EMILY's List alum Cong. Diana DeGette (CO-01) has been front and center in the debate about the Stupak/Pitts Amendment in the House's health care bill. Diana, who co-chairs the House's pro-choice caucus with another EMILY's List alum, Cong. Louise Slaughter (NY-28), took a lead role in speaking out against the amendment after it was introduced, and she has been actively working to educate voters about the amendment's potential outcomes and make sure it's not included in the final version of the bill.
Here's a video of Diana speaking with Rachel Maddow about how far-reaching the new restrictions on women's rights would be, if Stupak/Pitts becomes law:
Huge news from Martha Coakley's Senate campaign this week!
Martha's supporters, including EMILY's List members, helped her raise $4.1 million since announcing her candidacy in September.
And we know Martha needs it -- in a high-profile special election like this one, Martha will need every last dollar to communicate her message and mobilize voters to the polls on Dec. 8. Martha's three opponents have already spent almost $9 million on television ads, and it's going to take all of us working together to help Martha become Massachusetts' first woman senator!
As excited as we are for Martha, we also know she won't have a moment of down time before this race is over. Just yesterday, Martha released her job creation plan and unveiled a host of endorsements among Massachusetts' business leaders.
Cheryle Robinson Jackson, our candidate in the IL-Senate race, took a strong stand against the Stupak/Pitts Amendment today. In an email to supporters about her reactions to the House and Senate versions of the bill, she called the amendment "an insidious way to take us back to the dark ages."
"The Stupak-Pitts amendment to the House bill that passed would deny millions of women access to safe, affordable reproductive health care and would especially hurt lower income women. It would even prohibit women from using their own private money for such coverage. Just yesterday, the George Washington University released a study that found that this amendment would end up eliminating ALL abortion coverage eventually – for ALL women."
Cheryle is certainly a leader in the fight to protect reproductive rights -- and with those rights currently under attack, it's clear we need women leaders like Cheryle joining the ranks of our pro-choice Democratic women in Congress.
The New York Daily News is reporting that, after deciding not to run for governor, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani "will run for U.S. Senate," pitting him against EMILY's List candidate Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand.
From the story:
A source familiar with Giuliani's thinking said the failed presidential candidate has been telling people he plans to run against Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in 2010 to fill out the remaining two years of Hillary Clinton's term.
If elected, the source said, he could use that as a stepping stone to run for President in 2012 - rather than run for re-election to the Senate.
Kirsten hit the ground running when she joined the Senate this January, and we know how crucial her voice is in Washington. We'll keep you updated on race developments as we learn more.
We were excited to have congressional candidate Ann McLane Kuster (NH-02) in the office this week. Ann's campaign is in full swing, and we're always happy when candidates drop by the office to check in with staff.
In case you missed our earlier post about Ann's leadership on women's reproductive rights, particularly relevant during the current threat of the Stupak/Pitts Amendment, be sure to read it here. And you can learn more about Ann's race in the Granite state by checking out her candidate profile.
Here are some pictures from Ann's time in the office.
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