This Small Town Just Took A Big Stand Against Obama

Upon announcing his intention to hobnob with supporters in Medina, Wash...

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B. Christopher Agee — July 23, 2014

Barack Obama recently hit a roadblock in his ongoing campaign to attend fundraisers across the nation. Upon announcing his intention to hobnob with supporters in Medina, Wash. earlier this week, city leaders explained that they will not force local taxpayers to pay for the associated expenses of his visit.

“We love welcoming people to what we think is one of the most attractive communities in Puget Sound,” said City Manager Mike Sauerwein.
While visitors might be welcome, however, he insisted that it should be at their own expense.
“We just don’t feel that we should be passing the cost of the events to our citizens,” he said.
Saurwien explained that, with previous presidential visits, taxpayers have had to pony up tens of thousands of dollars to pay for added police coverage and other incidental expenses. He urged the city council to pass that expense on to Obama’s host, former Costco CEO Jim Sinegal, for this event.
Every member of Medina’s small police force will be assigned to working the fundraiser, aided by state and county law enforcement officers. While he could not estimate what the total cost would be prior to the event, Saurwein did know who would be receiving the invoice.
“We just don’t think that’s a cost that should be passed on to taxpayers,” he said, “so we are going to be billing the host of the event for that cost.”
As Western Journalism reported, Sinegal has been a longtime Obama supporter going back to his tenure as Costco CEO, having donated a total of $200,000 to Obama’s campaign and an affiliated political action committee ahead of the 2012 presidential election.
Sinegal was even invited to speak at the 2012 Democratic National Convention.
The company came under fire earlier this month, in part because of its close ties to Sinegal and, by extension, the Obama administration.
When conservative author Dinesh D’Souza’s recent book, “America”, was unceremoniously stripped from Costco shelves just as his corresponding documentary opened in theaters across America, many concluded that the move could have stemmed from the retailer’s inherent disdain for his anti-Obama viewpoint.
Photo credit: U.S. Department of Agriculture (Flickr)