Mother's Day Weekend at the Missouri Democratic Convention

Last Friday, May 9th my husband and I, who were both elected state-level Obama delegates at our township caucus, drove to Columbia, Missouri for the Missouri State Democratic Convention.

May 9th was my son's fourth birthday, and I had a hard time leaving him behind, even though we'd already had a party for him one day early. But, I've become so involved in the political process this year for my son, because I worry about his future if our society continues down its current path. I skipped out on his fourth birthday because I don't want him signing up to be drafted for the war in Iraq on his eighteenth. Because I don't want him struggling to afford housing or health care on his thirtieth. Because I don't want him lacking access to clean water or affordable food on his fortieth.

Of course, it's hard to explain all that to a kid on his fourth birthday. So I still felt a little guilty.

It turns out, though, that I wasn't the only one with our children's future at the forefront of my thoughts at the Convention over Mother's Day weekend.

Several Missouri political leaders spoke at the State Democratic Convention, including Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan, State Auditor Susan Montee, Congressman William Lacy Clay, Senator Claire McCaskill, Congressman Russ Carnahan, and Georganne Nixon, the wife of Missouri's Attorney General Jay Nixon, who is currently running for Governor.

Saturday, the day of national-level at-large delegate selection, began with a series of speeches urging Democrats to defend their right, and the rights of people across the state, to vote in the upcoming presidential election, and to come together as a party to work for the election of Democratic candidates at every level in upcoming state and federal races, in order to bring about a fundamental shift in the priorities and direction of our government.

Secretary of State Robin Carnahan kicked off a round of speeches by addressing the voter ID controversy. The recent federal Supreme Court decision regarding Indiana's voter ID law requiring all voters to present a valid, current, government-issued photo ID at the polls has been in the national news lately, but the Missouri state legislature fought its own battle over voter ID requirements in 2006. The Missouri Supreme Court ruled that a voter ID law passed by the state legislature violated the state constitution because the cost of acquiring the necessary documents to obtain an updated photo ID might place an undue burden on the state's poor and elderly citizens.

However, the recent federal ruling has encouraged Missouri's Republican Party to once again begin agitating for a state voter ID law requiring all voters to present a current photo ID.  The state Democratic party is opposed to reviving the law, because many Democrats fear it will disenfranchise legal voters who cannot afford a new ID, or do not have transportation to an office that issues IDs. Carnahan urged Democrats to fight the resurgence of the Republican voter ID effort.

[As an aside, don't ask me why certain people in my state seem to think that just because the federal Supreme Court says Indiana's law does not violate the federal Constitution, that somehow negates the fact that Missouri's law has been determined to violate Missouri's State Constitution. They are, in fact, two different constitutions, last I checked.]

State Auditor Susan Montee then spoke about the need for party unity in the coming months, despite the acrimonious fight for the party's presidential nomination. She said that the media has tried to divide Democrats in this primary election, not just into separate camps for Hillary and Obama, but also on the basis of demographics, pitting whites against blacks, women against men, etc., in their campaign coverage, and she urged those present to ignore such artificial distinctions.

Congressman William Lacy Clay continued the call for unity and cooperation between Clinton and Obama supporters, asserting that in Missouri, "our voters have way too much common sense to be distracted by the trivial nonsense" Republicans are hoping might tear the party apart.

"We are the party of Jefferson and Jackson, of Roosevelt and Kennedy, and most importantly, we in Missouri are the party of Harry Truman," Lacy Clay reminded the audience. He then quoted Truman, to remind those present of how long the Democratic Party had been fighting for certain issues that still resonate with working families today. Speaking of the Republican party, Truman once said:

"They stand four-square for the American home-- but not for housing.  They are strong for labor-- but they are stronger for restricting labor's rights. They favor minimum wage--the smaller the minimum wage the better. They endorse educational opportunity for all--but they won't spend money for teachers or for schools.  They think modern medical care and hospitals are fine-- for people who can afford them."

Lacy Clay then introduced Senator Claire McCaskill as Harry Truman's "successor." And in honor of Mother's Day, Senator McCaskill reminded everyone in the room what this election is really about-- fighting for our own families' best interests, and our children's future.

Warning the crowd that she would have to rush out of the convention early in order to make it to her sixteen-year-old daughter's dance recital,

[Yes, I think I fell just a little bit in love with the Senator at that moment.]

Senator Claire (as she urges her constituents to call her) spoke about the severe cuts to state health care funding made under Governor Matt Blunt's administration. "There was no one in the room talking about real people," she said, when that decision was made; the focus was only on numbers. And she called up the image of a single mother riding a bus to work on the day the cuts went through, wondering what would happen to her children if she became seriously ill and could not afford health care.

The Senator asserted that this election is not actually about any of the candidates involved, but about the ordinary people affected by the policies of leaders like Bush and Blunt. And she urged voters not to allow the passion they have for a particular candidate overwhelm their passion for changing the priorities of our government to reflect the issues that really matter to its citizens: health care, education, and the environment being key, both to protecting our own lives and livelihoods, and preserving a bright future for our children.

Did these speeches work to remind Democratic voters in Missouri that, despite the disagreements we may have had during the past few months over which person would be best to lead our country, we are all, in the end, working toward the same set of core goals?

I do hope so.

Jaelithe welcomes discussion with Clinton supporters, Gravel supporters, Ron Paul cultists, silly people who don't vote, and yes, even McCain supporters at her own blog, The State of Discontent.

Comments

[MediaMentions]

Here is a link to a related article online:

http://www.pressdisplay.com/pressdisplay/showlink.aspx?bookmarkid=HQ0LH1XDKVU1&preview=article&linkid=15f8915f-8a59-4090-bb88-e472eabda1dc&pdaffid=ZVFwBG5jk4Kvl9OaBJc5%2bg%3d%3d

Best regards,
MediaMentions

[ilinap]

Take a look here at the grassroots video we made about why moms and dads support Obama. Thanks for your hands-on participation in this. We need to all be actively involved in making this country a better, cleaner, safer place for our children.

http://www.dirtandnoise.com/2008/04/moms-dads-for-barack-obama_30.html

[Daisy]

We need to hear from more speakers like Senator Claire. She speaks from the heart, and she speaks the truth.

[Sarah Granger]

I've heard good things about her too, as someone who grew-up in Kansas City. Missouri is a swing state. What goes on there will make a difference in November. Thanks for the great report!