MOMocrats™

The White House Project's Marie Wilson on Clinton Remaining in the Race

The White House Project is a nonpartisan organization that "aims to advance women’s leadership in all communities and sectors, up to the U.S. presidency. By filling the leadership pipeline with a richly diverse, critical mass of women, we make American institutions, businesses and government truly representative." I've been a supporter of their mission for several years now, and I'm impressed by how they have grown and the work they do.

Their blog, "Change Everything", includes their thoughts and activities, and this week's post by their founder, Marie Wilson, cuts to the heart of the issue on why Hillary Clinton is still in the race. "An Army of Women" explains (paraphrasing Eric Boehlart of Media Matters) that "numerous [recent] precendents exist for nominees to continue to duke it out until party conventions: Reagan and Ford; Kennedy and Carter; Hart and Mondale." Wilson writes of cultural fears of "feminist fury."

If You Had A Few Minutes With Hillary Clinton, What Would You Say?

On the rare nights when I get some deep sleep, I have vivid dreams. Last night was one of those nights. I dreamt I was in Paris for a conference meeting up with some college friends, and They found out about a unique opportunity to see Hillary Clinton by herself on stage in a one woman show. (I can only assume this is because I recently saw Carrie Fisher perform at the Berkeley Rep in her own solo show.) Anyway, I stood in a long queue for the show and after the performance, Senator Clinton stood surprisingly unencumbered by hoverers, as she would in real life, at which point I went over to her and we had a nice chat.

I can't remember exactly what I said in the dream, of course, but I know it was something along the lines of directly recommending to her that she allow her Internet focused staff take more risks with online campaign opportunities and let the netroots organically help her campaign. It would've been easier for them to do at the beginning, of course, when she called for a "conversation" in her online video announcement, but it's still not too late to take full advantage of the opportunities that Internet-based technology presents. I think in my dream, we also spoke about being mothers and how that has changed our perspectives in terms of our ideas of what policies we want to see enacted. I don't remember the rest. I just remember having a really good feeling after talking with her, like she really got what I was saying.

This, of course, is how I felt the two times I saw her speak in person. We didn't have a private conversation because I can't afford to pay $2300 to sit with her at one of these "VIP" receptions before the big fundraisers, but when I saw her in real life, I felt good about her grasp on policy and I felt that her wealth of experience would make her a great leader. But that's just me. I want to hear from others, especially moms - no matter whether you are supporting her campaign.

Did the Republicans Just Steal The White House in '08?

I know everyone's busy worrying about whether Obama's not blue collar enough or Hillary's not man enough, but this is important. As PunditMom notes, the Supreme Court just gave a big win to the Republicans on Monday that could affect the outcome of the entire 2008 election. As I was literally a stone's throw from the California State Capitol (more on that later), I turned CNN on briefly to find Wolf Blitzer discussing the case. Having watched the Supreme Court hand the presidency to Bush in 2000 re: Florida and then having seen all kinds of evidence that Ohio voting machines were tampered with in 2004 (not to mention the voters turned away from voting), I got this queasy feeling in my stomach again... the same one...

Republicans say they're fighting voter fraud, and that may well be true on some levels, but they are also going to shut out Democratic voters and potentially create a state of chaos that would allow hundreds of thousands of voters to be turned away either because they came without an ID or because their IDs are invalid.

All Politics ARE Local

I used to not believe the phrase about politics always being local, and I didn't understand why presidential candidates pounded the pavement in small towns across the country, but after becoming involved in local government and community work as well as state, national and a bit of international, I realize how much translates at all levels.

Take the environment, for example - it's one of the best - I was at an Emerge event last night for South Bay and Peninsula community Democratic women leaders in the San Francisco Bay Area, and a few of us were discussing the local environmental activities in Menlo Park and Atherton. A (male) candidate for the California Assembly, Paul Fong, was part of this discussion and since he's endorsed by the Sierra Club and running as the environmental (and educational) candidate, I asked him what he thought about what was going on at the state level and he said the current bill under discussion is "realistic." It concerns me that we still may not doing enough to keep the polar ice caps from melting, but we all agreed that if we don't start doing something at the city and state level, we'll never accomplish what we need to do nationally and internationally.

New Congresswoman Jackie Speier At Home in Washington

Tuesday, the special election for California District 12's seat in the House to replace Tom Lantos, couldn't have been better scripted for former California State Senator Jackie Speier. Winning 78% of the vote, she flew the next day to Washington and was sworn in yesterday as a member of Congress. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, she spoke on behalf of her constituents here in California and the majority of them want us out of Iraq. I lived in what's now her district in the past and I'm proud to say I was able to vote for her twice, but not this time. (I'm in her friend, Anna Eshoo's district now.) Jackie - or I should say - Congresswoman Speier was welcomed by many, and she spoke without fear about what she hopes to accomplish. And did I mention she's now a superdelegate?

Run, Mama, Run: Jackie Speier Running for Congress in Special Election Next Week

Imagine a great person, a principled woman, a dedicated mom in congress.  Yes, there are already a few of those, but we're very close to electing one more.  On April 8th, former California State Senator Jackie Speier may succeed to where she aimed nearly three decades ago, U.S. Congress.  Speier, shown left with me and my daughter, a resident of Hillsborough, California, the youngest woman elected to the San Mateo County supervisors, reportedly the first mom to breast feed in the California State Assembly (as a new widow), and a well-respected two-term state senator first ran for congress after a terrifying experience where her boss, then U.S. Congressman, Leo Ryan, was killed in front of her eyes.

This is a woman who I've had the privilege of seeing in action firsthand and whom I have admired for many years.  (Photo is from last year, taken on my phone of me, my daughter, and Senator Speier.)  People like her are rare, and our nation would be incredibly lucky to have her legislating on our behalf.  Due to a sad twist of fate, Senator Speier may become Congresswoman Speier in a special election next week.

For those not following this race, here's a great article that sums up much of what's going on, although the latest news is that Larry Lessig decided not to jump in.  I'm glad.  I've met him, I have friends who have worked with him, and I think he's an incredible person with a valiant mission, but he can make a difference in a variety of ways.  You couldn't interview a thousand people and find one better qualified for this role than Jackie Speier.  She's worked her whole life to get to this point.  She could do other jobs too or come at her work from another angle, but this is the best vehicle for her to serve the public good.