Bloglander

Dueling groups of constituents will be attending Republican U.S. House Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodger’s Wednesday town hall in Spokane.

Spokane Valley resident Chris Nerison is urging local progressives to attend the public forum through the website of MoveOn.org, a national liberal advocacy group, of which he is a member.

“[We’re going] to express our outrage over the fact that Republicans haven’t done anything to create any jobs,” says Nerison. He also blamed Congressional Republicans for Standard & Poor’s recent downgrade of the country’s credit rating.

In response to MoveOn.org’s invitation, Spokane County Republican Party chairman Matthew Pedersen says he is organizing a “Freedom Rally” prior to the event, in solidarity with McMorris Rodgers’s stance against raising taxes.

“There’s been quite a bit of Internet chatter, including calls for raising taxes,” Pedersen says. “Organizations like MoveOn.org have continually misrepresented facts.”

McMorris Rodgers’s communications director Todd Winer says the event will use a randomized lottery system to determine who gets to ask questions during the event.

“We welcome anyone who wants to express their right to free speech, assuming they respect the right of others to do the same,” Winer says.

The town hall will be held at 6 p.m. on Wednesday at the Lincoln Center at 1316 N. Lincoln St. in Spokane.