Women Respond To Palin -- Part 2, MomsRising

A "grassroots" letter that will be presented to Sarah Palin by MomsRising is currently on their site, available for signature. To date, 20,000 women's names have been collected. The question is asked of Palin, "Where do you stand on issues that matter to me?" After extending heartfelt congratulations to the Governor on her path from "PTA to Vice Presidential candidate," the organization gets down to brass tacks by specifically asking what she and the Republican Party would do for mothers and families.

MomsRising was founded in 2006. It grew out of a book project undertaken by Joan Blades
and Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner. Released on Mother's Day of that year, The Motherhood Manifesto, "explored the struggles of the American family."

It later became a documentary film. Having reached a critical mass with their extensive research data, Blades and Rowe-Finkbeiner decided to mobilize the strength behind mothers' voices and their concerns.

A non-partisan organization, which works at the state and national level, MomsRising tackles problems that don't get adequate recognition. Statistics that the public should be aware of are underscored. For example, you may not hear on the campaign trail that 25% of families with children under six live in poverty, single mothers make 60 cents to a man's dollar, or that 75%
of American mothers are in the labor force.

The website has excerpts from Ann Crittenden's book The Price of Motherhood.
Included is the quote,

"...having a baby is the worse financial decision a woman can make."

On social security Crittenden writes,

"[Women] earn a zero for every year they spend caring for family members. This means that motherhood is the single biggest risk factor for poverty in old age."

With a present membership of 160,000, MomsRising has the muscle to request Palin to clarify her positions. They want to know where she stands on "healthcare, fair pay, paid family and medical leave, early learning, paid sick days, and flex-work options.

I interviewed Joan Blades by telephone to get her reaction to Palin -- who actively references
her role as a mother. "We haven't heard her agenda yet," Blades told me. "The focus needs
not to be on [her] personal family issues, but what she would do as Vice President."

Blades spoke passionately about the "40,000 children in kindergarten who are home alone
after school," and "the heart-wrenching" e-mail correspondence that she receives. Many
write her to discuss the conflicting choices they are forced to face, often between "feeding their children or taking care of them." Blades emphasized, "We've got to get to the issues, so that
all women have the supports that they need. We need to make it possible for people to choose work."

For Blades the question is, "Where are they [Republicans] leading?" She is concerned with "substance, not just form." In December of 2007, MomsRising was part of a consortium that reached out to all the candidates running in the primaries, with a survey soliciting their positions on "family friendly policy." Every Democratic contender responded. There was no follow-up from the Republicans.

With Palin not yet weighing in on specifics, if McCain's past record sets the tone for his potential administration, the future is dismal. In late spring, McCain (although not present for the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act vote) suggested that the legislation wasn't necessary because women needed more "education and training." Blades qualified that point of view as "just outrageous."

Perhaps that is one of the reasons MomsRising has mobilized MomsVote'08. Their set task is
to ensure that the country's 80 million mothers are registered, vote, and get involved. Using
the slogan "Use your outside voice!" (a tag line any mother would love), they have aligned with ninety other organizations on this endeavor.

Motherhood has always been used to invoke visceral reactions to a wide range of agendas.
With Palin presenting herself as a "pit-bull" on the case, MomsRising is making it their job
to find out what she supports, and if she is all bark and no bite.

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Comments

[stayinsouth1981]

Where does she stand on the issue of female ministers or deacons? Is it against her beliefs for a woman to have these roles in the church?

How do you feel about it?

[MM216]

Palin hasn't talked to the press, with the exception of the Charlie Gibson one.
Isn't she at least capable of answering questions which are pertinent to women and/or to mothers ON HER OWN?
She hasn't.
And to me, that says she can't.

[gaja]

Doesn't it tell you anything that since nominated Palin has not been INTERVIEWED by the press and asked to STATE her position?? She has only repeated a few Rovian talking points again and again. She and her husband are obstructing justice in Alaska! You should not have to SUBPOENA these people to get an answer to a question! As a woman, I find her positions offensive and the fact that the media has not demanded any real answers, a month before the election, even more disturbing...

[SailFree]

Our research suggests that a subdivision of one of the largest public relations firms in the world most likely started and promulgated rumors about Sarah Palin that were known to be false. These rumors were spread in a surreptitious manner to avoid exposure.

It is also likely that the PR firm was paid by outside sources to run the smear campaign. While not conclusive, evidence suggests a link to the Barack Obama campaign. Namely:

* Evidence suggests that a YouTube video with false claims about Palin was uploaded and promoted by members of a professional PR firm.

* The family that runs the PR firm has extensive ties to the Democratic Party, the netroots, and are staunch Obama supporters.

* Evidence suggests that the firm engaged in a concerted effort to distribute the video in such a way that it would appear to have gone viral on its own. Yet this effort took place on company time.

* Evidence suggests that these distribution efforts included actions by at least one employee of the firm who is unconnected with the family running the company.

* The voice-over artist used in this supposedly amateur video is a professional.

* This same voice-over artist has worked extensively with David Axelrod's firm, which has a history of engaging in phony grassroots efforts, otherwise known as "astroturfing."

* David Axelrod is Barack Obama's chief media strategist.

* The same voice-over artist has worked directly for the Barack Obama campaign.

[Cakey4814]

Wow..your research is astounding..now can you refute some of the McCain/Palin lies about Obama?

[mema01]

Evidence suggests?????? Evidence suggests????? It sound to me that your evidence suggests that you are spreading rumors yourself. Grow up!!

[EvasDaddy]

You stated one fact in your diatribe: " David Axelrod is Barack Obama's chief media strategist."

We already knew that. Care to offer any specifics about the rest of your slush?

[BarackMarley]

I know what she stands for, Alaskan secession. She was part of a radical Alaskan secessionist group, AKIP, as well as her husband. Here's an interview with their founder on her involvement.

http://newsone.com/elections/article/akip-interview-on-palin