June 2007

Strong candidates, promising opportunities

Democrats need women to hold the House

When two of the most visible political leaders in the country are pro-choice Democratic women — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and presidential front¬runner (and U.S. senator) Hillary Clinton — it's no surprise that dozens of qualified women are running (or thinking seriously about running) for office in 2008.

"Seeing leaders who look like us on the news and in the papers inspires women and gives them confidence that they can run and win," says Ellen R. Malcolm, president of EMILY's List. "We are working with so many outstanding women candidates who are enthused and ready to run. Their energy is infectious — which will be critical in the long months ahead, as Democrats work to keep control of Congress and expand control in the states."

Two women, one seat

One sign of women's excitement about running is the number of races with two or more outstanding pro-choice Democratic women running for the same seat.

"We can't help but feel pride about the work EMILY's List has done when we see the sheer number of experienced, qualified women candidates who are running for office this cycle," says Malcolm. "This is the kind of ‘problem' we appreciate."

Two upcoming special elections in Massachusetts and California feature more than one top-tier woman candidate.

In Massachusetts's fifth congressional district, Rep. Marty Meehan's decision to give up his House seat set off a frenzy among Democrats eager to replace him. Attorney and college dean Niki Tsongas, widow of former Sen. Paul Tsongas, leads the field of five heading into the Sept. 4 primary election; others include Eileen Donoghue, the former mayor of Lowell, and three state representatives, one of whom has raised substantial funds. This is a fairly safe Democratic seat, but Republicans have united behind one credible candidate, setting up a possible GOP takeover attempt. The general election will be Oct. 16.

"Whenever more than one pro-choice Democratic woman is in a race, we weigh all the factors very carefully," says Ellen Moran, EMILY's List's executive director. "If we conclude that neither woman could win without our help, we support the stronger of the two women."

EMILY's List announced its endorsement of Tsongas May 17.

The mother of three daughters, Tsongas has lived and worked in this community for 35 years and is highly respected by voters across the district.

"Niki Tsongas has hired a first-rate staff, lined up support from key players in the district, and inspired a huge crew of volunteers to work on her behalf," says Jonathan Parker, EMILY's List's political director. "She's demonstrated her commitment to winning by raising enough money to be competitive with her opponents, who are all strong fundraisers. In short, Niki has the political following, the infrastructure, and resources it takes to win."

This is an exciting opportunity to add a new pro-choice Democratic woman to Congress and to finally add a woman to the state's congressional delegation, which has been all-male for over 25 years.

Pro-choice Democratic women are making history in California, where a special primary election to replace the late Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald is scheduled for June 26. Nineteen Democrats filed to run for this safe Democratic seat; the top three candidates — state Sen. Jenny Oropeza, state Assemblywoman Laura Richardson, and Valerie McDonald, daughter of the late congresswoman — are all pro-choice Democratic women.

"Our political staff has contacted each of these women, whom we know and admire," says Malcolm. "They are all worthy successors to Juanita Millender-McDonald. Since it is virtually certain that one of them will win the nomination, EMILY's List has decided not to issue an endorsement in the primary. We're looking forward to working with the winner to ensure the seat remains in Democratic hands in the Aug. 21 general election."

Rematches shape up

In 2006, several pro-choice Democratic women came very close to defeating right-wing Republicans in key districts that remain strong takeover opportunities in 2008. Many of these women are ready to try again. But the possibility of unseating a vulnerable incumbent has drawn additional Democrats into some races. And, as in these special elections, some now feature more than one pro-choice Democratic woman:

  • Franklin County Commissioner Mary Jo Kilroy will challenge Rep. Deborah Pryce in Ohio's 15th district. Kilroy nearly unseated Pryce, then the highest ranking woman in the GOP House leadership, in 2006. Kilroy faces a strong challenger for the Democratic nomination in her county commission colleague, Paula Brooks, who is also pro-choice.
  • New Jersey state Sen. Linda Stender is eyeing a rematch with Republican Rep. Mike Ferguson in the state's seventh district.
  • Angie Paccione is among several Democrats hoping to challenge right-wing Rep. Marilyn Musgrave in Colorado's fourth district. In 2006, Paccione came within three points of defeating Musgrave, a conservative firebrand who sponsored the amendment to ban gay marriage. Another pro-choice Democratic woman, Betsy Markey, hopes to challenge Musgrave. Markey has broad experience in Colorado as a business owner, Democratic activist, and aide to U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar, as well as experience working at the U.S. State and Treasury Departments.
  • Former Microsoft executive Darcy Burner has decided to run against Republican Rep. Dave Reichert in Washington's eighth district. Burner held Reichert to 51 percent of the vote in 2006.
  • Ohio physician and public health expert Vic Wulsin is planning a rematch against Republican Rep. Jean Schmidt in the second district. Schmidt, a vitriolic conservative who called former Marine Jack Murtha (D-Penn.) a coward on the House floor for advocating withdrawal from Iraq, will likely face a primary challenge.

Another rematch is taking shape in the Washington governor's race. After winning in 2006 by 133 votes, Gov. Christine Gregoire has fortified her standing with voters during her three years in office. Her leadership has resulted in signature achievements, including legislation to address climate control, improve the state's public schools, and expand health care coverage to the uninsured, particularly children. Gregoire's high approval ratings make her a tougher target for 2002 Republican nominee Dino Rossi, who is the GOP's first choice to challenge the governor. Rossi is silent on his plans but acting very much like a candidate. He recently launched a so-called nonpartisan foundation whose website is a thinly veiled critique of the Gregoire administration.

Florida fiasco

Another rematch is taking shape in Florida's 13th district. Democrat Christine Jennings, who lost by 369 votes to Republican Vern Buchanan in 2006, is pressing ahead with her challenge to the outcome based on evidence of election fraud.

A software glitch may have caused as many as 18,000 votes to go uncounted in the Democratic stronghold of Sarasota. Jennings, who is challenging the results in Congress and in Florida courts, is hopeful that an investigative task force formed by the House Administrative Committee will overturn the election and seat her in Congress.

Whether she is the incumbent or the challenger (and Florida Democrats consider her the incumbent), Jennings will likely face Buchanan again in 2008. A millionaire used car salesman, Buchanan was chased for eight years by the IRS for over $8 million in unpaid back taxes. He recently returned from a trip to Iraq complaining that, "I'd like to have got a few gifts, go into town, or look at that town, but you can't go anywhere, especially as an American, because it's too dangerous."

Strong recruits

Democrats have an excellent pick-up opportunity in Missouri, where Kay Barnes, the former mayor of Kansas City, is preparing to challenge Rep. Sam Graves in the sixth congressional district. Barnes has bipartisan appeal as the architect of dramatic economic revitalization in Kansas City. And while her base is in the urban part of this district, her roots are rural, broadening her appeal against Graves, a standard Bush rubber stamp with a staunch anti-choice voting record.

Colorado State Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald is likely to face at least two opponents in the August 2008 Democratic primary for the second congressional district, a marginally Democratic open seat. One Democrat has the potential to invest considerable personal wealth into his campaign. Fortunately Fitz-Gerald is off to a strong start, having secured key early labor endorsements.

In Maine, former state Sen. Chellie Pingree is running in the open first congressional district. Pingree was endorsed by EMILY's List in 2002 when she challenged U.S. Sen. Susan Collins. Other Democrats are looking at the race, including attorney and former Portland city Councilwoman Jill Duson.

EMILY's List is also monitoring additional opportunities in Arizona, Nevada, Florida, Illinois, New Mexico, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Colorado, where candidates whom EMILY's List has worked with through our Political Opportunity Program (POP) may be ready to run for higher office.

"And of course, we are doing all we can to protect our vulnerable incumbents — women like Kirsten Gillibrand in New York, Melissa Bean in Illinois, Gabrielle Giffords in Arizona, and Carol Shea-Porter in New Hampshire, who have all been targeted by the GOP," says Malcolm.

Challenges ahead

"This is an exciting time in politics," says Malcolm, "and we Democrats are right to feel optimistic about 2008. Bush is extraordinarily unpopular and his allies are tarnished by their support for his war. Casualties in Iraq are mounting; congressional Republicans are dropping like flies due to ethical scandals; and the GOP presidential field is as lackluster as the Democrats' is impressive.

"And yet — it would be a grave mistake to become complacent when our gains hang by a thread. Republicans have the zeal of the outcast. They are desperate to be back in power and ready to launch gutter politics and ‘Swift Boat' smears. Democrats have to be prepared — and EMILY's List is doing everything we can to ensure pro-choice Democratic women have the resources to fight back."

What's Cooking

As blue as they are, New Jersey and Massachusetts have blind spots when it comes to electing women ... New Jersey has not sent a Democratic woman to Congress in 25 years ... Massachusetts hasn't in over 35 years ... but the times might be a-changing ... in the Bay State, EMILY's List endorsed attorney Niki Tsongas in the special election to replace retiring Massachusetts Rep. Marty Meehan ... Tsongas has four opponents in the Sept. 4 primary ... New Jersey state Sen. Linda Stender, who narrowly lost a challenge to Republican Mike Ferguson in New Jersey's seventh congressional district, is considering a rematch ... Democrats are urging her to take another shot ... it might come as no surprise to Sopranos fans that strip clubs are a major component of New Jersey's "power culture" ... according to former Gov. Jim McGreevey's new memoir, the state's lawmakers "used to order beer after beer at Cheeques, watching the dancers ... while debating everything from local policy initiatives and tax rate tables to the merits of silicone breast enhancements" ... talk about your smoke-filled back rooms ... nothing like a little estrogen to clear out all those good old boys and stale cigar smoke.

Sen. Claire McCaskill was invited to speak at the commencement for St. Joseph's Academy in Frontenac, Mo., a Catholic high school ... then promptly disinvited ... her support for reproductive rights and embryonic stem cell research landed her on the "do not speak" list ... McCaskill attributes the rescinded invitation to Raymond Burke, archbishop of St. Louis ... for McCaskill, the affront was personal ... "I was thrilled that the great young women at St. Joseph's Academy invited me to speak at their graduation," McCaskill said. "It was a special opportunity because my daughter is one of the graduates. I'm disappointed that the archbishop has made this decision" ... McCaskill is not the first to be chastised by Burke ... Burke warned Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry, who like McCaskill is pro-choice and Catholic, not to seek communion while on a campaign trip to Missouri in 2004 ... more recently, Burke publicly resigned from the board of a medical charity because singer Sheryl Crow agreed to perform at a benefit for children with cancer ... Crow, a Missouri native and breast cancer survivor, earned Burke's wrath for her support for embryonic stem cell research.

Eighteen-year-old Katie Kamar didn't realize when she got a new cell phone number that she'd also get a taste of what it's like to be governor ... the Lansing, Mich., teenager's new phone number turns out to have once be¬longed to Gov. Jennifer Granholm ... Kamar told Detroit Free Press columnist Desiree Cooper she learned first-hand just how hard the governor works ... she began fielding calls at all hours from people desperate to reach Granholm ... "We were having a family dinner and my phone rang. The whole table got silent and when I said, ‘Sorry, this isn't the governor,‘ the whole house broke out in laughter" ... the high school senior noted that "it would be an honor to be governor, but people want to talk to you 24-7."

New Yorkers want their senator to be president ... Hillary Clinton has racked up endorsements from every Democratic statewide official in her home state, including Sen. Chuck Schumer, Gov. Eliot Spitzer, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, and Controller Tom DiNapoli ... Clinton also gets a gold star for attendance in the Senate, while her opponents struggle to make it to their day jobs ... Clinton has missed only two percent of Senate votes ... that's the least of any presidential candidate in Congress ... Sen. John McCain failed to cast a vote 49 percent of the time, more than any senator except Tim Johnson (D-S.D.), who has been hospitalized since having a stroke in January ... maybe the Straight Talk Express ran out of gas on the road to the White House.

In fairness to McCain and other members of Congress running for president, the pace has picked up under Democratic control ... the New York Times compared congressional activity during the first three months of 2007 to the first three months of 2005, when Republicans were in charge ... led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Congress is working harder and getting more done ... members of the House have spent 49 days in session under Democrats vs. 27 days in session under Republicans ... passed 31 substantive measures under Ds vs. 13 under Rs ... held 264 oversight hearings under Ds, 135 under Rs ... held 74 hearings devoted to Iraq under Ds, 33 under Rs ... and Congress has passed 16 bills that have been signed into law — vs. six during the same period of 2005.

Circus impresario P.T. Barnum is credited with saying, "there's a sucker born every minute" ... to Fox News host Bill O'Reilly, there's about nine suckers born every minute ... according to researchers at Indiana University, O'Reilly calls a person or a group a derogatory name once every 6.8 seconds, on average, during the editorials that open his program each night, called the "No Spin Zone."

Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) became a top GOP target as soon as she defeated ethically challenged incumbent John Sweeney last November ... now Sweeney is thinking of making a comeback in this Republican-leaning district ... Sweeney, whose list of ethical lapses is too long to enumerate, was named one of the 20 most corrupt congressmen by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics... Republicans are looking for new and improved candidates ... others hoping to make Gillibrand a one-term wonder include multimillionaire GOP boss and former N.Y. Secretary of State Alexander "Sandy" Treadwell, and Richard Wager, an aide to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg ... Gillibrand is ready ... she topped the list of first-term Democrats with $668,000 raised during the first quarter of 2007 ... EMILY's List is helping Gillibrand and other frontline Democratic freshmen build up their campaign war chests early to discourage potential challengers.

According to Capitol Hill daily The Hill, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz is something of a cult figure to her staff ... the paper interviewed three recent hires who gushed their admiration for the two-term Democrat from Florida, who was elected with help from EMILY's List in 2004 ... perhaps the most meaningful endorsement for Wasserman Schultz comes from Rosalyn Kumar, her legislative correspondent ... "It's amazing to work for a member who works a lot harder than you do and you know it," Kumar said.

Bush fatigue is in full force ... Washington Post political reporter Dana Milbank noted a Bush gaffe that barely made a ripple in the press ... in a recent speech about Iraq, Bush said the First Amendment protecting freedom of the press is "just something that we've all got to live with" ... sigh ... sometimes those pesky constitutional freedoms are just so tiresome ... and upholding them? Puh-leeze.

Myths about Hillary Clinton

by Ellen R. Malcolm, EMILY's List President

Whenever a woman runs to be the first to hold an office, she faces two challenges: defeating her opponents and defeating gender stereotypes. Here are some of the myths that Hillary Clinton must defeat as she runs to be the first woman president.

Myth: Hillary can't win

Women hear this myth over and over. That's why we started EMILY's List: to raise early money and give our candidates credibility. How frustrating to hear it said about Hillary Clinton, the front¬runner! Hillary is the only Democratic presidential candidate who has faced the Republican machine and come out the winner. Republicans spent more than $60 million trying to defeat her in the 2000 Senate race and they failed. They tried again in 2006, yet she won by an even greater margin. Hillary knows how to fight back and she knows how to win.

Myth: Hillary is divisive

The right wing's been attacking Hillary for 15 years, and after all that, it's not surprising that there is one group that doesn't like Hillary: hard-core Republicans. According to a CBS News poll, 80 percent of Republican voters have an unfavorable opinion of her. But those committed Republicans won't vote for the Democrat no matter who it is. Republicans' feelings inflate Hillary's overall negatives, but Democrats and independent voters are much warmer, which is why she is the front¬runner.

This myth is often espoused by those who decry negative attacks in campaigns and have watched the Republicans go after the Clintons for years. Like all of us, they want campaigns to be about issues, not attacks. But Republicans will fight tooth and nail to hold onto the White House and will ruthlessly attack Barack Obama or John Edwards or whoever the Democratic nominee is.

Republicans have spent years and millions investigating and attacking Hillary Clinton. You can be sure that there will be no surprises about her, no skeletons in her closet, no novice mistakes — and no hesitation to respond to their "Swift Boat" attacks.

Myth: Hillary has not been strong enough on Iraq

Hillary has repeatedly said that if she had had all the facts when she voted for the initial authorization for the war — and knew that the Bush administration cooked intelligence and misled Congress — she would not have voted in favor of the Iraq resolution. She has consistently denounced the Bush administration's conduct of the war and supported every measure to get us out of Iraq. Hillary proposed legislation to redeploy the troops, to maintain the number of troops at the pre-surge level, and, most recently, to revoke the authority Congress granted Bush to invade Iraq.

The president and Republicans have used the filibuster and the veto pen to thwart Democrats' efforts to change direction in Iraq. Hillary has made it very clear that when she is president, she will bring the troops home.

Myth: Hillary can't personally connect with voters

Tell that to the voters she's meeting in primary states! Republicans have tried to make Hillary into a cardboard cut-out of a cold, one-dimensional political figure. But local press in primary states report that when voters meet Hillary, they quickly discover that she is warm, relaxed, and has a great sense of humor. Polls show that support for Hillary is increasing as voters learn who she is and hear what she has to say.

In 2000, Hillary demonstrated her ability to connect with voters, winning her Senate election by campaigning throughout New York, including Republican rural and upstate areas. She was re-elected in 2006 with 67 percent of the vote, carrying 37 counties that Bush won in 2004. Hillary is doing the same thing in primary states that she did to win over New Yorkers: having conversations with voters about their priorities and explaining why she believes that, as president, she can lead the country toward a better, safer future.

Myth: Hillary has enough money

I never expected to hear that about a woman candidate! The Clinton fundraising team is working so hard that some people think she will have all the money she needs. But Democratic primary candidates are raising tens of millions of dollars. Furthermore, the new front-loaded primary calendar will stretch the limits of even the most well-funded candidate. In fact, so many states have shifted to the early primary dates that Hillary's campaign must reach 65 million voters in 24 states in only 22 days!

Myth: Hillary is just another politician who compromises her principles

Hillary came of age in the 1960s, when young people across America were fighting for social justice. She could have done almost anything she wanted after law school, but she turned down lucrative offers from top law firms to work with the Children's Defense Fund.

She has always used her opportunities and position to make a positive difference for millions of women, children, and families. As first lady of Arkansas she helped to create the Arkansas Children's Health Insurance Program and to improve public schools. As our country's first lady, she stood in front of the world community at Beijing to announce that women's rights are human rights — a simple but, in many cultures, revolutionary statement that gave millions of women hope and courage. She has always been a strong supporter of a woman's right to choose.

Hillary will continue to fight for issues that affect families. And when she wins, for the first time the president will truly understand women's lives — because it's her life, too!