Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) was shot in the head at a constituent outreach event in a supermarket parking lot in Tucson on Saturday. In all, the gunman shot 18 people, killing 6, including a federal judge and a 9-year-old girl.
Jamelle Bouie of TAPPED urges President Obama to take up the issue of mental health care in his upcoming speech on the mass shooting. Several people who knew the alleged shooter came forward with stories of bizarre behavior and run-ins with campus police at his community college. College administrators ordered him to seek treatment before he returned to school, but he does not appear to have done so.
H. Clarke Romans of the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Southern Arizona explained to Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! that mental health services in Arizona have been devastated by budget cuts.
In 2008 the state eliminated support services for all non-Medicaid behavioral health patients and stopped covering most brand-name psychiatric drugs. At least 28,000 Arizonans were affected. Arizonans with mental illnesses can expect even more cuts in the future as the state slashes spending in an attempt to address its budget shortfall.
In AlterNet, Adele Stan, argues that, while we don't yet know the gunman's motives, the right wing's intensifying campaign of anti-government hysteria and violent rhetoric may have emboldened an already disturbed person:
Had the vitriolic rhetoric that today shapes Arizona's political landscape (and, indeed, our national landscape) never come to call, Loughner may have found a different reason to go on a killing spree. But that vitriol does exist as a powerful prompt to the paranoid, and those who publicly deem war on the federal government a patriot's duty should today be doing some soul-searching.
I did a lot of writing on it before the election, but haven't done very much post-game on the District of Columbia municipal elections. Suffice to say my gut feeling is that ultimately voters thought Fenty was too much of a jerk (and he is a jerk) and Gray would get just as much done, but make people feel better about it. Oh, and that many voters feel he paid too much attention to upper and middle-class wards. For my part, for the first time in my life, I was an undecided voter until less than a week before Election Day, when I walked in and pulled the lever jabbed at the touch-screen for Fenty. But the good part is, I only feel about 7% less utility with Gray set to be the next Mayor. That's the nice part about having two fairly good candidates from which to choose, I guess.
What I have been far more interested in talking about is the effect of DC's marriage equality legislation on our municipal elections. And the effect was... minimal. Sorry to disappoint.
After doing some math yesterday, I found that there were seven different candidates who (a) voted for marriage equality twice as DC Councilmembers less than a year ago (Gray, K. Brown, Mendelson, Wells, Thomas Jr., Cheh, Graham) and (b) were on the ballot this cycle.
Every single one of them were re-elected. In two cases- Gray being elected Mayor and Kwame Brown, an At-Large member, being kicked upstairs to be Chairman of the Council- marriage supporters were elected to an even higher office.
This is no small deal. Many of you may think is this a cosmopolitan LGBT paradise, but it's not (I mean that- aside from many parts of this city not being safe to walk down the streets hand in hand with your SO, there have been numerous anti-LGBT hate crimes over the past few years even in the most pro-LGBT parts of the city). Like I wrote in criticizing the "Democrats from NYC" moniker, there are no "Democrats from DC" in terms of automatically being pro-LGBT. The case in point I want to point to is Harry Thomas, Jr., who voted for equality, and who represents Ward 5, which at the 2000 was 88% African-American. In Thomas Jr.'s own words while speaking to Metro Weekly journalist Chris Geidner, Ward 5 has
a large African-American population, a large Catholic community, a large Baptist and religious community.
In other words, what conventional wisdom would tell us spells sure defeat for a candidate who supports same-sex marriage. In fact, National Organization for Marriage and their ally, local homophobe majordomo Bishop Harry Jackson, thought so.
Here's Jackson as quoted in The American Prospect, following the DC Council votes:
"In future races, religious people are going to start going after people's political careers," Jackson, the head of Stand4MarriageDC, told U.S. News and World Report. "You're going to see a bloodletting that is going to mark a new style of engagement for people who are against same-sex marriage."
NOM and Jackson found a candidate in Delano Hunter, a local activist, to take up their banner of "preserving traditional marriage". NOM dropped $140,000 worth of contributions, direct mail, and automated calls- no small amount- towards getting Hunter elected.
Here's an example:
He attended their final rally at the Capitol on their epic failure of a bus tour, which I covered at NOMTourTracker.com. He even conned the Washington Post editorial board into muddling his homophobia while endorsing him, which I documented here. NOM's president, Brian Brown, said:
"If we defeat Harry Thomas," Brown said, "the lie that you can vote for same-sex marriage and there won't be consequences will be done away with."
Hunter was their guy and they went all in for him in a district that many considered to be tailor-made for such a stand. They made it a front-line issue.
Hunter got just 19.33% of the vote. Harry Thomas, Jr. was re-elected with 61.61% of the vote.
I've seen candidates with no website who didn't knock on a single door get a higher percentage. It's what you get for breathing. Actually, it's what you get for not breathing too, since there are dead candidates who do better.
And it's not just DC. In Maine legislative elections, we nearly all of our supporters who voted for the marriage bill and were on the ballot. The same is Massachusetts among those who refused to support putting the issue to the ballot. And equally important is that people just don't care all that much. In Iowa, a majority of the public surveyed said they were more focused on the economy and jobs. As Adam notes in this piece, black voters may be more likely to oppose marriage. But in some of the wards in this city, particularly on the east side of the Anacostia with double-digit unemployment, devastatingly high HIV infection rates, and crumbling, failing schools- they also just don't care that much. NOM sure sent a message- just the wrong kind.
The solid record of marriage supporters being re-elected continues. I hope elected officials and candidates other places like New York State take note, and have the conviction to do the right thing.
While we have already posted several telling interviews from our filming at Glenn Beck's 828 Restoring Honor Rally, but we haven't yet posted our most emotional, interactive, and intense experiences. Towards the end of our day downtown, we stopped to chat with some folks from the crowd- as we did throughout the day. When we began our interview with Madonna from Indiana, we were in the exact center of a circular cement area that is the entrance way to the World War II Memorial. Our conversation started with Madonna, the only person in her group of 5 or so who decided to stop and chat with us. Quickly, however, not only did several of her friends decide to join our discussion, but several onlookers decided that they belonged in our conversation as well. Before we knew it, we were encircled by 30 or so rally goers who decided to engage us (verbally) in an effort to try and convert us to Glen Beck's White Christian Civil Rights Utopia. Below is the majority of the half hour experience in 6 parts and at the very bottom is all 30 minutes of our discussions unedited.
The reason it stalled in the first place was that the NRA and their allies attached an amendment to the Senate bill that would strip remaining gun safety laws out of the District's books. Since Heller, which did away with DC's handgun ban, DC officials rightfully enacted stringent requirements in order to get a handgun, including demonstrating knowledge of firearms use and DC laws, completing a firearms safety course including at least four hours of instruction, fingerprinting, submitting photographs, background check, and others (and speaking as a resident, I'm grateful for these restrictions).
According to the WaPo, Congresswoman Norton and Dem leaders have been negotiating to weaken the amendment, and are prepared to move forward with the bill rather than throw it out due to the gun language. The underlying concerns, of course, are (a) next year we won't have the votes for DC voting rights at all (b) as Norton says, the strength of the NRA makes it likely that local gun laws will be weakened sooner or later with or without a voting rights bill vehicle (c) the Census could undermine the deal, as Utah is set to get an extra seat, but that seat would go to the state next in line under the Census.
No doubt, this last element plus the weakening of the gun language has prompted Sen. Hatch to threaten a filibuster, ostensibly for the reason that the new seat would be elected on a statewide rather than a district basis.
The other interesting element is that DC Council Chairman Vincent Gray, who is running in a primary against Mayor Fenty, opposes the deal, while Fenty supports it. I wrote earlier that this is a primary based on more on style and substance, and this could inject one big substantive issue into the conversation.
Everyone seems to know that the tea party "movement" had a rally on the steps of the capitol yesterday. They got in the face of a few Congressmen and now every Beltway media outlet from the Washington Post to Meet the Press is talking about it. But there was another protest in town yesterday. Thousands of people showed up in front of the White House to tell Obama (and Congress) to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, to treat Palestinians fairly, and to generally end the US military empire.
MSNBC estimates that somewhere between 1,500 and 2,000 tea party people showed up at the capitol building. Yet the low end of the estimates for the number of people who showed up at the peace demonstration (including myself) is about 2,500, and the high end is about 10,000. Where's our moment on Meet the Press? Where's our article in the New York Times?
This is going to be an action packed weekend in DC and around the nation. On Friday, there will be protests of Yoo. On Saturday, there will be a massive antiwar demonstration (there will also be demonstrations in Philly, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, and South Dakota, among other places). On Sunday, there will be a large march for immigration reform. And there will be other related events around the country, along with the small protests and events that happen all the time.
So join me below the fold to see how you can effect change this weekend.
Today I dropped in on the health care rally in DC. Everyone who's anyone was there (not literally, but it certainly felt that way when I was there).
Howard Dean was there. We got to ask him if he thinks the Democratic leadership is prepared to move forward without Republicans and if he agrees with the statement that House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer made at the health care summit that everyone shares the same goal of covering all Americans:
Today was the first day same-sex couples could apply for marriage licenses at the Superior Courthouse in the District of Columbia. Couples started lining up in the wee hours of the morning. Below is a picture of Sinjoyla Townsend and Angelisa Young, the first couple to obtain their marriage license:
h/t to Cathy Renna for the photo
By 11:30 AM, over 100 couples had applied for marriage licenses and the clerk said she was processing 20-25 per hour. The language was changed to "I now pronounce you legally married" instead of "I now pronounce you man and wife". Kudos to HRC, GLAAD and Renna Communications for providing media assistance on the ground to spread the word about how the nation's capital is now providing equality to all.
For those counting, this now makes DC the sixth jurisdiction in which same-sex couples currently have the freedom to marry, along with Iowa, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts. Previous same-sex weddings performed in California between June and November 2008 have also been ruled legally valid, and in states like New York and (moving forward) Maryland, out-of-state weddings are legally valid. More and more states are recognizing marriage is about love, and today's couples show that once again. Congrats to all the couples.
Tomorrow morning, the law legalizing same-sex marriage equality in the District of Columbia will take effect, having completed the Congressional review period without incident. That means at 8:30 AM tomorrow, same-sex couples will begin applying for marriage licenses at the DC Superior Court Marriage Bureau (expect long lines). Tuesday, March 9th will be the first day couples can legally receive their licenses and wed. Opponents have filed a last-ditch stay to the Supreme Court, but after four lower court rejections, legal experts tell me there is a very slim chance the Supreme Court will intervene.
Here in town, I've seen ads all over the place aimed at same-sex couples; wedding planning consultants; restaurants and hotels advertising their banquet spaces; flowers and more. One argument that I think is too-often underused is the economic impact of marriage equality. The marriage industry is a multi-million dollar industry. The Williams Institute at UCLA Law School put out a report last year estimating that DC marriage equality would result in $52.2 million economic spending in spending over three years, creating an estimated 700 jobs. That doesn't include $5.4 million in new revenue from things like sales taxes and license fees. Based on tourism data, the Williams Institute estimates over 10,000 couples will come from all over the country to get married in the nation's capital. Restaurants, hotels, and small businesses like flower shops will all appreciate the new business, especially in a recession. It's like a small stimulus shot in the arm for the area.
This has been a long time coming, and local activist Rick Rosendall has a piece naming a number of key folks who have laid the groundwork, and a bit on the legislative and legal strategy that has been going on for years. A number of them are very close friends and extremely strategic activists, and deserve a big h/t.
If you are a couple involved in politics (Hill staffers, local activists, etc.) and are applying for a license tomorrow, a few reporters have reached out looking to talk to same-sex political couples who planned to be married. Drop me a line at adambink at gmail dot com if you're interested (and congrats!).
Predictions for what 2010 will bring were aplenty yesterday at The Economist's summit in Washington, DC celebrating the release of its World in 2010 edition. The event featured several influential speakers who gave their two cents on issues of economic, political and cultural significance.
The health care reform debate is heating-up in DC, and it's become overwhelmingly clear the special interests are taking over the conversation AND the process. The reports that there has been $1.4 million dollars per DAY spent by the private health industry on 350 lobbyists who are former members of Congress (and staffers) to swarm their former colleagues. Bill Moyers' interview of Wendell Potter (former CEO of both CIGNA & Humana) was very revealing as to how monstrous the campaign against reform truly is too. At first the AMA had rejected President Obama's health care reform proposal; so when the AMA's announced they now approve of the reform (bill H.R. 3200 the "America's Affordable Health Choices Act"), I couldn't help but think that THEY are winning the battle for OUR health care reform! Indeed, if you read into the bill it looks more like "The Aetna/Pfizer Preservation Act" - just as the tobacco legislation was essentially be "The Phillip Morris Monopoly Act." What I find strange is that while you'd think these two industries have nothing to do with each other, you'd be wrong.
I've also heard the more progressive members of Congress (Senator Sanders & Rep Kucinich) practically begging Americans to get more involved by contacting Congress and by getting out in the streets amongst other things. In this interview with Rep Dingell, I was surprised to hear his unequivocal support of Single Payer followed by his statement that Congress doesn't have the votes for it, because they are hearing equally from proponents as they are from anti-reform constituents. This tells me the private insurers' PR team has been equally successful in mobilizing the public to contact Congress on their behalf. I've felt this same nearly desperate desire within me to see an en masse action from pro-reform advocates too; but I've been quite frustrated because of the shoddy or otherwise absent leadership out there. We need the kind of leadership that's required to bring the People's Voice into the media, and most importantly, to DC!
Don't get me wrong, I'm also feeling like there is a giant monster working against us in DC, and I'll admit it is daunting - to say the least. As a Single Payer advocate, I feel even more at odds with the process too, and to speak those words in DC seem to be almost forbidden. But instead of allowing this monster make me believe this it is a futile fight, it pushes me the opposite direction. I truly believe we need to fight for health care reform like we are fighting for our very lives! The truth is, we are doing exactly that; and there is no such thing as an appropriate excuse for apathy when it comes to this issue as far as I'm concerned. As Senator Sanders often says, "Despair is not an option!" I also expected the barrage of lobbyists long before they came though too, and so I started to take a serious look at the different ways to go about combating it a few weeks ago.
Every time I'd seen notices for a rally or some other type of gathering for health care I thought, "Definitely needs to be done, but that's ONLY in DC; and it won't be big enough or strong enough to get the attention it needs and deserves." I believe rallies can be a powerful means of activism, but in order to be truly effective I think there must be enough "noise" that the media simply cannot ignore it. That's why I was looking for a nationwide rally, in every major city on the same day for example. When I began to explore which organization might actually to take on such a task, it became clear to me there are just as many positions being taken by the numerous organizations as there are policies being proposed in DC. My point being, that even the advocates for reform are too divided amongst themselves to come together for something as important as health care reform. Yet, in spite of this policy division, they can ALL agree there's a serious problem that needs to be resolved. In a way, it's the specific policy of the pro-reform organizations that is driving their actions; and they are fractured in the same way the lobbyists are who are fighting each other in DC to have their own interests be met!
Now again, I can also understand the impassioned desire to "stick to our guns" when it comes to the specific policy we each stand behind, because the clock is running out on us to get it done (perhaps we have a little more time than expected). On the other hand, I think we all know that the true power lies in the numbers. I think the timeliness of this issue means we are essentially dependent upon our ability to utilize any and all means that are already at hand, and will bring as many of us together as we possibly can.
As we all know, the internet has proven to be an incredibly valuable tool for activism, especially when it takes nationwide unity to get something accomplished; precisely by utilizing the power in numbers. I've witnessed some significant progress being made via the internet on the health care issue, and I would say they are by far the most promising and effective movements. There have been calls to actions such as faxing, calling or emailing our representatives on a particular day or week for example.
In my state of California, I have seen these measures prove to be effective in pushing our reps to take a policy stance one way or another. Even Senator Baucus admitted he had caught hell from his constituents for not allowing a Single Payer advocate join the private insurers at his committee's hearing on reform; and when they had showed up anyway to state their objection, he had them arrested for disrupting the hearing! Senator Baucus' constituency had made it clear to him it was unacceptable to eliminate Single Payer from the discussion, and he said he was wrong for doing it. As a result of constituent feedback, he had invited those very same people he'd arrested previously, to sit before his committee to speak. I'm not going to suggest this means Senator Baucus is going to start acting on The People's behalf, because I simply don't believe it to be the case at all. However, this incident did tell me We the People can certainly influence the direction of the discussions taking place on health care reform, and maybe we can even influence the results too - that is, IF we are actually heard!
Consider the kind of press coverage a successful live event can attract, and then add to it the power and effectiveness of the internet. This would be ideal, wouldn't it? It became increasingly obvious to me the problem was that We the People didn't really have the kind of leadership we can ALL depend upon, nobody we can trust to simply carry our voices to DC and be heard. Nor do we have a coalition of pro-reform organizations, all willing to pull together for the sake of being included in the debate on health care reform. Or do we?
Well, I believe we do indeed have a leader who took the initiative to bring the Voice of the People directly to DC! He's also utilizing the power of the internet - AND other devices of modern technology - in order to bring all Americans together, precisely for the purpose of fighting the special interests in DC so we can demand real reform. Not only has it proven to gather Americans from all perspectives together who believe strong reform is needed, but it has begun to snowball in the press and is beginning to attract DC's attention as well!
All thanks to Dr. Ogan Gurel for his recognition that all we needed was this type of leadership, and for taking the "Walk for Healthcare" - a 700 mile walk (~24 miles per day) from Chicago to DC in 30 days, and he just left Pittsburgh. The doctor (who prefers to just go by Ogan) had also been looking for an effective means of becoming active in the reform debate, but also found a lack of the kind of leadership needed to compete with what he had seen as a special interests' takeover of the debate. Ogan knew somebody had to do it, so he did! Ogan isn't taking sides with any particular policy either, because he believes the one thing we can all agree on is the dire need for strong health care reform. He is collecting the health care stories from every American that wants to share them along the way, and he is taking them straight to Congress to be heard. There are very few people that haven't fully embraced this opportunity to have their tragic stories told too; whatever their opinion on reform policy, the expression for serious reform as a necessity has been absolutely unanimous. I think my favorite picture Ogan that took of a sign a supporter had put on the roadside inviting him to stop in for a glass of lemonade, says a lot about our desire to be heard and our appreciation for Ogan's willingness to make it happen.
Clearly Ogan understands the importance and power of "feet on the ground" activism, and he has combined the Walk with an incredibly wide variety of technological features designed for us all to take the journey with him. No matter what your internet-poison is, he's got your dose!
And it gets even BETTER... Throughout each day Ogan's GPS tracking reveals exactly where he is, while the pictures that accompany the updates shows the things he sees, and the people he meets with too! On the website, in what he calls "dispatches" he also tells the stories that he has been given full permission to share. All these things combined really do give you the sense of taking the journey with Ogan.
Of course, these web pages are also used to organize gatherings along the way, and recently there was a call to action for supporters to contact their members of Congress to encourage them to meet with Ogan during the week after he arrives in DC, on the 26th. He already has some appointments set, but there really needs to be as many of them as possible taking the time to listen to what Americans have to say about their health care needs.
Because Ogan took the initiative on his own and (I believe) due to his not endorsing any particular policy on reform; all the costs have come out of his own pocket and logistics have been tricky at times. There are a couple other volunteers besides me, who have arranged some free hotel stays, supporters have made donations, and some people he has met have been generous with their hospitality as well. However, there is a bit of uncertainty from day to day with various details, and he's about to enter into the Appellations - a very remote area, and especially unfit for somebody on foot! Just to give you a little idea of what this Walk for Healthcare entails, here are a few things that happen daily: Morning prep includes treatment for his blistered feet, a "courier" drives him to the next hotel to drop off his bag and then to the point where he stopped the night before, walking along the Lincoln Hwy (HWY 30) means there may not even be shoulder-space to walk on, he meets with about a dozen people throughout the day, speaks with reporters from both newspapers & local news stations, occasionally attends events too, and all ending with a ride back to the hotel or host-home where he uploads the day's news and then to sleep.
We are more optimistic than we had been about his being able to gain the extra support he will need while traveling this next treacherous bit of his journey, because of a rather interesting development of late that was a result of this well-interconnected movement. The night Ogan left Pittsburgh there had not been a ride arranged back to his next resting stop. So Ogan Twittered that since this was the case, he had decided to tread on into the night onto to his next stop. One of his followers had seen the post, and drove out to the highway where Ogan was to give him a ride to his next destination! It's clear that this could not have happened without the ability to share it so readily with the entire group of Walk for Healthcare supporters.
I believe that by the time Ogan arrives in DC on the 26th, considering the amount of press and steady increase of supporters this brilliantly orchestrated movement has already had; The Hill will not be able to ignore the Voice of the People.
I've finally found a health care reform movement that incorporates all the elements of activism that I know actually work, and I hope everybody reading will join in support of it too. This really is where the tech-rubber meets the activism-road.
And I dare say, I believe, "It's just what the doctor ordered!"
(Properly, this should be an instance of Open Left's "right of reply" given the earlier diary for Green Lantern. But it's more than that, so take a serious read, even if I do get a special "Buffy, The Vampire Slayer" thrill out of doing this. - promoted by Paul Rosenberg)
In the New Organizing Institute's mock election, I endorsed Wonder Woman for her high-quality policy positions. This election is a fun exercise, but also illustrates a very serious issue in the way progressives interact with candidates and campaigns.
Government can be annoying. It makes you pay file complicated forms and pay money in the springtime, it sometimes closes your subway station or park for an investigation, and if you park in an illegal spot, it sometimes gives you a ticket.
The fact that government can be annoying is a big force fueling the ongoing anti-"big government" conservative movement. After all, more often the ways most people interact personally with government is of these annoying varieties, making the argument that we should just abolish it pretty appealing.
But we progressives know that government also plays an important role in making our society safer, better, freer, and more sustainable. (Besides, private sector companies can be just as annoying - just try scheduling a cable service call.) We know where we stand on health care or warrantless wiretapping, but how do we react when a new issue comes along, one we know nothing about, and where government is being a little annoying?
Do we automatically jump on a populist-sounding position if it works against broader social goals? More importantly, do we want our elected officials grabbing the easy sound bite, or do we want candidates who take the time to learn about issues and figure out a real progressive position?
This issue came to the forefront during the New Organizing Institute election, where organizers are learning to run campaigns by running mock campaigns for comic superheroes. An interest group called for the campaigns to take a seemingly populist position that's actually the opposite of a good environmental policy. Four of the campaigns jumped right on board, trying to outdo each other in how loudly they could call for this change.
Three others resisted the urge. And one, Wonder Woman, did the opposite: they took some serious time to contact local activists, and learn about this and other issues, and formulate their policy positions. Their platform isn't just based on a quick, cursory read of issues, but on real research. And, given that this is just a mock election, that's an impressive amount of policy outreach.
In the wake of recent equal rights votes in Iowa, Vermont, and DC, Virginia 2009 state delegate candidate (and respected environmental blogger) Miles Grant today boldly proposed Virginia move in the same direction:
“With each passing day, Virginia’s harsh restrictions on marriage and even simple domestic partnerships are cast in deeper contrast to the steady march of progress we’re seeing across America. We take pride in Virginia’s policies that attract world-class businesses. But the best businesses in the world need the top workers in the world. What message are we sending about Virginia’s values when we tell some of those workers they’re not allowed to commit their lives to the person they love and start a family together?"
“It’s time to move our Commonwealth forward by repealing the Marshall-Newman amendment and recognizing full marriage rights for all Virginians. We’re not talking about special protections – these actions would simply ensure that all families receive basic rights, including financial protections, hospital visitation access and ability to adopt and retain custody of their children. As delegate, I’ll make it one of my top priorities to ensure civil liberties for all Virginians.”
Wouldn't it be nice if bold progressive like that actually got elected to office? Well, ahem, they can. Miles is running a great ground game in advance of the June 2009 primary. You can help him resource his campaign by chipping in here.
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