Union members mobilize to protect safety net

November 9, 2012 by William Rogers

Union members joined progressive allies on November 8 at more than 100 local protests against possible cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. The proposed cuts to three of the nation’s most popular safety net programs are on the table as President Obama and Republican Congressional leaders begin negotiations on debt reduction legislation that could be enacted before the current lame duck Congress adjourns in December.

Opponents of the safety net programs, including corporate officers and Wall Street insiders, have insisted that any new budget deal must include cuts to the safety net. The Congressional Progressive Caucus reports that these CEOs and private equity owners have financed “a $30 million lobbying effort to cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid before this Congress goes home for the holidays.”

In response, the AFL-CIO and progressive groups have initiated a grassroots mobilization effort to oppose the cuts. The November 8 actions kicked off the mobilization campaign.

One of these actions took place in Cincinnati, where protestors gathered in front of the local office of US Sen. Rob Portman for a press conference. At the press conference, a young woman, whose son is disabled, described her son’s Medicaid benefits as a lifeline for her family.

Continue reading Unions Mobilize to Protect Safety Net →

Let’s Not Make a Deal

By PAUL KRUGMAN

Published: November 8, 2012 305 Comments

To say the obvious: Democrats won an amazing victory. Not only did they hold the White House despite a still-troubled economy, in a year when their Senate majority was supposed to be doomed, they actually added seats.

Nor was that all: They scored major gains in the states. Most notably, California — long a poster child for the political dysfunction that comes when nothing can get done without a legislative supermajority — not only voted for much-needed tax increases, but elected, you guessed it, a Democratic supermajority.

But one goal eluded the victors. Even though preliminary estimates suggest that Democrats received somewhat more votes than Republicans in Congressional elections, the G.O.P. retains solid control of the House thanks to extreme gerrymandering by courts and Republican-controlled state governments. And Representative John Boehner, the speaker of the House, wasted no time in declaring that his party remains as intransigent as ever, utterly opposed to any rise in tax rates even as it whines about the size of the deficit.

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Rack `Em Up – Progressive Victories from Coast to Coast

By Think Progress War Room

November 7, 2012
Center for American Progress Action Fund

http://thinkprogress.org/election/issue/

While re-electing President Obama is obviously very good news
for progressives, so much more happened to bring progressive
change to communities across America. These victories are
further evidence of an emerging progressive majority in this
country that will help take us forward as we all fight for
change in ways large and small.

Here’s the rundown of some of last night’s winners and losers.

WINNERS

* The Facts: Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan tried to run a
post-truth campaign that was fact free, deceptive, and
insulting to voters. They paid a heavy price for their
false claims about the auto industry in Ohio. Nationally,
voters affirmed that facts and a candidate’s policy
positions do matter.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/01/opinion/mitt-romney-versus-the-automakers.html

* The Middle Class: Voters supported a president who will
make the investments in the middle class that we need to
create jobs now and grow the economy over the long-term.
President Obama will redouble his efforts to create an
economy that works for everyone, not just the wealthy few.

* Equality: For the first time in history, voters embraced
marriage equality at the ballot box – and not just once.
In Maryland, Maine, and Washington state, voters approved
marriage equality referenda. In Minnesota, an effort to
ban same sex marriage was defeated. Wisconsin Rep. Tammy
Baldwin is also the first openly gay person elected to the
Senate; the person who won the House seat she vacated is
also openly gay. Nationally, voters rejected the most
anti-immigrant presidential ticket in history. In
Maryland, voters approved a state-level version of the
DREAM Act.

* Women: In addition to defeating a ticket that threatened
women’s health and economic security, a record number of
women were voted into office. The Senate will have a
record 20 women and the House will have at least 77, also
a record.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/07/women-in-politics-break-records-2012-election_n_2088954.html
Continue reading Progressive Victories Coast to Coast →

National Nurses: Message from Working People

to Wall Street- America is Not for Sale

Nurses Call on President, Congress to Honor Electoral Mandate

with Pledge To Protect Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid

National Nurses United, the nation’s largest union and professional association of registered nurses said today that the national election delivered an unmistakable message Tuesday:

“From the Presidential race to Senate races to local ballot measures, American voters Tuesday delivered a strong message to Wall Street, billionaires and secretive corporate funded political committees – America is not for sale,” said NNU Executive Director Rose Ann DeMoro.

“Working people and unions played an essential role in re-electing President Obama, bringing populist candidates like Elizabeth Warren and Tammy Baldwin to the U.S. Senate, and defeating a major attack on unions in California, Proposition 32.”

“The power of working people overcame the efforts to overwhelm our political process with massive spending by the 1 percent, and to prevent people from voting through disgraceful voter suppression efforts. The votes of women are a direct repudiation of attacks on women’s health and rights. The alliance of workers and communities of color in this election is an affirmation of the future for our diverse nation,” said DeMoro.

“We celebrate the election results, and offer our congratulations to President Obama and the other NNU-endorsed candidates who won on Tuesday. But it is also time to send another message,” said DeMoro.

“Wall Street can not win this vote through the back door. We must be a nation that honors humanity, not austerity, and that rejects the attacks on workers and efforts to roll back the rights of working people,” DeMoro continued.

“Main Street communities are still hurting. We still have too many people who are jobless, facing un-payable medical bills and the loss of their homes, and worried about their retirement security and economic future.

“The President and Congress should stand with the people who elected them and reject any cuts in Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid, strengthen Medicare  by expanding it to cover everyone, and insist that Wall Street begin to repay our nation for the damage it caused our economy with a small tax on Wall Street speculation, the Robin Hood tax.”

“Nurses across America are standing together today with a renewed commitment to work for a more humane, caring society. Our nation deserves no less,” DeMoro said.

Charles Idelson

Communications Director

National Nurses United

510-273-2246 (office)

415-559-8991 (cell)

www.nationalnursesunited.org

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