Tag Archives: republicans

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Elizabeth Warren for Senate : Massachusetts


Sep 18, 2012 by    

http://www.elizabethwarren.com

Like a lot of you, I came up in a family that worked hard and I’ve spent years fighting for working people.

I wasn’t looking to run for office but I see how Washington‘s rigged for the big guys:  oil companies, billionaires, and I can’t stand by. My fight’s for our families, for a level playing field. Scott Brown‘s not a bad guy, he doesn’t always vote the wrong way. But too often, on things that really matter, he’s not with you. With almost a quarter of a million people out of work in Massachusetts, Scott Brown voted against three of President Obama’s jobs bills. He voted against making millionaires pay the same tax rate as working families. And he voted to give more than 20 billion dollars in subsidies to the big oil companies. Kids are drowning in student loans, roads need repair, the deficit is sky high, and Scott Brown’s voting for giveaways to big oil? I wouldn’t do that. I’m Elizabeth Warren and I approve this message. I’d be in there fighting for you, not some of the time — all of the time.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Why We Vote: Obama Rescinds Controversial Bush “Conscience Clause”


 

Care2

Why We Vote: Obama Rescinds Controversial Bush “Conscience Clause”

NOTE: This election will be decided on turnout.  We’ll be running posts from the past three and a half years to remind ourselves why we really do need to vote – and get our friends out too!

After two years of trying, the Obama administration finally succeeded, late last week, in rescinding the “conscience clause,” a federal regulation designed to protect pharmacists and health care workers who want to refuse to provide care based on moral or religious grounds. This often translated into pharmacists being able to deny their customers contraceptives or HIV medications, and health care workers refusing to perform in-vitro fertilizations for lesbians or single women. An ambulance driver in Chicago even rejected a woman’s need for transportation for abortion, and there were reports of drugstore workers refusing to sell condoms to men they perceived to be gay.

The new rule only leaves space, which is far less controversial, for doctors and nurses who conscientiously refuse to perform abortions or sterilizations. Health care workers who feel that their rights have been violated can also file complaints.

As the Washington Post points out, this is likely to spark intense debate, especially since Republican legislators are trying to ensconce these regulations in law. The Bush regulation, which was put in place in the last days of his presidency, would have cut off federal funding to institutions that did not comply with these conscience rules. One of the most commonly cited objections to the regulation was that the rules extended far beyond health care workers, allowing receptionists to refuse to make appointments for abortions and janitors to decline to clean up operating rooms where abortions were performed.

This is a clear victory for women’s ability to access abortion, and more generally for people to gain access to contraceptives, HIV medications, and other procedures to which some may morally object.

“Without the rescission of this regulation, we would see tremendous discrimination against patients based on their behavior and based just on who they are,” said Susan Berke Fogel of the National Health Law Program, an advocacy group based in the District. “We would see real people suffer, and more women could die.”

But some Republicans are, clearly, eager to undermine this step forward.  We will continue to watch what happens in Congress, and keep you posted on future choice victories or encroachments on women’s rights.

Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/obama-administration-rescinds-controversial-bush-conscience-clause.html#ixzz26APFFkcP

 

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Voter ID


Republicans are working hard to suppress your vote. Mitt Romney and Paul RyanCan you contribute $12 today to the Emergency Black Voter Fund? Join Us

 

Last week 2,260 delegates from all 50 states elected Mitt Romney to represent their party in this election. Yet at the same time the Republican party is talking about freedom and American values, it is doing everything it can to make it harder for Black folks to exercise their right to vote.1

In Ohio, Secretary of State Jon Husted has eliminated weekend access to polls, an option that was exercised by Black voters in past elections.2 In Pennsylvania, Republicans pushed through a law requiring specific forms of restrictive photo identification to vote, a constraint that systematically pushes Black and low-income voters out of the system.3 In Florida, Republican Gov. Rick Scott has overseen a sweeping voter purge that has erased hundreds – if not thousands – of lawful citizens from the voter rolls.4

That’s why we’re launching an Emergency Black Voter Fund. Can you chip in $12 a month until election day, to create a fighting fund to help make sure that these attacks on our right to vote don’t go unanswered. Can you spare $12 a month?

http://act.colorofchange.org/pledge/emergency_recur_donate

With your help we will register thousands of new Black voters and prepare them to have everything they need to vote on Election Day. We will also launch rapid response media campaigns in key states like Florida, Pennsylvania and Ohio to fight back against conservative attempts to make it harder for Black folks to vote.

The Republican machine has invested millions to keep us from voting.5 This will take significant resources, which is why we don’t have a minute to lose. We need your help to get these plans off the ground. Can you chip in $12 a month from now until election day to help turn these plans into reality?

http://act.colorofchange.org/pledge/emergency_recur_donate

Thanks and Peace,

— Rashad, Dani, Matt, Arisha, Charlene and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team     September 1st, 2012

Help support our work. ColorOfChange.org is powered by YOU—your energy and dollars. We take no money from lobbyists or large corporations that don’t share our values, and our tiny staff ensures your contributions go a long way. You can contribute here:

http://www.colorofchange.org/donate

References

1. “Republicans Boast About Voter Suppression in Tampa, but the Ground Is Shifting,” The Nation (Blog), 08-29-12 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1759?t=7&akid=2614.1174326.U3rkmV

2. “Equal voting processes for Ohio counties may still be unfair for voters,” WKSU, 08-16-12 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1703?t=9&akid=2614.1174326.U3rkmV

3. “Shocker: PA Judge Upholds Voter Disenfranchisement Law, Setting Up Chaos Like 2004 in Ohio,” AlterNet, 08-15-12 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1760?t=11&akid=2614.1174326.U3rkmV

4. “How Governor Rick Scott Is Preventing Eligible U.S. Citizens From Voting In Florida,” ThinkProgress, 05-23-12 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1761?t=13&akid=2614.1174326.U3rkmV

5. “Many states’ voter-ID laws, including Pennsylvania’s, appear to have tie to same U.S. group,” Philadelphia Inquirer, 08-15-12 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1762?t=15&akid=2614.1174326.U3rkmV

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The stakes for clean air, clean water, and clean energy jobs …


Here’s something Mitt Romney actually joked about with pride — and plenty of scorn — while formally accepting the Republican nomination for president of the United States:

“President Obama promised to begin to slow the rise of the oceans and heal the planet.”

And the crowd went wild.

It is nothing short of terrifying to imagine a party that openly mocks climate change taking back the White House.

The contrast between our candidate and theirs couldn’t be any clearer.

President Obama has more than doubled the amount of electricity we get from wind and solar over his first term — and his plans for wind power are expected to help grow the wind industry to support 100,000 jobs by 2016. Both Romney and Ryan want to kill the wind production tax credit, which could come at the expense of 37,000 American jobs. Oh, but they would keep giving $4 billion in tax breaks to Big Oil every single year.

And just this week, while President Obama’s administration finalized historic fuel economy standards to double our vehicles’ mileage by 2025 and cut carbon pollution from vehicles in half, the GOP adopted a platform that could kill investments in clean energy, and calls on Congress to prohibit the EPA from moving forward with new greenhouse gas regulations.

Surprise, surprise — according to the Los Angeles Times, the platform “was written at the direction of the Romney campaign,” making it heavily influenced by Big Oil interests.

So there you have it — the stakes for clean air, clean water, and clean energy jobs couldn’t be higher. Make sure your friends and family know what we’re fighting for:

Thanks, and stay tuned.

Buffy

Buffy Wicks National Operation Vote Director Obama for America