Blog
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May 02, 2012
On Tuesday, May 8, North Carolina voters will vote for or against a Constitutional Amendment on the May Primary Ballot, also known as “Amendment One.” Amendment One isn’t your average anti-LGBT amendment – the amendment on North Carolina’s ballot will make Marriage the only “domestic legal union” recognized under NC law. The term “domestic legal union” isn’t defined anywhere in North Carolina case law – so the state is looking at an overly broad, unnecessary amendment that could go as far as stripping domestic violence protections from unmarried couples.
Since September, the Young Democrats of North Carolina (YDNC) has been busy fighting the Amendment. Within hours of the Amendment’s passing, YDNC became the first group in the state to officially oppose the Amendment when its Executive Committee unanimously passed a motion in opposition. Young Democrats got to work immediately, participating in events across the state, recruiting volunteers, making calls, and even advertising on facebook and local blogs. Some members of the executive committee joined the campaign against the amendment as staff, while others got to work organizing their chapters.
YDNC President Sam Spencer spoke out against the amendment in print, online, and on television, while chapter leaders like Buncombe YD President Parker Sloan organized phone banks to reach out to voters. YDNC launched the Democrats for Equality campaign to ask Democrats to oppose the Amendment, and the Wake County Young Democrats put forward a forceful resolution that eventually became the state party’s resolution against the amendment (http://www.ncdp.org/page/-/20120319141149495.pdf).
After the State Party adopted the YDNC resolution against Amendment One, YDNC worked with the party in hiring a full-time staff member to oppose the Amendment. As part of the YDNC Convention in March & April, YDNC Vice President Gabriel Seth Koch led a day of action against the amendment. The YDNC Women’s Caucus has been vocal about how the amendment harms women, and many of its members are actively working to defeat the measure.
YDNC is currently recruiting poll workers for election day (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dGE5UXVfTVVaWFVfaTNQYVhGRURYelE6MQ), and any YDA member can join in the fight starting at 7:00 PM on May 2. Sign Up Here: http://www.anymeeting.com/WebConference/default.aspx?ip_ek=voteagainst1
You can also sign up to call from home from across the US here: http://www.protectallncfamilies.org/crmapi/volunteer
Other Links:
YDNC: https://www.facebook.com/theYDNC
YDNC Women’s Caucus: https://www.facebook.com/YoungDemocratsOfNorthCarolinaWomensCaucus
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April 26, 2012
Women’s issues are a hot topic this year, and it seems like there’s something new to talk about every day. Recently, a commentator on CNN named Hilary Rosen caused a stir by declaring that Ann Romney has never worked a day in her life. She was immediately called out by the Romney camp and others, who insisted that raising five children, as Ann has done, was work, and hard work at that. Now that’s true, no one should be belittling or disparaging the work that mothers do, whether they work outside the home or not. But while Rosen’s word choice was poor, the sentiment she was trying to convey was correct.
There’s no way that Ann Romney, with all of the family’s money, could possibly know what the average American mother’s daily life is like. She doesn’t know what it’s like to work full time outside the house, then come home to cooking, cleaning and child care. She doesn’t know what it’s like to struggle to pay the bills or put food on the table. She has lived in a world of privilege that most American women can only dream of. The Romney’s seized on Rosen’s ill spoken comment though, with Ann even calling it “an early birthday gift” at a private fundraiser. They positioned themselves as the champions of stay at home mothers, and their dignity and value to society.
But of course, Mitt Romney being Mitt Romney, this whole kerfuffle comes with a giant flip-flop as a bonus prize. Turns out, back in January, Romney told a crowd of New Hampshire voters that women receiving welfare benefits need to know “the dignity of work,” and should be required to look for work outside of the home. In other words….Ann Romney is a working stay at home mother, women receiving welfare need to get work outside of the home because stay at home mothering doesn’t count as real work. Only in Mitt’s world. This is just one more reason we have to work as hard as we can to reelect President Obama in the fall. Mitt Romney takes every side of an issue, hold different standards for different people, and can’t even make up his mind on where he stands on issues. If I wanted flip-flops I’d buy some Havaianas. But I want a president, so I’ll vote for Barack Obama.
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April 25, 2012
via Think Progress
By Alex Seitz-Wald on Apr 24, 2012 at 11:55 am
In its effort to reach out to young voters, Mitt Rommney’s campaign held a conference call with reporters today to discuss what the presumed GOP nominee thinks of President Obama’s record on the youth (not much) and what they have to offer young Americans (also not much).
“President Obama gets an ‘F’ for failing our youth,” said surrogate Hank Brown, a 72-year-old former Republican senator from who also served as the president of the University of Colorado. Obama was merely “able to fool” the two-thirds of people under 30 who voted for him in 2008, Brown added, before promising, “You’re going to see a dramatic turnaround on the campuses this year, with much stronger support for the Republican ticket.”
So, if Obama was so bad, what would a Romney presidency do instead? The septuagenarian Brown, joined on the call by Rep. Aaron Schock (R-IL) and College Republican National Committee Chairman Alex Schriver, didn’t really have much to offer.
First, Romney’s surrogates downplayed the importance of issues that directly affect young people. Schock criticized Obama for his “focus on student loan and student debt,” saying the real issue young people care about is jobs. Brown, meanwhile, attacked Obama for not reforming entitlement programs, saying young people should worry about their solvency in the future.
And, while Romney and Obama agree that Congress should extend a provision currently before Congress to extend lower interest rates on some student loans, Schock was not optimistic about his Republican colleagues’ willingness to pass it. The congressman repeatedly called the issue a distraction, saying, “In the grand scheme of things, it’s not what we ought to be — we shouldn’t allow issues like this to bog down the bigger agenda, which is how do create jobs in this country.” He added: “In the meantime, we need to be focused on the bigger issues.”
Meanwhile, Schriver suggested the reason tuition costs are going up is because “this president decided to take over the student loan market.” Schriver is referring to a provision passed along with the Affordable Care Act, that removed Wall Street middlemen from the student loan process. Tuition costs were rising long before the law passed in 2010, and the reform actuallysaves taxpayers money, so Schriver’s claim rings hollow. But Romney himself has suggestedthat he would roll back this provision, and insert banks once again in the student loan system, where the money comes from taxpayers and the middlemen merely add costs with profit.
In all, the call mentioned not a single positive program to help young people directly, offering only attacks on Obama and generalized prescriptions for the entire economy.
Not mentioned on the call is how young people wold be negatively impacted by other policies Romney supports, starting with the House Republican budget authored by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI). The proposal, which Romney has strongly endorsed (and Schock voted for), would allowstudent loan interest rates to double, and would cut $200 billion from the Pell Grant program,kicking off over 1 million students.
Romney also wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act, including its provision that allows kids up to 26 years old to remain on their parents’ health insurance plans. More than 2.5 million young adults had already received coverage, as of December, under this part of the law, and would presumably lose it if Romney has his way.
A new poll from Harvard University shows Obama widening his lead over Romney among voters 18 to 29, now enjoying a 17 point lead, a gain of six points from the last poll in November.
http://thinkprogress.org/education/2012/04/24/470083/romney-youth-conference-call/
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April 22, 2012
Amidst all the negative news about women’s health and rights this election cycle, one positive is on the horizon. The Senate is about to take up reauthorization of the Violence against Women Act (VAWA), and the new version will expand protections to new communities: undocumented immigrants, Native Americans and LGBT individuals. Not everybody likes these new provisions though. Some members of the Republican Party, lead by Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, have opposed the reauthorization of VAWA specifically because they don’t want these individuals to have protection against domestic violence under the law.
In case you’re not familiar with the bill, VAWA was originally written by then Senator Biden in 1994, and has dramatically changed domestic violence statistics in this country, with rates cut in half since it was first passed. It’s also important to remember that VAWA works to protect women AND men who are the victims of domestic violence, but focuses on women for the simple reason that more women suffer from domestic violence than men. It’s important for us as Young Democrats to stand up for VAWA, and for expanding it to new populations. We believe that every woman, regardless of immigration status, sexual orientation or race/ethnicity should receive the same protections under the law. It’s a shame certain Republican senators can’t see it that way.
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April 19, 2012
Executive Vice President Colmon Elridge has released the following statement on behalf of the Young Democrats of America:
“It is apparent that as the general election heats up and with the lack of any coherent vision for the future of our nation, the Romney campaign is so desperate for attention, they will stand by anyone, even if that person has proven through his rhetoric and actions, that his love for our country is at best conditional to having his prefered candidate in office. We can only hope that Mitt Romney does not agree with the sentiments expressed by Ted Nugent and that his abdication of true leadership in this matter does not incite his supporters to violence against the President, Vice President, members of the Obama Administration, or anyone who does not share their world view.
The real question for Nugent’s preferred presidential candidate Mitt Romney is why he and his campaign feel as though his tepid response to the patently un-American, hate filled, and violent rhetoric spewed by Ted Nugent shows anything but a cowardice on Mr. Romney’s part to disassociate himself with such out-of-bounds rhetoric and admonish his “celebrity” endorser for comments that are the antithesis of what it means to be an engaged citizen.
After almost three decades with no legitimate marketability or success in music, Ted Nugent has shown himself to be exactly what most Americans believe him to be, an aging and irrelevant celebrity, who not being able to nab 15 minutes of fame, looks for five seconds of attention.”
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April 13, 2012
Last winter, the Young Democrats of Louisiana embarked on a mission to recruit, file, and elect young Democrats to local and state Democratic Party posts. In the past, these posts largely went unnoticed and some committees have been empty for years. These posts are the grassroots positions needed for a great state party. They recruit candidates for local and state office, register voters, inform the public of the party’s principles, and much more.
After months of online-organizing, canvassing, and phone banking, election day arrived. Young Democrats took almost 30% of all seats on the state party’s committee. East Baton Rouge Parish is the largest in Louisiana and includes the capital city, LSU, and Southern University. Young Dems in East Baton Rouge Parish won half of all seats on its Democratic Parish Committee.
“With these election experiences and new offices, Young Dems will be ready to run for and staff bigger and better things in the near future. There is no better time than now for Young Dems to bring needed progress to Louisiana,” said Brett Jackson, President of YDL, who won both his state and local party posts.
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April 10, 2012
For Immediate Release: April 4, 2012
Contact: Amanda Narod
YDA Statement on Rick Santorum’s Exit From Presidential Race
“With or without Rick Santorum in the race, the Republican Presidential nominees are offering nothing for young people, and young people know it,” states Emily Tisch Sussman, Executive Director of Young Democrats of America. “The most recent primary in Maryland had a youth turn out of 2 percent, and the important swing state of Wisconsin had a mere 8 percent. Compare that to the excitement and passion of the 2008 Democratic Primary, it is clear that the field of Republican candidates do not appeal to young people. Young people are engaged and aware that the Republican candidates have a vision for the future of our nation that is inconsistent with the America we believe can and should exist.”
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April 04, 2012
“As the Republican Presidential Primary Circus continues, the American people are becoming less than amused by the politics and policies that Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum are advocating,” said YDA President Rod Snyder. “Facts are stubborn, and the facts of the politics and policies of the Republican frontrunners are that they are aimed at disenfranchising young Americans, women, minorities, and entire regions of our nation, while empowering very few. This is not the legacy of the America we have inherited or the legacy we should want to pass on to future generations.”
“Maryland, as a solid blue state, missed much of the excitement of the Republican primary and had a relatively quiet Primary Election Day as the Romney/Santorum battle was barely felt here with the candidates focusing their efforts elsewhere in the country”, said Young Democrats of Maryland President Erin Schurmann. “We were happy to once again vote for President Obama and reaffirm our support for our friend, U.S. Senator Ben Cardin. This fall, we’ll be defending the DREAM Act and marriage equality, as well. Maryland produced the most per-capita volunteer hours for President Obama and Democrats around the country in 2008. We’re determined to beat that number in 2012 and fight to keep our country in the hands of leaders who fight for better health care, a fair economy, a cleaner environment, and civil rights for all of its citizens.”
“The people of Wisconsin, Maryland, and Washington, DC know that the minority that have come to vote this evening are effectively doing so with one hand tied behind their back,” said YDA Executive Vice President Colmon Elridge. “Republican voters increasingly understand and their lack of enthusiasm are proof that their presidential candidates are not prepared to lead our nation and young voters especially understand that the Republicans have no vision to guide our nation into the future. These candidates want to play president. Barack Obama is President and has earned the opportunity to lead our nation for another four years.”
For more information on the Young Democrats of Maryland, please visit www.ydmaryland.org and more for information on the Young Democrats of America, please visit www.YDA.org.
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April 01, 2012
The YDA Faith and Values Initiative launched its inaugural Faith and Values Leadership Summit last weekend in Washington, DC. This first-of-its kind gathering brought together a diverse group of leaders from 24 states for networking and training in faith-focused Democratic communications, campaign outreach, and organizing. In addition to the leadership development and education provided during this three-day event, participants left the Summit with a sense of purpose and a firm commitment to the work ahead.
“The Summit reminded me that I’m not alone in these convictions or this work,” said Kate Davis, who traveled from Kansas for the event. “I got to sit in a room with extraordinary people – young people with incredible stories about deeply held faith, and how that faith becomes action in the form of changing the policies and structures that are immoral and unacceptable. I am leaving with a network of friendships and support that will strengthen me as I take this work back to my state and local party.”
Speakers and presenters included former Congressman Tom Perriello (D-VA); Burns Strider, former Director of Faith Outreach on Senator Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign; Eric Sapp, founding partner of the Eleison Group; Mara Vanderslice Kelly, former Director of Faith Outreach for Senator John Kerry’s presidential campaign; John Kelly, former Democratic National Committee director of Catholic Outreach; and Rev. Derrick Harkins, the current Director of Faith Outreach for the Democratic National Committee. This group of national experts provided unique and practical insights into how to do highly effective outreach to people of faith.
“I really enjoyed engaging with people who are enthusiastic about bridging the gap between people of faith and Democratic policies and politics,” says Jamal Hill of Washington, DC. “What I am most appreciative of is the tangible takeaways we received for how to affect electoral politics, and the strong networks gained.”
The Summit is part of the YDA Faith and Values Initiative. Launched in October 2011, this effort aims to communicate to young Americans the values at the core of Democratic Party policies. The mission of the initiative is to win religious Millennials to the Democratic Party today while building faithful Democratic leaders for the future. Since its inception, the initiative has developed a leadership team representing 22 states and established Communications, Campaign and Outreach committees to reach religious Millennials with the message that Democratic policies are much more aligned with the values of people of faith than the extreme positions that today’s out-of-step Republicans have come to embrace.
“Whether it’s fighting for economic justice for the working class, stewardship of the environment, compassionate immigration policies, or a commitment to civil rights and equality, young people of faith are finding that their values are increasingly in line with the priorities of the Democratic Party,” says YDA President Rod Snyder. “The political fault lines and culture wars of the past four decades are shifting dramatically, and the YDA Faith and Values Initiative will seek to demonstrate that the Republican Party no longer has a monopoly on faith.”
Moving forward, the Faith and Values Initiative will conduct robust outreach to young Americans throughout the 2012 campaign cycle and will train young Democratic leaders from around the country to effectively connect with their religious peers based on shared values. To learn more about the YDA Faith and Values Initiative, go to www.ydafaithandvalues.org, sign up for our monthly updates, and follow us on Facebook and Twitter (@ydafaithvalues)!
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March 30, 2012
The headlines the last few days have been filled with debate about The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), signed into law 2 years ago by President Obama, and whether or not the U.S. Supreme Court will accept it as constitutional, mainly because of the individual mandate. Without the individual mandate and the power to hold health insurance companies accountable, many of the new reforms can’t be enforced. If the ACA is struck down, it will have a major impact for people all around the country, and especially for young people and those with disabilities.
Working young people and recent college graduates have been the greatest beneficiaries of the ACA thus far, because of its provision that allows them to remain on their parents’ health insurance until age 26. This gives these young people extra time to conduct increasingly difficult job searches. It allows them to accept one of the increasing number of jobs that do not provide health insurance coverage. And once they have that job, it provides them the flexibility to save money or work to pay back increasingly burdensome student debt loads. This last point is especially important, as the average college graduate now graduates with over $20,000 of student debt.
The ACA also expands Medicaid to people making less then $14,400 a year and creates tax credits for purchasing insurance for those who earn under $43,000 a year. So for those who have a low income the law helps save them money and provides them better health options then they previously had.
For Americans with disabilities, the ACA prohibits health insurers from denying coverage due to a pre-existing condition, raising rates if you get sick, and canceling an existing policy to avoid paying claims. For those who have disabilities, health problems or simply have needed medical attention previously, stopping health insurers from leaving you behind because of a pre-existing condition is a moral imperative and a must for all Americans.
The simple fact is, once fully implemented, the ACA will help America’s young people, disabled people, and ultimately all Americans. Republicans have been trying to scare us into believing that the ACA is a “government takeover” of health care, and yet their only alternative is to cut health benefits and deny Americans needed health care, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths. We don’t need to look much further then the GOP’s War on Women over the past few months as another example of this phenomenon. Democrats support policies that put prevention first in order to save lives and benefit all Americans, while Republicans keep attacking women’s rights in order to please their extreme right-wing base.
All Americans should be free from abuse by insurance companies and have the freedom to make their own choices. All young Democrats need to show their support for the ACA to be upheld, to preserve its benefits for all Americans.
Sincerely,
Dustin Hausner
Young Democrats of America
Disability Issues Caucus Chair
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