"The Great Unfinished Business of Our Time": Health Care Reform

In the closing passages of his speech to the joint session of Congress, President Obama urged members of the House and Senate to rise to the finest in our national character and finally provide a humane way to address the health needs of all of America's citizens. We know the status quo is broken. What'll we do about it?

Woven into the soaring rhetoric of President Obama's speech were specific calls to three prominent Republican senators: Senator John McCain, Senator Orrin Hatch, and Senator Chuck Grassley.

Senator McCain, President Obama noted, had worked in bipartisan fashion with Senator Ted Kennedy to advance a federal patient's bill of rights (which never passed in the House). Senator Orrin Hatch worked with Senator Ted Kennedy to pass children's health insurance. Senator Chuck Grassley and Senator Ted Kennedy collaborated on a bill that helped families take better care of their children with disabilities.

If you're on Twitter, use these buttons to quickly and conveniently sign a petition urging these senators to vote for a health insurance reform bill that has a strong public option.

Senator John McCain

Senator Chuck Grassley

Senator Orrin Hatch

In the Voting Booth, No One Knows You're a Dog

Ssssshhhhh, come here. I want to tell you a secret.

You know the saying, "On the internetz, no one knows you're a dog?"

Well, in the voting booth, no one knows you're a dog either.

A lot's been said about the Bradley effect  here, and here, where whites asked if they'll vote for Obama lie to polltakers. It's a question that clouds the candidacy of every African American running for elected office no matter their record of achievement, partisan affiliation, or the fact that largely white states populated by Iowans, Wisconsinites, and the many many white people of California all voted for Obama. And not only were these intrepid white people *not* struck down by lightning, they felt better, looked an average of 5-9 years younger, any lingering back problems went away, and their skin cleared up immediately. (I can see you through the computer screen, and You. Look. Marvelous.)

Polls are only as reliable as people are honest. And who's going to tell a pollster, a total stranger, "I'd never vote for a black man"? Only a really really hard-core person who can't get past race. (As we heard from Mary in Nebraska, unfortunately, there are more than a few of those people around everywhere. But even they might not want to say what they really think and feel to someone they don't already know.)

That's why at MOMocrats we have a category called "Polls, Shmolls."

The DNC: The Road to the White House Goes Through the Mountain West States

(Note: I began this piece while at the DNC and have only now had a chance to complete it. The presentation at the DNC was excellent, substantive, and on-point--unlike our recent roll in the mud with Palin as VP pick, thanks to the RNC and McCain. As an addition to the McCain ticket, Palin's a hot mess straight from Jerry Springer, with media vetting of her record and life, literally, by the National Enquirer. How about a refocus on issues and the people who vote for them?)

Senator Ken Salazar (CO), Governor Janet Napolitano (AZ), and pollster Andrew Myers presented the case for Obama's potential 2008 win with votes from a newly emergent coalition, one consisting of eight Mountain West states (pdf). Latinos, college educated/upper income voters, and libertarian-leaning gun owners dominate the demography of the region, and generally they are hugely uninterested in the concerns that typically characterize Southern Coalition voters. The latter coalition have in past elections been mobilized by "values" issues summarized in shorthand as "(pro-)god, (pro-)guns, and (anti-)gays."

Latino Voters Prefer Obama to McCain

Today's LA Times summarizes a few polls showing how nationally, and in the state of California, a healthy majority of registered Latino voters prefer Obama to McCain.

A new Gallup Poll summary of surveys taken in May shows Obama winning 62% of Latino registered voters nationwide, compared with just 29% for McCain. Others have found a wide gap as well. The pro-Democratic group Democracy Corps compiled surveys from March through May that showed Obama with a 19-point lead among Latinos. And a Times poll published last month showed Obama leading McCain among California Latinos by 14 points.

Big State Distortions and Buyer's Remorse--in California, At Least

One of the linchpins of Clinton's claim to a winning electoral map (the catchy "map, not math" jingle that made its debut recently) is that she has won all the big states that are rich in electoral college votes.

The biggest state population-wise is where I'm based: California. At 55 electoral college votes, the next president has to carry this state to make 270 electoral college votes or face defeat.

Clinton won a majority of the delegates in California when our primary was held on Super Tuesday. But one of the biggest fallacies of her argument for viability as a nominee is the assumption that all those "17 million people" who voted for her have not budged in their support for her.

Testing Your Knowledge of Gay Rights...

Hunter College just released the results of a comprehensive study, touted by the institution as the most comprehensive study of lesbian, gay and bisexual attitudes and behavior to date.

When the results went public, the headline news was that its finding that roughly 2.9% of Americans are lesbian, gay or bisexual. While instinctively, that number feels low to me (I believe that my kids might argue, in the context of that stat, that I know all the gay people in America). But this is not the finding of most interest to me. Or the most disturbing one.

Respondents to the survey who identified as gay were tested on their knowledge regarding the law as it relates to their rights. They were asked four questions. And no, the first one was not "Why is tonight different from all other nights?"

Rather than give you the answers, I'll pose the questions, so you can play along. For each question below, see if YOU know the answer.

Ready?  Here goes.

1. Is marriage between two men or two women legal in your state?
2. Can gay men and lesbians serve openly in the military?
3. Does the U.S. Constitution have an amendment that bans same-sex marriage?
4. Is there a national law making it illegal to fire someone for being lesbian, gay or bisexual?

OK, I'll give you a little while.  This quiz is open to all without regard to sexual orientation.  And we work on the honor system.  Don't go telling me you got all 4 right if you didn't.

Or, if you'd prefer, why don't you guess what % of gay respondents got all four questions right?  Weigh in and stay tuned.

Obama Works: Yes They Can

It's shocking the amount of money both Democratic candidates have raised since entering the race, whether big checks from wealthy benefactors, or from individuals who give in small $5 or $10 portions.

Since declaring her candidacy in 2007, Hillary Clinton has raised over $189 million through 3/31/08. Barack Obama has raised almost $235 million as of 3/31/08.

Given the nature of Obama's grassroots campaign, the progressive agenda that's united his supporters, and the increasingly pinched feeling we're all getting from our shrinking economy, it's no surprise that Obama supporters felt that they could use their energies and fundraising ability to contribute to the greater good RIGHT NOW.

MOMocrats Poll #2 Results

We polled our readers to answer the question:  "Do you think the Clinton/Obama fighting will help or hurt their chances of election in November?"

Over 200 people responded:

    74% Hurt
     4% Help
    20% Won't Matter
     1% Other (1 person wrote: "Clinton will hurt Obama and run in 2012").

Thanks for responding to the poll!  Now that we've got you here, please take a moment to answer our latest poll in the right sidebar:

"What is the most important issue to you in this election?"

Please write in an answer if yours is not listed.

Clinton, Obama Silent on Winter Soldier, Silence on The Responsible Plan, Progressives Divided

Last Thursday over 30 Democrat challengers publicly presented their support for "The Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq," assembled from existing congressional legislation by national security experts, retired generals, and Congressional candidate Darcy Burner. As of this week, The number of Democrat endorsees of the plan has risen to 45.

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have yet to acknowledge the Iraq withdrawal plan crafted by members of their own party, and it appears there is little pressure from the press to question them on it.

The two candidates' also continue their refusal to acknowledge Winter Soldier, the public testimonies of Iraq War veterans that occurred this month in D.C. and one of the most important anti-war events in over 3 decades. If their refusal is any indication, the American public would be waiting a very long time to hear any mention of the Iraq plan.

MOMocrats Poll #2

Thanks to everyone who participated in our first-ever MOMocrats poll, asking who you support in the Democratic primary.  The results of our reader poll are:

    Barack Obama                         50%
    Hillary Clinton                          26%
    I'm Not Over John Edwards         21%
    No One, I'm a Republican            2%
    Other:  (John McCain/Ron Paul)    2%

The Edwards love is not surprising, since MOMocrats started out as a pro-Edwards site. It's nice to know that at least a couple of Republicans visit our site, and have been very civil so far.

Our next poll asks this question: 

Do you think the Obama-Clinton fighting will help or hurt their chances of winning the general election in November?

Click on your answer over on the sidebar to the right and leave your thoughts on this issue in the comments.