Ho-Ho-Ho-pen Seats! Michelle and Tulsi are “On the List” (the “Nice” one, of course!)

By Beth Davidson on 12/16/2011 @ 09:15 AM

Tags: Tulsi Gabbard, Michelle Lujan Grisham

‘Tis the season for giving – and there are few gifts we enjoy at EMILY’s List more than a big, shiny open congressional seat. Thanks to New Mexico Rep. Martin Heinrich’s and our own Mazie Hirono’s bids for the U.S. Senate, we have not only two terrific open-seat opportunities but – boy, we must have been really good this year – two amazing progressive women candidates blazing down the campaign trail.

While I hate to step on the red-suited guy’s story, it makes me feel quite jolly indeed to share the news that EMILY’s List is putting Michelle Lujan Grisham in New Mexico’s first district and Tulsi Gabbard in Hawaii’s second district “On the List” for your immediate support.

Both these women bring a wealth of both life and policy experience to their respective campaigns. Michelle, a twelfth-generation New Mexican, County Commissioner, and longtime health care advocate, turned the state’s Agency on Aging into a nationwide model for innovation and accountability. And as Secretary of the state’s Department of Health, she pushed to improve accessibility, expand school-based health centers, and promote teen pregnancy prevention. Michelle’s campaign pledge to protect services for the state’s most vulnerable isn’t political, it’s personal – a widow and single mother to two daughters, she understands the struggles of everyday New Mexican families.

And running for Mazie’s open seat is the fabulous rising star, the formidable Tulsi Gabbard, a Honolulu City Councilwoman and member of the Hawaiian National Guard for whom no hurdle seems too steep. Elected at 21 to the Hawaiian State Legislature, she’s both the Aloha State’s youngest-ever elected legislator and the country’s youngest-ever elected woman legislator. And during her second deployment to the Middle East (that’s right, she volunteered not once, but twice) she became the first woman to receive an award from the Kuwait National Guard for her work training their counter-terrorism team. Eminently well-rounded, she helped her parents start and run two family businesses and at just 19 founded the nonprofit Healthy Hawaii Coalition to educate schoolchildren about the importance of conserving the Aloha State’s water resources.

Both women face tough races – and Michelle’s district is mired in New Mexico’s messy redistricting process – but they’re both proven fighters with inspiring stories. Plus, these races are must-wins for Democrats, so we need to mobilize quickly behind these incredible candidates.

Just think about how fiercely our Democratic congresswomen have stood up for health care, family planning, and choice during the past year. What better gift could you could give yourself, your mother, your sister – or the country’s children, seniors and veterans – than two more progressive Democratic women in the House?

So whether you’re kindling Hanukkah candles, hanging Christmas stockings, sharing a Kwanzaa meal or whipping up a Festivus for the rest of us, take a moment and contribute to Michelle or Tulsi.

Happy Holidays!

Related Blog Posts:
Betty Sutton: Recommended and ready to prove the GOP wrong

What Joe Walsh was really waiting for: $3.5 million

Found: Lost Congressman Searching for Tea Party District

Betty Sutton: Recommended and ready to prove the GOP wrong

By Sarah Pierz on 12/15/2011 @ 11:45 AM

Tags: Betty Sutton, Why Women, GOP Opponents

Last week Betty Sutton announced she is running in the new 16th district of Ohio. Betty's been in this race for just 8 days and already she’s under attack. Betty has faced down GOP pressures before; it’s hard to forget a certain GOP mailer that claimed it was time to "take Betty Sutton out of the House and put her back in the kitchen." With the help of EMILY’s List, she certainly proved them wrong then, and she will do it again now.

Betty’s been a fighter against the extreme Republican agenda and a champion for working families. This race is a great opportunity to push back against GOP control in more ways than one, and we are excited to give her our endorsement.

After the Ohio redistricting process, she’ll be facing off against incumbent Jim Renacci, who votes in lock-step with the Republican party. But, it appears that Renacci isn’t in this race alone.

It should come as no surprise that Speaker Boehner is getting involved in the Ohio redistricting process. Public documents released on Monday showed that GOP Senate President Tom Niehaus pledged to deliver "a map that Speaker Boehner fully supports." You can guess that map doesn’t exactly lean in Betty’s favor.

In fact, the AP reports that Boehner’s aides asked for a “small carve out” that would put The Timken Company in the 16th, as it was “very important to someone important to us all." That “small carve out” adds a peninsula onto the district that contains “zero population” but is home to the “headquarters of a company whose executives and board members have contributed more than $120,000 to Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci in the last two years.” Sounds about right.

I can understand if facing off against Betty has the GOP more than a little nervous. She is a Democratic leader; in 2009 she authored the CARS Act which developed the “Cash for Clunkers” program which the Wall Street Journal said was “among the most successful stimulus packages to come out of Washington.” It created more than 60,000 jobs during the second half of 2009 and generated over 500,000 new vehicle sales.

She serves as co-chair of the Congressional Task Force on Job Creation and works every day to make sure Americans have opportunities to find employment. She also stands up to extreme legislation in the House, and voted against HR 3 “Stupak on Steroids” and resolutions to defund Planned Parenthood.

The people of Ohio deserve a Representative who will fight for them in Congress, and Betty Sutton is just the person for the job.

Related Blog Posts:
What Joe Walsh was really waiting for: $3.5 million

Found: Lost Congressman Searching for Tea Party District

Dan Webster FINALLY Hosts East Side Town Hall

What Joe Walsh was really waiting for: $3.5 million

By Emma Shapiro on 12/12/2011 @ 02:15 PM

Tags: Tammy Duckworth, Why Women, GOP Opponents

Do you remember Cong. Joe Walsh of Illinois? Of course you do.

Since taking office in January, he's famously refused to go to the State of the Union Address, served as a bullhorn for the far-far-right on topics like reproductive choice and Medicare, is a member of the Tea Party caucus and has been cited by the Chicago Sun-Times as a prime example of "what’s wrong with Washington." Oh, and he’s being sued for $100,000 in child support by his ex-wife.

Cong. Walsh -- who currently represents Illinois’ eighth congressional district, fled his constituents earlier this year when it appeared his path to re-election would be hindered by EMILY’s List endorsed candidate Tammy Duckworth. In September, Walsh said he'd run in the 14th district -- a less-Democratic district where Walsh’s extreme agenda might have been more welcome.

But last week Cong. Walsh flip-flopped and decided to go back to running in the eighth and today we understand why.

Walsh has been bribed back into the tougher district by state and national Republican officials like Speaker Boehner. Today, the Daily Herald reports that Cong. Walsh’s return to the 8th District was "lured by the thought of an easier primary and the promise, according to top Illinois GOP officials who requested anonymity … of $3.5 million in general election fundraising help from House Speaker John Boehner."

Apparently Speaker Boehner is giving out early holiday presents to buy his way into holding the House. While I am dismayed by Boehner's brazen move, I am not shocked. Time and again Boehner has proven he will do anything -- including almost shutting down the government over access to women's health care -- to keep the House in the hands of folks like Joe Walsh.

Republicans are trying to buy the seat and the NRCC is not denying it. Shameless, yes -- but here at EMILY’s List our tune hasn't changed and we have been singing the praises of Tammy Duckworth, an Iraq war veteran and former assistant secretary in the U.S. Veterans Affairs Administration. Tammy's a savvy candidate who knows what it will take to win. No matter who her opponent is, or the size of her opponent's war chest, we stand with Tammy.

Related Blog Posts:
Corrupt Scott Brown Calls for End to Congressional Corruption

Found: Lost Congressman Searching for Tea Party District

Dan Webster FINALLY Hosts East Side Town Hall

We see you, Karl Rove. We know your plan.

By Jonathan Parker on 12/08/2011 @ 02:15 PM

Tags: Elizabeth Warren, Tammy Baldwin, Debbie Stabenow, Claire McCaskill, Mazie Hirono, GOP Opponets

Karl Rove is betting 2012 on defeating our women in critical Senate races across the country. How do I know this? Just look at his latest move. He’s bought air time in Missouri and Massachusetts -- it’s a siren ahead of the bite -- he’s going up on the air to drag our women through the mud. Rove and his operatives at American Crossroads know the path to the Senate goes straight through our EMILY’s List candidates. Well, so do we.

We know that Elizabeth Warren is gaining momentum on Scott Brown. Just yesterday, the second poll in two weeks came out showing her leading. And this one showing her up by 7 points -- outside the margin of error!

We also know that Rove’s next move is likely going to be coming after Debbie Stabenow, Mazie Hirono, or Tammy Baldwin.

When the Republicans turn to Rove, our candidates need to know they can count on their secret weapon: you.

In Michigan, right-wing former GOP Cong. Pete Hoekstra leads the pack to challenge Debbie Stabenow, having snagged the endorsements of Tea Party luminary Michele Bachmann and conservative darling Paul Ryan. The entry of two-term former GOP Gov.-- and ace fundraiser -- Linda Lingle just made Mazie Hirono’s race potentially very competitive, while Karl Rove has stepped up his attacks on Claire McCaskill with a sizeable TV buy, more radio and even billboards. Finally, former Wisconsin Gov. and Bush cabinet member Tommy Thompson officially entered the Senate race against Tammy Baldwin, promising to repeal health care reform if elected.

Help our women build their war-chests ahead of the next wave of attack ads. Click here to help Debbie, Mazie, Claire, and Tammy fight back against right-wing attacks. As always, 100% of your contribution goes directly to their campaigns.

Related Blog Posts:
Corrupt Scott Brown Calls for End to Congressional Corruption

Found: Lost Congressman Searching for Tea Party District

Dan Webster FINALLY Hosts East Side Town Hall

Saluting the Ladies of the Senate

By Karyn Bruggeman on 12/08/2011 @ 01:00 PM

Tags: Kirsten Gillibrand, Debbie Stabenow, Maria Cantwell, Amy Klobuchar, Claire McCaskill, Mazie Hirono, Tammy Baldwin, Shelley Berkley, Barbara Boxer, Kay Hagan

Earlier this week, I had the delight of joining the EMILY’s List community gathered in D.C. to celebrate what is shaping up to be a historic year for women in politics -- with half the senate women up for re-election, and strong challengers and candidates for open seats -- this is the most Democratic women we’ve seen running for the senate, ever.

Young activists, supporters, longstanding donors, our heroes in Congress, men and women alike joined with EMILY’s List’s pro-choice Democratic women running and serving in the U.S. Senate. The evening was abuzz with energy, excitement, and a determination to get these strong women leaders elected and re-elected next November. Senator Barbara Boxer -- the longest-serving of the women Senators present, elected in 1992, the original Year of the Woman -- spoke on behalf of her sisters in the Senate and the House. She spoke of the war on women waged by Republicans and reminded us all: “the best way to fight back in this war is to elect more women.” Couldn’t agree more!

Check out some photos from the event in the slideshow below. To make sure you’re on the list for future events, click here to sign-up for EMILY’s List emails about national news and special events in your region.

Related Blog Posts:
Great week for Warren, Titus, Bustos, & Heitkamp but Stabenow and Hirono Need YOU!

Corrupt Scott Brown Calls for Stop of Corruption