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Quick Update …


Midnight Tonight. That’s our final deadline to respond to John Boehner’s $50 million pledge in attack ads to try and put Republicans back in charge of Congress and make himself Speaker.

We just finished our strategy call with Paul Begala and one of our top pollsters. They laid out the clear path to beating back the Republicans in these final weeks. As Paul said on the call, “Right now, it’s real. Don’t walk off the field, stay and fight.” And, then Paul made a personal call to action to raise additional funds before tonight’s FEC deadline.

Between our own pledge of $49 million and President Obama’s goal of an additional $1 million to close the gap, we are now just $8,424 away from beating John Boehner on this deadline. But there’s just a few hours left.

Contribute $5, $10 or more to President Obama’s $1 million grassroots goal before Midnight Tonight and your contribution will be matched 2-to-1 by a group of committed Democrats.

The world is watching tonight’s fundraising totals. If we beat them, it will prove that we can go toe-to-toe with Boehner and his swift-boat shadow groups all the way to November. If not, their lies might have to go unanswered in these final weeks. We can’t let that happen.

With just $8,424 left to go, your contribution could be the one that puts us over the top!

Contribute to President Obama’s goal before Midnight Tonight.

Jon Vogel
Jon Vogel
DCCC Executive Director

P.S. We just finished our strategy call with Paul Begala and one of our top pollsters. They are confident we can succeed but only if we have enough grassroots support. With just a few hours left, we’re only $8,424 away from our goal. Put us over the top before Midnight Tonight and your contribution will be matched 2-to-1 by a group of committed Democrats.

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Stop Discounting Women …


Stop Discounting Women-Women Are Not Worth Less Banner

Dear Carmen,

Stop Discounting Women

Take Action

Take the I Am Not Worth Less pledge to help make sure our Senators stop discounting women’s voices and women’s paychecks today.

Take Action

Women get short-changed every day. We’re paid less than men. We struggle to afford child care. As we age, we’re at greater risk of poverty. Women need real economic security — good jobs with fair pay, decent child care and a secure retirement. Because when women thrive, so do our families, our communities and the economy.

Advocating for common-sense policy solutions to help women and their families in these difficult economic times is essential. That’s why we’re launching a new public awareness effort — Stop Discounting Women. Our goal is to educate and mobilize the public to help bridge the economic inequalities women face.

And the first target of our effort is to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act! With the rallying cry “Women Are Not Worth Less,” we are launching a major social media campaign and continuing our national advocacy to ensure immediate action on the Paycheck Fairness Act in September.

Join us! Take the I Am Not Worth Less pledge to help make sure our Senators stop discounting women’s needs and women’s paychecks!

The Senate must act swiftly when it returns to work in September to make certain that women get the equal pay they deserve. The Paycheck Fairness Act would deter wage discrimination by closing loopholes in the Equal Pay Act and bar retaliation against workers who disclose their wages to coworkers. The House already has passed the bill and now we need the Senate to do the same.

Women are not worth less — it’s time for our Senators to stop discounting women’s paychecks! Pledge to help pass the Paycheck Fairness Act now.

Thank you for continuing to stand up for equal pay. Together, we have come a long way for women, and we won’t rest until we finish the job.

Fatima Goss GravesSincerely,

Fatima Goss Graves
Vice President for Education and Employment
National Women’s Law Center

P.S. The wage gap has tremendous economic consequences for women. Please donate today to support our fight for fair pay legislation and all of our important work on behalf of women and girls.

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100 Days Fighting the Low-Waging of America
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Sample Message to Dr Pepper Snapple
It’s best to write your own personal message, but here’s a sample to give you some ideas:

Dear Dr Pepper Snapple,

With record-breaking profits, your company has no justification to cut the pay and benefits of the more than 300 Mott’s workers in Williamson, N.Y. In saying you want to bring their wages down to “local industry standards,” you are trying to take advantage of the recession and high unemployment rates to lift your profits even higher.

Your workers deserve better. And so do workers at other profitable companies that might try to follow your shameful example.

Mott’s is a 142-year-old company with a product that’s as American as you can get—a company we all thought we knew and could trust. I hope you realize you are jeopardizing a well-known, well-established and respected brand. That’s a lot to throw away.

I urge you to back off your attack on the Mott’s workers’ wages and benefits and do the right thing.

For 100 days, more than 300 Mott’s workers in Williamson, N.Y., have been on strike, fighting the low-waging of America. The Dr Pepper Snapple Group, the corporate conglomerate that owns Mott’s (of apple juice and apple sauce fame) has been trying to cut their pay and benefits—even though the company reported a net income of $555 million in 2009.

Tell Dr Pepper Snapple to back off its corporate greed and treat the Mott’s workers fairly.

Dr Pepper Snapple is taking advantage of the recession and high unemployment rates in the area to beat down the workers, members of RWDSU/UFCW Local 220. A spokesman told The New York Times recently the company’s just trying to take wages down to meet “local industry standards”—in other words, to make recession-era wages the norm.

Dr Pepper Snapple is demanding wage cuts that would amount to $3,000 a year per worker, ending pensions for new hires, cutting the company’s 401(k) retirement contributions and increasing employee health care costs.

This is a 142-year-old company with a product that’s as American as you can get—a company you thought you knew and could trust. It’s a company that symbolizes everything we’re fighting for—and everything we’re fighting against: the low-waging of America.

This strike isn’t just about Williamson, N.Y. As The Times put it, “if the Mott’s workers lose this showdown, it could prompt other profitable companies to push for major labor concessions.”

If America’s economy is going to recover, we need paychecks that can fuel consumption. And if profitable companies are allowed to use the recession to drive America’s middle class out of existence, it’s unconscionable.

Don’t be silent about the low-waging of America. Support the Mott’s workers who have been walking the picket line for 100 days. Act now.

Tell Dr Pepper Snapple to back off its corporate greed and treat the Mott’s workers fairly.

Thank you for taking action for the Mott’s workers and all working families. Please forward this e-mail to at least five friends and urge them to take action, too.

In solidarity,

AFL-CIO Working Families e-Activist Network

P.S. The RWDSU Mott’s Hardship Fund has been established to help aid Mott’s workers affected by the strike. Donations to this fund will be used to help offset hardships being faced by Local 220 members as a result of their strike against the corporate greed of Mott’s/Dr. Pepper Snapple. Please consider making a contribution to the strike fund by clicking here.
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In the Senate, where does immigration politics end and racism start? (via Anderson Cooper 360)


David Gewirtz | BIO AC360° Contributor Director, U.S. Strategic Perspective Institute What does it say about our current congressional leadership when senators from South Carolina, Kentucky, and Arizona appear to be giving serious consideration to repealing the Constitutional amendment that gave citizenship to slaves? To me, it’s just another way to say, … Read More

via Anderson Cooper 360