Tag: elections

As We Move Forward, DEMAND Change!

As We Move Forward, DEMAND Change!

by Catherine Lederer-Plaskett
President/Chair of the Board

The successful appointment of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court is more than disturbing.  Survivors from all over the country spoke out and millions called, protested, and marched. Chief Justice Roberts received numerous misconduct complaints against Kavanaugh from the DC Court of Appeals, which Roberts has refused to investigate. Kavanaugh lied under oath to the US Senate. The so-called FBI investigation refused to interview the many who offered credible information. And during his own testimony, Kavanaugh showed that he does not have the temperament for the job. But still, the Senate voted to confirm him.

This is not the first time this group of white old men rammed a candidate onto the Supreme Court, and unless we work smart it will not be the last.

  1. Susan Collins is proof of a Choice Matters’ mantra: If being pro-choice is not at the top of a candidate’s agenda, not one of the top five issues, that person is of NO USE TO WOMEN. We will not support you. We will not tolerate lip service. Collins’ false narrative that she’s pro-choice and pro-woman has been exposed. The IDC members made the same false claims and we ousted 6 of them in the September Primary. Now it’s time to take Collins out. She’s up for re-election in 2020. We must be ready to work starting November 7th.
  2. Unbelievable as it may seem, many women took this personally – not as surviviors but as the mothers of sons. They bought Trump’s narative that it is a horrible time for men. Some of these very women identify as “progressives” but still they blame the “girls”. As a sexual assault victim and the mother of 2 sons – 2 black sons – the population most likely to be falsely accused of any crime, I trust my sons AND  I believe women.  People need to take responsibility for their actions, and that includes how we raise our children. And,
  3. Holding up a mirror. Democrats are guilty of some of the same behavior for which they attack Republicans. In Westchester, the top elected offices are all held by men, and both political parties are lead by men. It is time for this to change, and women must demand it!

Unofficial Election Results!

This was the Ultimate Battle against Goliath, and Goliath lost!
We the Pro-Choice community and Choice Matters took on Astorino’s anti-choice machine and won! We have maintained a pro-choice majority on the Westchester County Board of Legislators, although we did sadly lose an important ally in District #3, John Nonna.
As the Capital Tonight reported, Election Night was “Not A Good Night For Rob Astorino”
Right-to-Life, anti-birth control  anti-sex education County Executive Rob Astorino vested heavily in this election even though his name was not on the ballot.He handpicked the candidates to target Democratic pro-choice incumbents.Astorino recruited his political consultant Bill O’Reilly to manage the campaign of his handpicked, rubber stamp, predominantly anti-choice candidates.Then Astorino found the big money for his campaign. He knew he wouldn’t find those anti-choice dollars in Westchester so he headed to Albany.According to The Wall Street Journal,  the NYS GOP–the same anti-choice extremists who back the likes of Senator Skelos–invested in excess of $100,000 in Westchester County’s 2011 County legislature races.

Why? Apparently Astorino is considered a rising star and a possible challenger to Governor Cuomo in 2014. (GOP Viewing Westchester as a Big Test, 11/8/2011)

The results are not yet official but here is the expected outcome for our pro-choice incumbents targeted by anti-choice extremist Rob Astorino:Peter Harckham, CLD #2  YES!!!John Nonna, CLD #3   Sadly no.Mike Kaplowitz, CLD #4   YES!!!Bill Ryan, CLD #5    YES!!!

Judy Myers, CLD #7  YES!!!

Plus 2 Open Seats that We Won
that were previously held by pro-choice legislators:

Catherine Borgia, CLD #9  YES!!!

Virginia Perez, CLD #17  YES!!!

These legislators are 100% pro-choice.
They protect our women, children, and families.
They understand the importance of our clinics, childcare, and health centers.

It looks like both of Choice Matters’ two endorsed pro-choice Supreme Court candidates for the 9th Judicial District, Robert DiBella and Paul Marx, won!!!
Sadly, fantastic pro-choice challenger John Fitzpatrick, in #10, almost succeeded in defeating an incumbent who even in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the woman opposes abortion. (According to the Right to Life Committee, the incumbent  also supports passing a law to ban gay marriage.) Unfortunately, it appears at this time that Fitzpatrick is behind by 39 votes. Also candidates in the open seat in District #6, Dan Brakewood, and the challenger in District #1, Mike Kane, were unable to come out on top of the  anti-choice opposition.
NOTE: It is our job to make sure they have powerful pro-choice  support next time!* When the Pro-Choice Community Votes, We Win *

Breaking News: The War on Women Hits Westchester!

Right to Life County Executive
Cuts Funding for Contraception for Teens, Well-Baby Care and Sex Education

This is outrageous! Less than three months after the Department of Health and Human Services announced that contraception is so important that it is being designated preventive care, in accordance with the recommendations of the Institute of Medicine, and joining the list of key services such as mammograms, cervical cancer screenings, prenatal care, well-woman visits, and gestational diabetes screenings, Astorino puts his right-to-life, anti-birth-control, far-right mentality into action, attacking our teenagers’ health and rights.

Nothing seems more like preventive care than contraception!

Why is Astorino doing this? This is clearly not about reducing our taxes or about jobs.

Just like the tea baggers in Congress who are seizing every opportunity to attack women’s reproductive rights, Astorino has chosen this moment, when Westchester has sky rocketing unemployment and depleted tax revenues to put his personal anti-choice tea party stamp on our county.

Simply not funding contraceptives and not teaching sex ed does not make sex go away. Instead, it will most likely lead to a dramatic increase in teen pregnancies.

When these babies are then born there will be no well-baby care available because Astorino has cut that too.

Astorino is the true embodiment of the right-to-life philosophy: care about the fetus, but when it’s born, throw it and its mother under the bus.

Who is most effected by Astorino’s actions? Anyone who  utilizes any one of Westchester County’s community health centers—teenagers, the unemployed, the working poor, those without health insurance.

Who won’t it affect? Astorino and his financially secure friends.

On Election Day
Astorino Wants Your Help In This Attack

Astorino has hand-picked candidates to challenge incumbents. The Astorino gang have all sworn their allegiance to him as attested to at the press conference held on October 7th. On the steps of the County office building and in their own press releases, these candidates have said they will be a [guaranteed] vote for the Astorino agenda and that they share his [governing] philosophy more than 99% of the time.

That means they too believe in outsourcing jobs including the Community Health Centers, as well as cutting funding for contraceptives for teens, well-baby care and sex ed.

Astorino and his gang are committed to creating a sick Westchester, not a healthy one!

Growing Number Of Candidates Oppose Abortion In Cases Of Rape, Incest

A startling number of candidates up for election this year are anti-choice even to the extent that they oppose abortion in cases of rape, incest, or even to save the life of the woman. RNC for Life has endorsed 63 House candidates who are against abortion in all cases.

New York State has a horrific number running for all levels of government.

The following are NY Right to Life (RTL) endorsed anti-choice candidates:
*Senatorial and House challengers DioGuardi, Townsend, Mele and Russell and *State Senate and Assembly candidates Vernucchio, McLaughlin, Ball, Block, Ramondelli, Katz and Borkowski all want to overturn Roe v Wade; * RTL gubernatorial hopeful Carl Paladino made clear in his now infamous CNN interview that women should have no reproductive rights.

(Check out the voting guide for more, and pay special attention to the judicial candidates like Murphy who is up for reelection to the Supreme Court. Last time he took the Right to Life line and now is trying to hide that truth. He knows New York is pro-choice and his truth will hurt him!)

A few quotes from around the country:

Carl Paladino, running for Governor of New York

In a Sept. 15 interview with CNN’s Rick Sanchez, Carl Paladino said unequivocally that women should not be able to have an abortion even in cases of rape and incest. “Should a woman have a right to have an abortion if she’s — if she’s been raped?” Sanchez asked. “No,” replied Paladino. When he asked about cases of incest, Paladino said, “The baby can be adopted.”

Nevada Senate Candidate Sharron Angle

“two wrongs don’t make a right,” and said a young girl who had been raped by her father should think about making “a lemon situation into lemonade” by having her baby and either raising it or giving it up for adoption.

Delaware Senate Nominee Christine O’Donnell

On her campaign website, Christine O’Donnell states that she “[s]trongly believes in protecting the sanctity of life at ALL stages.” She has repeatedly said she opposes abortion even in cases of rape and incest. She also condemned the use of condoms, calling them “anti-human.” “And what…if the population is increasing, so what?” O’Donnell said in a 2006 interview on Fox News. “People aren’t bad. When did humans become a bad thing? Why is it that we have to, you know, stop people from getting pregnant?”

According to the news media, voters are frustrated and apathetic. We must keep our focus. We cannot allow anti-choice extremists to win elections. Think about what is at stake and VOTE.

Source: Huffington Post and RNC for Life