In the Midst of All This

In the midst of the intense health care battle and the angst about the Afghanistan decision, it's important to remember that there have been some pretty good accomplishments so far this year for progressives. We've moved forward quickly on initiatives like the Lily Ledbetter fair pay act, S-CHIP, a good (if too small) stimulus package, stem cell research. And we are making steady progress on health care.

It's easy to focus on the current fights -- I am focused 110% on health care for example -- and forget the other stuff that comes down the pipeline. Fortunately (or unfortunately as you may see it), our forefathers ensured that democracy via elections happens not just in even-numbered years, but in odd-numbered years, too. That means there are a number of key races coming down the pipeline this year.

You've probably heard of Gov. Jon Corzine in New Jersey, who is in a tight race for re-election, and the Virginia gubernatorial race, too. Those are absolutely critical and impact media stories about how people are responding to Obama and all of that. But there are also races that impact communities directly.

There are tough fights in Washington State and Maine over the awful TABOR initiatives, which strip state and local governments of the money needed to fund important public services. In Washington State, there is a ballot initiative to strip rights away from LGBT couples -- adoption rights, the right to use sick leave to care for one's partner, and more. In Kalamazoo, MI, right-wingers are trying to repeal the twice-passed ordinance to enact housing, employment and public accommodations protections for LGBT individuals. And in Maine, as I wrote here before, we face a key vote on protecting the state's marriage equality law -- a vote that will impact the entire landscape of our movement for progress.

If you haven't heard about these campaigns before or haven't found the time to take action around them, now's the time. Election Day 2009 is under a week away. Some colleagues of mine in the blogosphere have put together an easy to use "who we are, what we need, and how you can help" guide for each of the LGBT campaigns. Click here to check it out. You can donate a few hours or a few dollars. You can travel to Washington, Michigan or Maine, or you can call from home. You can also promote it on your Facebook page or Twitter account. There are all kinds of ways to help, and they need help just as much as we do in Congress on health care.

In 2009, as Obama and Democrats were winning across the nation, our movement was dealt a setback in California, the largest state in the union, as voters stripped away the right to marry for LGBT couples. I remember that night as a wholly bittersweet victory for our movement. Since we're progressives, we know how to multi-task. So let's keep our eye on the ball for health care, and remember to take a second to pitch in for the LGBT movement. Click here to help out.

Comments

[ran6110]

Hey Mike,

Wanted to read your book but no Kindle version...

Maybe in the future.

[mbaty]

Someday we will figure out how to use our multimedia devices to participate in shaping the legislation of the country. Someday we might even have "open source legislation" where people in an open, connected community can draft bills and participate in creating the framework of government.
We are the fourth branch; we the people are the final check and balance.
It's time to get smart and to focus on what really matters.
The first bill we create should be something like a second bill of rights, and it should provide for the basic necessities of all people.

[WASanford]

Mike;
Yes, you can just keep talking about health care and LGBT issues all you want and avoid asking yourself the question: “Why is it so damned difficult to get legislation passed that most of the American people clearly want and need?” Could it be that the American people just don’t matter anymore? That elephant is sitting in the middle of the parlor and we can no longer afford to ignore it.

Decades have gone by while the majority of our citizens have failed to participate in governmental affairs leaving all of us in the hands of massive business interests and simple minded ideologues. Unless we address this conundrum we all may as well move to Canada while we still can.

Our Senators and Representatives don’t listen to us any longer. Not only should they listen to us, they should be very afraid of how we’ll vote. We have to make it our business to end careers for those clowns who sell their votes to the higher bidder rather than represent their constituents. Had I done anything that approached this when I was working I would have been fired on the spot and so should they.

Publically financed campaigns, it’s time for a revolution! Tell your Representative and two Senators that you want them to support it and if they don’t you intend to vote against them. Party can’t matter that much anymore.

[janiceh]

I agree with publicly funded campaigns. The corporate and PAC campaign contributions are corrupting everyone.

[Aaror]

Speaking of CA, what is the plan to put together a marriage regulation removal initiative?
Something on the order of "The government of the state of california does not have the right to prevent any two individuals who are of age from marrying."
Note that while it is legally the same as "giving gays and lesbians the right to marry," the language is worded about what rights the government has. If you read 538, you know that he found that changing the wording of marriage freedom amendments to question the right of government to regulate it improved the positive opinion by 10 points!
Even if you use the less effective wording such an initiative will pass in CA next year, demographics are in your favor. But if you use the "Get government out of my bedroom," wording, you will be able to give the "marriage protection," folks a black eye they won't soon forget, and push 20 more states to consider the issue next year!

[SonofLiberty1]

In case you haven't heard....


HUMANS DO NOT MULTI TASK WELL.