Rep. McMorris Rodgers: Romney Creating Momentum

Team Romney believes it can pull off a victory in Washington State with its message on economic growth and job creation and break a Democratic winning streak going back nearly 25 years, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., tells Newsmax.

McMorris Rodgers, named by Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney to be his liaison to the House GOP conference, said that Romney’s work in Washington State to win the caucuses and organizing in every congressional district translated “into momentum in Washington,” a state that last went red in 1984 when it supported Ronald Reagan.

“This is a team that believes we can win Washington State for Romney and I think what I bring is someone who has been working in a state where it’s been more dominated by the Democrats in recent years,” she said, “but yet we have a compelling message when it comes to the economy, where the need for economic growth, for policies that are going to get Americans back to work, make America strong, and that is a message that resonates across the board. Republican, independents, and conservative Democrats.”

McMorris Rodgers, who has been mentioned as a possible vice presidential pick, will be working with Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., Romney’s man on the Senate side. Her job involves keeping GOP House members apprised of the former Massachusetts governor’s plan and message.

“What we’re doing so far is to plan more regular meetings with the Romney campaign and Senator Blunt so that once a week we’re sitting down and we have a sense as to where the governor will be traveling and what the top issues are that the campaign is focused on for that week and then share that with members,” she said.

She added there is also a focus on policy development.

“We talked about connecting the policy advisers with members of Congress so that we can have a discussion about our economic plan, budget, and the debt, healthcare, energy and the thinking here from the members, some of their experts use some of their experience on these issues from years gone by,” she said. “And then just the logistics. There’s a lot of moving pieces and members are ready to engage and want to be involved in just hoping coordinate in that regard.”

On another matter, McMorris Rodgers said the House of Representatives will be ready when the Supreme Court issues its ruling on Obamacare.

“The House is making plans to be ready no matter how the Supreme Court rules,” she said. “We believe that the president’s healthcare bill is making things worse. We see that costs are skyrocketing and this bill is making it harder for small businesses to hire employees.

“The House is strongly in favor of repealing Obamacare in its entirety, starting all over. What we would like to see is more of a step-by-step approach to healthcare reform that will ensure that we continue to have high quality and affordable health insurance for Americans.”