My interview with Cathy McMorris Rodgers Pt. 2

I know many of you probably wonder what in the world I'm doing talking about Cathy McMorris Rodgers so much on a blog that exists primarily to talk about Sarah Palin. I understand that, so I figured I'd take a minute to explain. 


When I started this blog several years ago, I didn't start it for the reason so many Sarah haters think I did. I wasn't a "Palinbot" or an obsessed Sarah Palin fan. In fact, when I started Moms 4 Sarah Palin, I knew virtually nothing about her. I originally began to blog about her simply because I was horrified by the behavior of the mainstream media when it came to Sarah Palin, and decided to do my research and see if anything they were saying had a shred of truth to it. Over the years, this has become my spot to talk about politics, whether it be specifically about Sarah, or about those issues that are most important to conservative Americans as a whole. 


So, when I was given the opportunity in mid July to sit down with Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers, it was only right that I ask about some of the things she and Sarah have in common...one of those is that both women have been entrusted by God with precious little boys who have Down syndrome. I wrote an article about this portion of the interview for the latest issue of Smart Girl Nation, an online magazine for Smart Girl Politics (pages 6 & 7).

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) introduced two pieces of legislation last month that would guarantee a huge step forward for those within the special needs community, specifically those with Down Syndrome. According to her web site, “research for a treatment and cure [for Down Syndrome] has lagged behind other medical conditions.” H.R. 2695: The Trisomy 21 Centers of Excellence Act of 2011 and H.R. 2696: The Trisomy 21 Research Resource Act of 2011, if passed, would “ensure that Down Syndrome research remains on par with the research infrastructure of other diseases.”  

McMorris Rodgers is no stranger to the special needs community. When she and her husband Brian welcomed their son Cole McMorris Rodgers into the world in 2007, little did they know how deeply they would be affected by the journey on which they were about to embark. Within a few days of his birth, they received confirmation that their new little bundle of joy had Trisomy 21, also known as Down Syndrome. “Hearing the test results was the most difficult,” she told Northwest Women’s Magazine in 2008. “Every parent has hopes and dreams for their child, Down Syndrome is not on the list. It is not what we expected, yet we have embraced Cole as the special gift from God that he is. We are developing new dreams for our son and look forward to seeing him reach his potential.” Read the rest here.