MOMocrats™

MOMocrats Guest Post from Jackie Augustine: New York's Newest Senator? MOMocrat Kirsten Gillibrand

The MOMocrats welcome Upstate New Yorker Jackie Augustine who introduces us to her new senator.

In a noontime announcement today, Governor David Paterson named Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand as the successor to Hillary Clinton’s Senate seat following Clinton’s confirmation as Secretary of State in the Obama cabinet.

Gillibrand, 42, is currently serving her second term in Congress representing NY’s 20th District, a largely agricultural district that extends from the Hudson Valley north through the Adirondack Mountains and includes such well-known areas as Saratoga Springs and Lake Placid (home to the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics). Gillibrand and her family live just outside of the City of Hudson--south of Albany but far enough north of New York City to be considered ‘Upstate’. Speaking of her family, her husband Jonathan and their four year old son just welcomed a sibling, little Henry Gillibrand in May 2008, delivered the day after Gillibrand helped to pass an amendment in the Armed Services committee that she serves on.

Guest Post: Reflections on the Election from "The Liberal Life of a Navy Wife"

Please welcome MOMocrats Guest Contributor (aka Honorary MOMocrat) Vivian Greentree. 

Vivian is a writer, Navy veteran, Navy wife, and Director of Leadership for Blue Star Families for Obama.  She blogs at The Liberal Life of a Navy Wife and is currently working on her PhD in public administration and raising two small children while her husband is deployed.  (Does anyone else feel like a total slacker too, or is it just me?)

Vivian's essay also appeared in Military Spouse magazine on November 5, 2008, as part of a point/counter-point piece with conservative military spouse, Sarah Smiley.

The Saturday before Election Day I went to hear Caroline Kennedy speak on behalf of Sen. Obama.  As she stood there -- with the weight of her family’s legacy of public service filling the room, appealing to us all to serve our nation in some way -- I clutched the book I was holding a little tighter.  I had intended to bring my copy of her book, Profiles in Courage for Our Time, but I couldn’t find it as I ran out the door.  Instead, I brought another favorite, A Patriot’s Handbook, on the off chance I could get close enough to ask her to sign it. 

My desire to bring Profiles in Courage for Our Time stems from my working in Georgia Governor Roy Barnes’ office the year he introduced a new Georgia flag – one that reduced the Confederate “stars and bars” and incorporated other historical Georgia emblems into our state pennant.  I was actually on the floor when he read the speech imploring passage of the bill. -- it was my first week on the job.  Barnes’ heroic and progressive move, as well as his other efforts to move Georgia forward by putting history behind us, is what is largely considered to have cost him his bid for re-election.  Barnes, however, will ultimately be judged to be on the right side of history, as evidenced by his Profile in Courage award.  I wanted her signature on his page of the book.

Kid-Friendly Election Night Party in Portland, Oregon

Here's the place to go if you're interested in hanging out with a bunch of fun families tonight.  If you're in the Portland area, there'll be a bunch of us at the BarackSpace (usually known as the BackSpace), doing it UP.  Kristin, who writes for Poliglots, Blue Oregon (and sometimes guest-posts for us, here, at MOMocrats), along with her fellow Poliglot, Shawn, have organized the event conjoined with the Activistas (otherwise known as Urbanmamas).  They were also gracious enough to invite me to join in as a sponsor; and I'm sweetening the pot with some kick-ass door-prizes from Black Wagon and Urban Bliss Design.  Woo!

Here's what you'll need to know about it all:

You are invited to an entirely kid-friendly election night party at the BackSpace Cafe (renamed the BarackSpace Cafe until Nov. 5th) at 115 NW 5th on November 4, starting at 5pm.

The BackSpace Cafe is huge, with lots of room for kids to run around and a full menu of vegetarian/vegan food for sale. It also has a big parking lot across the street.

It’s being hosted by Poligots, as well as Activistas and MOMocrats. We’re so excited!

The party will have:

**** Maps to color as the results come in (with LOTS of blue crayons :))

**** Balloons

**** Pin the tail on the Democratic donkey

**** Other games and kiddo diversions

**** Of course, lots of other great kids to play with.

And, it’s FREE. We just want you to come and celebrate what we hope will be a fantastic night for Oregon and our nation.

Guest Post from Kristin Teigen of Poligots: North Carolina Road Trip

The MOMocrats are proud to welcome Oregon-based political blogger and honorary MOMocrat Kristin Teigen who just got back from volunteering for Obama in North Carolina. She files this report.

I spent the last week and a half traveling around rural North Carolina, gaining, in part, a very different perspective on this election. In my neighborhood of Southeast Portland, I’ve seen a grand total of one McCain/Palin sign (they are everywhere in North Carolina), I have a plethora of media outlets from which to choose, and I’ve never have to stand in line to vote.

First, the racism. Three days after we got there, a bunch of local idiots went into the woods, shot a black bear in the head, wrapped it in Obama signs and dumped it on the grounds of a nearby campus. A local realtor used his message board to broadcast not a great deal on a house, but a racial epithet about Obama. He took it down only after members of the local Unitarian church protested and picketed him. Where we were, there were a lot of lawn jockeys and even more Confederate flags – on cars, used as curtains in houses, and one, the largest I’ve ever seen, illuminated with spotlights outside a business.

I saw African American teenagers, who grow up with these realities as part of the fabric of their childhood, look at my Obama t-shirts and smile, sometimes slyly, not wanting to show it. They need to know, despite these images, that this country elected a man who looks like them, who can let them know how much power they can have.

Guest Post: Frank S. on Dancing with the Senators

The MOMocrats welcome Spouse-ocrat and frequent commenter, Frank S., who gives us a peek into a fundraiser for Democratic Senators in San Francisco.

My wife, MOMocrat Glennia, and I had the good luck to be in San Francisco for a Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) event early in October. This was the last event coordinated by venture capitalist Mark Gorenberg to help Democrats secure a 60-seat, filibuster-proof majority in the Senate.  From the e-mail notice we got it looked like it would be a memorable event.

So, in the mid-afternoon, we dropped our son off at with a neighbor who has kids slightly older than ours. As we left, a board game (Life – one our son almost always wins) was unfolding, so we knew he’s be quite happy for quite a while. We climbed in our car and headed up the highway to San Francisco.

The event was in Cow Hollow, just north of Pacific Heights, in the lovely home of the founders of a software firm. After climbing up several steep blocks, our navigation system told us we were “near our destination” at about the same time that the valet approached to park the car. We climbed out and went inside, where we found a comfortable well dressed crowd, and a nonstop parade of wine and canapés offered by caterers in black and white. As we munched little salmon sandwiches and mini-kumquat skewers, we could see the breathtaking view of the Golden Gate Bridge from the rear balcony. I guess a software success can buy quite a view in San Francisco.

Guest Post: Michelle Obama on Making Our Voices Heard

The MOMocrats extend a warm welcome to our special guest contributor, Michelle Obama, the woman we hope will be the next First Lady of the United States.

     A few days ago, I headed to Tallahassee with Jill Biden, my friend and partner on the campaign trail.  She and I visited Florida A&M University, where we met a crowd of thousands of people—some of whom traveled for hours to be there.  Parents brought young children.  Neighbors greeted each other in the sunshine.  And students from FAMU, Florida State, and Tallahassee Community College waved signs and cheered with all their might for change.

     Jill and I went to Tallahassee to encourage people to get involved in this election.  And this week, I’m off to Colorado, Missouri, and Michigan, where I’ll deliver the same message to everyone I meet.  In particular, there is one simple thing that each of us can do to change the world: register to vote.

     But we’ve got to act fast.  Voter registration deadlines are coming up in very soon in many states.  So if you don’t register now, you may not be able to speak your mind later.

     A lot of people don’t know how easy it is to register.  I wish I could sit down in every living room in the America, and walk every family through it!  In most states, all you do is fill out a single form.  That’s it.  Registering to vote is a snap.

     But just because it’s easy doesn’t mean it’s unimportant.  Just the opposite.  Registering to vote is absolutely crucial.  Because there is so much at stake in this election… and the choice we make on November 4^th will decide so many issues that shape our lives and impact our families.

Boots on the Ground

The MOMocrats welcome guest poster Mary, from the great state of Nebraska, who blogs at The Eleventh.

I'm trying to understand people.

I'm trying to understand everyone, and I'm asking questions that do not bely my politics, in order to hear unguarded responses from people around me.

An elderly real estate agent in my office, a woman, was standing by the reception desk when we struck up a conversation.  I casually asked her if she'd been watching the conventions and what she thought.  She shook her head.  "I don't know," she said.  "I just don't think that Alaska woman is ready.  I guess I'll just pray McCain stays healthy." 

"Why not vote for Obama, then?" I asked her. 

She widened her eyes.  "Oh," she said, "I like him a lot.  But I could never vote for a black.  I just couldn't."

"Seriously?"  I asked.

"Oh, yes." she said sadly.  "I just couldn't."

I asked why not??

"Oh, I just couldn't do it.  I couldn't."  And she turned and walked slowly back to her office.  I didn't know how to even respond.

I was at the coffee machine another day and I overheard two middle aged men talking in the computer room.  "That Palin, she's a babe," one of them said.

I leaned around the corner.  The guys, colleagues of mine, were men I'd joked with before.  "She's pretty inexperienced," I said, my grin telling them I was ready to debate.  One man smirked, but the other gave me a stony look, to my surprise.  "I'd vote for anybody over that goddamn ni**er," he said. 

I stepped into the room.  "What?"  I didn't even have the words to speak.

"You heard me."

"Yeah, I did.  And that makes me really sad for you.  You think Palin's better than Obama just because he's black?"

"It's good enough for me," he said, unfolding his newspaper. 

"Jeez, you guys, that's just sickening."

Our state, to nobody's surprise, is expected to go to the Republicans.  Many folks here think that campaigning is worthless if you are a Democrat, because the electoral votes won't go for Obama. But the Obama headquarters in nearby Omaha had a great grand opening last week, which was picketed by a virulent pro-life group waving placards and driving trucks plastered with the graphic images of aborted fetuses.

The former mayor of Omaha saw one of the protest trucks approaching a family with children, and stopped his car in front of it so it could not get any closer to the kids.  He was given a citation for blocking traffic, but in news reports seemed unfazed.   

Other signs of hope are around.  I drive through neighborhoods with Obama signs in their yards.  My niece is turning 18 in a week, and will be voting.  I'm volunteering to help call voters in swing states, to write op-ed pieces, to do what I can to make a difference.

And on election day, I will drive to the polling place with my daughter, and take our pictures outside.  I will take her with me into the voting booth and have her watch me fill out my ballot and turn it in.  I want her to be there on that historic day, so that one day, God willing, I can tell her "See that picture?  Remember that day?"

And she can tell her children "I went into the booth with my mom when she helped elect Barack Obama president."

Keep up the good fight.  Keep going.  Keep asking people, keep pushing for change.

This is for our families and our children.  This is for all of us.

When not writing on her blog, The Eleventh, Mary works 50-60 hours a week to support a family that includes a daughter adopted from the broken Nebraska foster care system, a husband with a chronic illness and no medical insurance.  She volunteers with a Christian youth retreat organization while maintaining a staunch pro-choice stance; she believes it's okay to listen to Led Zeppelin and contemporary Christian music.  She believes that religion has hijacked Christianity and that the religious right has hijacked the American government.  She also knows she is not alone, and wants everyone else like her to stand up, speak out, and be counted.

Guest Post from a 96-year-old Grandmother: Get out and vote!

The MOMocrats are so proud to welcome Grandma Ana, blogger Foodmomiac's 96-year-old grandmother.  Grandma Ana has a history of being a spitfire, and here she shares her thoughts on the importance of voting.:

For me voting has always been a day of importance. I remember the day I was first registered to vote. I was 21 years old - the legal age at that time. My mother escorted me to the poling place - I holding my high-school diploma - proof of my literacy.

I voted each election day since. I am now 96-years-old. We must remember those who risked so much so that others would be registered to vote. We must never forget the three young men in Mississippi who were killed because of efforts to help give the right to vote to those who were disfranchised.

Guest Post: Michelle Lamar on Explaining Politics to Kids

MOMocrats welcome Michelle Lamar, author of The White Trash Mom Handbook.

Do you remember that awesome movie from years ago called “Philadelphia”?  The one with Tom Hanks and Denzell Washington?  The character Denzell Washington played would ask people to “explain it to me as if I were a 4^th grader’”.

In other words----cut the crap and just give me an answer I can understand.  My 10-year-old daughter has been watching TV, listening to the radio and hearing all the wild things people are saying about each of the candidates.  Kate asked me the other day:

“Who is right mom?  Are the Republicans or the Democrats right?  What’s the difference?”

I tried to explain.  “Neither is “right” sweetheart.  The main difference is that everyone wants to do good things for our country.   Both groups want to help other people.  The Republicans believe that individuals and businesses should help people who need it.  The problem is that not every person and every business helps.  A lot of times after people make enough money for their families, they forget or ignore the people and places that need help.”

She stared at me and I continued.

“The Democrats want to help other people through government and organizations because so many people choose NOT to help out the poor and the people who need it.  The Democrats want to have more people do good for others and they often do it through taxes.  The problem with this way of helping is that it can get confusing.  Sometimes the people that need the money the most don’t get it. There are so many rules and people trying to help that it can be complicated.  Kind of like that game “secret”----by the time the “secret” gets around the circle, the original message is completely different.”

Katie started to get a bit irritated.  “Mom, but who is RIGHT?”

I told her there was no ONE right answer and people in each party were both trying to help other people and do good for our country.  The problem was that each group they believed their way was best.  Then my wise 10-year-old asked me the killer question:

“If both parties want to do good, if they are both trying to help people that need it, then why are they all so mad at each other?  I don’t get it.”

I had nothing to say.    Anyone?

Author Michelle Lamar began writing a blog under the persona "White Trash Mom" in 2005 to help other parents cope with some of the crazy expectations of modern parenting. The message of the blog AND the book is that being perfect is just a myth that makes modern moms feel lousy.

The Fierce Urgency of Now - Guest Post by Karoli

The MOMocrats extend a warm welcome to Karoli of Bang the Drum.

This has been my theme for the past two weeks, adopted after I attended the funeral of our friends' daughter, a bright shining star who suffered from Cystic Fibrosis, diagnosed at age two.  I talk at length about her on Newsgang (8/20), so I won't go into too much detail here.

What I took away from the funeral of a girl who managed to live with a debilitating illness yet still graduate with honors from USC, get her masters in Montreal, and be weeks away from her doctorate at Penn State while traveling and speaking as much as she could is that she did not let one day pass without doing every single thing she could to reach her goals and did not allow herself the luxury of being distracted with anything that could bog her down, whether breathing treatments or self-pity. 

She was remarkable. And inspiring.  Even though I knew her, had seen her every week, worked alongside her for a couple of years, I didn't know her at all. I didn't understand all of the challenges that she faced nor did I understand the amazing strength it took her to get through a single day, much less 29 years.

As I watched the historic nomination of Barack Obama as the Democratic nominee for President, alongside Joe Biden for vice president. and recalled Bill and Hillary Clinton's magnificent speeches that every single Democrat needed to hear the night before, I was once again stricken with just how urgent "now" feels.

When President Bill Clinton stood up and compared his own candidacy to Obama's, stating without any equivocation whatsoever that Barack Obama was fit to lead, he ended all hopes that the McCain campaign had of using Hillary Clinton's words against Barack Obama.

And when John Kerry stood up and railed against the swiftboating and reversals of position between John McCain, the maverick and John McCain the candidate, he sent a clear message - the Democrats were not going to tolerate the politics-as-usual distractions that caused him to lose in 2004.

All of them communicated one single concept: the fierce urgency of NOW.

Even though that phrase may seem to be somewhat trite after all the stump speeches where Obama used it, it's not.