Submitted by Jennifer DeWeerth
After confirming a long-planned tour of the Walmart Superstore in Oneida, Rep. Claudia Tenney did not appear for the event Aug. 1. A peaceful and silent demonstration members of local grassroots groups was held in Tenney’s absence.
“We have to wonder whether she canceled because she doesn’t have the courage to drive past a few peaceful citizens standing silently at a distance of more than 500 feet,” said Sarah Reeske, one of the demonstrators. “Sadly, her failure to show up also disrespects the employees at Walmart who planned for and coordinated her meeting.”
About 50 of Tenney’s constituents stood in front of the store on a hot afternoon, with signs such as “Healthcare for All, “We want living wage jobs,” and “Tenney: Listen to Us.” The demonstrators included members of Indivisible Mohawk Valley, Oneida Call to Action, and other Madison County grassroots groups. Their goal was to remind Rep. Tenney who she represents and encourage her to pay attention to their concerns about jobs, health care, and education for all in her district.
Individual Mohawk Valley, along with other similar groups across the country, is responsible for the final demise of the so-called ‘skinny amendment’ to the Affordable Care Act which would have left millions of people without adequate health care, many of them in NY22 where nearly a dozen health care facilities would have lost critical funding. Medicaid would have been effectively repealed if this bill had passed. 80% of Americans and the majority of our U.S. Senators agreed that this must not happen.
Now another crisis is facing the upstate New York communities in the form of President’s Trump’s proposed federal budget.
“Education, job training, transportation, adequate housing options, and affordable child care are the key foundations for job creation and economic growth, and all are threatened by the current proposed budget,” said Jen DeWeerth, a member of Indivisible Mohawk Valley. “Instead of supporting these needs, Rep. Tenney has voted to remove clean water, consumer, and internet privacy protections, and has aligned herself with the interests of the big banks and other corporations that contribute big money to her campaign.”
Indivisible Mohawk Valley will continue to stand up to Tenney’s political agenda in Washington, an agenda which does not support economic opportunity, health care and job training for all in our region. The question is, will Claudia Tenney listen to us, or will she continue to vote lockstep with a President who thinks all of us in central New York ought to abandon our homes and families and move elsewhere?
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