The 20-foot Trump baby balloon is making an appearance in Spokane, Wash. today. A coalition of progressive groups got together to bring the balloon to the eastern Washington city as a way of protesting Vice President Mike Pence's visit. Pence is currently in town to headline a campaign fundraiser for incumbent Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R) whose district includes Spokane.
Indivisible Spokane and the Backbone Campaign partnered to bring the balloon to the area. The Handmaid's Solidarity Brigade, National Organization for Women, Peace and Justice League of Spokane and Planned Parenthood will be coordinating protests as the balloon flies around between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. local time.
“It’s a real powerful image to voice a lot of the Trumpism that’s spilling into local stuff,” Backbone Campaign local organizer Jacob Johns told the Spokesman Review.
“It seemed like Pence’s visit was an excellent opportunity, especially with the national conversations about misogyny and sexual abuse,” Bill Moyer, executive director of the Backbone Campaign, said. “It’s principally about protesting the obscene behaviors of our president.”
McMorris Rodgers won the Republican primary election but her Democratic opponent, Lisa Brown, was within a few percentage points of her. The seat is considered vulnerable, especially as progressive groups rally around Brown. It's something McMorris Rodgers' team is well aware of.
“Add the Backbone Campaign to a long, growing list of progressive, radical, far-left entities from Elizabeth Warren to MoveOn.org to Indivisible supporting Lisa Brown’s campaign of tax hikes, government-controlled health care, and resistance to the booming economy in Eastern Washington," McMorris Rodgers' spokesman Jared Powell said.
Organizers are spending around $2,500 for helium to inflate and transport the balloon
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