Category Archives: ~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

It’s nearly 2012, and Senate campaigns are really starting to heat up across the country. As the DSCC’s political director, it’s my job to keep a close eye on all of our Senate races, find political opportunities, and do all I can to support our outstanding Democratic candidates. Read below about some of the top races we are working to win – many of which are in battleground states that will help determine the presidential race.

As always, we’ll keep you informed whenever campaign news breaks. Thanks for all you do to help Democrats win.

Crystal King

P.S. Recent polls show great opportunities for Democrats, but seizing the momentum takes money. Can you give $5 or $10 to the DSCC today? Our 500,000 donors are playing a crucial role in preventing a total takeover by radical Republicans. We can’t do our work without your help!

Races Update

ARIZONA: Democrat Richard Carmona’s entry into the race has put this red state in play, according to a new poll. Republican Rep. Jeff Flake – “one of the GOP‘s most outspoken critics of extending the payroll tax cut” – leads Carmona by just 4 points, 40-36. Carmona is receiving especially strong support from Hispanic voters, who favor him 56-19. [Full Story]

FLORIDA: A new poll of Sunshine State voters shows that Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson has a 46-35 lead over Republican Connie Mack, and an even larger lead over the rest of the GOP field. The Republican primary is shaping up to be brutal slog, and whoever emerges will most likely be damaged for the general election. [Full Story]

MASSACHUSETTS: This is a state where we have a really good shot at turning a red Senate seat blue. Elizabeth Warren is building a massive following, and in recent polls, she’s either tied with or leading Wall Street’s favorite senator, Republican Scott Brown. This is definitely a race to keep your eyes on. [Full Story]

MONTANA: A brand new Montana Chamber of Commerce poll has Democratic Sen. Jon Tester leading Republican Rep. Dennis Rehberg by 5 points – and that’s after the national Chamber of Commerce ran a slew of attack ads targeting Tester. Rehberg, if you remember, is the lawmaker who sued his hometown fire department and called Pell grants “the welfare of the 21st century.” [Full Story]

NEVADA: In Nevada, a recent poll showed Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley in a dead heat with appointed Sen. Dean Heller, 45-45. In a previous poll, Heller led by 3 points. Heller has the dubious distinction of being the only lawmaker to vote for Rep. Paul Ryan’s End Medicare Plan twice – once in the House and once after he was appointed to the Senate. [Full Story]

NORTH DAKOTA: The entry of former Attorney General Heidi Heitkamp into the North Dakota Senate race caused leading analysts to shift their prediction from Likely Republican to Tossup. And recent polling shows Heitkamp leading freshman GOP Rep. Rick Berg by 5 points, 47-42. In fact, only 28% of poll respondents gave Berg favorable marks, while 56% were thumbs down. [Full Story]

WISCONSIN: The most recent polling in Wisconsin shows a tossup, with Democratic Rep. Tammy Baldwin within the margin of error of three Republican candidates. The Republican primary in Wisconsin is hotly contested and has already become nasty, giving Baldwin the opportunity to concentrate on sharing her plan to create jobs, protect Medicare and Social Security and put middle class families first. [Full Story]

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

What You Did This Year …Nancy Duff Campbell & Marcia Greenberger, National Women’s Law Center

12/08/2011 Nativegrl77

…Was nothing short of amazing.

Your Gift Matched



	Through December 31, every gift to the National Women’s Law Center (up to a total of $90,000) will be matched dollar for dollar.

Because of you:

Women will have access to contraception in new health insurance plans — without co-pays — and attempts to defund family planning were stopped.

Because of you:

Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and other key social safety net programs were spared automatic cuts under the federal debt ceiling deal.

Because of you:

We helped secure nationwide protections against retaliation in the workplace, rights for pregnant and parenting students in Michigan, and educational equity for female student athletes in Oldham County, Kentucky.

Throughout the year, we’ve been honored to work with you to expand the possibilities for women and their families so that, as President Obama said at the Center’s Annual Awards Dinner just weeks ago, our children can “go out into a world where there is no limit to how big they can dream and how high they can reach.”

But we have little time to rest on our laurels — 2012 won’t be easy. Will you help?

Through December 31, every gift to the National Women’s Law Center (up to a total of $90,000) will be matched dollar for dollar.

The coming year will see the Affordable Care Act go before the Supreme Court, where we’ll be fighting to protect the law and ensure that being a woman cannot be a preexisting condition again. With millions of Americans living in poverty and facing long-term unemployment, powerful forces in Congress will STILL lobby for tax cuts to the wealthy at the expense of jobs and programs vital to women and their families. And of course, women STILL earn on average only 77 cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts, showing the clear need for the Paycheck Fairness Act.

Will you help us? Please consider a very generous contribution to the Center — your gift will be doubled by a match from the Center’s Board of Directors and Leadership 35 Committee.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be bringing you more about what we’ve done together this year and what 2012 is likely to bring. In the meantime, please help us start our 40th year stronger than ever before. Thank you again for all the help you give and all the work you do on behalf of women and families.

Sincerely,

Nancy Duff Campbell
Co-President
National Women’s Law Center

Marcia Greenberger
Co-President
National Women’s Law Center

P.S. Remember, your gift will be matched thanks to the generosity of our Board and Leadership 35 Committee. Please help today!

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

AFL – CIO

12/07/2011 Nativegrl77

AMAZING

You’ve got to see this—these stories from jobless workers blew us away.See the stories, share them and add your voice.

You need to check out this website, right now.

It’s a powerful reminder of the real faces behind America’s sobering unemployment statistics. It has real pictures and stories from job-hunters and impacted people from all walks of life—from your state and from every state.

I hope you’ll take a minute to look at these powerful stories, share them and add your own.

If Congress fails to act by Dec. 31, extended unemployment insurance will expire for millions.

We never forget these are real people who face the prospect of going hungry and getting thrown out of their homes soon after the holidays if Congress fails to act. Many of us have been there before—or have friends and family who have.

Even though obstructionists in Congress are willing to ignore our joblessness crisis, we refuse to let these stories get brushed under the rug.

Click here to see and share the stories and faces behind America’s joblessness crisis.

Then, share our website on Facebook and Twitter and forward this message to all your friends.

These stories and pictures won’t just live on a website. We’ll share them with the media, hand-deliver them to Congress during our massive day of action on Dec. 8 and promote them widely on the Internet.

If callous members of Congress think they can sit back and allow unemployment aid to expire while they play political games, they’re wrong. With your help we’re going to force them to see this crisis head-on—with real faces of real people who are jobless and struggling in this brutal economy.

See these stories, share them and add your voice.

In Solidarity,

Manny Herrmann
Online Mobilization Coordinator, AFL-CIO

P.S. It’s not just people who are unemployed right now who have stories to tell. Millions of others do, too.

Maybe you’ve been jobless in the past and relied on unemployment benefits to get through. Or you’ve seen firsthand how much unemployment hurts your community and America—and how much unemployment aid helps. Or maybe you can write a brief statement of support for the jobless or urge Congress to act—even in just one to two sentences.

Together, we’re creating a visual display of the impact of unemployment that will be too powerful to ignore. See and share stories and statements in your state and across America. Then, add your own.

To find out more about the AFL-CIO, please visit our website at www.aflcio.org.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

A message from Mrs.Obama …Charlotte, North Carolina, will host the 46th Democratic National Convention in 2012.

12/06/2011 Nativegrl77

I am thrilled to make sure you are the first to hear some very exciting news. Charlotte, North Carolina, will host the 46th Democratic National Convention in 2012.

Charlotte is a city marked by its southern charm, warm hospitality, and an “up by the bootstraps” mentality that has propelled the city forward as one of the fastest-growing in the South. Vibrant, diverse, and full of opportunity, the Queen City is home to innovative, hardworking folks with big hearts and open minds. And of course, great barbecue.

Barack and I spent a lot of time in North Carolina during the campaign — from the Atlantic Coast to the Research Triangle to the Smoky Mountains and everywhere in between. Barack enjoyed Asheville so much when he spent several days preparing for the second Presidential debate that our family vacationed there in 2009.

And my very first trip outside of Washington as First Lady was to Fort Bragg, where I started my effort to do all we can to help our heroic military families.

All the contending cities were places that Barack and I have grown to know and love, so it was a hard choice. But we are thrilled to be bringing the convention to Charlotte.

We hope many of you can join us in Charlotte the week of September 3rd, 2012. But if you can’t, we intend to bring the spirit of the convention — as well as actual, related events to your community and even your own backyard.

More than anything else, we want this to be a grassroots convention for the people. We will finance this convention differently than it’s been done in the past, and we will make sure everyone feels closely tied in to what is happening in Charlotte. This will be a different convention, for a different time.

To help us make sure this is a grassroots convention — The People’s Convention — we need to hear from you. We want to know what you’d like to see at next year’s convention, how and where you plan on watching it — and the very best way we can engage your friends and neighbors.

How can we make The People’s Convention belong to you and your community?

http://my.barackobama.com/PeoplesConvention1?keycode=

I can’t believe it has been more than two years since my brother Craig introduced me at the 2008 Convention in Denver. It truly feels like it was yesterday.

As I looked out at a sea of thousands of supporters that night, I spoke about my husband — the man whom this country would go on to elect as the 44th President of the United States. I spoke about his fundamental belief — a conviction at the very core of his life’s work — that each of us has something to contribute to the spirit of our nation.

That’s also the belief at the core of The People’s Convention. That the table we sit at together ought to be big enough for everyone. That the thread that binds us — a belief in the promise of this country — is strong enough to sustain us through good times and bad.

Barack talked at the State of the Union of his vision for how America can win the future. That must be the focus now, and I know so many of you will help talk about our plans with your neighbors — that through innovation, education, reform, and responsibility we can make sure America realizes this vision.

But, conventions take time to plan, so please help us make sure that your thoughts and your ideas will ring all the way to Charlotte. Get started now:

http://my.barackobama.com/PeoplesConvention1?keycode=

Looking forward to sharing this together,

Michelle