Laura Ingraham showed up. So did we.
Last Saturday, the Freedom Foundation welcomed a leading voice for white supremacy and xenophobia, Fox News’ Laura Ingraham, to the Hyatt Regency Bellevue. By inviting Laura Ingraham to be a keynote speaker to entertain their donors, the Freedom Foundation once again made it crystal clear that they value extreme politics over working people.
Like us, hundreds of you were outraged by the Hyatt’s willingness to give Ingraham’s hate a platform in our community. Thank you to everyone who joined us in calling on the Hyatt to cancel Ingraham’s appearance.
While Hyatt may have opted to allow their hotels to (once again) be a venue for hate speech, they certainly couldn’t ignore us on Saturday as scores of protesters picketed the fundraiser and made sure they heard us loud and clear: hate has no home in Washington state!
With more people outside demonstrating than inside at the fundraiser, we sent a clear message that the power of working people in the Northwest is unmatched by the Freedom Foundation.
Workers in the Northwest know that the people united can never be divided, no matter how many expensive fundraisers the Freedom Foundation throws. We are united against the Freedom Foundation’s attempts to give a platform to the racist rhetoric of people like Laura Ingraham.
Next time they attempt to raise up the voices of those who seek to push a radical agenda that attacks our Northwest values, we’ll be there to shout them down. And we hope you’ll join us once again.
P.S. We’ve received word that the Freedom Foundation is trying to bring in anti-LGBTQ zealot Mike Huckabee to Salem, OR on November 9. Like the Hyatt Regency Bellevue, the Salem Convention Center has agreed to give this hate a platform. Save the date. Updates on actions to follow.