Women Brought Those GOP into the World and We Can Vote Them OUT of Congress!

Ladies, and the men who love them, it is time to make our voices heard. The actions of the GOP in Congress  and in state legislatures across the country have made it very clear that our concerns are not their priorities. The SCOTUS justices on the highest court in the land who were appointed by Republicans continue to rule against us as well. This latest ruling may well send more women to the polls this year than any GOTV effort we could marshal.

Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitas Zungia better known simply as Kos wrote an encouraging entry on the site. It is called:

"Democrats need women to vote, Hobby Lobby will deliver"

You can read it yourself here:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/06/30/1310677/-Democrats-need-women-to-vote-Hobby-Lobby-should-deliver#

In the piece, Kos, mentions the GOP's brief "rebranding effort" and notes their current "To hell with the ladies" attitude. He says there will be a woman president in 2016. (Guess who.) And, that she will appoint the next Supreme Court Justices. Well, I sure hope he's right because I've had enough of the GOP and the rulings of this court. 

If you know anyone who still asserts the moronic idea that there's no difference between the two major political parties, please refer them to the article and encourage them to open their minds and seek valid information sources. 

Will We on the Left Let Issues Divide Us?

Many forces are working diligently to divide the Left. They know they can beat us if they keep us focused on conflicting issues. If they can get us upset with Democrats over __________, ___________, &_________, etc. (You fill in the blanks.), then maybe we'll stay home in November. Let's be smarter than that. Whether you are a Yellow Dog, Blue Dog, Independent, Green, or other, this is the year to vote for Democrats! Put aside some of your key, heart-felt, issues and just do it! I am not kidding. Look what has happened since Republicans got control of the House of Representatives. Every good thing that passes the Senate, gets stalled in the House. Imagine if they also have control of the Senate! Do you think they will preserve whatever it was you put in those blanks above?

Please take a few minutes and check out this website: http://www.mytimetovote.com/ Believe me it is worth bookmarking and returning to when you have a question about politics or need to know anything about elections.

One tab I especially liked was the elections by state tab. I live in Illinois and this tab gives me tons of useful information about my state: http://elections.mytimetovote.com/illinois.html  It was on this tab that I was able to see census data comparing Illinois to the country as a whole. It also had links to key pieces of legislation enacted in my state legislature.

You can sign up on the site for the social side and receive notifications and alerts about upcoming elections: http://social.mytimetovote.com/ There's even a community forum section if you are so inclined.

"MYTIME2VOTE is a comprehensive one stop voting empowerment organization with the goal to both instill in the American citizens the importance of their participation in the democratic process of our great nation and to give them the tools and information to do it." http://www.mytimetovote.com/content/about.php

What Can We Do?

People are asking on social media what we can do about the state of our nation. I sense their utter frustration  in the question. Because we didn't do what we should have done in 2010, we are paying a price for not voting. I am saying "we" even though I sure did vote in 2010 and I am sure many others did as well. But, not enough of us did. Now we have our "DO NOTHING" Congress! Many of the GOP Congressional leaders told us when Barack Obama was elected that they were determined to make him a one term president. They got their Tea Party friends together and went to the polls and many Democrats sat it out as they often do for midterm elections. To make matters worse, we re-elected Barack Obama in 2012. Now, the GOP leaders have really dug their feet in; there is NO WAY they can work with him or those they answer to will set up candidates in the next primary and out they will go. They did it to Eric Cantor and tried to do it in Mississippi.

So back to the title question. What can we do? My answer is what we should all do in EVERY election. Get informed, get registered, vote early if you can, help others to get registered and vote. There is really no excuse for someone to be uninformed unless they are illiterate. The library has computers, magazines, and newspapers. There are hundreds of websites that are non-partisan and are doing their best to get the most accurate information to the citizens. Fair Vote is just one of many great websites.

http://www.fairvote.org/ This is a great site that is full of many types of voter information. "FairVote educates and empowers Americans to remove the structural barriers to achieving a representative democracy that respects every vote and every voice in every election."  

I am especially interested in their Reform 2020 initiative. Check it out here: http://www.reform2020.com/
I plan to write more about this site and the Reform 2020 initiative in future posts. In the meantime, please call your county Democratic party and ask how you can help turn out the vote for November 4. I know you don't want to wake up on Wednesday, November 5 with Republicans in charge of both Houses of Congress!

OUTRAGE!

Yesterday, the Supreme Court of the United States gave us two more reasons to vote for Democrats. Civics 101 teaches that presidents appoint justices. We currently have 5 of the 9 justices who were appointed by Republicans. Think about that and what they have done just in the last few years. Thursday's rulings are outrageous. Here are two articles explaining why:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/06/26/1309716/-Supreme-Court-effectively-kills-presidential-recess-appointments

http://thinkprogress.org/health/2014/06/26/3452966/buffer-zones-scotus/

https://www.facebook.com/ProgressiveDemocratsMovingForwardNotBack?ref_type=bookmark

Highlights from Two Current Ballot Measures

As with any good thing, there is also a flip side. Ballot measures are essential to our Democracy; but, they can also lead to dangerous, outrageous measures getting on our ballots. Today's post will highlight a couple measures that primary voters will decide.

In the August 5 Missouri Primary, citizens will see this question: "Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to include a declaration that the right to keep and bear arms is a unalienable right and that the state government is obligated to uphold that right?" The amendment was sponsored in the Missouri General Assembly by State Senator Kurt Schaefer (R-19) as Senate Joint Resolution 36." http://ballotpedia.org/Missouri_Right_to_Bear_Arms_Amendment_(August_2014)

The Missouri Governor, Jay Dixon (D), chose to place it on the August 5 primary ballot rather than the November 4 General Election ballot. The Ballotpedia website gives some background on gun laws in Missouri. It also tells proponents of the measure as well as opponents. As you can imagine, Republicans and the NRA are in favor of the measure.

Also on the August 5 Primary Ballot, only in Michigan, is the Use Tax and Community Stabilization Share, Proposal 1.

http://ballotpedia.org/Michigan_Use_Tax_and_Community_Stabilization_Share,_Proposal_1_(August_2014) 

Interestingly, this is a tax supported by Republicans! "The measure, upon voter approval, would reorganize the state use tax into a state share tax and local community stabilization share tax."  This measure has bi-partisan support and is being touted as a "win-win" for communities and citizens in Michigan. 

Both of these ballot measures were referred to citizens for a vote by their state legislatures. Only citizens who chose to vote in the primary will have a say in their passage. This is why voting in EVERY election is a right and a duty for every citizen. Ballotpedia and other websites, as well as local newspapers, help citizens to be informed.

Ballot Measures Empower Citizens

Ballot measures are vital to our Democracy and provide citizens with ways to participate and vote on policy issues at the local and state levels of government. Citizens in 26 states can use the initiative process to gather signatures and bring an issue to a public vote. Why only 26 states? The answer is because the other states have severely limited citizens rights. According to http://www.citizensincharge.org there are three main benefits of citizen initiatives. They are: better policy, holding legislatures accountable, and higher voter turnout. Initiative and referendum have been a part of our country's history since it was founded, but, those rights are being attacked and limited more and more each year.

In the spring of 2010, Citizens In Charge Foundation sponsored a poll of citizens in all 50 states and the majority responded in favor of citizens having the right to put measures on the ballots. The results were clear across the country. In every single state, Americans supported the initiative and referendum process by better than two-to-one margins.
In 48 of the 50 states, the margin of support was greater than three-to-one; in 40 of 50
states, citizens supported the initiative process by a four-to-one or greater margins. http://www.citizensinchargefoundation.org/files/Full%20Poll%20-%20Americans%20Want%20a%20Direct%20Say%20in%20Government.pdf

The http://www.citizensincharge.org/ website is a treasure trove of vital information for citizens who are interested in learning more about ballot measures and helping to preserve this essential part of our democracy. For a great, short video about a progressive organization dedicated to preserving the ballot initiative measure see this: http://ballot.org/ Please take a few minutes of your time and get involved today.

Ballot.org has the latest news on which measures are qualifying and carries the latest headlines on election issues. Stay informed and be involved. Our future depends on inform and involved citizens.

2014 Ballot Measures

Do you know the difference between an initiative and a referendum? I didn't until I started researching this post. Some of the ballot measures have already been approved by the voters during their Primary Elections earlier this year. Some initiatives have filed signatures and are awaiting certification to be place on the ballot. And some have not been certified for various reasons. There are One Hundred and Eight questions with certified spots on the ballots in 38 states as of June 4, 2014:  http://ballotpedia.org/2014_ballot_measures

So, here is the definition of initiative: "The ballot initiative is a means by which a petition signed by a certain minimum number of registered voters can bring about a public vote on a proposed statute or constitutional amendment.  Ballot initiatives are also called, depending on the state, "popular initiative," "voter initiative," "citizen initiative" or just "initiative." Twenty-four states allow ballot initiatives, which are a form of direct democracy." http://ballotpedia.org/Initiative  But wait, there's more: "Ballot initiatives may take the form of either the direct or indirect initiative. Under the direct initiative, a measure is put directly to a vote after being submitted by a petition. Under the indirect initiative, a measure is first referred to the legislature, and then only put to a popular vote if not enacted by the legislature." Refer to the previous link for more details if you are interested in learning which states allow and a brief history of initiatives in US History.

"A referendum has two distinct kinds of direct democratic votes that often get the designation of referendum: veto referendum and legislative referendum. Increasingly, the latter is being called a legislative referral." http://ballotpedia.org/Referendum

 "Here are the definitions to the two:

• Veto referendum. When a state legislature passes a law, and citizens collect signatures to place that law on the general election ballot so that the voters of the state can decide whether to keep it or nullify it. In some states, this is known as a citizen referendum.

• Legislative referral. This is a ballot measure that is placed on the ballot because a state legislature votes to have it appear on the ballot. In other words, no citizen signatures are collected to place the measure on the ballot."

"In 2014, there are seven election dates during which statewide measures will appear on the ballot." You can check to see if your state is one of them by going here: http://ballotpedia.org/2014_ballot_measures#By_date

My state, Illinois, has three measures on the ballot for the November election. I think an informed citizen needs to know what measures are on the ballot well before election day so they can make informed decisions and realize the implications of their vote. The measure I am most interested in is the advisory question (AQ) to raise the minimum wage. Look at the information available here on the measure: http://ballotpedia.org/Illinois_Minimum_Wage_Increase_Question_(2014) There are so many great websites providing voters with information that there really isn't a valid reason to be uninformed or to sit out an election because you aren't sure about the candidates or issues.