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Gearing Up For Netroots Nation!
Here's a quick note from Arshad Hasan, Executive Director of Democracy for America about Netroots Nation:
I love this time of year. Spring has sprung, election season is in full gear and we’re a month out from the best progressive conference of the year. I’m talking about Netroots Nation. This year, we were able to partner up with America’s Voice and CCC to send 40 amazing activists from across the country to Providence, Rhode Island from June 7-11.
We finished up our scholarship competition last week and have finally selected our last set of recipients. During this competition and process I’m amazed by the passion and commitment these scholars possess to create so much change in their communities.
For instance, Imraan Siddiqi, out of Phoenix Arizona created an organization, StopIslamophobiaNow, which does exactly what it calls for – Stops Islamophobia. After 9/11 because of urging from his wife, Imraan began speaking out as an advocate for his community. Living in a tea party stronghold can be difficult and finding a platform for your voice can be even more difficult – Imraan kept up the mission and the belief in education and has now been published on blogs like Huffpo and in Portland Oregon newspaper, The Oregonian, on ending Islamophobia. I’m can’t tell you how excited I am to meet Imraan.
Then there’s Daniel Lee – The co-chair of Move to Amend Los Angeles. Daniel’s passion is stamping out the idea of corporate personhood. In 2010 the Supreme Court made one of the most radical decisions of my time – overturning years of campaign finance reform to allow money to flow freely into our elections. If you’re anything like Daniel, you believe that this decision corrupts the very moral fiber of our country and has the potential to destroy our democracy. Daniel is making waves out in California and the conference will be a great time to ask him ways you can help overturn Citizens United.
And I can’t tell you how excited I am to share with you that we’re providing a scholarship for Mary Ellen Broderick a grassroots activist out of New Mexico who co-founded Democracy for New Mexico. Her partner of 23 years, Barbara Wold, passed away last year. Mary Ellen saw Barbara commit her life to being a grassroots activists and the backbone of their community. Mary Ellen wants to honor Barbara now that she was gone by running for the New Mexico House of Representatives. I cannot wait to have you all meet her. She is incredible.I wish I had the opportunity to tell you about all of our scholars that you have the chance to meet in Providence this year (and don’t tell me you haven’t registered - click here NOW to do so!). Not only will you meet our scholars at this year’s conference but you have the opportunity to meet our candidates at the Candidates Reception We're hosting. You can also attend the DFA Member Caucus - click here for more information and to sign up! I bet, you now find yourself just as happy as I expressed to you at the start of this piece.
DFA's home for a free form, open-ended discussion of what matters most to committed progressive activists.
Still neck-and-neck
A message from Jim Dean, Chair of Democracy for America:
This is it in Wisconsin.
Election Day is June 5 -- and early voting has already started.
DFA members across the country have been in this fight from the very beginning -- and we need to be there at the very end.
A new poll released yesterday shows right-wing Gov. Scott Walker up by
just three points. That's inside the margin of error -- a statistical
tie.
The most important thing we can do now is get voters to the polls -- and we need your help to do it.
Can you make calls to Wisconsin voters this Saturday, May 26, and help turn out Democrats?
Yes! I can make calls to voters this weekend!
Sorry, I can't make calls, but I'll contribute $5 to help Get Out The Vote.
Republicans are going all-in. Scott Walker's campaign has already spent
$21 million trying to whitewash his record of attacking middle class
families. The RNC says they'll spend whatever it takes to win. And Super
PACs are spending millions trying to tear Democrats down.
They're drowning us in attack ads, but the polls haven't moved an inch.
We were neck and neck six months ago, and we're neck and neck today.
There are virtually no undecided voters left, so it all comes down to
Getting Out The Vote. Whoever best turns out their base will in.
Can you help make calls to Democratic voters this weekend?
Yes! I can make calls to voters this weekend!
Sorry, I can't make calls, but I'll contribute $5 to help Get Out The Vote.
Thank you for everything you do.
-Jim
Jim Dean, Chair
Democracy for America
What We're Reading - War on Women Edition
This week’s What We’re Reading combines two weeks. What do you find when you combine two weeks worth of news features - the War on Women and the idea that LGBT people are second class citizens is perpetuated by the GOP week after week. While we cover topics from BPAs in cosmetics and canned goods to expressing and sharing gratitude, one thing remains clear - a women’s role is not strictly left at home. Do you see each of these issues below being relevant as Women's issues? We do. Check out this week’s readings.
Jay Henderson, National Field Organizer
Pick of the Week:
“I have long held that the policies and practices of campaigns serve as insights into how the politician would act as a leader. The message is clear: gays would not be welcome in a Romney Administration and Romney would bend to pressure from the conservative right.”
GOP: No Gays Allowed
By Andrew Sullivan
“The GOP will have no gays within it unless they are prepared openly to oppose their own core rights and dignity. Romney has gone from promising to be more pro-gay in the Senate than Ted Kennedy than hanging a lone gay spokesman out to dry and pledging to wring into the very constitution that gays are second class citizens.”
Kate Lesniak, Finance Deputy Director
Pick of the Week:
“If you haven’t been paying attention to BPA and artificial endocrine disruptors and the acute harm exposure to them causes, now is the time to read this article. In many other countries, BPA and other ED’s have been entirely banned by governments without partisan argument -- as it’s threat to human health has been published time and again. We can’t wait any longer to acknowledge that it’s time for Congress to no longer pander to corporate interests and ban the use of artificial endocrine disruptors entirely."
How Chemicals Affect Us
By Nicholas D Kristof
“Endocrine disruptors are everywhere. They’re in thermal receipts that come out of gas pumps and A.T.M.’s. They’re in canned foods, cosmetics, plastics and food packaging. Test your blood or urine, and you’ll surely find them there, as well as in human breast milk or cord blood of newborn babies.”
Laurie Childers, Accountant
Pick of the Week:
“Here is a good example of how the conservative right is using bold face lies to convince the public that everybody expect for them are liars and everyone else is out to get the government to take and waste more taxpayer money. What can we do about these lies? What are your ideas?”
Top Republican Strategist Denies Women are Paid Less Than Men
By Igor Volsky
“This morning, during a heated discussion with Rachel Maddow on Meet The Press, GOP consultant Alex Castellanos denied that women make 77 cents for a man’s dollar in the workplace and noted, ‘there are lots of reasons for that.’ Maddow expressed shock at the assertion, but concluded that it explained why the Republicans and Mitt Romney are so hesitant to embrace the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, a law that helps women hold accountable employers who discriminate in the pay practices based on gender.”
Kristina Powell, Finance Director
Pick of the Week:
“It’s far too easy to get caught up in the nastiness of politics and let it permeate into our daily lives. This article gives some clear, small steps that can be taken to bring gratitude in the heart.”
25 Ways to Pay it Forward Today
By Jen Nicomedes
“Recently, a good friend invited me to partake in the act of sharing daily gratitude. The idea is simple: We submit gratitude affirmations to each other - and people around us -- as many times as possible throughout the day, every day. Since I accepted her invitation more than four weeks ago, I started to feel more blessed and grounded about everyone and everything around me.”
Ljubica Sarafov, Campaign Academy Organizer
Pick of the Week:
"Just learned about the ‘Don’t say gay’ bill in Missouri: Missouri’s Don’t Say Gay bill would not only prohibit schools from discussing LGBT issues, but it would also keep Gay-Straight Alliances (GSA’s) from being approved as extracurricular entities and meeting on school grounds - Ridiculous stuff!”
...A Day in the Life of Missouri’s Don’t Say Gay Bill...
By Sharkfu on Feministing
“As reported in the Kansas City Star, Rep Cookson believes that schools should focus on math and science and leave everything else to parents..’When we start going off in other directions that I feel like are social engineering, we’ve lost focus on what our core mission in schools is, and that is to teach skills we need to be successful’.”
Julielyn Gibbons, Training Director
Pick of the Week:
“Social media is often labeled as a time-waster and a distraction from ‘real work’, but there are many practical applications in our daily lives, particularly in organizing. It’s great to see social media being put to use for social good, and how Facebook’s initiative this past week help boost the numbers of individuals who have signed up to become organ donors. Have you registered in your state?"
Facebook Organ Donor Initiative Prompts 100,000 Users to Select New Option
By Mike Stobbe
“The response ‘dwarfs any pat organ donation initiative,’ said David Fleming, chief executive of Donate Live America, in a statement. The Facebook feature allows users to share their decision to be an organ donor on thee website. More than 100,000 did that by Tuesday night, according to Facebook, which is working with Fleming’s group to encourage Facebook users to also officially register as donors with their state.”
Amanda McKay, Executive Assistant to Gov. Howard Dean
Pick of the Week:
"I love Hillary Clinton and I love Jason Segel, so when I saw this headline I had to read it. I respect Hillary Clinton for the work she has done as Secretary of State (and before that Senator and First Lady). I love that such highly respected, brilliant and such a serious woman can still have fun while in the spotlight."
Hillary Clinton Reject Jason Segel’s Co-Star Offer
Posted on Huffington Post
"Hillary Clinton may be down with texting and letting loose in Cartegena nightclubs, but she’s not ready for her big-screen debut -- at least not yet.”
Do me a solid
This blog has been cross posted over at Booman Tribune.
Back on March 28th, I wrote about the Montana Corrupt Practices Act amicus brief. As a reminder, one consequence of the horrid Citizens United Supreme Court ruling is that it invalidated state laws that limit or ban corporate financing of elections. The Montana law, passed in 1912 to deal with a ridiculous amount of influence by the Copper Kings, was challenged in state court by a new batch of corporate cronies. Surprisingly, the Montana Supreme Court gave the middle finger to the Supreme Court of the United States and upheld the law. That led the SCOTUS to issue a stay. Soon they will hear the case.
Now, the amicus brief is something that is submitted to the SCOTUS by third parties who have an interest in the outcome of a case and who may have some unique insights to offer the Court. For example, the nation's attorneys general have experience enforcing campaign finance laws and they know how money can corrupt. So far, we've been able to enlist the solid commitment of twenty-two state Attorneys General (plus the AG of the District of Columbia) to sign onto an amicus brief that argues that Citizens United was wrongly decided. We're aiming higher. Today, Democracy for America is delivering petitions to 11 Attorneys General, eight of whom we want to thank and three who we think should support the brief (in Florida, Oklahoma, and Oregon).
So, here's what I am asking you to do. Find your Attorney General on the list below. If they haven't already said 'yes,' dial that phone number and tell whomever answers the phone that you support Montana Attorney General Steve Bullock's effort to protect his state'sCorrupt Practices Act and that you expect your Attorney General to join with him by supporting the amicus brief. Citizens United was wrongly decided.
Then go here and tell us how your call went.
STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL
PHONE NUMBER SUPPORT STATUS
Alabama Luther Strange
334-242-7300 Not Yet Alaska 907-465-2133 Not Yet Arizona Tom Horne
602-542-5025 Not Yet Arkansas Dustin McDaniel
501-682 2007 Yes California Kamala Harris
800-952-5225 Yes Colorado John Suthers
303-866-4500 Not Yet Connecticut George Jepsen
860-808-5318 Yes Delaware Beau Biden
302-577-8400 Yes District of Columbia Irvin Nathan
202-727-3400 Yes Florida Pam Bondi
850-414-3990 Not Yet Georgia Sam Olens
404-656-3300 Not Yet Hawaii David Louie
808-586-1500 Yes Idaho Lawrence Wasden
208-334-2400 Yes Illinois Lisa Madigan
217-782-1090 Yes Indiana Greg Zoeller
317-232-6201 Not Yet Iowa Thomas John Miller
515-281-5164 Yes Kansas Derek Schmidt
785-296-2215 Not Yet Kentucky Jack Conway
502-696-5300 Yes Louisiana Buddy Caldwell
225-326-6079 Not Yet Maine William Schneider
207-626-8800 Not Yet Maryland Doug Gansler
410-576-6300 Yes Massachusetts Martha Coakley
617-727-2200 Yes Michigan Bill Schuette
517-373-1110 Not Yet Minnesota Lori Swanson
651-296-3353 Yes Mississippi Jim Hood
601-359-3680 Not Yet Missouri Chris Koster
573-751-3321 Not Yet Montana Steve Bullock
406-444-2026 Yes Nebraska Jon Bruning
402-471-2682 Not Yet Nevada Catherine Cortez Masto
775-684-1100 Yes New Hampshire Michael Delaney
603-271-3658 Not Yet New Jersey Jeffrey Chiesa
609-984-5828 Not Yet New Mexico Gary King
505-827-6000 Yes New York Eric Schneiderman
800-771-7755 Yes North Carolina Roy Cooper
919-716-6400 Yes North Dakota Wayne Stenehjem
701-328-2210 Not Yet Ohio Mike DeWine
614-466-4986 Not Yet Oklahoma Scott Pruitt
405-521-3921 Not Yet Oregon John Kroger
503-378-4400 Not Yet Pennsylvania Linda Kelly
717-787-3391 Not Yet Rhode Island Peter Kilmartin
401-274-4400 Yes South Carolina Alan Wilson
803-734-3970 Not Yet South Dakota Marty Jackley
605-773-3215 Not Yet Tennessee Robert Cooper, Jr.
615-741-3491 Not Yet Texas Greg Abbott
512-463-2100 Not Yet Utah Mark Shurtleff
801-366-0260 Yes Vermont William Sorrell
802-828-3171 Yes Virginia Ken Cuccinelli
804-786-2071 Not Yet Washington Rob McKenna
360-753-6200 Yes West Virginia Darrell McGraw
304-558-2021 Yes Wisconsin JB Van Hollen
608-266-1221 Not Yet Wyoming Gregory Phillips
307-777-7841 Not Yet
Republicans are watching
A message from Michael Langenmayr
Our campaign to recall right-wing Gov. Scott Walker and his anti-union, anti-middle class cronies in the State Senate has caught the attention of Republicans across the country.
Republicans see Walker as a leader. They see his War on Working Families -- smashing unions, defunding Planned Parenthood, and passing harsh voter ID laws to keep students, seniors and the poor from voting -- as a blueprint to follow in states across the country. They see it as a plan to crush Democrats and turn blue states red -- and Walker basically admitted as much in a video put online last week.
We need to send a message to Scott Walker and his Republican fan boys across the country -- attack the middle class and you will lose.
All the polls are split dead-even and there are virtually no undecided voters left -- that's why we're on the ground knocking on doors in Wisconsin right now. This race will come down to Getting Out The Vote. Whoever best turns out their base on Election Day wins. It's that simple.
Can you chip in $10 to the DFA Wisconsin recall campaign and help turn out Democrats to vote in the June 5 recall?
Make no mistake about it -- this isn't going to be an easy fight.
Walker and his right-wing backers like Karl Rove and the Koch brothers are outspending Democrats five-to-one in Wisconsin. They're drowning us in vicious attack ads.
That's why we're knocking on doors. There is nothing more effective than talking to voters face-to-face and we're on track to hit 127,353 doors across the state as part of our campaign.
We're going to win this campaign and we're going to do it with people-power.
Please contribute $10 to the DFA Wisconsin recall campaign right now.
Thank you for all that you do.
-Michael
Michael Langenmayr, Political Director
Democracy for America
My First Mother's Day
A message from Mia Moore:
This is my first Mother's Day as a mom. My son William was born almost six months ago on Thanksgiving Day. There was a lot to be thankful for that day.
Celebrating my first Mother's Day has made me think a lot about my mom, Dee. She's a speech pathologist with Milwaukee Public Schools. She helps kids learn how to talk. Sometimes these kids struggle because of a birth defect or because they have special developmental needs. In more than 35 years, my mom has helped over 700 kids, devoting herself to figuring out exactly what each child needs to learn how to talk and then patiently working with them day by day, week by week.
As a Wisconsin teacher, my mom has seen Republican Gov. Scott Walker's attacks on women and working families up close. And we've all seen the attacks on women and mothers across the country.
So, this Mother's Day, do more than just call your mother -- stand up for women and mothers everywhere. Pledge to support women running for office near you.
Women and mothers are under attack. The War on Women threatens to cut off access to vital healthcare and the War on Working Families threatens fair pay laws that ensure women earn equal pay for equal work.
Electing strong women candidates to office gives voices to mothers in communities across the country. So please, celebrate this Mother's Day by pledging to volunteer or contribute to women candidates near you.
Thank you for everything you do.
-Mia
Mia Moore, Chief of Staff (aka William's mom)
Democracy for America
Why Recall Scott Walker?
This post was cross posted on Booman Tribune.
When he was running for the office, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker made a promise to create 250,000 private sector jobs and 10,000 new businesses in his state by the end of his first term. He is not making good progress. So far, under his leadership, Wisconsin has added only 5,900 private sector jobs. The governor got off to a bad start. In his first year in office, Wisconsin was dead-last in the country in job creation. It was the only time in twenty years of record keeping that Wisconsin suffered that indignity. The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) showed that Wisconsin was the only state in the nation to suffer statistically significant job losses between March 2011 and March 2012. That was in large part because the state shed nearly 18,000 public sector jobs.
The public sector has been under sustained attack
since Walker took over the government. In addition to massive lay-offs
and the revocation of collective bargaining rights, the workers who
remain are spending an average of 3,000 additional dollars a year on
their health care plans and have taken a collective pay-cut estimated at
$700 million. Another nearly billion dollars has been taken out of the
Wisconsin economy through cuts to state programs and projects.
Walker's radicalism has done damage across the board. By outright rejecting $553 million in federal funds ($390 million for high-speed rail and $130 million for Medicaid), the governor destroyed an estimated 4,700 private-sector jobs. In explaining Wisconsin's anemic jobs performance, Walker can't point to a down economy or outside forces. His state has been the worst performer in the country, and he has no one to blame but himself.
In the normal course of things, you'd think major industrialists and capitalists would be profoundly disappointed in Governor Walker's performance in office. He's not making anyone money. Wisconsin isn't a place they want to invest. There has been no explosion of new businesses opening up. But these aren't normal times, and Walker isn't being judged on normal factors. Consider the biggest donors to his recall effort:
Walker’s biggest donors include Sheldon Adelson, the casino magnate who kept Newt Gingrich afloat and fed $250,000 to the first-term governor; Rich DeVos, the Orlando Magic owner and Christian conservative founder of Amway, who also kicked in a quarter-million; and Texas home builder Bob Perry, known for bankrolling Republican causes ranging from Mitt Romney’s campaign to Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, who gave Walker $240,000. Foster Friess, who earned renown as Rick Santorum’s benefactor, gave $100,000. Americans for Prosperity, funded by the conservative Koch brothers, shelled out $700,000 to run TV ads in Wisconsin. ”We’re helping him, as we should. We’ve gotten pretty good at this over the years,” Koch told a reporter from the Palm Beach Post in February.
For these billionaire conservatives, funding Walker isn't about creating jobs in Wisconsin. It's part of an ideological battle to destroy unions and privatize everything that isn't nailed down. Just by applying some downward pressure on wages, Walker is making his benefactors happy.
Meanwhile, a 12th person has been granted immunity in a case close enough to Scott Walker that he was allowed to create a legal defense fund.
In Wisconsin, they have a governor who has the worst job creation record in the country, who is funded by ideological billionaires, who is under active investigation for committing crimes when he was the County Commissioner of Milwaukee, and whose actions have been so radical and polarizing that he could become only the third governor in the nation's history to be recalled from office. Yet, a Rasmussen poll out today says he's going to win. And he might. He has a better than 20-to-1 cash advantage on his opponent, Tom Barrett.
Let's end Citizens United together
A message from Russ Feingold:
We've seen an explosion of big money in our political process, since the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision two years ago. That decision gave corporations and the super rich a green light to spend unlimited amounts of money to try and buy our democracy. It's outrageous.
We've fought back before, and we have to fight back again. While in the Senate, I helped bridge the political divide in Washington to end "soft money," a process that allowed corporations and big money to try to corrupt our political process with unlimited contributions to the parties. I partnered with Sen. John McCain, and together, with the McCain-Feingold law, we closed the door to these corrupt practices.
Unfortunately, with the Citizens United decision, the Supreme Court gutted 100 years of settled law underlying our reforms. But now we have an opportunity to change that reckless decision.
Will you join me and Montana Attorney General Steve Bullock on Tuesday, May 1 for a DFA Live where you'll get the inside scoop on what we can do -- together -- to overturn Citizens United and stand up for common sense campaign finance laws?
Steve and I, along with folks all across the country, understand that big money and Super PACs have no place in politics. We simply cannot allow unlimited corporate spending to taint our political process any longer. It's against the very nature of democracy.
Join me Tuesday, May 1 to take our country back -- and end the corrupting influence of big business on our political process.
Suzanne, the road to overturn Citizens United may be long, but with enough of us working together, we will send a clear message that we the people do have a voice. Besides, that's what democracy is all about.
Join me.
- Russ
Russ Feingold
A base election
A message from Kaili Lambe:
Dear DFA Member:
A new poll out this week shows right-wing Gov. Scott Walker just a few points ahead. But more importantly -- it shows there are virtually no undecided voters left in the recall race.
This is a base election and whoever best turns out their supporters wins. That's why we're organizing a massive ground campaign to put us over the top.
We're going to knock on 127,353 doors in 35 days -- that's 3,638 doors a day. We're going to make it happen with 36 canvassers backed up by hundreds of volunteers across the state.
But in order to start knocking on doors on time, we need to raise $110,000 by the end of the month.
Can you pitch in $12 right now to make sure we get there?
Thousands of DFA Wisconsin members have been organizing for months to make sure Walker and his right-wing cronies in the State Senate are recalled. I'm flying out to Wisconsin in just six days and I'll be on the ground through the election to back up our members on the ground.
On top of our massive ground campaign, we're going to have volunteers making tens of thousands of phone calls. We'll even be on the air with hard-hitting ads featuring real Wisconsinites telling their personal stories -- the sort of ads that will cut through the spin and consultant-driven attack ads right before elections.
But we can't do it without you.
Please contribute $12 now to put an end to the Wisconsin War on Working Families.
I'll be on the ground in Wisconsin for six weeks and, with your support, I know we can win these crucial recalls.
Thanks for everything you do.
- Kaili
Kaili Lambe, Campaign Manager
Democracy for America
Election Fraud
This message is from Nick Passanante:
DFA Member -
This is getting ridiculous. On Tuesday, four Republican activists tied to Scott Walker and the Wisconsin GOP submitted "Declarations of Candidacy" to run in the recall elections for State Senate...as Democrats!
According to the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign and leading election attorneys, these Republicans running as self-proclaimed "fake Democrats" are likely committing election fraud. At the very least, it's a sleazy, un-democratic gimmick that is set up to confuse and manipulate voters.
Help us fight back against "Fake Democrats" -- Contribute $12 today to the DFA Wisconsin Recall Campaign.
We've seen this before -- Republicans ran "fake Democrats" last summer to delay the recall process, and in doing so cost the state of Wisconsin over $500,000. This year, they aren't even trying to hide their motives. Scared of running on their failed policies that have killed public education funding, relegated women back to the 17th century, and made Wisconsin the worst in the country for job growth, they are doing the only thing they can do: delay the inevitable.
But DFA has a plan to combat this fraud with the largest ground game in our history. We'll knock on over 125,000 doors in 35 days; we'll make thousands of phone calls; we'll mobilize our more than 1 million members nationally and 25,000 members in Wisconsin to educate voters. And we'll be on the air with hard-hitting ads featuring personal stories of DFA members like you.
To make it all happen we're dedicating 8 full-time staff and 36 canvassers -- but this campaign is fully funded by small-dollar donors. Can you chip in $12 to make sure we have the resources to beat these "Fake Democrats" and Scott Walker on June 5th?
This fight is too important not to win. Please join us today.
- NickNick Passanante, Deputy Political Director
Democracy for America
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Blog for America
-
Gearing Up For Netroots Nation!
By Linsey P on May 24, 2012 1:35 PM EDT -
Still neck-and-neck
By Linsey P on May 23, 2012 2:20 PM EDT -
What We're Reading - War on Women Edition
By Linsey P on May 4, 2012 1:47 PM EDT -
Do me a solid
By Linsey P on May 18, 2012 12:31 PM EDT -
Republicans are watching
By Linsey P on May 15, 2012 12:46 PM EDT









