Latham must re-open government - all of it
CCI Action Fund Members Return to Latham’s Office to Protest Government Shutdown, Demand Fully Funded Services
Nearly three dozen Iowa CCI Action Fund members joined allies at a “No Megaphones for Millionaires” rally at the state capitol at 10:30am October 8 and afterwards, two dozen drove to Representative Tom Latham’s office to demand he vote to re-open the federal government with no strings attached
Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement Action Fund (Iowa CCI Action Fund) members were busy October 8 as more than three dozen turned out for a “No Megaphones for Millionaires” rally at the state capitol at 10:30am hosted by Iowa PIRG and Iowa Move to Amend, and afterwards more than two dozen CCI Action Fund members took their direct action straight to Representative Latham’s Des Moines office to protest his role in the government shutdown.CCI Action Fund members arrived shortly after 11am only to find Representative Latham’s office closed, with a handwritten sticky note on the door that said “closed for lunch until 1230”. The gathered crowd refused to wait and instead wrote their own hand-written sticky notes, taped letters to the door, left over a dozen messages on the office voicemail, and posed for photos holding signs like “Fund ALL government programs, including the Affordable Care Act…Respect the law!”. Sample posted notes read “You represent all the people and not those with the deepest pockets only! Open the government now!!!”CCI Action Fund members said they would spread the images on Facebook, Twitter, on www.cciactionfund.org and other social media outlets.“Blame for the government shutdown falls squarely on the shoulders of House GOP Representatives like Tom Latham for throwing everyday, hardworking Iowans under the bus in the service of an extreme corporate ideology that is hurting, not helping, the economy,” said CCI Action Fund member Cherie Mortice of Des Moines. “Who do you think is opposed to Obamacare? The insurance companies. Who do you think wants to privatize Social Security? The big bankers on Wall Street. That’s who Tom Latham works for.”Iowa CCI Action Fund members support a fully-funded federal budget that puts communities before corporations and people before profits, politics, and polluters while preserving and strengthening Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid for future generations.