President Obama's unofficial political action committee, Organizing for Action (OFA), is planning a series of protests and events this week to blame Republicans for sequester cuts and pressure them to accept President's plan to end the budget crisis. The events were announced in an email sent yesterday by OFA's National Director for Issue Campaigns Lindsay Siler, and were listed on the organization's website.
The events are part of a campaign called a "Week Of Action," and seem to be an attempt to change the tone of the sequester debate. While Republicans took the brunt of the criticism leading up to the sequester deadline, public opinion turned against the President after he cut off public tours of the White House for students, even though they are run mostly by volunteer staffers. Criticism against the President mounted after news broke that the Obama Administration planned high profile cuts as a political gesture to sway public opinion against Republicans.
Among the proposed protests and events planned by OFA this week include:
An event on Friday, March 22 protesting education cuts at a Long Beach, California education center.
A week-long protest outside the Little Rock, Arkansas offices of U.S. Rep. Tim Griffin (R-AR).
A protest on Wednesday, March 20 at the Phoenix offices of Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), even though he will be in Washington at the time.
A protest on Wednesday, March 20 at the Norfolk offices of Sen. John Warner (R-VA).
A rally on Wednesday, March 20 near a hospital in Akron, Ohio. According to the OFA website describing the event, the rally will "address how the sequester will effect (sic) Public Health/Safety providers, such as Nurses, Teachers and First Responders." However, the Obama Administration has already acknowledged that salaries for nurses, teachers, and first responders are not paid by federal funds, but by local governemnts, so they are not affected by the sequester.
According to Organizing for Action, a total of 91 events are planned over the next week to protest the Republican response to the sequester.
Victor Medina writes for Yahoo News and his political blog WhenLiberalsAttack.com. His other writing credits include The Dallas Morning News and SportsIllustrated.com. He has served as a Dallas County election judge and on the Board of Directors of The Sixth Floor Museum. You can follow him on his blog, VictorMedina.com or on Twitter at @mrvictormedina. He can be reached by email at vic@victormedina.com. Click here to receive a weekly email update from WhenLiberalsAttack.com. To be notified of future stories by Victor Medina, click the SIGN UP or SUBSCRIBE button at the top of this page.
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