Michele Bachmann: Taking Political Motherhood to the White House?

If you thought Michele Bachmann was a conservative mom political superstar before the last GOP debate, then you're probably standing in line to get her autograph this week as she officially announces her 2012 presidential bid, as well as her special beauty secrets of how she still looks so young and fresh after 28 kids. I certainly don't look that put together on most days and I only have one child!

I'm no fan of Bachmann's political views or the fact that even though she's a lawyer, her understanding of the Constitution leaves a little something to be desired. But I have to hand it to her -- she pretty much hit it out of the ballpark with her debate performance alongside all those GOP guys.

Bachmann was prepared, poised and made sure her answers incorporated two things that are crucial to her campaign -- her Congressional experience and her motherhood. Plus, she lucked out that she didn't have any camera malfunctions or have to answer any questions about geography. I have no doubt that she's going to use the mom thing to her advantage wherever she can, because it worked pretty well for Sarah Palin when she was trying to whip GOP women into a political frenzy.

MOMocrats at Netroots Nation 2011

The MOMocrats get around! As the 2012 Presidential campaign is pretty much upon us, MOMocrats Joanne Bamberger (aka PunditMom) and Cynematic participated in a panel to let progressive candidates and activists know that they need to be paying attention to social media moms if they want to win.

Sitting at your desk while you're eating lunch? This video of the panel is a perfect way to get caught up with the power of women online! Thanks to former Congressional candidate Krystal Ball and Anita Jackson of MomsRising for making this panel awesome!

Watch live streaming video from fstv3 at livestream.com

And, we also had a chance to meet the fabulous sponsor of our MOMochats -- Bubble Genius -- who was an exhibitor at Netroots Nation! Can't wait to try out the samples we came home with!

Down to the Wire in NY 26: Help Kathy Hochul Keep Her Lead Over Corwin

Over at our MOMocrats MOMochat radio show, we've had some fun talking about the special election to replace disgraced GOP Representative Chris Lee. (You remember: He was the dude who got in trouble for soliciting dates on Craig's List. Yes, he was married and campaigned on "family values.")

At the time, those in the know thought Lee's seat would be a shoo-in for another Republican. After all, this district is considered the most conservative one in the state. The Republicans were quick to nominate their candidate for the seat: Jane Corwin, who is already known to the voters as their representative in the state Assembly. She had a four-week head start on her Democratic opponent, Erie County Clerk Kathy Hochul.

And then a funny thing happened -- not "ha ha, funny" but political kismet: Paul Ryan unveiled his "Path to Prosperity" (which Cynematic more correctly describes as the "Road to Ruin"), which would gut Medicare and Medicaid and place seniors squarely at the mercy of the insurance market. Republican Corwin supports the plan...

...and suddenly, the Democratic candidate is in striking distance of picking up the seat in NY 26.

It appears that most Americans like Medicare just the way it is... a fact Republicans seemed to understand two years ago, during the health care debate, when they misled older voters into thinking that the Affordable Care Act was a sneak attack on the program.

One of the aspects of this campaign that had us chuckling on the radio show is this satirical site, which came into being because Corwin's people were not as thorough as they should have been when snapping up domains for the candidate. (Social Media 101: Just because you got a .com for your campaign site doesn't mean you don't also need to own .org, .edu, .info and .tv, too.)

Hochul is one of the candidates backed by EMILY's List, the PAC devoted to promoting the election of  pro-choice Democratic women to all levels of government. And right now, the group is recruiting grassroots supporters to phone bank with Get Out the Vote calls to Democrats in NY 26.

From their website: "Even just an hour of your time will make the difference for Kathy, and we'll provide you with all the information you'll need to make calls to mobilize targeted voters."

Sign up here.

EMILY's List President Stephanie Schriock will be our guest on Wednesday's edition of MOMocrats MOMochat.

This is Where I Defend Michele Bachmann

Michele Bachmann is at it again, it appears.  And I’m not talking about her “unusual” alternate State of the Union rebuttal, nor am I talking about her nails-on-a-chalkboard partisan shriek during that rebuttal.  I’m talking about the fact that her presence alone has the effect of keeping women maligned in mainstream politics.

Let’s take a step back here.  Bachmann is the leader of the congressional Tea Party caucus and has apparently stepped into the vacuum left by the other darling of the hard right Sarah Palin.  But unlike Palin who is principally a media presence, Bachmann is an actual elected representative.  And the Tea Party is her natural constituency.  She’s ambitious and determined to make herself a national leader and has plenty of backers who believe she can do just that.

But despite her hard-right pedigree and her ambition both the mainstream media and the Republican leadership dismiss Bachmann as a “bobblehead” who makes “unusual” decisions.  She’s often referred to as “crazy” and “dumb” by the left.  But Michele Bachmann is not crazy.  And she’s not dumb.

Instead, she’s everything we want an elected official to be--to a certain degree.  She’s loyal to her constituents and eager to climb the ranks in Washington.  She shows a degree of media savvy that Speaker Boehner could sure use.  But for whatever reason we, the collective political public, seems unable or unwilling to applaud her for these efforts and instead attack her personally.

Why?  Because she’s a woman.  I'll go ahead and duck while some of you throw tomatoes now.

Why not talk about the insanity of her positions as opposed to the insanity of her character?  Let’s talk about the factual misstatements she makes (and there are plenty) and demand she answer to them rather than dismiss her as “stupid.”  Hell, let’s start simple and just make sure Politico consistently spells her name correctly.  Let’s start with the basic assumption that the woman is smart enough to get elected and to stay there which means, at a fundamental level, even Michele Bachmann demands some respect.

Make no mistake about it, the positions this woman holds are dangerous and the policies she endorses are draconian.  But that doesn’t mean I’m comfortable with just how quickly Bachmann is dismissed and how disposable she’s been treated by her own party.  Would Boehner been so blase so “whatever” had Tom Tancredo delivered remarks in addition to Paul Ryan?  Would Chris Matthews call him a “balloon head despite the fact that Tancredo has made a pretty damn good living off of playing fast and loose with historical fact?”  I don’t think so.  And I’m not the only one.

2010 Politics in Review by the MOMocrats: President Obama's Trial by Fire

I think there's a musty old law somewhere that impels media outlets to produce some kind of year in review piece each end of December -- or maybe it's just an easy topic to riff on when all you really want to do is recover from one holiday while preparing for the next. At any rate, Karoli and I did our own Year in Review episode on this week's MOMocrats MOMochat radio show.

I prepared for the show by highlighting some of the posts here on the MOMocrats website for 2010, and even though I remember all of these events, I was surprised to see they had all occurred THIS YEAR. And what a year it's been.

Karoli summed up 2010 as "President Obama's Trial by Fire":

JANUARY

• Health care reform had still not passed by the time of the State of the Union (for some reason, I had been remembering HCR as a 2009 endeavor - maybe because it took ALL of 2009 before spilling into the first quarter of this year).

• Supreme Court hands down Citizens United ruling

• Scott Roeder convicted for murder of Dr. George Tiller

• James O’Keefe caught and arrested for dirty tricks at Senator Mary Landrieu’s office

• A 7.0 earthquake devastates Haiti

A Word On Bi-Partisanship

Man, who ever thought it would be so hard being in charge?  Seriously.  It's become quite apparent that the Democrats have a serious case of minority-party PTSD as, with the exception of a hand full of brave souls, they seem capable of doing little more than cowering in the corner while Boehner and McConnell continue to steal their lunch money.

And all the while the drumbeat of criticism levied at President Obama about his push toward "bi-partisan" solutions has grown louder as even reasonable minded Democrats seem about ready to abandon this presidency and resign themselves to handing the keys back over to the GOP.  I'll admit, I'm on that ledge.  But let's consider this.  What if bi-partisanship is not about Republican support, but about trying to wrestle in the remaining Reagan Democrats in Congress?

Look at who is consistently blocking Democratic initiatives, for example.  Ben Nelson (D-NE) is a perfect case study.  Now, as a Nebraskan I can speak a bit to Nelson and he is a classic Nebraska Democrat.  If the Republicans were not so blatant in their racism he'd (and most his voters) would be Republicans.  Same with Evan Bayh.  Unless the Democrats were to get real comfortable with the idea of passing every piece of legislation via reconciliation (which would be far too brass-knuckled for the delicate constitutions of Democrats), President Obama needed to find a way to maintain 60 votes, and keep up appearances of Democratic unity.  That's a political quagmire if one ever existed.

But so what?  What do we do now that the Republicans control the House and have pledged to block every piece of legislation the Democrats introduce (save, of course, tax cuts, OBVIOUSLY).  Do we let them, as some on the left have suggested and let the American people see them for the obstructionists that they are?  Sounds tempting, but I'm starting to think that's too sophisticated for our current political media and most voters.  Sigh.

Or, do we take the tactic of our President and work to get SOMETHING passed, knowing that something is better than nothing and it is easier to build on legislation than to pass it?  That's what we did with health care reform and financial services reform.  It's also what we did with civil rights legislation.  Our first Civil Rights Act was pretty meager.  Over time it got better.  I suspect the same will be true with the Affordable Care Act, presuming the Democrats (and a few sane Republicans) find the will to beat back the impulse to cave to the quick and conservative-media driven narrative that the bill is garbage.

So, I guess what I'm saying is let's not give up, no matter how dark and how cold our political climate may be right now.  And lets resist the urge to punish one man for the failings of Congress and keep in mind that legislative change happens incrementally, and often is a process of two steps forward, one step back.  We'll get there, and President Obama can still bring us there, but not if we expect miracles and victories at every turn and in every year.

Becoming a Real MOMocrat: 2010 Election Night

My husband and I have taken our sons to vote every year since they were born.  It's important to both of us that our boys know and understand that voting isn't just a privilege, but a responsibility of citizenship.  We want them to pay attention to politics and what is happening in their country and seeing us vote was a good way to start out.

Of course, Hollis and Holden are incredibly lucky little boys. There have been no shortage of politicians in their short lives. Hollis still talks about seeing Barack Obama and the time he met Vice President Biden.  With our close proximity to DC, they've visited the White House several times and love to visit the "Capitol City," singing "I'm Just a Bill" from School House Rock all the way.  With the parents they have, it will also be difficult for them to miss the political screaming matches vigorous political disucssions that take place in our home.

But I think we took it to the next level today.

A good friend and I took our 6 year olds to a local watering hole for dinner with the intention of watching the election returns.  They very nicely turned one of the 50 or so TV's to MSNBC for us and we settled in to watch.  Unfortunately, we were getting frustrated with the lack of local coverage of Virginia's 2nd Congressional District race.  We both campaigned for Congressman Glenn Nye and I even appeared in a commercial for him.  We asked the eatery to change another tv to a local station and they said no.  "No more politics."  (Buffalo Wild Wings in Chesapeake, Virginia, I'm talking to you!)

I was pretty floored that a restaurant full of TV's would refuse to have more than one on election coverage on election night.  But maybe that explains so much of what is wrong with our country these days.  Too many people are more interested in catching the ocassional sound bites that actually delving into the issues and analysis for themselves. I guess it's OK to rant about the state of our country, but why bother actually watching to see what happens after the rants?

Anyway, we decided to head out to the Glenn Nye campaign party in Virginia Beach. We figured we were bound to hear more about the returns at HQ and we were right.

So, wearing t-shirts, sweats and jeans, we headed to the election night party with our 6 year old boys. On a school night. We got some strange looks; the "Moms" were in the house.  But the boys had a great time, we talked about the political process and how important it is to be engaged. I'd like to think they also learned a bit about how to be a gracious loser and the wonderfully civil transfer of power that we have in our country and so take for granted.

Despite the unhappy ending to the night for Glenn Nye and so many other Democratic candidates, I'm glad Hollis got to experience election night. In fact, we think we're going to make this a yearly tradition for the boys. Win or lose, sometimes the best thing you can do is stay engaged. It's my job as a mother and a MOMocrat to make sure my children understand that too.

Hollis enjoys his first election night party.

OK Governor's Race: Somewhat Pro-Choice Askins or Symbolic Apple Pie From Fallin?

When Democratic candidate for Oklahoma governor (current Lieutenant Governor) Jari Askins won the primary to face Republican opponent (Congresswoman) Mary Fallins, I noted how unusual it was that one of the more conservative states in the union will have a woman as chief executive.

But I also noted that one major difference between the two women is that Jari Askins is tepidly pro-choice, while Mary Fallin is most decidedly not. Askins has been quoted as recognizing the necessity of abortion in cases of "rape and to save the life of the mother." But Fallin is one of Sarah Palin's "mama grizzlies," a legislator who has consistently voted to grant the "pre-born" protection under the 14th amendment (essentially, life begins at conception) and would reverse Roe v. Wade. Fallin also recently claimed that by having six kids, she has experience that better suits her for the governorship that Askins, with no partner or child, lacks...despite Fallin's failure to vote for SCHIP in January, 2008 and January 2009.

Go Read It, Downward Dogs: Sympathy for the Wretched Politician

Dear Teahadists,

Yes, we are laughing AT you. We tried laughing WITH you, but you are sour and humorless.

Let it never be said I have no Sympathy for the Wretched Politician, however:

Don't forget to take a moment, before it's too late, to celebrate the charming lunacy of Christine O'Donnell, anti-masturbation goofnickel and all-around Tea Party hood ornament, before she slides back into total irrelevance. Do you feel empathy for poor Christine? She is trailing by double digits in the polls. She is scrambling for footing up a mountain of dumb.

This is especially apt, given the Three-Ringed Circus of Flail that was Delaware Republican senatorial candidate Christine O'Donnell's showing (video) at the debate this evening with the Democratic candidate, Chris Coons.

As always, breathe.

Namaste,

Cynematic

P i l l o w b o o k

MOMocrats Facebook Page

MOMocrats Interview: Jim Meffert

Last week MOMocrats writer Jaelithe Judy had the chance to speak with Jim Meffert, a Democrat running for Congress in Minnesota's Third District against incumbent Republican Erik Paulsen, who was elected in 2008.

A former president of the Minnesota State PTA Board, a member of the P-20 Partnership for Education, and the the executive director of the Minnesota Optometric Association, Jim Meffert is also a father of three. 

Listen to the interview below, or read the transcript. 

Meffert_Interview_MOMocrats

Jim Meffert: I'm going to get get my wife hooked up with you guys.

Jaelithe Judy: That's great.

She's a professional musician — clarinetist — and has extremely strong opinions, on everything! Which is fantastic. And frankly, about a year ago when we were looking at getting into this, she and I would gauge where we were at with getting into the race. She was at 70% on day one; I was at about 50%. And she said, you've got to get out and do this. So she would be great to connect with.

We definitely like opinionated women at MOMocrats.

And I tell you, I don't know if you know any of my background, but, being on the board of the state PTA, and I was chair of a group called the Minnesota Children's Platform Coalition, and worked with Every Child Matters, and so I have spent my entire, my volunteer career, around strong women trying to do the same that you're doing — trying to get families involved, trying to talk about how we help families and kids, talking about parents' involvement in schools. So, anything that I can do to help you guys also, to broaden the audience and broaden the discussion, let me know, because we've got to use campaigns to do that too.

Well thanks, I appreciate that! Well, I have some questions for you if you're ready.