Just wanted to make sure you saw the great new ad Martha's campaign launched today, reminding us exactly how important it is we help elect Martha to the Senate.
In the ad, President Obama speaks at a campaign rally, telling the crowd about Martha's long record of service for the people of Massachusetts, including her tough stance on Wall Street and her work to protect citizens against predatory lenders.
Polls open in less than 24 hours in Massachusetts, where EMILY's List candidate Martha Coakley is racing toward the finish line. This race couldn't be tighter -- and the GOP is pulling out all the stops in an attempt to take over the Senate seat of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy.
But Martha's field operation is in full swing, and voter turnout will be critical. President Obama visited Massachusetts this weekend, helping to energize voters, make sure they know how critical this Democratic seat is, and get them to the polls tomorrow.
Here's a clip from his rally with Martha:
Already, the members of EMILY's List have made a remarkable difference in this race, mobilizing when Martha needed our support most. But she's going to need all hands on deck to keep this seat in the Democratic column. If you're interested in volunteering, click here to visit Martha's website.
If you're a Massachusetts voter, make sure to get your friends and family to the polls tomorrow! Martha's counting on you! Click here to find your polling location.
Polls show a volatile race in Massachusetts, and there's no doubt voter turnout is going to decide whether Democrats keep our crucial 60th seat in the Senate.
EMILY's List candidate Martha Coakley is crisscrossing the state, meeting with voters and making sure they remember to get to the polls tomorrow. She's also continuing to bring in key endorsements in the final days of the race, including from the newspapers of her GOP opponent's hometown.
Here are a few clips from some of Martha's recent endorsements you won't want to miss:
Berkshire Eagle
"Democratic Attorney General Martha Coakley will be an ally in the fight to make America a better nation for all Americans, not just the privileged and well-connected. Republican state Senator Scott Brown will be just another "no" vote, a rubber-stamp with nothing positive to offer. The choice is that clear, the election that critical."
Springfield Republican
"We urge Bay State voters to ignore the attack ads and fear mongering and elect Martha Coakley as the person who will pick up the torch for Kennedy."
"Massachusetts needs a senator who understands the needs of middle-class families that are struggling to pay their mortgages, maintain their health coverage, send their kids to college and plan for their retirement. Those are the people Sen. Kennedy spent his 47-year career fighting for – and that’s who Martha Coakley will fight for."
New Bedford Standard Times
"In the attorney general's office, Coakley has carved out a position of leadership. She returned millions of dollars to the state from Big Dig contractors, protected homeowners in foreclosure from sham rescue schemes, and earlier in her career, prosecuted high-profile criminal cases, including those of alleged sexual predators."
Attleboro Sun Chronicle
"As the state's first female attorney general, Democrat Coakley since 2007 has proven herself an effective administrator. Throughout her career as a lawyer and district attorney she has exhibited rare skills in mediation and conciliation - the arts of finding middle ground for divergent viewpoints. It will serve her, and Massachusetts, well in the Senate."
The Boston Globe's headline says it all: "Conservative group launches another attack ad against Coakley."
Martha has been inundated by attacks, including some from the same people responsible for the Willie Horton and Swiftboat ads. And now, they're on the attack again.
Fortunately, Martha's supporters are fighting back against the attacks and bolstering Martha's qualifications and dedication to Massachusetts citizens. In an ad released today, Vicki Kennedy, wife of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, speaks about her decision to support Martha's campaign.
Watch it here:
Former President Bill Clinton is appearing at an event for Martha today, and President Barack Obama has also announced he'll head to Massachusetts this weekend to help get voters to polls.
We're thrilled Martha has the support of top Democratic leaders in this race -- but we also know she'll need everyone of us standing behind her to win this seat. The polls continue to show this will be neck-and-neck until election day, and it's going to take all of us, working together, to secure a victory for Martha.
And, if you're a Massachusetts voter, click here to find your polling location -- and don't forget to bring your friends and family members to the polls with you on Tuesday!
If you're interested in volunteering for Martha, visit her campaign website for more information.
When it comes to women's rights, GOP Senate candidate Scott Brown has made one thing clear: women voters should turn and run.
Reproductive rights have become a central issue of the Massachusetts special election, where EMILY's List candidate Martha Coakley has taken a strong stand in defense of abortion rights. Brown, however, hasn't been quite so forthright.
Representatives of NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Organization for Women, and the Massachusetts Women’s Political Caucus held a joint press conference this week where they spoke of Brown's use of “smoke and mirrors’’ to conceal a record dangerous for women, including sponsoring an amendment that would have allowed hospital employees to deny emergency contraceptives to victims of sexual assault based on religious beliefs.
Here's what Andrea Miller, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts, said:
“Time and again, Scott Brown has shown that he is willing to compromise, for political gain, the health and well-being of some of the most vulnerable women in Massachusetts...And this includes victims of sexual assault.’’
Brown recently filed legislation that would allow the elimination of mandated coverage for critical health services for women -- including mammograms and maternity care.
Massachusetts women certainly deserve more than what Brown has to offer. Fortunately, Martha Coakley has proven herself a committed advocate for women and girls -- and she's exactly the candidate we need in the Senate.
The right-wing is coming out in full force for GOP candidate Scott Brown in the Massachusetts special Senate election. And with voters heading to the polls just one week from today to fill the seat of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, it's sure to be a sprint to the finish between Brown and EMILY's List candidate Martha Coakley.
While Coakley's being hit by the American Future Fund, which has already spent $700,000 on the race, reports are that Brown is receiving major support from the Chamber of Commerce and the so-called Tea Party movement. In an appeal to supporters, one Tea Party leader said Brown's election to the Senate "would strip Democrats of the ability to pass the [health care] bill." He also called for Tea Partiers to "throw all of our resources behind Brown" to help him win. So far, right-wing third-party groups have spent $1.2 million on the race.
Brown has also made a major fundraising push on his website, a "moneybomb event," which helped him raise $1.3 million in just 24 hours. His recent appearances on Fox News -- and some buzz from Rush Limbaugh -- have no doubt helped his fundraising efforts.
Martha has been reaching out to voters and we know she's the candidate to carry on the progressive legacy of Sen. Ted Kennedy. But we can't afford to take any chances, especially with Democrats' 60-seat majority on the line.
The New York Daily News is reporting that, after deciding not to run for governor, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani "will run for U.S. Senate," pitting him against EMILY's List candidate Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand.
From the story:
A source familiar with Giuliani's thinking said the failed presidential candidate has been telling people he plans to run against Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in 2010 to fill out the remaining two years of Hillary Clinton's term.
If elected, the source said, he could use that as a stepping stone to run for President in 2012 - rather than run for re-election to the Senate.
Kirsten hit the ground running when she joined the Senate this January, and we know how crucial her voice is in Washington. We'll keep you updated on race developments as we learn more.
We knew the Missouri Senate race would be tight, but this open seat battle is shaping up to be one for the record books.
In a new survey by Public Policy Polling, EMILY's List candidate Secretary of State Robin Carnahan is running neck and neck with likely GOP nominee Cong. Roy Blunt. In the poll, Carnahan edged out Blunt with 43% of the vote, only one percent above Blunt's 42%. The poll's margin of error was ±3.6%. In the last PPP Missouri Senate poll -- conducted in January -- Carnahan led Blunt 45%-44%, showing this race will undoubtedly be close until the very end.
We're gearing up to make sure Robin has the resources she needs to communicate with and mobilize Missouri voters. We are encouraged that Carnahan's favorability ratings remain high.
Accordingto Dean Debnam of PPP, "If Robin Carnahan had faced off against Roy Blunt in any election year between 1996 and 2008, she would likely have won, given her superior popularity... But 2010 has the potential to be an extremely good year for Republicans, and that's made this race highly competitive."
This one will stay competitive all the way through Election Day.
The attacks are already flying in Ohio's 15th congressional district and, oddly enough, they're about an issue on which some believe the candidates would agree -- in theory.
Former right-wing state Sen. Steve Stivers sent out an email to supporters earlier today, calling EMILY's List candidate Cong. Mary Jo Kilroy a "rubber stamp" and arguing against her opposition to the Stupak/Pitts Amendment. Here's the kicker, though: Stivers took serious heat from Republicans when he ran against Kilroy in 2008 for his mixed choice record.
Confused? So were we.
Apparently, now that Stivers is looking for a rematch, he's planning to move farther to the right to win over the Republican base.
Stivers isn't the only one leveling attacks at Kilroy, either; the national GOP also is taking aim at the freshman congresswoman, according to Politico.
Kilroy has been a leading advocate for health care reform, including sharing her own story about dealing with multiple sclerosis. And, in a district that's trending more and more Democratic -- even going for Barack Obama in 2008 -- we know she can pull out a win and continue working on behalf of Ohioans. She'll have a tough re-election battle ahead -- but we know how critical her voice is in Washington, and we couldn't be prouder to stand with her.
We were shocked to watch Republican members of Congress attempt to silence members of the Democratic Women's Caucus as they spoke on the House floor this Saturday. But as frustrating as it was to watch, it must have been even more maddening for the women members who couldn't finish a sentence.
As EMILY's List alum Florida Cong. Debbie Wasserman Schultz pointed out, however, it wasn't just unbelievably rude. It also revealed exactly how GOPers view their women colleagues -- and women in general.
"We already have had a clear sense that Republicans were opposed to our efforts at advancing women's health interests. Now we know that they are opposed to letting women voice their opinions on health care as well...I've been in office for 17 years, and I have never seen a more disrespectful display than the one put on by my colleagues on the other side of the aisle Saturday morning, when they literally shouted down a group of female members who were just trying to discuss how the House health care reform bill will help women."
During a conference call with reporters today, Wasserman Schultz referred to the GOP actions as "Republicans' 'back-of-the-hand' treatment to women."
When the GOP runs out of ideas, it apparently relies on the tried and true tactics of preschoolers: tantrums.
As the House discussed rules of debate for today's health care talks, the Democratic women's caucus met with jeering, shouts, and predictable delay tactics when they addressed the floor. The women -- many of whom EMILY's List helped elect -- made their remarks while Republicans cried out objections for nearly 30 minutes.
Freshman Cong. Mary Jo Kilroy (OH-15), listening to a barrage of objections, responded, "Do I not have the right to be able to continue my sentence without objections that are trying to censor my remarks here on the floor that I have a right to make as a member of this House?"
Calls for civilized behavior and orderly conduct went largely unnoticed by Republicans, who later referred to the legislation as the “freedom-killing, job-killing Democratic healthcare bill.”.
Of course, it's no surprise that Republicans are doing what they can to delay a vote, but interrupting proceedings and talking over their colleagues on the House floor? That's a show of real leadership and integrity, isn't it?
Check out some of the low-lights compiled by Think Progress:
Only days after former John McCain campaign advisor and Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina jumped in to the race against EMILY's List Sen. Barbara Boxer (CA), Boxer has been making headlines of her own.
After several days of hearings in the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee, the climate bill Boxer introduced earlier this fall was passed in an 11-1 vote. If signed into law, the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act will create green jobs, set goals to reduce carbon pollution, and reassert America as a world leader in the fight against climate change.
Fiorina, who announced her decision in an op-ed piece in the Orange County Register earlier this week, has been contemplating challenging Boxer for months. Her Senate run should make for an interesting contest, considering her record. She's been on a handful of worst CEO lists, and she drew heat for taking a massive $21 million severance package after leaving HP. If this is any indication about what she'd bring to the Senate, that's plenty of cause for concern. Fortunately, Barbara is running a strong re-election campaign -- and she'll have us there with her every step of the way.
The Republicans are coming out swinging. They're determined to gain power in Congress next year, so they're eyeing seats across the country to put in the GOP's column.
The one they seem to be coveting the most? President Barack Obama’s Senate seat. As a columnist for the Chicago Sun-Timeswrote recently, “A win there would plant a flag high on the hill of a hoped-for Republican comeback.”
The frontrunner for the GOP's nomination, five-term Cong. Mark Kirk, has the funding and the party backing to make it to the general election. Fortunately, EMILY’s List candidate Cheryle Robinson Jackson is ready to ensure he doesn't go any farther than that. Robinson Jackson, the first woman president of the Chicago Urban League, is a recognized business and community leader with the experience and compassion to represent Illinois's citizens in Congress.
But Republicans obviously won't give up without a fight. As the Sun-Times noted, Kirk is moving farther to the right to attract the party's base, and he's counting on GOP supporters to build a formidable campaign war chest. Luckily, Robinson Jackson has the power of EMILY's List behind her.
We'll keep you updated as we learn more about the developments in this race -- and Republicans plans for victory in 2010.
We told you earlier about the NRCC's Young Guns program, which helps recruit and train GOPers in targeted open-seat and challenger races. And now we have news that the Young Guns are taking aim and increasing their numbers, adding 32 new GOP candidates to the program -- and using more gun analogies and references than ever!
Five EMILY's List incumbents were already matched up against Young Guns program participants -- and now, they're adding another. EMILY's List alum Cong. Gabrielle Giffords's (AZ-08) potential opponent, Jesse Kelly, has been added to the list. Recently endorsed candidate Julie Hamos (IL-10) now faces not just one, but three potential opponents enrolled in the program -- Beth Coulson, Bob Dold, and Dick Green.
We also learned that nine candidates have been elevated from the Young Guns' first step -- "on the radar" -- to the second "contender" level of the three-part program. New "contenders" include Cory Gardner, looking to run in CO-04 against Cong. Betsy Markey; Frank Guinta, a potential challenger for Cong. Carol Shea-Porter in NH-01; and Steve Stivers, who is hoping for a rematch against Cong. Mary Jo Kilroy in OH-15.
Other Young Guns facing EMILY's List incumbents include Van Tran in Cong. Loretta Sanchez's CA-47 district and Adam Kinzinger in recently endorsed Cong. Debbie Halvorson's IL-11 district. And in HI-01, EMILY’s List endorsed candidate Colleen Hanabusa's potential GOP opponent, Charles Djou, is also enrolled in the program.
Although the NRCC is certainly pulling out all the stops for these GOPers, there's no doubt this is far from the Republican'' complete list of targets for 2010 -- just one more reminder that we have to prepare now to protect and build on our majorities in Congress.
Former GOP House Whip Cong. Roy Blunt has done plenty of favors for his GOP colleagues in Congress, raising millions through his Rely on Your Beliefs PAC. Now, it appears, it's his turn to reap the benefits.
Last quarter, Blunt, who's running for Missouri Senate, was among the top Republican recipients of PAC money -- much of which came from his colleagues in Washington.
Many of the Republicans once helped by Blunt's PAC are donating to his Missouri Senate race, helping him raise nearly $100,000 last quarter from the PACs or campaign funds of congressional Republicans. Almost three out of four of the Republican House members who have given to Blunt's Senate race were once aided by his Rely on Your Beliefs PAC.
With friends like these, Blunt will have plenty of insider party help to build a massive campaign war chest -- and that's all the more reason EMILY's List candidate Robin Carnahan will be counting on our support to level the playing field and win in 2010.
When you hear something this outrageous, it seems too impossible to be real.
Newbie Sen. Al Franken wasn't looking for controversy when he introduced a legislative amendment recently. He was looking to right a wrong -- and do it in a way that, one would think, every one of his Senate colleagues would be proud to join him.
Of course, bipartisan support and a commitment to change was not at all what Franken got, after introducing an amendment that would prohibit federal funding for hiring contractors who require their employees to sign an agreement not to sue if they are raped on the job. That's right -- if a company won't let victims of abuse sue, the U.S. government won't hire them. Seems obvious, doesn't it?
Not so, according to the 30 Republican senators who voted against the amendment.
Franken proposed the amendment the same day he and his colleagues listened to the story of Jamie Leigh Jones. Jones testified that, at age 20, she was in her first week of work for Halliburton/KBR in Iraq, when she was drugged, gang-raped, and held captive in a shipping container by coworkers without food or water for at least 24 hours. A clause in her contract, however, forbade her from taking her story to trial. Instead, "secret, binding arbitration" was her only means of seeking justice.
"I had no idea that the clause was part of the contract, what the clause actually meant, or that I would eventually end up in this horrible situation," Jones said.
The amendment passed with a 68-30 vote, with all "nay" votes from Republican senators.
GOPers have called it a "political move" primarily aimed at Halliburton. For victims of abuse -- particularly in already dangerous locations like Iraq -- it's just the right thing to do. And voting otherwise is downright immoral.
Is that really what we're working with in the Senate?
GOP House Whip Cong. Eric Cantor isn't just planning personal attacks anymore. Now, he's helping his GOP buddies bring in cash that could go to more large-scale attacks on the campaign front.
Cantor, who organized some of the most outrageous antics we've seen on the House floor, is now doling out money to GOP 2010 candidates. Two of Cantor's chosen recipients are in races involving EMILY's List candidates, Colleen Hanabusa and Ohio Cong. Mary Jo Kilroy.
Hanabusa, in Hawaii's first congressional district, is running to fill the open seat being vacated by Democratic Cong. Neil Abercrombie. Cantor's ERIC (Every Republican Is Crucial) PAC gave $2,500 to Charles Djou, a Honolulu city councilman aiming to put the seat in the Republican column.
And in Ohio's 15th district, the ERIC PAC gave $2,500 to Kilroy challenger Steve Stivers, who's looking for a rematch after losing in 2008. Kilroy's already faced down a Cantor attack on the floor of the House, and we have no doubt she can overcome any Cantor gifts to Stivers to win re-election. But this is a powerful reminder to us that Republicans are gearing up for 2010 -- and we don't have a minute to waste to help our candidates build their war chests.
I honestly don't know what to say about reports that a Republican challenger to EMILY's List alum Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz actually shot at a picture meant to represent the congresswoman when he and his pals from the local Republican club got together at a shooting range.
I'd like to say this is an "Are you kidding me moment?!" but that doesn't even begin to cut it.
According to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, several members of the Southeast Broward Republican Club got together at a local shooting range this week. Robert Lowry, who is looking to unseat Wasserman Schultz next November, apparently saw this as an opportunity to let off steam. Lowry’s target was the traditional black human silhouette with the letters “DWS” scrawled next the silhouette’s head.
Obviously, Lowry's actions were horrifying. But even worse, Lowry initially called this a “joke”!
While Debbie has been speaking out about her own battle with breast cancer and the importance of breast cancer awareness month -- along with standing up for women's rights just this week -- her opponent has been shooting at her picture.
And this is the person Republicans want to send to Congress?
I never knew the GOP could be so downright poetic. RNC Chair Michael Steele had one heck of a quote today, letting voters know that Republicans have turned over a new leaf, sprouted new roots, blossomed all over again. (I really could go on forever.)
Speaking of two Republican gubernatorial candidates -- Virginia nominee Bob McDonnell and New Jersey nominee Chris Christie, Steele had the following to say:
"We have unfolded, if you will, the flower of new leadership in the Republican Party."
Maybe the GOP and I don't define "new" in the same way, but call it what you will, this GOP rose was always a GOP rose.
And, for two EMILY's List candidates, these particular roses aren't smelling so sweet. Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow joined Cong. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-20) on a conference call yesterday to explain exactly how out of touch with women's issues some GOP candidates are, including McDonnell and Christie.
"I think we have an outdated view, an extreme view, a lack of understanding of what women's lives are like today and the role of women in America," Stabenow said.
Regarding Christie's position not to require insurers to cover certain care, Wasserman Schultz said his plan would "take women back to the Dark Ages of drive-through deliveries." She continued, "He's not just wrong for women, he's frighteningly wrong."
Also on the call was Virginia state Rep. Margaret Vanderhye, who centered in on the controversy surrounding McDonnell's graduate school thesis. Calling the piece McDonnell's "blueprint" for Virginia, she said he was "disenfranchising half of the population."
Not exactly the types of leaders (or flowers) we'd want.
Speaker Pelosi had the perfect reaction today when a reporter asked her what she thought about a National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman suggesting that General McCrystal needs to "put her in her place" over her comments about the war in Afghanistan:
"It's really sad, they really don't understand how inappropriate that is.... I'm in my place. I'm the speaker of the House, the first woman speaker of the House, and I'm in my place because the House of Representatives voted me here. But that language is something I haven't even heard in decades."
Her tone is priceless. She's polite. She's clear about who she is and the power she wields. And darned if I don't detect a soupçon of pity for her completely clueless critics, who seem to be stuck in some bizarre "Mad Men" time warp when women were just starting to push back against clearly defined gender roles.
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