Organizing for America

My Fundraising Goal

Hi All, 

I believed until recently, as some of you still do, that this election is in the bag and that the fabulous ticket of Obama/Biden will cruise to victory.  I looked to a new dawn on January 20th when our new President could work with Congress to create a more perfect union.  Boy was I wrong.  Please click the thermometer to make a donation to reestablish an America that empowers us all. 

As recent polls have shown, every day and every dollar is crucial to elect a Presidential ticket that believes in quality healthcare for all, economic security, a woman’s right to govern her own body, and every American’s right to live free of violence. 

As the press gets further into celebrity political coverage as in elections past, they’re not covering the real juxtaposition in issues presented in this Presidential race:

• Violence Against Woman and All Americans v the Violence Against Women Act and Civil Order
• Status Quo v Real Change
• Cynicism v Hope
• Stasis v Movement Forward
• Spotty Healthcare for Some v Quality Healthcare for All
• Penalizing Abortion in All Cases Including Rape and Incest v A Woman’s Right to Choose
• Economic Stagflation v Middle Class Tax Cuts
• Library Censorship v Freedom of Expression
• Creationism v Evolution

Seems alarmist?  Sorry, but such is the case.  As you know, I’m generally not an alarmist; in fact, I’m generally slow to anger.  But issue differences that should be covered are not.  And while there are a lot of issues to discuss, these fundamentals matter so much to me, as I hope they matter to you too. 

As one of Hillary’s most ardent supporters in NY, I’m firmly committed to electing the Obama/Biden ticket in November.  Some of you know that I was one of the drafters of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and worked ardently with Senator Biden to get it and other bills like it drafted and passed.  These battles were vertical uphill battles, but Senator Biden led the way in navigating the halls of Congress.  As a board member of the national non-profit Security on Campus, I continue to work on legislation protecting our nation’s students from violence.  We can trust Barack Obama and Joe Biden to protect American citizens’ civil liberties, which include liberty and privacy. 

Another generally unknown fact about me is that I have run large and small women’s organizations, but have not fallen into the trap of being a feminist isolationist.  As the youngest state President of the National Women’s Political Caucus, I refused to concentrate on one type of woman, region or issue, being the first to espouse “all issues are women’s issues” and “women have conflicting visions and that conflict is good”. As a board member, and the most recent past board Chair, of the NYC Alliance Against Sexual Assault, I continue to fight for equal rights for the disenfranchised. 

I only mention these facts about me so that you’ll understand my intense personal compulsion to speak out at this time and implore you to support the Obama/Biden ticket in this election.   

The McCain ticket is all wrong on personal liberty.  John McCain voted and spoke out ardently in opposition to VAWA and other bills like it.  His ticket would roll back VAWA’s protections. They’d penalize pregnancy terminations in cases of rape and incest.  When McCain’s running mate was mayor, her city required women to pay for their own forensic rape kits, without which victims of rape could not adequately defend themselves in court against their attackers.  The McCain ticket would force women to pay for their own forensic rape exam kits. We must stand together in support of a ticket that supports women and men – all of us. 

Please step up to the plate – right now.  This donation page is one way in which I hope to help the Obama/Biden ticket.  If you’re not registered to vote – do it now.  Work in your community to elect Obama and Biden.  If you’re going to be out of town for the election November 4th get an absentee ballot.  Please click the thermometer to make a donation and work with me and the Obama/Biden team to reestablish an America that empowers us all. 

Thanks, Jenn Mercurio