MOMocrats

The Politics of Shoes (Guest Post by Casey of Moosh in Indy)

With the primary in Indiana fast approaching, it seems the candidates are spending every waking moment trying to get their messages into Indiana homes.  Are they succeeding?  I don't know, but I do know that many mothers, myself included, want to hear more about the issues and less about political mudslinging. 

After Obama took the time to answer our questions, we realized that every mother probably has similar questions they would like the candidates to answer before casting their votes.  So we begged asked one of our favorite Indiana mothers to tell our readers how she views the presidential race and explain why she's still undecided.

Casey's post explains exactly why it is that politicians should listen to us and be receptive to political discussions outside of the main stream media and the typical online political players like Netroots and the Huffington Post.  And why the candidates should spend less time explaining what their opponents are doing wrong and more time explaining how they will lead our country.

So without further ado, I give you our latest honorary MOMocrat, Casey from Moosh in Indy.

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Remember when Keds shoes were all the rage? (Well, okay, let me put this into perspective. Remember when Keds were all the rage to sixth grade girls in 1993?) I begged my mom for a pair. BEGGED. She didn't realize I was the only girl in my class that didn't have a blue "Keds" tag at my heel, and that it was killing my social status. She took me to the shoe store that weekend and showed me two white sneakers, only she covered up the label on the inside with her thumb. She asked me to pick which one was my beloved pair of Keds.

I picked wrong.

I picked the generic shoe.

My mom still got me the Keds, and wouldn't you know it, that little blue rubber label on the back marking it as a Ked?

Fell off two weeks later.

What does prepubescent angst and early '90's shoe fashion have to do with presidential candidates? Not much, but I'll sure try to make a good segue.

I wish somebody would show me a fancy little spreadsheet showing where each candidate stood on an issue. Only it wouldn't be labeled "McCain" "Obama" and "Clinton". It would simply be Candidate A, B and C. I could go down the list circling who's position suited me the most and when I was all done I could go with whomever fit my desires in a presidential candidate the best.  I wouldn't even want to know the true identities until after I had voted.

Guest Post: Christina of "A Mommy Story" Writes to All Politicians

The MOMocrats are pleased to welcome Christina McMenemy of A Mommy Story, blogger, mom, and Ohio voter to share her story with you and any politician who wants her vote.

Dear Politicians,

Hi there. I'd like to talk to you a little about this election. I'm a mom of two, living in Ohio, with a family income under $50K a year. You could say I'm pretty close to the average American. I want to give you a few of my ideas about how to reach out to the American public, or if not them, at least me.

First off, please drop the mudslinging. I'm sick of it. I have to listen to my daughter argue with me enough, and I don't need to see my presidential candidates bickering like three year olds, too. I don't care who called who what - just tell me what you stand for and believe in, and let me do the comparison.

Second, please stop trying to demonstrate that you're one of us. Seeing you have a beer in a local bar, go bowling (when you're clearly not a fan of bowling), and try to act like you would hang out with me if you lived in my neighborhood doesn't impress me. I don't want to vote for the person I'm most likely to have a beer with, or the person I think is the best looking. This isn't American Idol - this is for the most important job in this country. I don't care if you're good looking or can knock back shots of whiskey with the best of them. I want you to show me you're smarter than me, and smarter than most of the people in this country. I want to know you can handle yourself with class amongst foreign dignitaries and not that you can use urban slang to appeal to me.

Guest Post: Susan Kaiser Greenland Asks, "To Borrow from Rodney King, Why Can't We Democrats Just Get Along?"

MOMocrats are honored to welcome Susan Kaiser Greenland of Mindful Mom to join in the discussion today.

People who know me say that I am a worrier.   And, with the Pennsylvania debate tonight, I’m worried.   I’m worried that this hard fought Democratic primary will have a far-reaching, negative impact on women voters.   Many of us have begun to take attacks made against our candidate personally.    We didn’t intend for it to happen, but by identifying (or over-identifying) with either Clinton or Obama, we’ve experienced friction in households, friendships, and professional relationships.   This is heartbreaking given that both candidates have inspired women to rejoin the political conversation.   Many have become active in this election because they believe their candidate is the only one who has a realistic shot at implementing change.

Democrats are legitimately concerned about bruising their nominee before the general election, but I am far more worried about the bruises I see on the egos of the women who support the candidates, than the bruises on the candidates themselves.   It is no secret that I support Obama, nor is it a secret that if Clinton becomes the nominee I will support her with equal energy and zeal.  But my focus has shifted from the candidates to the potential fall-out that the inevitable defeat of Obama or Clinton might have on his or her supporters. Three articles, all published yesterday, illustrate the growing tension.

John McCain Inspired My Husband To Blog

How did he do it? By allegedly calling his wife a cunt.

Please don't be surprised that an ex-POW would be 'mean' to a woman or have some temper issues.

As for Cindy McCain...other than looking like the perfect Stepford wife while standing next to him on stage, I don't know much about her. Maybe she likes being called a cunt? Maybe under all that hairspray and makeup she's some sex freak who gets off on being berated in public? Maybe she's secretly plotting to publicly call her husband an asshole during his next big speech? Either way, I'm going to guess husband and wife name-calling occurs on SOME level in the McCain household. Maybe it doesn't. All I know is the whole story had my husband writing.

Guest Post: Jenny, The Bloggess Breaks It Down For You

The MOMocrats happened upon the very first political post of the very famous Jenny, The Bloggess, and she kawasakied us by writing back.  We invited her over to share her thoughts on the election, from the vantage point of the average mom who is not watching the Span 24/7 like we are. 

So recently the MOMocrats discovered my astute political commentary and offered me a small soapbox on which to vent my spleen (horrible phrase).  I suspect they were wooed over by quotes like this:

“I’m going to be a political pundit but I’m going to pronounce it like “pundeet” because that sounds sexier. I haven’t decided who I’m going to vote for but I’m thinking either the chick or the black guy. Probably not the chick though because she seems kind of bitchy. Like she’d be all nice to your face but then she’d get you black-balled from the country club. Like I’d even want to join your stupid country club, Hillary. Yeah, I’d totally vote for the black guy. By the way, isn’t he half white? Why do we always call him black? That’s weird. These are the kind of hard-hitting posts you can expect from me in the coming months. Also, someone tell me how to register to vote.”

Anyway, turns out that there are lots of moms who (like me) didn’t know what a “Republican” was until last week and that’s why I’ve decided to do a little educating on the candidates.

McCain.  First of all, I don’t like him.  He has a capital C in the middle of his name which is confusing and also pretentious.  Secondly, I heard he was in jail.  I mean, some of my closest relatives are ex-cons but that doesn’t mean they should run the country.  Frankly these are pretty much the last people that should have access to nuclear weapons.  Most of them can’t even stay sober through breakfast.  (I’m looking at you, Uncle Frank.)

Guest Post: Kristen Chase asks: "If Not Hillary, Then Who?"

Today, Momocrats welcome guest-blogger, Kristen Chase.  Kristen writes about parenting two children under three with one on the way as a Yankee in the Deep South at her blog Motherhood Uncensored.

It's always interesting listening to people explain why they aren't choosing Hillary as their candidate. The subtle policy differences between her and Barack Obama aren't necessarily enough for people to point that out as the sole reason. And so, it always come back to the fact that they just don't like Hillary.

Now clearly, I've never been a huge Hillary Clinton fan, and it's understandable that many folks are not so keen on welcoming Bill back into the White House. When the whole Monica Lewinsky scandal came down, I scoffed, like many other women did, that Hillary didn't kick his ass to the curb.

But when I heard she would attempt to run for President in 2008, I admit to being intrigued. She had played her cards well, and more than that, she had actually made some positive changes. However, it was obvious from day one that her campaign would be a challenge, because not surprisingly, her policies and solutions have taken a backseat to her likeability factor.

MOMocrats Guest Contributor: Melissa Schober shares how federal spending affects the daily lives of women and children

Recently the MOMocrats received a note from a commenter who had this to say:

Something I see missing from lots of political blogs is a good discussion of how federal spending affects the day-to-day lives of women and children. For example, Bush's last budget proposal (for FY2009) would cut the reimbursement rate for federal family planning services quite substantially. Given that state economies are tanking, states are unlikely to be able to make up the difference. The result? Fewer providers and the possible closure of Title X clinics.

I know this all reads as sort of wonky but I think it is possible for the Byzantine federal spending process to be demystified and made relevant to everyday life; indeed, if more Americans were conversant with the process, I'd like to think there might be more accountability in the process.

We responded, "You are right. Would you please guest post on this topic?"

Thankfully, our commenter obliged, and so it is with great pleasure that we introduce Guest Contributor Melissa Schober:

Thinking of the first Monday in February, my gut immediately starts churning. It is the day the president releases his budget proposal for the next fiscal year and, since Bush has been in office, the beginning of a terrible, no-good, very bad week for me.

This year proved no different.

guest blogging: do ya thing

The current state of our union and the upcoming election are giving many Americans a chance to re-evaluate their beliefs.  Today's guest blogger Heather from Finding Atman is kind enough to share a little of what is rolling around in her head as she ponders who to vote for.  Fair warning, it's a little Redder than MOMocrats usually sees but we are a welcoming and open minded group.  We thank Heather for her post and her courage in being willing to allow us to cross post it at MOMocrats.

As an analyst for the government, you learn early on that the answer to nearly every question is “It depends.”  Rarely is there an unequivocal yes or no.  I never thought I would use this blog to write about anything political.  I also never thought that I would be so concerned about an election that it would keep me up at night.  After all, day to day politics doesn’t really affect me that much does it?  So who should I vote for?

Fixing A Broken "System"

Guest contributor and SoCal Mom(ocrat) Donna Schwartz Mills chimes in on Healthcare Day.

After he retired, my late grandfather became a political activist – batting for the other team.

He embarrassed me when I was in college, by stumping at my campus for Proposition 13 (which was the beginning of the end of first-rate public education in California). He worshipped at the altar of Ronald Reagan, and was genuinely hurt when I declined his offer to give me a subscription to the Conservative Digest.

So why am I bringing up my Republican grandpa at Momocrats?

Because his last long quest in life was to try to fix our broken health care system.