold.” said Liz Moore, director of the Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane.

# # #

BACKGROUND ON ALLSUP AND KEY INFO FROM VIDEO HERE: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vEczsQMIBik0YwAheBTrjNyFb47TSLe9a-HJMigsUsw/edit?usp=sharing

Liz Moore

pronouns: she/her

Director

Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane

509-838-7870 | lmoore@pjals.org

Sign up for PJALS Action Alerts

Donation | Facebook |  Group  | Twitter  | Instagram

Everyday people building a just and nonviolent world

See you at the rally.

Keep to the high ground,

Jerry

Nunes/Primary Update/Things to Do

It’s all working out. Just remember: What you’re seeing and what you’re reading is not what’s happening.

– Donald Trump (7-24-2018)

The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command. 

George Orwell, 1984

Dear Group,

George Orwell’s dystopian novel was required reading when I was growing up. The quotes I posted above were ringing in my head as I stood in front of the Spokane Club on Monday. McMorris Rodgers was inside sharing the podium with her friend and supporter, Devin Nunes, raising money from sixty-one local Republicans gathered for a $250-500 luncheon, sixty-one private party attendees carefully shielded from prying eyes. 

McMorris Rodgers surely wishes most Eastern Washington voters to believe her when she and her spokesman say she “supports the Mueller investigation.” She wishes us to believe the words of her “positive disruptor,” Donald Trump, when he tells us not to believe what we see and hear. She must fervently wish that as she invites to her fundraiser the Congressman most responsible for the Republican effort to undermine and discredit the Mueller investigation. Believe what I say, “I support,”, not what you see. Her actions speak louder than her words. 

The Progress of the Primaries

Primary election ballot turn-ins are actually quite a lot ahead of 2014 (the last midterm primary), contrary to Jim Camden’s depressing article in the Spokesman last Sunday, “Primary Voter Turnout Lagging.” Updated as of Monday evening (according to the Spokane County Ballot Return Statistics (PDF) accessed from this webpage) 11,754 (52,249 minus 40,495) more ballots have come in than during the comparable period in the 2014 midterm primaries. The change in percent return of total ballots sent out is less impressive, 16.67% in 2018 vs. 14.35% in 2014 (there are about 30,000 more registered voters now than in 2014), but the trend is clear: More people are voting. (See chart below.)

What you can do:

1) You can help encourage voting by signing up for a Spokane tradition: sign waving on arterials and freeway bridges in the cool of the morning as people drive by. From Eileen Marin, fellow Indivisible:

URGENT:  We need all volunteers who are available to put on t-shirts, grab your yard signs, coffee, and a friend and go to your nearest arterial intersection at 7 30 (earlier if you’re so inclined) and proudly hold your sign and wave. You’ll be delighted by the thumbs-up, horn-honking response that you will get. It’s important to remind people to vote and to visually show them our solidarity, our presence as a community of people who believe we can make a change.  Please text 509 939 9108 with your name and the location where you stood so that we can get organized for Nov.  (Evening is also good…folks going home to find their ballot.)Thanks to all of you.

2) This increase in turnout isn’t happening by accident. Many of us volunteers have been knocking on doors, talking with registered voters, and encouraging them to make the effort to cast their ballot. You can help with that too, by signing up with and joining us for GOTV (Get Out the Vote) canvassing. (See the CANVASSING LINKS in the box below.) It is rewarding and enlightening experience to connect with fellow citizens. 

3) Write letters to the editor to your local newspaper. They don’t have to be erudite (just look at some of what gets printed from the other side). I’m told they are printed in proportion to the numbers received, so even if you don’t get yours printed the submission helps get the word out. For the Spokesman the limit is 200 words. You can send it by email to  editor@spokesman.com . Include your name (with any appropriate letters behind it), a daytime phone number and your address (number and street address are not published). 

4) Call ten friends you think might be sympathetic. Have a chat. Emphasize the importance you feel about voting in the Primary this time.

Keep to the high ground,

Jerry

P.S. Part of need for high ballot turn-in is that high numbers attract money from state, local, and even national political entities. More likelihood of winning generates more likelihood of winning. That is just the way it is.

I used data published on the Spokane County Elections website and exercised my arithmetic skills to come up with comparable periods of time. Unless Mr. Camden had access to a different data set for his Sunday article, there was a glitch in his arithmetic for the pre-weekend results and therefor also a glitch in the inference he drew from the data. Arithmetic can be a problem even when you’re not in a hurry and under a deadline. Feel free to check mine.

Expertise or Ideology?

Dear Group,

The race for Treasurer of Spokane  County is a perfect example of a race between expertise and ideology. David Green is a Certified Public Accountant and decades of experience in finance. There should be no doubt in anyone’s mind as to David Green’s qualifications and ability to discharge the duties of the office of Spokane County Treasurer. Most striking for me are his two of his endorsements: Vicky Dalton and David and Mary Kulisch. 

Vicky Dalton has served for twenty years as Spokane County Auditor, a county office with diverse duties and oversight, including elections, motor vehicle licensing, and public records. She has served with such evenness and fairness she has rarely drawn an election challenger. She “Prefers Democratic Party” but serves in an entirely non-partisan manner. She rarely endorses candidates. (Take note that in this election cycle she has also endorsed Mary Kuney for Spokane County Commissioner.)

I know David and Mary Kulisch. They are the parents of a friend of my son through the LCHS cross country team. They are upright, principled people. In their endorsement they state, “We are Republicans, we are Seniors, we are Mormons, and we support the most qualified candidate for County Treasurer, David Green.” 

Contrast bipartisan endorsements and clear expertise with the background of the other candidate, Michael Baumgartner. He crept into the office of State Senator for Legislative District 6 on the Tea Party wave of 2010. He hadn’t even warmed his seat at the State House, when, in 2012 the middle of his first four year State Senate term he challenged Maria Cantwell for her U.S. Senate seat. (He was roundly beaten, roughly 60-40.) Perhaps he was seeing the writing on the wall when he quietly mentioned he was not going to run for State Senate again. Instead he would run for Spokane County Treasurer. You wouldn’t know that from his fundraising emails of the time (which I’ve been receiving). He asks for money but avoids mentioning for what he is now running. I have yet to see a yard sign that identifies him as a candidate for treasurer rather than Senator. He is running a campaign that depends on name recognition and his presumption of the ignorance of the voters. He expects to roll in the tide.

His qualifications for Treasurer are modest at best. He says he will “fight for the same conservative principles of fiscal responsibility, jobs growth and quality education” as he did as Senator. That is not the job for which he is applying. The treasurer does not legislate or fight, the treasurer administers. 

There is a persistent rumor, bolstered by the recycling of his yard signs and the issues page of his website, that Mr. Baumgartner views Treasurer as a short term job on his way to a run for mayor of Spokane or yet another public office. In short he has all the makings and history of political climber, not someone signing up to serve in a predominantly administrative office.

Finally, like all far right wing ideologues covered by WeBelieveWeVote.com (including McMorris Rodgers, by the way) Baumgartner has professed such purity of ideology that his “interview” isn’t even posted. He is “Endorsed.” He passes all the litmus tests of far right ideology. He is highly aligned with WBWV. Passing all their tests as a right wing ideologue may be sufficient proof that he would choose ideology over analysis, and likely abdicate his responsibility to think.

The Spokane County Treasurer’s contest is a contest between a man, David Green, with expertise and qualifications for the job at hand, a man offering that expertise to serve the citizens of the Spokane community. His opponent is a climbing politician looking for an interim position. He hopes to sail in based on name recognition and a dogmatic commitment to far right ideology. Don’t let him succeed. Vote for expertise. Vote for David Green.

Keep to the high ground,

Jerry

*Ideologue: an adherent of an ideology, especially one who is uncompromising and dogmatic: a conservative ideologue.

P.S. Rob Chase, the current Spokane County Treasurer and also an WBWV ideologue, is leaving open the Treasurer position and attempting to wrestle Mary Kuney, a more moderate Republican, from her Spokane County Commissioner’s position. Kuney was appointed by Gov. Jay Inslee (when Al French and Josh Kerns, the other two commissioners couldn’t agree on whom to appoint to a vacant seat). Meanwhile, Jeff Holy is trying to slide into the District 6 WA Senate on Baumgartner’s coattails from his current District 6 Rep position. It seems like a sort of ideologue’s version of musical chairs.

Devin Nunes + John Strobel’s letter on Trump

Dear Group,

McMorris Rodgers may invite whomever she pleases to stand for her views and values and help her raise money. According to her spokesperson, Jared Powell), she supports Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, but wants it concluded as quickly as possible, so it seems an odd choice to invite Devin Nunes to campaign for her at a fundraising luncheon at the Spokane Club today. As chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Nunes, in close alliance with Trump, has done everything in his power to discredit the Mueller investigation. (You can read at length in a richly sourced article the saga of the “Nunes Memo.”) Many have suggested Nunes himself should be investigated for obstruction of justice. 

With the Nunes invitation McMorris Rodgers declares her claimed “support” for Special Council Mueller’s investigation is just soothing rhetoric. Nunes’ visit her tells us that McMorris Rodgers not only wants the Mueller investigation concluded quickly but that she endorses Nunes’ partisan contortions intent on undermining an investigation in which most citizens have confidence.  

So join us as citizens of Spokane at 11:15AM outside the Spokane Club to underline the hyper-partisan politics for which McMorris Rodgers really stands. Here’s the link to the event details. Wear your sunhat and sunscreen. Wear your regular summer clothing. No candidate needs to be involved. The McMorris Rodgers/Devin Nunes alliance speaks for itself.

According to the Spokesman:

Members of Fuse Washington, which describes itself as the state’s largest progressive organization, said they plan a protest outside the Spokane Club. Brown said her campaign won’t be taking part.

“We’ll be getting out the vote for the primary,” she said.

The primary election deadline is Tuesday, August 6th. Don’t put off your homework. 

I close today with an article contributed by John Strobel, a retired journalist and editor, a friend as concerned as I am with the direction of our country:

The irony is exquisite. John Stormer’s controversial 1964 book, “None Dare Call It Treason,” opened a divide in this country when Barry Goldwater supporters used the plot of Communists infiltrating the U.S. government to support the Republican presidential nominee. Stormer died on July 10, just six days before the Trump-Putin Helsinki summit that established beyond doubt that Russians have infiltrated the Trump Organization.

At the Helsinki press conference, Donald Trump looked sick to his stomach, servile if you will, while Putin looked elated. What had Putin shown Trump in those two hours of secret negotiations earlier?

The New York Times had a Page One story on July 18 of treason now becoming a part of the national dialog. We’re way beyond “none” daring to call it treason. We now have a president of the United States who has clearly established that he is a national security risk.

On Nov. 6, we have the opportunity to launch the beginning of the end to our national nightmare and global embarrassment. We must vote out of office those who have been complicit in Donald Trump’s crimes against our Constitution, national ideals and decency.

It starts with getting rid of Cathy McMorris Rodgers.

I stand before you as a lawyer might in giving his final arguments before the jury deliberates. That jury is you, and you’ll render your verdict on Nov. 5. Here is the evidence established at trial:

1) THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE:

Even Republicans must now admit that with the latest indictments of 12 Russian military officers, Vladimir Putin is seeking a controlling interest in the United States. Putin’s handpicked candidate — Trump — is well-entrenched in carrying out Russia’s most strategic goals: the destruction of NATO, the European Union, the World Trade Organization, and the G7 (unless Russia is allowed back in).

Russia was kicked out of the then-G8 when it invaded Crimea and Eastern Ukraine. Now Trump wants Russia back in. Why? Crimea is still under Russian control, and Russian soldiers are still fighting in Eastern Ukraine. Trump also wants sanctions against Russia that were imposed by the U.S. Congress and the European Union dropped. Why?

Why are most Republicans in Congress doing whatever they can to cover up Russia’s collusion with the Trump organization to ensure Hillary Clinton’s loss in the 2016 election?

With the Helsinki summit in the rearview mirror, we have clarity. Putin and Trump colluded in spinning why we should believe their lies and reject the findings of the entire American intelligence community, the Senate Intelligence Committee and the Mueller investigation. Trump blamed the victim, America, and defended the attacker, Russia. The Trump Organization is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Russia Incorporated.

2) A MORE DANGEROUS WORLD:

• Sanctions were crippling North Korea, yet it expanded its nuclear missile threats. Trump created an artificial crisis, then said he solved it by sitting down with the most brutal dictator in the world, Kim Jong Un. While Kim got joint U.S.-South Korea war games suspended and the sanctions regime eased through China, Trump was looking around for a Nobel Peace Prize nomination. But in fact, Trump has made the crisis far more dire: North Korea is upgrading its nuclear weapons facilities.

• NATO has been the most successful defense treaty in American history, but Trump wants to tear it apart. After threatening that the U.S. may walk away, he later claimed he saved the organization by getting the other members to pony up more money. They did no such thing. Now we have a weakened alliance against a resurgent enemy, Russia.

• Trump has embraced our enemies while insulting our friends. For what purpose? Why would he praise the brutish, murderous dictators of Russia, Turkey, the Philippines, North Korea, Egypt, and others? Why would he heap scorn on our closest allies, including Britain, France, Canada and Germany? It’s simple. He wants to be thought of as a strongman, even at the expense of our democracy and our oldest and dearest friends.

• Trump pulled out of the Iran treaty despite the IAEA certifying it has no nuclear weapons, nor does it have enough nuclear material to build one for at least a dozen years. Now Iran is free to develop the weapons. And Trump just created an artificial crisis as he did with North Korea.

3) A MORE DANGEROUS HOME FRONT:

• Children have been kidnapped on our southern borders in a flagrant attempt to keep the white race in power. Trump’s orders go way beyond child abuse. The president claims the immigrants are murderers and rapists and they broke our laws by entering illegally. He doesn’t mention that many tried to enter legally but were turned away despite U.S. laws that say they can seek refuge from rape and slaughter in their homelands. Older immigrants have been sent to private prisons where they face rape, forced labor and other indignities.
• Racism, always there in our society but for the last few decades mostly in check, has broken its societal chains. There used to be a problem of “driving while black.” Now it’s “living while black.” Same thing with anti-Semitism. “Jews will not replace us,” the marchers in Charlottesville yelled. Homophobia is making a comeback, and anti-Muslim sentiment is growing. All this so Republicans can make better gains at the ballot box, aided by gerrymandering and voter suppression.
• Trump and his congressional sycophants couldn’t get rid of the Affordable Care Act, so now they are chipping away at it. The latest, denying insurers federal money to make the pre-existing conditions mandate work, will balloon rates this fall.
• Trump knows his election team colluded with Russia, so he launched a counter-war to what he calls a “witch hunt,” namely attacking and defaming the Justice Department and FBI. And Trump’s lackeys in Congress embarrassed themselves in their interrogation of FBI agent Peter Strzok, a man who, as head of the FBI counterterrorism unit, helped keep this nation safe.
• Trump administration officials have demonstrated incredible corruption while tearing down the very agencies they had sworn to protect. Some have been allowed to retire but should have been fired, then indicted for their corruption. The list includes Tom Price, Scott Pruitt, Wilbur Ross, Ryan Zinke and Ben Carson.
• Mismanagement has plagued the Veterans Administration for decades. Director David Shulkin was starting to get a handle on it when Trump nominated his personal physician to replace the fired Shulkin. Had it not been for Democratic Sen. Jon Tester of Montana exposing Adm. Ronny Jackson’s unworthiness, the VA might have wallowed. Trump claimed he saved the VA … but it was only because he signed two of Sen. Tester’s VA bills.

4) U.S. ECONOMY IMPERILED:

• The trade war Trump launched despite centuries of evidence that it won’t work is endangering our economy and threatening a world recession. He claimed he had to do it for national security, but in fact it imperils it. And it puts to the lie that he is the master negotiator. There is no art to his deal-making. He’s a fraud. He calls our enemies — China and Russia — trade “competitors.” He calls our friends — the European Union — trade “foes.”
• The trade war has battered a key underpinning of business: the ability to plan ahead. Without the predictability of stable markets and supply chains, businesses will get conservative. The Federal Reserve Board is already warning about firms pulling back and retarding economic growth.
• The tax cut will only help the wealthy. Corporations for the most part did not use Trump’s largesse to create new jobs and modernize plants, but to increase stock dividends and buy back stock.
• The trade war and the tax cut will have the damning effect of raising interest rates faster as inflation takes hold. That means the government has to service the burgeoning debt through higher interest rates, further weakening the economy. As this is playing out, the unemployment rate will start to increase. Another serious recession is on the horizon.
• Republicans now say that because the debt is getting out of control (thanks to their efforts), we must cut back on “entitlements,” which the GOP is trying to make into a repulsive word. Yes, we are entitled to Medicare and Social Security because we and our employers paid for insurance to cover those benefits. Congresses for decades have raided the two funds to help their budgeting. Now the Republicans want to steal from us again.

5) DEATH OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY:

The Republican Party prided itself on being the party of globalization. No more. It prided itself on being the party of fiscal conservatism. No more. It prided itself on being the party of free trade. No more.

It prided itself on being the party of family values. No more. It prided itself on being the party of law and order. No more.

The Grand Old Party no longer exists. The Republican Party, R.I.P., is now the Trump Party.
Hitler and Mussolini came to power by democratic means, then destroyed their democracies. Trump wants to be on that trajectory by tearing down the institutions that protect our republic. Don’t let him do it. Step up and vote this November for whatever Democrats are on your ballots. Talk to your friends, families, co-workers and neighbors about doing the same thing.
Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, America needs you.

John Strobel

Keep to the high ground,

Jerry

Judgeship Election/Primary Election Civics

Dear Group,

Primary Election Civics–why bother now when there are only two candidates and we know we’re going to see them again on the General Election ballot? Candidates, political organizations, and donors scrutinize the results. Does this candidate have a chance? How is the overall turnout? What is the level of enthusiasm? Is it worth my (our) investing time, money, and energy in this candidate for the General Election? Is there “buzz”? Is there momentum? Answers to all these questions will affect what happens in November.

Judgeship Elections–A puzzling part of your Primary ballot.

In Spokane County the Primary Ballot presents us with a choice of three “District Court Judge Position 1” candidates, Lynden P. Smithson, Randy Arnold Brandt, and Patrick T. Johnson. 

Civics: So why is there just one judgeship contest on the primary ballot? Simple answer: It is the only judgeship position for which Spokane County voters get a vote this year that has three contenders. In those cases where there are only two contenders the choice appears on the General Election ballot only (Dennis Cronin v. Michelle Szambelan for Spokane Superior Court Judge Pos. 10 is the one for which I’ve seen yard signs). The two top vote getters of this District Court three-way we see on the current Primary ballot will appear on the General Election ballot in November. In contrast, General Election Ballot in Spokane County will have 13 judgeships up for a vote (8 of 8 Spokane District Court, 1 of 12 Spokane Superior Court, 1 Washington State Court of Appeals, and 3 Washington State Supreme Court judgeships). Of course, only some sitting judges have a challenger.

So what about this local race for Spokane County District Court? (click here for a great orientation to the Washington State Court System). Here’s the short version from wikipedia on District Courts:

These are courts of limited jurisdiction that hear traffic infractions, criminal traffic citations, misdemeanors and gross misdemeanors, civil cases with an amount in controversy less than $100,000, and small claims suits.[2] The District Court conducts trials and other attendant hearings.[3] District Court judges are elected and serve four-year terms.

The District Court system is ground zero for citizen contact with the legal system. It’s important. These are the judges any one of us might encounter after a misstep.

So whom to chose in this race? I cast my vote for Lynden Smithson although that is a close call for me between Smithson and Patrick Johnson,. You can glean some sense of demeanor and history by clicking the names that I’ve linked to interviews on Spokane Talks with Sue Lani Madsen. Here is the link to the Spokesman’s overview article. I specifically will not vote for Brandt. In 2014 Brandt was the first incumbent Spokane County judge to lose a re-election bid to the bench since 1990. He has been accused of deception for re-using yard signs saying “Judge Brandt,” suggesting, incorrectly, that he is still a judge. Finally, Brandt is fervently recommended by WeBelieveWeVote, an organization that uses criteria more fitting of Republican partisan politics (gun rights, border security, and support of the electoral college system, for example) more than criteria I recognize from the Christian tradition (United Methodism) in which I grew up. Their endorsement of this man for a “non-partisan” judgeship I see as a red flag. 

I would like to see a choice in November between Smithson and Johnson, at which point I can look again.

Keep to the high ground,

Jerry

 

CMR Brings Devin Nunes to Town

Dear Group,

McMorris Rodgers has not held a well-advertised town hall since well before the Trump era. In the few small flash town halls she has held (Green Bluff on May 29th comes to mind), her best answer to pointed questions is either “I’ll have to look at that again, perhaps now is not the time” (on deregulating gun silencers) or “I think, ah, I dunno…what do you think we should do?” (in response to a question on climate change). Letters responding to questions, rather than presenting a reasoned argument, often sign off with “I’ll keep your opinion in mind as I work on this.” 

She suggests she will talk with Trump about the tariffs that will hurt Washington agriculture and makes “tsk, tsk” sounds in response to Trump praising Putin and thumbing his nose at our allies in Europe. Certainly she would like worried moderates in eastern Washington to believe she can influence Trump in their favor, but she does nothing beyond tepid words.

Will she stand up for the integrity of our elections, for the integrity and continuance of the Mueller investigation, for American values against a Russian dictator? 

She offers a clear answer to those questions displayed in the handbill posted above. She and her campaign (Paid for by Cathy McMorris Rodgers for Congress) have invited, as the “Special Guest” to a fundraising luncheon at the Spokane Club, the Republican Representative most infamous in the nation for attacking the integrity of the Russian election meddling investigation headed by Robert Mueller. 

McMorris Rodgers could not have more clearly stated her position. She has chosen sides. She brings to our district the congressman most committed to discrediting the Mueller investigation. Jared Powell, her spokesman, informs us, “She [CMR] supports Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, but wants it concluded as quickly as possible.” With her Nunes fundraiser in mind that sounds like code for, “Mueller’s investigation is a thorn in my side. It should be discredited and wrapped up as soon as possible so we get on with Russia’s takeover of our country.”

You can’t make this stuff up. For review:

Devin Nunes is a seven term Republican hailing from a heavily Republican central California district created by the 2000 re-apportionment. Steve Bannon has described Devin Nunes as the second strongest supporter of Donald Trump in Congress. (see How Devin Nunes Turned the House Intelligence Committee Inside Out). Nunes has consistently attacked the FBI and the investigation by independent counsel Robert Mueller to the point of making even some Republicans vocally uncomfortable. His name appears on the widely discredited “Nunes Memo” attacking the FBI and trying to discredit Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

Nunes was the subject of an investigation by the independent Office of Congressional Ethics (the office the Republicans under McMorris Rodgers’ chairmanship tried to gut at the beginning of this Congress, in itself a suspicious act, since CMR is still the subject of an investigation by the OCE). From USA Today:

The California Republican [Nunes] temporarily stepped aside from the Russia investigation [by the House Intelligence Committee which Nunes chaired] in April [2017] because of the ethics probe, which launched after Nunes took a secret trip to White House grounds last spring to review information gathered by unnamed sources purporting to show that President Trump was under surveillance by the Obama administration during the 2016 campaign.

After the independent Office of Congressional Ethics referred the probe to the Republican controlled House Committee on Ethics the investigation was dropped. (The other investigation, the one into McMorris Rodgers’ campaign finance dealings is still moldering in a back closet at the Republican-controlled House Committee on Ethics.)

Please remember how “restoring trust in government” and “bipartisan” roll off McMorris Rodgers’ lips in mixed company. Really? Then she allies herself with the most hyper-partisan, breathless conspiracy spinner in Congress…and brings him to Spokane, the Spokane Club, no less, for a fundraising lunch…  You couldn’t make this stuff up if you tried. Was she doing this sort of thing before when we weren’t paying attention? 

Who in Spokane thinks Devin Nunes’ conspiracies are meritorious and also has the money, time, and enthusiasm to actually attend a luncheon and hear him speak?

It certainly is not my neighbor, who usually votes Republican. She admitted last Monday evening she was so upset with the Trump/Putin lovefest that she had already cast her ballot for Lisa Brown. May there be many more sensible Republicans just like her.

Keep to the high ground,

Jerry

P.S. Read Shawn Vestal’s Wednesday column on McMorris Rodgers’ vile attack ad.

P.S.S. McMorris Rodgers could be in town for nearly a month starting this Thursday. See the Congressional Calendar.

An Open Letter to CMR–Followup

Dear Group,

Much has happened since the Open Letter to Rep. McMorris Rodgers hit Facebook, Twitter, and email inboxes yesterday morning. If you haven’t seen McMorris Rodgers’ vile ad you can see snippets of it in the news coverage on KXLY from last evening. Susan Hammond was interviewed for the piece. Neither McMorris Rodgers nor her campaign would comment. 

The vile ad is “approved by Cathy McMorris Rodgers,” which, in my view, only serves to point out the dark McMorris Rodgers living behind her “Christian” mom exterior. She knows these are lies, but she personally authorizes them. She makes no attempt to distance herself. 

The only defense against lies is to forcefully call them out. You can help

I encourage you to like/share on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/susan.hammond.50/posts/10215103076324414

and like/retweet on Twitter

https://twitter.com/susanswim55/status/1021557936596824064

If you know a local healthcare professional who might be willing to sign on share this link with them:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1c0s181USrwCmI_5d_tttBdsnqp9fiFDghWiRZttlrfk/edit

If you want to forward the letter to other media outlets please do. The professional community’s outrage is the driver. (The signatures go on for two and a half pages currently.)

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oXTkzmZNiqSg6gNmnzbaIkFL60V6e9OR8V3pEeui0Xg/edit?usp=sharing

I have copied the original letter and original signatures below in case you missed it.

In other news:

McMorris Rodgers is doubling down on her devotion to Donald Trump. She is bringing Devin Nunes right to little old Spokane as a special guest for a fundraising luncheon next Monday at the Spokane Club at noon. I’ll be covering that tomorrow. There will be a protest. Mark your calendars.

Finally, some fun. This Saturday, July 28, at 5PM join us at Hamilton Studios for the Spokane County Democrats 2018 Salmon Feed & BBQ. Sign up today Check out the ads posted above and below.

Sign up for “get out the vote canvassing.” Check out the Canvassing Links in the Calendar Section. 

Keep to the high ground,

Jerry