Activist groups protest shutdown during Fall Fest

LILY TIERNEY

ltierney@chespub.com

HURLOCK — On Saturday, members of Cambridge Indivisible, the Dorchester Democratic Central Committee and community members marched in the Hurlock Fall Fest Parade as part of the national “Healthcare Not Authoritarianism: Shutdown Showdown” effort.

On Oct. 1, the Federal Government shut down after lawmakers failed to pass a funding bill by the 12:01 a.m. deadline. The shutdown occurred due to a partisan argument over extending subsidies for the Affordable Care Act, which currently covers 24 million Americans, according to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Republicans argued that cutting ACA subsidies would help reduce the country’s current budget deficit.

The GOP rejected the legislation that extends ACA subsidies, arguing that it could be discussed at a later time. Democrats did not budge on the issue, leading to the Government shutdown.

Activists began marching at 9 a.m. Saturday to advocate for healthcare access “as Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans in Congress push our country into a government shutdown rather than lower healthcare costs for families,” according to a press release from Cambridge Indivisible.

The Dorchester Democratic Central Committee has been participating in the Hurlock Fall Fest Parade since 2022, and Chair of the Committee Sydney Bradner- Jacobs said around 15 people participated in the march portion of the event.

“We didn’t really have a theme before, but with the government shutdown, I thought it was best to theme it around what’s going on in Washington,” Bradner-Jacobs said. Cambridge Indivisible Co-founder and Co-chair Michelle Fowle said grassroots activism efforts in small towns like Hurlock and Cambridge are crucial to stand up against Republican policies she perceives will gut Medicaid and eliminate Affordable Care Act subsidies.

“So to keep the government open, the Republicans are saying, well, basically they’re saying it without saying it, ‘We want you to ensure that we strip healthcare away from millions of people, of American citizens,’” Fowle said.

Fowle worries that if Medicaid is cut and ACA subsidies are removed, there could be hospital closures and other local impacts.

“I think it’s important that rural communities, little tiny communities, have people getting activated,” Fowle said.