MOMocrats™

Come On Over to Our New Pad, MOMocrats.com

Hi! If you've come to us from the Washington Post article that mentions PunditMom (yay! also a MOMocrat and running the 2012 election coverage at iVillage) and the MOMocrats, you need to read us at our new site! Go to MOMocrats.com and you'll see microblogs of important stories as well as longer pieces featured in the the image slider front and center. Or, come listen to our weekly podcasts, 9 am PT/ noon ET every Wednesday morning.

Check out our action campaigns and participate in our Q&A Ask a MOMocrat series!

Find us here on Twitter

Find us here on Facebook

Cheers!

This Week on MOMochat: Want More Women in Office? She Should Run, with The Women's Campaign Forum

When women sit at the table, the conversation includes topics that are near and dear to us: Education. Healthcare. Eldercare. Living Wages. Work-Life Balance. Reproductive Rights.

So it's a shame that so few women have seats in our nation's legislatures: According to the Women's Campaign Forum, we're ranked 87th in the world for the number of women in our national legislature. Even Cuba and Afghanistan have more female representation than us!

Next Wednesday, the WCF is holding its the She Should Run Inaugural National Conversation, a conference designed to address the "urgent need for women to advance in leadership across all sectors." We'll be hearing more about that on tomorrow's edition of MOMocrats MOMochat, when our special guest is Women's Campaign Forum President Siobhan "Sam" Bennett.

Bennett has served as the President and CEO of the Women’s Campaign Fund (WCF) and its affiliated programs The She Should Run Foundation and WCF PAC since March 2009.

Sam has lent her unique perspective as a candidate at the local and federal levels to broaden WCF’s impact on women leaders at all levels of government who support reproductive choices and options, and women who may run for office in the future.

Join Cynematic, Julie Pippert and Donna Schwartz Mills live tomorrow at 12:00 noon Eastern/11:00 Central/9:00 a.m. Pacific, or catch us on the podcast here.

Brought to you by Bubble Genius.

This Week on MOMochat: Not Equal Yet

In 1971, at the behest of New York Rep. Bella Abzug, Congress designated August 26 "Women's Equality Day." The date was chosen to commemorate the passage of the 19th amendment, finally granting women a constitutional right to suffrage.

It's been 91 years since that historic day and 40 years since the creation of our own holiday commemorating it.  We've made some strides -- but as evidenced by the stalling of the Paycheck Fairness Act and the recent Wal-Mart ruling, we are still not equal. We still only make 77 cents to the dollar, make up just 17% of legislators in Congress and just 15.2% of the Fortune 500 corporate boards. And working women who are also mothers have additional hurdles to jump. 

On this week's MOMocrats MOMochat podcast, Cynematic, Julie Pippert and Donna Schwartz Mills welcome Kristen Rowe-Finkbeiner, co-founder of MomsRising.org and author ofThe Motherhood Manifesto and The F-Word: Feminism in Jeopardy. Listen live on Wednesday, August 24 at 12 noon Eastern/9 a.m. Pacific time, or download and stream the podcast here.

 

This Week on MOMochat: Life, Liberty and the Wisconsin Recall Elections

This week's MOMochat podcast was pre-recorded so the MOMocrats could prepare to enjoy the 4th of July holiday with our families.

But while we're busy organizing barbecues and swim parties, EMILY's List is on the ground in Wisconsin, supporting the effort to recall six Republican legislators who supported Governor Scott Walker's union busting bill -- and five of the six are pro-choice women!

EMILY's List President Stephanie Schriock was our MOMochat guest in a spirited interview about the effort in Wisconsin, what we can do to support them, and why we should.

"I really see this as a springboard for all of our races coming up in 2012," Schriock said. "I think it’s going to be a very, very, interesting year and as long as women continue to step up and run, I think we’re going to see a lot of new, inspirational women leaders serving all over the country, from legislative seats, city council; right up to the United States Senate."

The protests at the state Capitol in Madison energized the Democratic party in this country and inspired people around the world. Now the people in Wisconsin have an opportunity to undo some of the damage of the 2010 mid-term elections that gave the statehouse to a Koch Brothers-funded Republican majority that has been in the forefront of this year's legislative "War on Women."

As Schriock explains, "We say there is a War on Women, and with wars, there’s two sides and I intend that women will be the victors in this war. And it is really a time for us all to pull together."

We can help the effort by donating -- and/or joining Team EMILY and phone banking to people in the state. "Of you can’t get to Wisconsin, you sure can sit in your living room and pick up the phone and call voters in Wisconsin. And we’ve got it all set up; you can go through in the comfort of your home and make those calls and share with those voters in Wisconsin how important is is – not just to the folks in Wisconsin, but to the women of this country, to see this change. And to get these women elected," Schriock said. 

"The great thing about what EMILY’s List does is we network women and men all over the country who really believe that representative democracy is our true future, is our best policy. And by getting more women elected, we’re going to get where we want to go as a society," she said.

Schriock had a lot more to say: about hero Governors like North Carolina's Beverly Purdue, who repeatedly vetoed bills from the state's Republican controlled legislature that would defund Planned Parenthood... the end of the era of the moderate Republican women... and voter caging efforts throughout the country, disenfranchising voting rights (particularly of women).

Hear the entire podcast here.

 

This Week on MOMochat: What the Wal-Mart Decision Means to You

Slate's Dahlia Lithwick says this week's Supreme Court dismissal of Wal-Mart v Dukes "may be the most consequential case of the current term." MOMocrat Joanne Bamberger says the Court basically told the women of America to just "shut up and go home."

Jessica Mason Pieklo joins Donna Schwartz Mills and Cynematic to discuss and explain the decision and how it affects cases of job discrimination on the basis of gender. 

Cynematic will also recap her journey to last week's Netroots Nation gathering in Minnesota.

Jessica Pieklo is a former litigator who, after nearly ten years litigating employment law, shareholder actions and fiduciary duty claims now writes and teaches for a living. Her areas of expertise include employment law, constitutional law, health law and business law. She teaches a number of law and political science courses for undergraduates and law students in the Minneapolis area and serves on the Board of Directors for Common Cause, Minnesota.

 

This Week's MOMochat: Pundit Mom and the Mothers of Intention

Joanne Bamberger (a.k.a. Pundit Mom), joins fellow MOMocrats Cynematic and Donna Schwartz Mills on this week's MOMochat... on the occasion of Joanne's new book, "Mothers of Intention: How Women and Social Media Are Revolutionizing Politics in America." 

"Mothers of Intention" is an anthology of political writing -- all by women who happen to be moms. (In other words: it's OUR kind of reading material! And writing material, too, as several of the MOMocrats are represented in its pages... as well as women from across the political spectrum.)

From the official press release:

"By countering the political dismissal of mothers with proof of women’s varied and impassioned responses to politics and media, Joanne attests to the increasing importance of mothers’ opinions in elections to come. 

In addition to analyzing this ever-growing trend, Mothers of Intention presents a collection of essays by passionate women who are quickly becoming political influencers, including a preface by Pulitzer Prize winner Connie Schultz, and essays by Mom 101’s Liz Gumbinner, Veronica Arreola of Viva la Feminista blog, Jaelithe Judy of MOMocrats and MomsRising’s Lisa Frack.

Bamberger describes “Mothers of Intention” as women, diverse in geography, ethnicity, age and political persuasion, who pursue a world of more political discourse through their powerful, thoughtful and humorous voices about what it’s like to be a mother in today’s political world." 

Join us here Wednesday at 12:00 PM Eastern/11:00 AM Central/9:00 AM Pacific for MOMocrats MOMochat.

This Week's MOMochat: Why School Vouchers are HOT Again (Hint: It Has Nothing to Do with Budget Deficits)

Listen to internet radio with MOMocrats on Blog Talk Radio

If you believe in public education... or separation of church and state... or that the earth is older than 6,000 years... You NEED to listen to today's edition of MOMocrats MOMochat, featuring writer Rachel Tabachnik, who specializes in studying end times narratives and how they intersect and merge with anti-Semitic conspiracy theories... because there's direct link between these religious beliefs and the movement to privatize public education.

Among the many disturbing tidbits I learned today was that many programs that were sold to voters as a means of helping low-income children get into good schools merely mask intense religious indoctrination; that private parochial schools don't have to meet the same NCLB standards as public institutions; that the Stanford testing organization allows Christian schools to administer a customized standardized test (that allows for teaching of creationism as fact) and more.

I thought that this was one of the most informative -- and best -- show we've done to date. 

 

 

This Week's MOMochat: EMILY's List President Stephanie Schriock Tells Us How to Fight Back and Win the GOP's War On Women

We had no doubt that the 112th Congress would be rough after the "shellacking" we received in the 2010 mid-term elections. But the furious pace of anti-woman legislation being enacted at all levels of government has been shocking, even to the most experienced political observers.

While it's tempting to sit back and say "I told you so" to all who cast their votes for GOP candidates who promised to fix the economy (but instead have focused their energy on defunding Planned Parenthood)... or the progressives who stayed away from the polls out of frustration that the Democrats were not able to turn back 30 years of trickle-down policies in the President's first two years...

...that's not constructive. We can fix this mess, by electing more pro-choice women into office and this week's guest on MOMocrats MOMochat will tell us how. 

EMILY'S List President Stephanie Schriock is a veteran political strategist, fundraiser and campaign manager. Her resume includes stints as the national finance director for Howard Dean’s 2004 presidential campaign (which marked the beginning of the modern era of Internet fundraising), manager for Jon Tester's successful Senate bid against Conrad Burns in Montana, and campaign manager for Al Franken's epic Minnesota Senate race (and the recount that followed).

Schriock's position and background give her unique insights into how women relate to politics -- the obstacles the prevent us from participating and how we can overcome those and make our voices heard.

At the time of the 2010 midterms, she pointed out that the Republican sweep had little to do with their social agenda and everything to do with women sitting the election out:

"Let's make sure we don't learn the wrong lessons when we analyze their actions in 2010. These women did not stay home or vote Republican because they agree with Republican priorities. And the idea of a Palin presidency sends them running for the Democratic hills. Despite the hype, women voters did not become Mama Grizzlies in 2010."

Do you have a question for Stephanie? Leave them here in comments and we'll relay them for you.

All's Fair When it Comes to Fair Trade

This week's MOMochat highlights World Fair Trade Day, which is Friday, May 14. Find out how to support food and other products made sustainably for a fair wage.

MOMocrats Cynematic, Donna Schwartz Mills and Jaelithe Judy welcome special guest Ashley Koff ("Shedding for the Wedding"), who tells us about fair trade edibles. 

And of course, Cyn, Donna and Jaelithe will have something to say about the news and events of the week.

Listen here Wednesday, May 11: 12:00 Noon Eastern/11:00 AM Central/9:00 AM Pacific and find out how to enter to win a collection of Fair Trade goodies.

Missed the live show? Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes.

Sponsored by BubbleGenius.

Tomorrow on MOMocrats MOMochat: Osama, Obama ... and Back to Business as Usual

The President says that with the death of Osama bin Laden, the American people have come together as they did in the days after 9/11 -- and he has a point: when was the last time you heard Dick Cheney compliment Obama on a national security decision?

The stunning operation in Abottabad has brought some feeling of closure to the country, possibly laying to rest the idea that Democratic leaders can't make the tough decisions ... but we know the bump in the President's poll numbers won't last; not as long as gas prices and unemployment remain high. (And the GOP has been pointedly crediting Bush administration policies like "enhanced interrogation" for the intelligence that ultimately led to finding bin Laden.)

We'll be taking your phone calls in the show's second hour: 1 (347) 945-6465.

The MOMocrats will also be welcoming Gina McCauley, the powerhouse blogger of What About Our Daughters, and Michelle Obama Watch, and this year's upcoming Blogging While Brown conference.

Listen to internet radio with MOMocrats on Blog Talk Radio