It seems a few constituents took President Obama's call Monday night to contact their local members of Congress about raising the debt limit to heart.

About 75 people tried to enter U.S. Representative Dave Reichert's office around noon Tuesday to urge him to avoid deep cuts to Social Security and Medicare. Many held signs stating "Don't Destroy the American Dream" and "Stop the Blame Game" (see our earlier coverage on local residents weighing in on the Debt Ceiling Crisis by clicking here and here).

Mercer Island Police arrived a short time later to escort the protesters out of the building and allowing them to gather on the sidewalk on 78th Avenue SE. Senior Reichert aide Tom Young — who said he was not authorized to speak on behalf of the congressman — listened to concerns from the crowd and said he would relay their concerns to Reichert in Washington D.C. He tried to answer questions about what the congressman was had said without speaking directly for him.

“We are not a Tea Party district,” constituent Gretchen Galer loudly called out to Young. “He needs to vote in response to us.” 

Left-leaning political advocacy group Moveon.org called for the protest, which organizers say was then joined by other friends and neighbors who heard about the protest via email. Earlier this year, supporters of Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest and NARAL Pro-Choice Washington protested Reichert's position on cutting funding for Planned Parenthood.

Some in the crowd seemed to be angered by a mis-statement by staffers about Reichert's support of the Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) "Taxpayer Protection Pledge", which he signed in 2004. ATR President Grover Norquist formulated the pledge, which forbids support of any new taxes.

Frustrated by a lack of information from the Reichert staff on hand, Kirkland resident Suzanne Kagen called Reichert’s Washington, DC office on the phone and rallied the crowd to respond.

“Get down to business!” the crowd yelled.

Staffers circulated sign-in sheets to protesters where they could register their opinion on protecting Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid from cuts.

Reichert voted July 19 for the Republican plan to raise the debt ceiling — the Cut, Cap, and Balance Act (H.R. 2560) —  which would permit President Obama to raise the debt ceiling by $2.4 trillion, only if corresponding spending cuts are enacted and a constitutional balanced budget amendment is adopted. The bill was tabled by the U.S. Senate.

The U.S. House of Representatives are currently debating a bill that would cut those programs as part of a deal to raise the debt limit ceiling for the U.S. Government above $14.3 to pay for programs and interest payments Congress had already approved in a budget earlier this year. If the limit is not raised, the government will run out of money and default on its obligations. Monday night, President Barack Obama and Speaker of the House John Boehner each laid out their positions on how the issue had reached a crisis point.

Sammamish resident Bob McCoy, who joined in the protest, said cutting Social Security was short sighted and going back on promises made before he was born.

"I liken it to an investment in a major corporation," said McCoy. "If I had bought stock in it, I wouldn't see Social Security and Medicare as welfare."