Obama supporters ... please help me out

Let me start by saying that I'm an Edwards supporter, but I was undecided between him and Obama until less than a week ago (the NH debate made me choose Edwards). Obama is my second choice and I'd be happy to vote for him if he gets the nomination. So please understand that I am not trying to criticize Obama in any way. I sincerely like and respect the man. I simply need an answer, ok? :-)

A friend of mine brought something to my attention and I don't have an explanation for her. Right now, she plans on voting for Edwards, but if Obama and Clinton on in a tight race in our state on February 5th, she will vote for Obama.

She received one of those viral emails about his position on choice. I explained about the "present" votes and that it was simply a legislative strategy, etc. Then she told me that she went to Obama's web site to learn about his positions on the issues. She said the web site doesn't mention reproductive rights at all.

I figured she was wrong and simply overlooked it, so I went to Obama's web site. I discovered that the "Issues" list does not include a section about women or reproductive rights. I checked the other sections that I thought it might be listed under (civil rights, family and healthcare). There is information about women's health in the "Healthcare" section, but it only talks about breast and cervical cancer, and improving prenatal care. Nothing about reproductive rights.

In the "Learn" section, there is a sub-heading called "Know the Facts" and I did find plenty of info about the "present" votes and his pro-choice record. That's great ... but frankly, it took me a bit of effort to find that information.

Obama supporters ... you really need to contact the campaign and tell them to put "Reproductive Rights" and/or "Women" in their "Issues" section because that's the first place people look when they want to learn about a candidate. If it does come down to him and Clinton, and female voters are undecided, the fact that he doesn't have a section dedicated solely to women's issues could be a deciding factor. (NOTE: Both Clinton and Edwards have easy to find sections dedicated to women's issues, including reproductive rights.)

If his web site does have a section dedicated to reproductive rights (my apologies if I missed it), please give me a link so I can pass it along ... and tell the Obama campaign that it needs to be easier to find.

Thanks. :-)

for the democratic cause

I hadn't noticed before....but now that you mention it, I can't find it either.

there is a ton of information out there.

I haven't read the whole thing yet but...


http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/blog/2007/12/21/sen-barack-obamas-reproductive-health-questionnaire

Fact Check: Obama's Strong Pro-Choice Record
January 08, 2008

ILLINOIS PRO-CHOICE LEADERS AGREE: OBAMA'S PRESENT VOTES ON CHOICE WERE "LEADERSHIP VOTES"

Lisa Madigan, Illinois Attorney General: "It's Just Plan Wrong To Imply That Voting Present Reflected A Lack Of Leadership...In Fact, It Was The Exact Opposite." "Lisa Madigan, the Illinois attorney general who was in the Illinois Senate with Mr. Obama from 1998 through 2002, said she and Mr. Obama voted present on the anti-abortion bills. 'It's just plain wrong to imply that voting present reflected a lack of leadership,' Ms. Madigan said. 'In fact, it was the exact opposite.'"

Steve Trombley, CEO And President Of Planned Parenthood/Chicago Action Said They Worked With Obama To Implement Legislative Strategies In Illinois Protecting A Woman's Right To Choose. Steve Trombley "said there's a reason his organization has endorsed Obama throughout his political career. 'Senator Obama has been a consistent supporter of reproductive rights while in the legislature and we worked closely with him in developing and implementing legislative strategies to protect the rights of women in Illinois.'"

Pam Sutherland Confirmed: Planned Parenthood Says Obama's Present Votes On Choice Are "Leadership Votes." "'We at Planned Parenthood view those as leadership votes,' Pam Sutherland, the president and CEO of the Illinois Planned Parenthood Council, told ABC News. 'We worked with him specifically on his strategy. The Republicans were in control of the Illinois Senate at the time. They loved to hold votes on 'partial birth' and 'born alive'. They put these bills out all the time . . . because they wanted to pigeonhole Democrats...Sutherland said Obama approached her in the late 1990s and worked with her and others in crafting the strategy of voting 'present.' She remembers meeting with Obama outside of the Illinois Senate chambers on the Democratic side of the aisle. She and Obama finished their conversation in his office. 'He came to me and said: 'My members are being attacked. We need to figure out a way to protect members and to protect women,' said Sutherland in recounting her conversation with Obama. 'A present vote was hard to pigeonhole which is exactly what Obama wanted.'


IL POLITICAL OBSERVERS AGREE IT WAS A LEGISLATIVE STRATEGY FROM THE PRO-CHOICE COMMUNITY

Chicago Tribune's Eric Zorn: "Disparagement Of Obama Votes Doesn't Hold Up." Under the headline, "Disparagement of Obama votes doesn't hold up," Eric Zorn wrote, "Obama's 'present' vote on that bill is one Hull is attacking him for in a flier decorated with rubber duckies. Sutherland just laughs. 'We also had Emil Jones, Lisa Madigan, Miguel del Valle, Rickey Hendon and other very strong pro-choice legislators voting `present' on that one,' she said. 'It was all done to pull "present" votes off the fence.' Obama confirmed Sutherland's account of the legislative strategy and said, 'No one was more active to beat back those bills than I was.' 'Criticizing Obama on the basis of "present" votes indicates you don't have a great understanding of the process,' said Thom Mannard, director of the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence."

Miller: "Maybe Only A Few Members Of The Tribune Contracted Remember This Ploy, But I Do;" Planned Parenthood "Was Encouraging 'Present' Votes By Some Of Their More Loyal Members In Order To Encourage The Moderates To Vote That Way As Well" To Combat Republican Tactic Of Breaking Moderates Away From The Pro-Choice Movement. Rich Miller wrote, "Maybe only a few members the Tribune contacted remember this ploy, but I do. It was specifically designed by Planned Parenthood to counter Republican Senate President Pate Philip's barrage of hot-button abortion bills that he was continually trying to ram through the Senate in 2001 and 2002. The Tribune missed the point. Besides passing bills he supported, Pate's idea was to cause a controversy by splitting 'moderate' Democrats away from the abortion rights groups, thereby causing a rift on that side, and, more imporantly, to put some political targets on the hot seat. So, as they also did in the House a few years back, Planned Parenthood was encouraging 'Present' votes by some of their more loyal members in order to encourage the moderates to vote that way as well."


CLINTON'S PRO-CHOICE SUPPORTERS PREVIOUSLY PRAISED OBAMA FOR HIS LEADERSHIP ON CHOICE

EMILY'S List Called Obama's Remarks "A Rousing Call To Arms, And A Touching Reminder Of Why We Are Doing Everything We Can To Make A Difference By Electing Pro-Choice Democratic Women." EMILY'S List Insider News reported, "It's difficult to pinpoint the highlights from this year's 15th annual Majority Council Conference on May 11 and 12, because there were so many!..This year's conference was held in conjunction with "Change," our Washington, D.C., luncheon with more than 1,100 members from the across the country. Illinois Sen. Barack Obama headlined the event. His remarks were a rousing call to arms, and a touching reminder of why we are doing everything we can to make a difference by electing pro-choice Democratic women."

Malcolm Thanked Obama For Participating In The EMILY's List Lunch, Said He "Really Lit A Fire With Our Members! Thanks So Much!!" A letter from Ellen Malcolm to Barack Obama read, "Thank you so much for helping to make the 2006 EMILY's List Majority Council Conference such a great success. Our Majority Council members told me again and again how energized they were to hear directly from you and how much they appreciated your spending time with us. You truly inspired our members and reminded them why they support our work to elect dynamic pro-choice Democratic women - especially after hearing you speak about how you're fighting to make change happen. I appreciate your commitment to EMILY's List. Here's to victory in November! Warmest regards, Ellen R. Malcolm, President (Handwritten: You were terrific and really lit a fire with our members! Thanks so much!!)"


OBAMA RECEIVED 100 PERCENT RATINGS FROM CHOICE ORGANIZATIONS

Wendy Frosh, Chair of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England Praised Obama's Leadership on Choice Issues, Citing His 100 Percent Rating From Pro-Choice Groups. "Hi, this is Wendy Frosh, chair of the board of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England. As people have begun to rally around Barack Obama's call for change, the false attacks have begun. But as a leader and activist for reproductive rights for more than 20 years, I know the facts. Barack has a 100 percent pro-choice record and has always been a champion for women's rights. Hillary Clinton's last-minute smears won't protect the right to choose, but as president, Barack Obama will."

2006: Obama Received A 100 Percent Rating From Planned Parenthood In 2006.

2005 Obama Received A 100 Percent Rating From NARAL Pro-Choice America In 2005.

2003: Obama Received A 100 Percent Rating From Illinois Planned Parenthood Council In 2003.

2002: Obama Was Endorsed By The Illinois Planned Parenthood Council, There Were No Number Ratings Available.

2001: Obama Received A 100 Percent Rating From The Illinois Planned Parenthood Council In 2001.

97-98: Obama Received A 100 Percent Rating From The Illinois Planned Parenthood Council For 1997-1998.


ADDITIONAL PRAISE FOR OBAMA'S PRO-CHOICE RECORD FROM ILLINOIS PRO-CHOICE LEADERS

Former Illinois Senator and current Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan: "When Barack and I served in the Senate, it was not uncommon for groups to adopt a legislative strategy of having like-minded lawmakers vote 'present' rather than yes or no. When it came to protecting a woman's right to choose, for example, Barack and I voted present as part of a strategy devised by pro-choice advocates. It's just plain wrong to imply that voting present reflected a lack of leadership. In fact, it was the exact opposite."

Lorna Brett, former president of Chicago NOW: "I am a supporter of Hillary Clinton and an EMILY's List donor, but this line of attack is unacceptable. While I was the president of Chicago National Organization for Women, Senator Obama worked closely with us, could not have been more supportive of a woman's right to choose, and there was no bigger champion in Illinois on our issues. What's important is that the candidates do not cannibalize each other on issues we all agree about because we need to win in November."

Steve Trombley, CEO & President, Planned Parenthood/Chicago Action: "During his years in the state legislature, Barack Obama was a strong and consistent supporter of women's reproductive rights. He worked hand-in-hand with Planned Parenthood in developing and executing strategies to make sure that women had access to reproductive health care. I also want to thank him for standing up with us in the effort to open the Aurora clinic and for his introduction of legislation guaranteeing access to low-cost birth control. Planned Parenthood/Chicago Area has proudly endorsed Barack throughout his entire political career."

"Barack has always supported a women's right to choose and has a 100% pro-choice rating from Planned Parenthood. Barack has always voted to support our strategy as we worked to defeat anti-choice legislation. That is why we have supported him in every previous election."

Pam Sutherland, President & CEO of Planned Parenthood Council: "The present votes Obama took at that time, along with many other pro-choice legislators, were 'no' votes to bad bills being used for political gain. We asked Senator Obama and other strong supporters of choice to vote present to encourage Senators facing tough re-elections to make the right choice by voting present, instead of caving to political pressure and voting for these bad bills. In the Illinois State Senate, Obama showed leadership, compassion and a true commitment to reproductive health care. The Republican Senate President at the time constantly used anti-abortion bills to pigeon-hole Democrats so that he could target them with misleading mailers during campaign season. It was a tactic that was about politics, not policy - and Obama didn't let them get away with it."

"Barack has a 100 percent pro-choice record. The present votes he cast were part of a legislative strategy that we designed specifically to protect abortion rights. Barack's leadership on this issue went above and beyond the call of duty, and for anyone to intentionally mislead voters about that fact in the days before an election is simply sad."

Libby Slappey, a former 13-year board member of Planned Parenthood of East Central Iowa: "Senator Obama is one of America's strongest and most loyal defenders of women's rights on issues of reproductive health care. I've contributed to EMILY's List in the past - but I never will again, because I'm so disappointed in their decision to launch these unfair, false attacks on behalf of Senator Clinton's campaign."
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But yes, he should have a separate section on women's issues, not just reproductive rights issues.

That's from the "Know the Facts" section. That info is very informative and helpful, but it really should be in a section about women's issues. :-)

Websites need to put this kind of information in multiple places so people can find from whatever reasonable click-flow the use.

Obama said he would appoint Supreme Court Judges that support the right to privacy, and Roe V Wade

In fact ALL the Democratic candidates said that

One thing is known for sure, Hillary vote for the IWR and the Kyle/Lieberman amendment

Was it good that Obama voted Present, NO, but those or 2 separate events. You don't vote for Hillary because Obama didn't take a position on the Kyle/Lieberman amendment, and she did. The position she took indicates that we should have a permanent presence in Iraq as long Iran is considered a threat

If someone votes for that amendment, I would assume they don't believe we should move our troops out of the area soon

A person who doesn't know what he stands for will go to his web site looking for answers. If those answers are not easy to find in a logical place, that could be a problem. I don't want it to be a problem because he may very well be our nominee. I don't want female voter's turned off of him because they feel he doesn't think the issue is important enough to be one of the main "Issues" that are directly addressed on his web site. At the very least, the information should be in the healthcare section. JMHO

on his site, but alas... x(

Many of the lead issues on his site are conservative buzzwords: family, faith...

no choice, no LGBT rights

Let's come right down to it: he's appealing to social conservatives and economic moderates under a liberal rhetoric.

The codes are all there if you're paying attention.

Edwards has a GLBT Rights section - I'm not sure about Hillary - but EVERY Dem should have it. :-)

...as state senator.

:hi:

I'm not questioning his position on women's rights. Everything I've ever heard about him and women's issues has been positive. :-)

I want our nominee to win, no matter who it is. There's a lot of garbage being said about him in various viral emails and people who receive them may go to his web site to find out the truth. I'm just concerned that he doesn't feature women's issue's more prominently on his site, especially since one of those viral emails directly attacks his position on choice.

I'm not on his mailing list and I haven't donated to his campaign (like I said, I support John Edwards), so I didn't think an email from me would make much of a difference to the Obama campaign. However, if some of his supporters raise the issue, they may listen. That's why I started this thread.