RENO " Union activists kicked off a three-week tour of presidential battleground states with a protest at the Washoe County Republican headquarters and were headed to Carson City on Tuesday in a bid to help elect Democrat Barack Obama as the best candidate to turn around the U.S. economy.
Members of Change to Win, a coalition of the country's largest labor unions, dressed as grim reapers and cutout faces of Republican John McCain in Reno on Monday as they paraded through a parking lot with a cardboard coffin filled with foreclosure notices.
"McCain has lost all touch with the realities of American families," said Judy Bagley, a Las Vegas casino worker who is part of the effort. She said that with seven homes, it would be difficult for McCain to understand the difficulties of Nevadans facing a record surge in foreclosures.
McCain spokesman Rick Gorka said McCains economic plan calls for substantial assistance for homeowners in danger of foreclosure. Hes called for allowing qualifying homeowners to convert risky loans into FHA-backed 30-year mortgages that reflect the true value of their house.
"Considering John McCain has a legitimate and great plan to help homeowners, engaging in class warfare and engaging in politics of the past doesn't do anything to help us move forward," Gorka said.
The activists said they would rally in Carson City on Tuesday in an effort to tie Sen. McCain, R-Ariz., to Republican Gov. Jim Gibbons, whose approval rating is mired in a string of scandals and missteps. They also plan a protest in Las Vegas on Wednesday and in Pahrump on Thursday to focus on McCain's support for storing nuclear waste at nearby Yucca Mountain.
Other stops are planned over the next month in Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Ohio, Arizona, Colorado and Pennsylvania.