JUSTICE — NEW POLLS SHOW ‘INCREASING SUPPORT’ FOR MARRIAGE EQUALITY IN CALIFORNIA: As District Judge Vaughn Walker prepares to issue his decision in Perry v. Schwarzenegger, the lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of California’s Proposition 8, which bans same-sex marriage in the state — new polling shows a majority of Californians supports allowing gays and lesbians to marry. A recent poll released by the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) “shows [that] a significant percentage of Californians, including people of faith across the California religious landscape, say they have become increasingly supportive of gay rights over the last five years.” The poll also found that only 22 percent of Californians think the passage of Prop 8 was a “good thing” for the state. Additionally, “an overwhelming majority…say they both favor laws that would protect gay and lesbian people from job discrimination and favor allowing [them] to serve openly in the military (75 percent and 69 percent respectively).” Adding to the credibility of the PRRI poll is a Field poll released the day before, also showing a majority of California registered voters supporting marriage equality. The “survey shows that Californians’ opinions on gay marriage have grown more approving over time.” The increase in support for marriage equality reflects a growing sense of bipartisanship on the issue. As Center for American Progress President and CEO John Podesta and Cato Institute chairman Robert A. Levy concluded in a recent op-ed, “The decision in Perry depends, of course, on values far more permanent and important than opinion polls. No less than the constitutional rights of millions of Americans are at stake. But the public appears to be catching up with the Constitution. Just a little more leadership from the courts would be the perfect prescription for a free society.”
Category Archives: ~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture
No More Excuses: Climate Action Now
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40 Republicans blocked the Disclose Act
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| They just couldn’t help themselves.
Yesterday, 40 Republican senators blocked the passage of legislation that would counteract the growing influence of corporations in the wake of the Citizens United Supreme Court decision. The DISCLOSE Act would have helped shed light on the hundreds of millions of dollars corporations and special interests plan to spend to influence our elections this fall — and would have helped ordinary Americans to make their voices more clearly heard in campaigns across the country. Republicans believe that killing the bill and strengthening corporate power gives them a tactical edge, allowing right-wing groups to raise more than ever to help their candidates win. It’s a stark reminder, both of what we’re up against in November and the reason we all need to fight so hard to elect Democrats. Now more than ever, we need people like you on sidewalks and doorsteps, talking to your friends and neighbors about what meaningful reforms like these would mean in their lives — and why it’s so vital that they make their voices heard this fall. Despite the fact that 80 percent of Americans disagreed with the Citizens United decision — which eliminated limits on corporate spending in political campaigns — obstructionist Republicans have sided with the special interests yet again. But that doesn’t mean we can’t hold them accountable for it. Republicans believe the support of the big corporations and the special interests is all they need, but we have a different approach. We’re building a new Democratic Party — one driven by the opinions and support of Americans around the country and focused on grassroots organizing. That’s something Republicans just don’t have: supporters like you. The obstruction of bills like DISCLOSE affects every voter in the country — and we’re all in this together. We need your help on the ground now, helping to make the case to friends and neighbors about the importance of their vote in November’s elections. Please sign up to volunteer today: http://my.democrats.org/DISCLOSEVolunteer Thanks, Jen Jen O’Malley Dillon |
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Announcing: The By the People Fund
$200 million.
That’s what Republican-aligned special interests have pledged to spend on the 2010 election. Just to put that in context, that’s nearly $40 million more than every interest group spent on the 2008 presidential election — combined.
When our administration and this movement decided to take on the special interests, we knew we were making a choice. And the consequences are clear. These groups have fought us at every turn in our struggle for change, and now they’re trying to drown out our voices — and our accomplishments — with their campaign cash this fall.
We’re not going to sit back and let that happen. Today, Organizing for America is announcing the By the People Fund with the goal of getting 3 million citizen donations to fuel our grassroots campaign for the upcoming election.
Can you donate $25 today and help us take back this election from the corporate interests?
With our By the People Fund, we’re going to make a statement this fall — strengthening our grassroots efforts on the ground, focusing on getting first-time voters from 2008 back to the polls this year, and holding the Republicans and their special-interest allies accountable.
We’ve all gone to the mat with these folks time and again — ever since Barack and I took office. And, from the Recovery Act to historic health reform to Wall Street reform, you helped prove we could win those fights.
Now these groups have one goal in mind when it comes to November 2nd — erasing the progress we’ve made together.
By spending an unprecedented amount of cash to support Republicans, they’re doing their best to buy their way back into power. And, if they do, they’ve been clear that they will do everything they can to undo the historic achievements we’ve fought so hard to win.
It’s no wonder that each and every Republican in the Senate on Tuesday voted to allow these special interests to have a greater say in our elections. Their vote will allow these groups to spend millions on campaign ads — and not have to reveal who’s actually behind them.
I’ve been in politics a long time. I’m used to seeing the good guys outspent by interest groups. But we’ve never been outnumbered — and we’ve never been outhustled.
I’m asking you to make sure it stays that way. Will you chip in and help us grow our By the People Fund?
Please donate $25 or more today:
https://donate.barackobama.com/ByThePeople
Thank you,
Vice President Joe Biden
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IMMIGRATION: Arizona’s D-Day
Ninety days after it was signed into law, Arizona’s new immigration law — SB-1070 — is set to take effect tomorrow. U.S. Ninth District Judge Susan Bolton is currently considering some of the seven lawsuits brought against the law along with a request by federal government that she approve a federal injunction of the law. Last night, Gov. Jan Brewer (R-AZ) announced that she expects a ruling within 24 hours. Much is at stake. As one law professor pointed out, if the law is struck down, it will take the “wind out of the sails” of local efforts to pass immigration laws. If it isn’t, Bolton’s decision will “unleash more copycat legislation.” Both sides are bracing themselves for implementation. National and local organizations are preparing a state-wide demonstration that will kick off today with a vigil in several cities. Demonstrators are set to descend on the Arizona state capital without their papers and “dare law enforcement in Phoenix, Arizona, to put SB-1070 to the test.” The U.S. attorney for Arizona is encouraging those who believe their civil rights have been violated to contact the FBI. Meanwhile, Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio is “setting aside space” in his tent city for more undocumented immigrants as local law enforcement gears up to enforce SB-1070. And while most Americans support Arizona’s immigration law, they also think its looming implementation tomorrow will “increase discrimination against Hispanics while not necessarily making a dent in the [immigration] problem.”
LEGAL BRAWL: Beginning a couple weeks ago, Bolton started hearing arguments filed by the U.S. Department of Justice, civil rights organizations, clergy groups, a researcher, and a Tucson police officer over whether Arizona’s new immigration law should take effect. University of Arizona law professor Jack Chin explains that Bolton will have to weigh the likelihood of success of the lawsuits challenging the law, judge who will suffer “irreparable harm,” and look at the “balance of hardships.” Bolton has the options of issuing a temporary injunction, blocking parts of the law, or doing nothing. So far, Bolton has dropped only a few hints as to how she will rule. During the hearings, she suggested that the part of Arizona’s law that requires immigrant residents to carry immigration documents “may not pass constitutional muster.” After challenging her assessment, the defense conceded, stating, “I didn’t have the feeling I persuaded you last week either.” Bolton also questioned a sentence in SB-1070 that requires police to verify the immigration status of arrested inmates before releasing them along with a separate part of the law that allows police to arrest anyone they believe has committed a crime that would make them removable from the country. However, Bolton did make one thing clear: she will not invalidate the whole law, but may halt the enactment of a handful of its sections. SB-1070 supporters are fighting back. Attorneys for the Arizona governor asked a federal judge to dismiss the Justice Department’s lawsuit, insisting that the federal government’s claim is based on “hypothetical scenarios.” Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu and Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever have also hired lawyers to fight lawsuits against SB-1070 and pursue countersuits against the Obama administration.
WINNERS AND LOSERS: As the SB-1070 legal battle rages on, a growing list of stakeholders is taking shape. A local Arizona TV news station recently discovered that “two of Brewer’s top advisers have connections” to private prison giant Corrections Corporation of America (CCA). Paul Senseman, Brewer’s deputy chief of staff, is a former lobbyist for CCA and his wife continues to lobby for the company. Chuck Coughlin, who leads her re-election campaign, chaired her transition into the governorship, and is one of the governor’s policy advisers, also happens to be the president of HighGround Public Affairs Consultants, which lobbies for CCA. Brewer’s connections to the CCA are significant because the company currently bills $11 million a month to the state of Arizona to house immigrant detainees, and if SB-1070 is successfully implemented, its profits would soar as it would take responsibility for imprisoning immigrants arrested by Arizona police. Brewer herself, who has essentially built her campaign around the law, has also benefited from signing off on SB-1070 in terms of her local popularity. So far, Brewer has raised over $1,104,935 just for her legal defense fund. However, Brewer’s star may not shine forever. Arizona public schools are experiencing a drop in enrollment which could account for a drop in millions of dollars of federal funding. Arizona’s Office of Tourism is reporting a $12 million loss in canceled hotels and reservations. Attendance has also been dropping at several local churches serving largely to Hispanics, and as the Arizona Republic points out, “fewer attendees means less in the collection plate.” In the end, embracing the law also carries the risk of permanently alienating the critical Latino vote.
RIPPLE EFFECT: The rest of the Western hemisphere is watching Arizona closely. The Reform Immigration for American campaign reports that “there are twenty two copycats [laws] waiting to see which way the wind blows on states’ ability to preempt federal immigration law.” In Utah, one state lawmaker is prepared to introduce copycat legislation as early as the second week of August. Gubernatorial candidates in states like Florida, Colorado, and Georgia have made campaign promises to pass similar laws based on the presumption that SB-1070 is constitutional. Meanwhile, tensions on the issue are high. Activists argue that SB-1070 has contributed to a fresh round of discrimination such a surge of hate crimes in Staten Island and the disturbing release of a “witch-hunt” list of the names of 1,300 suspected undocumented immigrants by Utah citizen vigilantes. The white supremacist National Socialist Movement has also entered the debate and will demonstrate in downtown Knoxville next month as a show of support for a tougher state immigration law. On the other side of the border, Latin America is keeping a close watch. Bolivia, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Paraguay and Peru have all filed motions to join Mexico’s legal brief supporting the lawsuits of the U.S. government and advocacy groups. Mexico is additionally preparing for the implementation of Arizona’s new immigration law. Expecting a surge of deportees, the Mexican government has also added more workers to its consulate in Phoenix and migrant shelters have added more beds. Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission plans on sending inspectors to U.S. border crossings to monitor deportations and ensure deportees are treated properly.
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