Spokane7
59°
February 23, 2012 in City
McMorris Rodgers pushing Romney for East Side visit
OLYMPIA – In this year’s volatile Republican presidential campaign, Mitt Romney’s success in the March 3 Washington caucuses may depend on how well he does in the two contests earlier in the week, U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the chairwoman of his state campaign, said Wednesday.
“It’s up and down,” McMorris Rodgers said in an interview with reporters. “Some of it depends on how things turn out in Michigan and Arizona.”
Those states have primaries on Tuesday; the Washington precinct caucuses are the following Saturday.
Two of Romney’s rivals, former Sen. Rick Santorum and Rep. Ron Paul, have already made stops in the Inland Northwest, and the third, former Speaker Newt Gingrich, has events in Spokane and North Idaho today.
Romney has a stop in the Puget Sound area scheduled for March 1, and McMorris Rodgers said she’s pushing for him to visit Eastern Washington, too. But that’s up to the national campaign, which right now has shifted its resources to Michigan and Arizona where the races have tightened, she said.
In their appearances last week, Santorum and Paul disagreed on an issue that may go before Washington voters in November: whether state law should allow same-sex couples to marry. Santorum said he supports an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that only allows marriage between a man and a woman. Paul said he thought Washington voters should do what they want and the federal government should stay out of it.
McMorris Rodgers said Romney should make clear he’s opposed to same-sex marriage but should spend more time on his plans to simplify the tax code and repeal federal health care reforms.
“Fiscal policies and economic policies, that’s his strength,” she said. “He needs to convince Republicans he’s the one. He needs to speak from the heart.”
McMorris Rodgers was in Olympia to meet with Gov. Chris Gregoire, legislators and state officials on issues involving the state and federal government. Among those is finding federal money for major transportation projects like the North Spokane Corridor. The House is considering a bill that would raise more money for those state projects by increased development of oil reserves, and consolidating some of the many road programs to give the states more flexibility, she said.
Part of that bill calls for lifting federal moratoriums on offshore drilling, which is controversial in Washington. McMorris Rodgers said she doesn’t think the prospects for oil drilling off the state are very good, but “I support letting the states make the decision and lifting the federal moratorium.”
She also advised legislative Republicans to try to delay any expansion of the state’s medical insurance exchange to comply with federal health care reform. Democrats support a bill that would expand the exchange to make it available for federal funds and ready for new rules that take effect in 2014.
“I don’t see the urgency,” said McMorris Rodgers, who voted against the Affordable Care Act. “All eyes are on the Supreme Court and the decision they’ll be making.”
Judge rules against two-thirds tax law 
greenlibertarian2nd on February 23 at 2:29 a.m.
A third Gingrich surge seems like a dim prospect before Super Tuesday on March 6, but the former House Speaker reminded viewers Thursday that he deserves a seat at the Republican table for at least the next two weeks.
Two weeks?
NNNNOOOOOO!
Go, Eye of Newt Getrich, GO!
All the way!
All the Way!
All the Way!!!
To Convention Day!
polistra on February 23 at 5:00 a.m.
Good practical advice, especially on offshore oil.
See the first map on this page:
http://www.physics.uci.edu/~silverma/EnergyIndependence.html
Very little oil at this latitude.
No point in riling up the enviroStalinists over a resource that isn’t there anyway. When the Stalinists get riled, they exterminate everything in sight.
therailroader on February 23 at 11:28 a.m.
Please have Mitt visit the west side of the state. It will help ensure another WA state victory for Obama this coming November. The Republicans left in the primary race are so out of touch with reality that many people will realize that voting for Obama still helps the average citizen moving forward (as compared to any agenda set forth by any Republican candidate who is left in the race). Remember that the 1% who own big oil and who also run/influence Wall Street are speculating up the price of gas for their own pockets (as well as for sending the US into another recession in a gamble to oust President Obama from the White House).