Southwestern Virginia is represented in Washington, D.C., by Morgan Griffith and Ben Cline. This region is not only rural but one of the poorest regions in the commonwealth. We rely on our representatives to work for us to protect and improve our quality of life. Unfortunately, both representatives are cowards, more beholden to our would-be king than to the citizens they represent.
Last month they voted to defund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting which helps fund National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service. This came just after they also voted in favor of Trump鈥檚 One Big Beautiful Bill which will reduce Medicaid benefits to thousands of Virginians.
Medicaid provides health coverage for low-income individuals. Over 180,000 citizens in Southwest Virginia are enrolled in Medicaid, 11.8% of our population. Typical medical problems include diabetes, substance abuse, prenatal and postpartum treatment and vaccinations. Most hurt are our rural hospitals, which continue to disappear from our region despite promises by Griffith and Cline to restore them. Together they turned their backs on our fellow citizens to appease the would be king, Trump.
We are fortunate to have public Radio Station WVTF-RadioIQ and Blue Ridge Public Broadcasting providing news and entertainment to our region. Like rural hospitals, small rural radio stations have been disappearing in recent years. WVTF and Radio IQ have more than 200,000 listeners across the state. Over 37.7% of our community regularly watch Blue Ridge Public Broadcasting for programs from Sesame Street to award-winning news coverage.
Again, Cline and Griffith ignored the interests of their fellow citizens by voting to defund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. It鈥檚 more important them to kowtow to Trump than to support our interests as citizens in Southwest Virginia. It takes courage to stand up to a dictator. Its time we find representatives more loyal to our citizens than to a tyrannical president.
