Sen. Maureen Walsh Response to Backlash

[falconersys]

Per my local newspaper (I live in Washington), this is the only thing she had to say about her statement of 'nurses probably play cards', and is currently her only publicly released statement:

“I was tired,” she said. “I said something I wish I hadn’t.”

[Snatchedwig, BSN, CNA, LPN, RN]

On 4/21/2019 at 8:49 AM, LibraSunCNM said:

I do wonder how many decks of cards have been sent to her office and/or home at this point...?

lol wouldnt that be funny if people actually sent her deck of cards.

[LibraSunCNM, BSN, MSN, CNM]

35 minutes ago, Snatchedwig said:

lol wouldnt that be funny if people actually sent her deck of cards.

I would bet a fair amount of money that she's been sent more than a few decks at this point. Remember Mike Pence and the used tampons?

[Wuzzie]

22 minutes ago, LibraSunCNM said:

I would bet a fair amount of money that she's been sent more than a few decks at this point. Remember Mike Pence and the used tampons?

Well, at least we have a bit more class than that.?

[Snatchedwig, BSN, CNA, LPN, RN]

40 minutes ago, LibraSunCNM said:

I would bet a fair amount of money that she's been sent more than a few decks at this point. Remember Mike Pence and the used tampons?

Omg what? I gotta look that up never heard of that

[Lunah, MSN, RN]

1 hour ago, Snatchedwig said:

lol wouldnt that be funny if people actually sent her deck of cards.

I know at least two of my friends have done that, via Amazon.

[LibraSunCNM, BSN, MSN, CNM]

1 hour ago, Wuzzie said:

Well, at least we have a bit more class than that.?

Ha! I think it was pretty fitting in that case, but that's just left-wing little ol' me ?

[TriciaJ, RN]

1 hour ago, Wuzzie said:

Well, at least we have a bit more class than that.?

Let's hope. We don't need to demean ourselves more than others already have.

[HomeBound]

She's a bought and paid for hatchet man.

Her education? AA in "commercial art" and she owns a restaurant.

https://votesmart.org/candidate/biography/51330/maureen-walsh

Education

AA, Commercial Art, University of Cincinnati, 1983

Professional Experience

Owner/Operator, Onion World Restaurant, present

She wasn't "tired". She was most likely given a sheet of talking points and she kept to them. The problem with this type in politics is that they are easily bought and really don't have a lot to lose to just tow the party line.

Do you remember this?

Politicians are simply a face placed on a corporate interest. The healthcare industry knew that this would be "disastrous" for them in terms of high profit margins and workers' rights being strengthened. It's a typical Republican tactic to break unions.

This had nothing to do with her honestly "being tired". It had to do with her saying what she was coached to say and now that bell cannot be unrung. Yeah she can apologize and all that---but she, in the end, is expendable to the Republican Party of Washington State and in the chessgame of politics, she was sacrificed.

Maybe she will get a golden parachute for her loyalty. Maybe she'll get a prominent seat on some hospital board. Maybe she'll get an Honorary PhD and a chain of tanning salons as a reward.

But anybody who believes that a career politician simply was "tired" and this came out? I think you need to take a hard look at who is being lead around by the nose with this type of tactic---and the emotion that it evokes.

They know good and well that nurses will circle the wagons, if one of their own is attacked or the profession is attacked as whole. Right or wrong. Look at all of the cases recently that a nurse has to be a convicted serial killer before another nurse will take an opposing view that she was just "tired" and "overworked".

It's a very common tactic used in every single political arena. It's called a Poison Pill. There are hundreds of thousands of bills introduced all across this country in legislative chambers and only a small fraction of a fraction ever get even as far as a vote.

This was important to the administrators of these mega hospital systems all across the country---if there is a precedent set where nurses have rights that may cost the hospital one red cent? They will fight this type of legislation until their dying breath.

Go to California and work in some of the critical access hospitals or smaller systems. They flout the law every single day on this lunch break issue. They know if a nurse needs the work and can't relocate, the nurse keeps their yap shut and does the job--law or no law.

What this legislation was designed to do is put a human face on nursing and what union busting republican legislators do for their corporate overlords is squash bills like this by using dehumanizing tactics like making us look lazy and overpaid.

And everyone fell right into it. Not that the bill should just pass and everyone just ignore the banning of 12's. But realistically---she is just a figurehead. She was sent there to do a job---and she did it.

[Wheels28]

Just a patient--- I was very offended to hear the comments about “playing cards.” She obviously doesn’t have a clue. I have been a patient many times and have never witnessed such a thing, what I have witnessed was nurses hardly sitting down, often running around like crazy people trying to do their job with an unrealistic workload.

I’ve saw them comfort patients who were going through a rough time, and family members who just lost a loved one. Your profession has 3 million members any profession that has that many MUST be important. When tragedy happens, nurses are on the front lines ready to go and help the sick and injured.

I’ll never understand why your profession doesn’t get the respect it so deserves, you see things and do things that many people could not do. Just know you have patients who respect and are grateful for people like you. You all rock!

[Pat Roberge]

Sadly, Senator Walsh maintained her stance despite issuing an apology because of a backlash she never anticipated. If nurses said derogatory things to patients when beyond exhausted (that’s every shift) after not voiding, eating, or even taking a sip of water in a longer-than-12-hr-shift, Heaven help us all. We maintain our patients dignity and provide respect and all the care we can muster. No excuse made - ever. Sorry, that apology just doesn’t cut it. Her poor nurse mother is probably turning over in her grave.

[NurseSpeedy, ADN, LPN, RN]

On 4/21/2019 at 8:49 AM, LibraSunCNM said:

I do wonder how many decks of cards have been sent to her office and/or home at this point...?

My grandmother used to play a bunch of card games that she used to remove the jokers from the deck to play the game with her friends (she was retired-not working). Too bad she didn’t keep them stashed away in a drawer somewhere. They would have made a great gift for this person that thinks we are playing cards all shift.

Heck, I’m tired too. Way too tired from working to ever learn how to play cards, much less play them at work. No breaks and mandated overtime can do that to a nurse.

[Forest2]

That's really lame. I bet she didn't miss her lunches or breaks, she probably does whatever she wants to do on her own time schedule all day. I bet she doesn't know the meaning of tired! Still ticked.