The Washington Policy Center will do a reprise of its health care reform conference today in Spokane at the Red Lion Inn at the Park, complete with a keynote speech from Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers.

The Seattle version of the conference was reported in this morning's paper. Something new for Spokane, however, will be protesters outside the conference demonstrating against McMorris Rodgers' support for the GOP proposal to change Medicare.

The group incorrectly describes the event as McMorris's “$500 a table event,” with “her supporters.” It's actually the policy center's event, and while many of the people in the room maybe McMorris Rodgers supporters, the money doesn't go to her.  It's also $200 for a table of eight; the $500 charge is for company sponsors who want a table for lunch, information packets and display space at the conference.

Details, details.

Bethany Heath, the organizer of the protest, said she thought it was still a fair way to characterize the event.

“We're not trying to go after her,” Heath said, then proceded to discuss the votes McMorris Rodgers has taken in favor of the Ryan Medicare proposal and against the Affordable Care Act which suggested that yes, they were going after McMorris Rodgers.

It wasn't personal, Heath added. “I just don't like her voting record.”

The New York Times has a nice map that shows how members of Congress voted yesterday on the Health Care legislation.

As a sometime maker of political maps, Spin Control recommends it to those who enjoy visuals. Find it here:

Democrats apparently like to watch President Obama in groups.

The Democratic National Committee, through the Organizing for America campaign operation,  is organizing “watch parties” around the country to view Obama’s address tonight to a joint session of Congress tonight, including one in Spokane.

It’s at Toad Hall, 1427 W. Dean, starting at 5 p.m.

(An earlier version of this post said the speech started at 6 p.m., but that was incorrect. White House Web site says 8 p.m. Eastern, 5 p.m. Pacific.)

Callers to Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers tele-town hall meeting were pretty convinced that the government shouldn’t take over health care and the Eastern Washington Republican should do everything in her power to stop socialized medicine.

She didn’t much disagree.

Among her comments on proposals by President Obama and other Democrats were that they want to put the government between you and your doctor, take away your choice of doctors and hospitals, that they won’t reimburse doctors enough for services, and the process needs to be slowed down because it is moving too fast.

She also said Washington state’s Basic Health Plan has grown to the point where it’s too expensive.

Interestingly enough, while no one disagreed with her in the first 45 minutes (we had to  take another call and lost the connection at that point) there were some scenarios that seemed to contradict her basic premises. One woman with kidney disease complained that Medicare didn’t cover the alternative treatments she was taking instead of dialysis. Alternative treatments can be effective, but requiring an insurer to cover them can boost the cost of premiums.

One man with an unemployed son who has three children and a wife who works without insurance said they can’t get insurance and wondered why Social Security couldn’t help out… which sounds suspiciously like expanding government health care.

McMorris Rodgers suggested that one of the solution for the man’s son, and others without insurance because they are out of work is to improve the economy.

Her event was competing for folks’ attention with Obama’s live press conference, scheduled at the same time. She said, however, that her event was scheduled when they thought the presidential press  conference was going to be an hour later.

At the newspaper, reporters like to talk about the Spokane vortex, in which almost every big national and international event has a link to this part of the country. Yesterday’s big press conference on health care, where Vice President Joe Biden talked about hospitals pitching in, was no exception.

Standing next to Biden in this AP photo is Rich Umbdenstock, who until about three years ago was president of Providence & Services. He’s now president of the American Hospital Association, hence the invite to the big press conference.

Not intentionally, of course. But Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers is being noticed.

She showed up on Wednesday night’s Daily Show, as Jon Stewart was having fun with the politics of health care.

After he pokes fun at Obama’s speech to the AMA, Stewart takes on congressional Republicans’ talking points in response. McMorris Rodgers follows Boehner about 3:55 in, and, as a bonus, is the face on the screen as he goes to commercial.