Tag Archives: senate spot

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Re: Republican political suicide


The Supreme Court decision striking down coverage for birth control shows how extreme and anti-woman the Republican Party has become. Now we need to hold them accountable with voters. Can you chip in $3?

Chip in $3

Dear MoveOn member,

The Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby decision made me so angry. It’s just so wrong, and so disrespectful to women.

But recently I woke up with a different idea. It’s time to stop being mad. It’s time to get even.

Because the one good thing about this decision is that it shows for all the world that the Republican Party is flat-out, 100% against access to birth control. And that’s political suicide.

Consider this: 99% of women use contraception at some point in their lives.1 Ninety-nine percent. Opposing birth control isn’t a fringe view. It’s the farthest fraying edge of the fringe.

So between now and November, we need to hold Republicans accountable by making sure that every female voter in every key state knows the Republican Party position on birth control. If they want to support legislation to overturn Hobby Lobby, great. But if not, we’ll make sure it costs them their seats in Congress. Will you chip in $3 to help make it happen?

Yes, I can contribute $3 to hold Republican politicians accountable for opposing access to birth control.

Remember 2012? Republicans lost the women’s vote by 12 points while talking about “legitimate rape”—the biggest gender gap in history.2

They thought they could fix it by coaching politicians on “messaging to women.”3 But here’s what the Republicans haven’t learned: It’s not just what they say—it’s their policies.

And no Republican position is more out of the mainstream than their opposition to access to contraception.

Republicans are on the verge of taking control of the Senate, and if they do, then they’ll have the power to block any Supreme Court nomination President Obama puts forward—locking in terrible decisions like Hobby Lobby for a generation or more.

But with your help, we can hang this decision like an albatross around the necks of Republican candidates all over the country. We’ll show up at public events and challenge candidates directly. We’ll run ads online. And any Republican who doesn’t support legislation to overturn Hobby Lobby will have to answer to voters.

I’m tired of being mad. Let’s fix this.

Click here to chip in $3 and help hold Republicans accountable for opposing access to birth control.

Thanks for all you do.

–Anna, Alejandro, Justin, Rosy, and the rest of the team

Sources:

1. “Contraceptive Use in the United States,” Guttmacher Institute, June 2014

2. “Gender Gap in 2012 Vote Is Largest in Gallup’s History,” Gallup, November

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Refugee children …. Republican political footballs


Children fleeing violence are seeking refuge in the United States in record numbers. Every child is entitled to an immigration hearing, but there is no guarantee these children—who may have experienced unspeakable trauma—will have legal support.The MoveOn community is raising funds for much-needed legal support for these children—donating every penny to Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), the leading organization providing legal representation to children entering the U.S. alone. Can you make a donation to KIND to ensure these children have the legal counsel and support they need when they face an immigration judge?

Chip in $3

Dear MoveOn member,

Thousands of children fleeing violence from their home countries have come to the United States—sometimes traveling long distances without their parents—seeking refuge. This humanitarian crisis has overwhelmed the existing support the United States provides for children who have been victimized by violence.

These children—some just barely older than toddlers—are crowded into temporary shelters, detention centers, and even facilities on military bases.

United States immigration law guarantees all children from certain Central American countries due process, including an asylum hearing in front of an immigration judge. These hearings are crucial to protecting refugee children. Sending some of these kids back could be, in the words of Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley, “to send them back to certain death.“1

During the hearings, an immigration judge hears from each child and determines if that child is eligible for refugee status or humanitarian protection. But these children aren’t guaranteed legal representation when they face the court and could find themselves alone in the hearing that will determine the rest of their lives.

That’s why we’re coming together as a MoveOn community to raise funds for Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), an organization dedicated to providing legal support to children. We’ll give every penny of your contribution to KIND.

Can you chip in to make sure these refugee children get the legal counsel and representation they need?

Yes, I can contribute $3 to help a child seeking refuge from violence receive legal support.

Since 2012, the number of children seeking refuge in the United States has soared from three Central American countries: Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. Stories of the violence these children are fleeing are chilling. This region, known as the Northern Triangle, has some of the highest murder rates in the world, and children may come to the United States having witnessed family members and friends hurt, raped, or killed in rampant outbreaks of gang violence.2

For many of these children, what happens during these immigration hearings could be the difference between life or death. No child should be forced to appear in court alone.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees reports that nearly two-thirds of the children and families from Central America may be eligible for humanitarian protection under international guidelines3—but we are treating them like criminals.

Can you contribute $3 to make sure these children have legal representation when they appear before an immigration judge?

MoveOn members across the country have stepped up before to provide support for those impacted by major humanitarian crisis. When Hurricane Sandy left thousands without power, food, and shelter, MoveOn members opened their homes to help. And MoveOn members helped provide temporary housing for more than 30,000 people displaced by Hurricane Katrina.

By making a contribution now, you can help again, and make sure children looking to the United States for protection from deadly violence receive the chance they are legally guaranteed to share their stories and plead their cases.

Thanks for all you do.

–Anna, Stephen, Matt, Maria, and the rest of the team

Sources:

1. “O’Malley: U.S. shouldn’t send immigrant children back to ‘certain death,'” CNN, July 11, 2014
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=299998&id=98878-17809870-QP8qysx&t=4

2. “Why are so many minors fleeing Central America for the U.S. border?” KSHB, July 16, 2014 

http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=299999&id=98878-17809870-QP8qysx&t=6

3. “Children on the Run,” United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees, March 12, 2014 

http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=300000&id=98878-17809870-QP8qysx&t=8

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The New Populist Movement


“More liberal, populist movement
emerging ahead of 2016 elections.”

Front page, The Washington Post, December 1, 2013:

The past two years have been scarred by a government shutdown, the sequester, the near default of the US government and a Tea Party Congress blocking everything.

campaignForAmericaLgo

And yet –

In the midst of the wreckage, we’ve helped build a populist movement that the media and the politicians no longer can ignore.

That movement – that you, the Campaign for America’s Future and others are forcing onto the table the changes that the American people want.

Take a look at last year:

  • We blocked politicians from cutting one dollar of Social Security and Medicare benefits — and now our champions in Congress are pushing to expand those programs.
  • We put economic inequality on the national agenda and drove demands for a higher minimum wage.
  • We pushed for investment in jobs and full employment and against job-killing austerity.
  • We demanded prosecution of banks and bankers who tanked the economy – and pushed to break up too-big-to-fail financial institutions.
  • We stopped Larry Summers from becoming Federal Reserve chairman.
  • We challenged job-killing trade agreements and the corporations that wrote them in secret.

In this election year, we need to keep up the fight. We need to support political champions like Senator Elizabeth Warren. We must keep up the fight for the minimum wage and pre-school for every child. We can’t do this without you.   We need your energy and we need your help with a donation.

Can you help with a $10 donation to build this movement?

Thanks for all you do,

Roger Hickey & Robert L. Borosage
Co-Directors, Campaign for America’s Future

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Aurora, two years later


Everytown for Gun Safety

My heart sank when I heard the news about the shooting two years ago in a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado. It was opening day of The Dark Knight Rises and 12 people had just been shot and killed at a midnight showing — 58 wounded.

The only thing I could think to do was go to Aurora. I visited the survivors and family members in the hospital.

One of the amazing survivors of the shooting I met was Steve Barton — a guy who just happened to be passing through on a cross-country bike trip when he stopped to go to the movies with friends.

Tomorrow marks two years since the Aurora shooting. Click here to watch Steve’s moving story and then share it with your family and friends to mark this somber anniversary.

Watch Steve Barton's powerful message

After the shooting, Steve focused his incredible talents on fighting for public safety measures that will prevent others’ lives from being affected by gun violence like his was. I’m inspired by his resilience and dedication.

The fact is, there’s a lot more we can do to cut down on gun violence. After the Aurora shooting, Colorado passed a strong law that has already blocked criminals from easily buying guns without a background check.

But making that kind of progress in other states or at the federal level is going to require elected officials with the backbone to act. That’s why it’s so important to support local, state and federal candidates who will push for common-sense gun laws.

On this sad anniversary, let’s all recommit ourselves to turning tragedy into meaning.

Watch Steve’s powerful message now and then spread the word:

http://every.tw/aurora-two-years

It’s an honor to stand with Steve, with you and with all Americans fighting to reduce gun violence.

Thank you,

Christian Bale

Christian Bale
~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

#LivetheWage … it’s a Challenge


By

Join Leaders And Advocates Taking The #LiveTheWage Challenge And Live On A Minimum Wage Budget For A Week

July 24th marks 5 years since the last federal minimum wage increase and America can’t wait any longer.

While corporate profits and CEO salaries skyrocket, the minimum wage remains stuck at $7.25 an hour, well below the poverty line for a family of three. We need to raise the minimum wage so that workers have more money to support themselves and their families. More money for workers means more customers for businesses. More customers means more jobs and a stronger economy for everyone.

It’s time for action.

This July, join the national movement to raise the minimum wage by taking the Live the Wage Challenge.

The Live the Wage Challenge asks elected officials, community leaders, advocates and everyday citizens to walk in the shoes of a person who earns minimum wage by living on a minimum wage budget—$77—for one week. Your weekly budget of $77 represents the weekly wages of a full-time worker making the federal minimum wage, minus average taxes and average housing expenses. Your weekly budget includes all your meals, groceries, transportation, and recreational spending. (It does not include long-term and inflexible expenses like loan, car, mortgage, or rent payments, child care, health care, etc.)

Obviously, $77 is not a lot of money. The truth is that you may simply run out of money and go over budget. That’s OK: the Challenge is not easy, and it’s not supposed to be. Workers who make the minimum wage have little, if any, leeway in how they spend their money each month. The Challenge gives a glimpse into just how little the minimum wage provides. It is not enough to live on—much less enough to invest back into the community. Whatever happens — good or bad — by sharing our experiences you will help highlight the critical need to raise the federal minimum wage.

Visit Livethewage.com to learn more about the challenge and read the stories of minimum wage workers and the struggles they face. The Challenge starts on the anniversary and goes for one week: from Thursday, July 24th until Wednesday, July 30th. Invite your friends, your neighbors, your congregation, your co-workers to join. And if you take part, be sure to chronicle the whole experience on social media using the hashtag #LiveTheWage. The more participants share their experiences with others, the bigger the impact we’ll have on the national conversation around the minimum wage.

BOTTOM LINE: Take part in the Live the Wage challenge by walking in the shoes of a minimum wage worker and living on just $77 for a week. We can keep the momentum going to raise the minimum wage – and keep the pressure on legislators who are saying no.

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