An old African proverb says, "Speak softly but carry a big stick. You will go far." It's most popular attribution is to Theodore Roosevelt, certainly among the greatest Presidents of the United States. As an evangelical Christian, I am concerned that the Square Deal championed by TR has been abandoned by his own Republican party and that modern conservative Christians have instead become christian Conservatives. Here is where I vent about that, taking my own little stick to the fray.
I have long touted Feminists for Life as the model for pro-life activism. It is focused just as much on providing alternatives and practical support for women as it is on opposing abortion. It is led primarily by women and seeks their equality and empowerment while also giving voice to the unborn. I have long lamented the pro-life movement's fixation on elimination of the procedure itself with little regard to the circumstances that lead women to choose it. FFL addresses both ends of the situation.
Here is their statement on Palin's candidacy.
"Sarah Palin, governor of Alaska, has been selected by Republican presidential nominee Senator John McCain as his running mate.
"According to The Anchorage Daily News published August 6, 2006, "Palin said last month that no woman should have to choose between her career, education and her child." The article went onto say that "she's a member of a pro-woman but anti-abortion group called Feminists for Life." "I believe in the strength and the power of women, and the potential of every human life,' she said."
"Feminists for Life's policy is that all memberships are confidential. However, since Governor Palin has been public about her membership, we can confirm that Palin became a member in 2006.
"Of course there is a certain excitement about the recent movement toward FFL's woman-centered solutions and message by the parties, and now the selection of a pro-life feminist as the Vice Presidential nominee. But as a nonpartisan organization, we cannot endorse any candidates," Foster said.
“FFL members represent a broad political as well as religious spectrum, and we remain both nonpartisan and nonsectarian. There are many issues outside Feminists for Life’s mission. Feminists for Life is dedicated to systematically eliminating the root causes that drive women to abortion—primarily lack of practical resources and support—through holistic, woman-centered solutions. We recognize that abortion is a reflection that our society has failed to meet the needs of women and that too often women have settled for less. Women deserve better than abortion,” said Foster.
"As each party takes steps to acknowledge and meet the needs of women, Feminists for Life is prepared to work with our elected leaders on behalf of girls and women who deserve far better than abortion. FFL has a long track record of working with both sides of the political aisle on major legislation such as the Violence Against Women Act, Child Support Enforcement Act, and much more. Many members of Congress have already stepped forward to cosponsor the FFL-inspired bill with bipartisan support, the Elizabeth Cady Stanton Pregnant and Parenting Student Services Act.
"We invite all parties, all public servants, and all people to join us on the bridge of woman-centered solutions," Foster said.
Just finished listening to Sarah Palin's announcement speech.
One thing's for certain: She will go toe-to-toe with Joe Biden in the debates and not bat an eye. She's not a blow-dried policy wonk like Romney. She's not an oily car salesman type like many of the other GOP veep hopefuls. She's impassioned, forceful, and (according to her record) not afraid of anyone - even the Republican Party itself.
She's also a devout Christian and fervently pro-life but is not a Wall Street Republican (which anyone who's read a few post here knows I really don't like). She and her husband are union members and she has ruthlessly rooted out corruption in Alaska - and inside her own party! - since she was first elected to public office.
Sounds like a certain president I love. She was even a public service commissioner just like TR.
She's also willing to compromise on many fronts. She opposes gay marriage but she passed medical benefits and visitation rights for life partners. And, like Joe Biden, she has a son on active duty in the Army and her military advice will be extremely well-considered before it is given.
Based only on what i've seen and read so far, I wish SHE were running for president rather than McCain!
And on that tack, even if McCain loses she now has national name recognition for 2012. And she's only 44. It's win/win for her.
I was struck by this interview with a disappointed Hillary Clinton supporter at the DNC following Clinton's speech there.
Three things I take from this clip.
First, I feel awful for this lady. She's obviously a very principled person and struggling mightily with her grief and her commitment as a good citizen.
Secondly, I'm proud as an American that not only have we reached the point where her political views are no longer presumed to fall along racial lines but also that she was able to follow another woman to such heights in our presidential race. That's very exciting stuff to me and should be for all of us, regardless of our political stripe.
Third, I want to emphasize that we did not get to that point by accepting status quo conservatism on social issues. Many rights that modern conservatives take as a given were fought against tooth and nail by their fathers and grandfathers only 30-40 years ago.
I am going to edit this down and provide commentary but I wanted to paste it here while I had it in front of me. Check back for the real review! Thanks. - JS
I am honored to be here tonight to support Barack Obama. And to warm up the crowd for Joe Biden, though as you'll soon see, he doesn't need any help from me. I love Joe Biden, and America will too.
What a year we Democrats have had. The primary began with an all-star lineup and came down to two remarkable Americans locked in a hard-fought contest to the very end. The campaign generated so much heat it increased global warming.
In the end, my candidate didn't win. But I'm very proud of the campaign she ran: She never quit on the people she stood up for, on the changes she pushed for, on the future she wants for all our children. And I'm grateful for the chance Chelsea and I had to tell Americans about the person we know and love.
I'm not so grateful for the chance to speak in the wake of her magnificent address last night. But I'll do my best.
Hillary told us in no uncertain terms that she'll do everything she can to elect Barack Obama.
That makes two of us.
Actually that makes 18 million of us — because, like Hillary, I want all of you who supported her to vote for Barack Obama in November.
Here's why.
Our nation is in trouble on two fronts: The American dream is under siege at home, and America's leadership in the world has been weakened.
Middle-class and low-income Americans are hurting, with incomes declining; job losses, poverty and inequality rising; mortgage foreclosures and credit card debt increasing; health care coverage disappearing; and a big spike in the cost of food, utilities, and gasoline.
Our position in the world has been weakened by too much unilateralism and too little cooperation; a perilous dependence on imported oil; a refusal to lead on global warming; a growing indebtedness and a dependence on foreign lenders; a severely burdened military; a backsliding on global nonproliferation and arms control agreements; and a failure to consistently use the power of diplomacy, from the Middle East to Africa to Latin America to Central and Eastern Europe.
Clearly, the job of the next president is to rebuild the American dream and restore America's standing in the world.
Everything I learned in my eight years as president and in the work I've done since, in America and across the globe, has convinced me that Barack Obama is the man for this job.
He has a remarkable ability to inspire people, to raise our hopes and rally us to high purpose. He has the intelligence and curiosity every successful president needs. His policies on the economy, taxes, health care and energy are far superior to the Republican alternatives. He has shown a clear grasp of our foreign policy and national security challenges, and a firm commitment to repair our badly strained military. His family heritage and life experiences have given him a unique capacity to lead our increasingly diverse nation and to restore our leadership in an ever more interdependent world. The long, hard primary tested and strengthened him. And in his first presidential decision, the selection of a running mate, he hit it out of the park.
With Joe Biden's experience and wisdom, supporting Barack Obama's proven understanding, insight, and good instincts, America will have the national security leadership we need.
Barack Obama is ready to lead America and restore American leadership in the world. Ready to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States. Barack Obama is ready to be president of the United States.
He will work for an America with more partners and fewer adversaries. He will rebuild our frayed alliances and revitalize the international institutions which help to share the costs of the world's problems and to leverage our power and influence. He will put us back in the forefront of the world's fight to reduce nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and to stop global warming. He will continue and enhance our nation's global leadership in an area in which I am deeply involved, the fight against AIDS, TB and malaria, including a renewal of the battle against HIV/AIDS here at home. He will choose diplomacy first and military force as a last resort. But in a world troubled by terror; by trafficking in weapons, drugs and people; by human rights abuses; by other threats to our security, our interests, and our values, when he cannot convert adversaries into partners, he will stand up to them.
Barack Obama also will not allow the world's problems to obscure its opportunities. Everywhere, in rich and poor countries alike, hard-working people need good jobs; secure, affordable health care, food and energy; quality education for their children; and economically beneficial ways to fight global warming. These challenges cry out for American ideas and American innovation. When Barack Obama unleashes them, America will save lives, win new allies, open new markets, and create new jobs for our people.
Most important, Barack Obama knows that America cannot be strong abroad unless we are strong at home. People the world over have always been more impressed by the power of our example than by the example of our power.
Look at the example the Republicans have set: American workers have given us consistently rising productivity. They've worked harder and produced more. What did they get in return? Declining wages, less than one-quarter as many new jobs as in the previous eight years, smaller health care and pension benefits, rising poverty and the biggest increase in income inequality since the 1920s. American families by the millions are struggling with soaring health care costs and declining coverage. I will never forget the parents of children with autism and other severe conditions who told me on the campaign trail that they couldn't afford health care and couldn't qualify their kids for Medicaid unless they quit work or got a divorce. Are these the family values the Republicans are so proud of? What about the military families pushed to the breaking point by unprecedented multiple deployments? What about the assault on science and the defense of torture? What about the war on unions and the unlimited favors for the well-connected? What about Katrina and cronyism?
America can do better than that. And Barack Obama will.
But first we have to elect him.
The choice is clear. The Republicans will nominate a good man who served our country heroically and suffered terribly in Vietnam. He loves our country every bit as much as we all do. As a senator, he has shown his independence on several issues. But on the two great questions of this election, how to rebuild the American dream and how to restore America's leadership in the world, he still embraces the extreme philosophy which has defined his party for more than 25 years, a philosophy we never had a real chance to see in action until 2001, when the Republicans finally gained control of both the White House and Congress. Then we saw what would happen to America if the policies they had talked about for decades were implemented.
They took us from record surpluses to an exploding national debt; from over 22 million new jobs down to 5 million; from an increase in working family incomes of $7,500 to a decline of more than $2,000; from almost 8 million Americans moving out of poverty to more than 5 1/2 million falling into poverty — and millions more losing their health insurance.
Now, in spite of all the evidence, their candidate is promising more of the same: more tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans that will swell the deficit, increase inequality, and weaken the economy. More Band-Aids for health care that will enrich insurance companies, impoverish families and increase the number of uninsured. More going it alone in the world, instead of building the shared responsibilities and shared opportunities necessary to advance our security and restore our influence.
They actually want us to reward them for the last eight years by giving them four more. Let's send them a message that will echo from the Rockies all across America: Thanks, but no thanks. In this case, the third time is not the charm.
My fellow Democrats, 16 years ago, you gave me the profound honor to lead our party to victory and to lead our nation to a new era of peace and broadly shared prosperity.
Together, we prevailed in a campaign in which the Republicans said I was too young and too inexperienced to be commander in chief. Sound familiar? It didn't work in 1992, because we were on the right side of history. And it won't work in 2008, because Barack Obama is on the right side of history.
His life is a 21st century incarnation of the American dream. His achievements are proof of our continuing progress toward the "more perfect union" of our founders' dreams. The values of freedom and equal opportunity which have given him his historic chance will drive him as president to give all Americans, regardless of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation or disability, their chance to build a decent life, and to show our humanity, as well as our strength, to the world.
We see that humanity, that strength, and our future in Barack and Michelle Obama and their beautiful children. We see them reinforced by the partnership with Joe Biden, his wife, Jill, a dedicated teacher, and their family.
Barack Obama will lead us away from division and fear of the last eight years back to unity and hope. If, like me, you still believe America must always be a place called Hope, then join Hillary, Chelsea and me in making Sen. Barack Obama the next president of the United States.
