A WTF Post and A Call to Action

In one of the most unbelievable press releases I have ever had the misfortune to read Naral Pro-Choice has endorsed Obama for President (see below). This is a call to action. The person I spoke to at the NY Naral told me that their chapter was not involved in the decision, NY was not endorsing either democratic candidate and directed me to the second article below. She also gave me the telephone number of the National Naral - 1-202-973-3000 where I was transferred to the "Political Department". Naturally, no one was available to take my call, but there is voice mail. Call them. This isn't ONLY about Hillary being the far better choice, it's the fact that an organization involved with woman's reproductive rights is endorsing a man who voted "present" on several critical abortion issues.

"As a State Senator, Barack Obama voted `present' on seven abortion bills, including a ban on 'partial birth abortion,' two parental notification laws and three 'born alive' bills. In each case, the right vote was clear, but Senator Obama chose political cover over standing and fighting for his convictions.

" -- IllinoisNOW.org

"To be clear, voting "present" on those bills was a strategy that IL NOW did not support. At that time, we made it clear to the legislators that we disagreed with the strategy. We wanted legislators to take a stand against the harmful anti-choice bills being brought to the floor of the Illinois State Senate.

Voting "present" does not demonstrate leadership and does not send the clarion signal that one is unwavering in their support of a woman's right to choose. IL NOW knew that those bills were unacceptable to women. Except for these present votes, Senator Obama's record on choice has been excellent, but he has not taken leadership on the issue at the same level that Hillary has.

Ms. Brett asserts that the strategy to vote "present" was devised to give political cover to legislators in conservative districts. State Senator Barack Obama did not represent a conservative district and he could have voted "no" with little negative consequence in his district."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Cyn

I'm excited to announce that today, NARAL Pro-Choice America PAC is endorsing Sen. Barack Obama for president!

We have been so fortunate to have two fully pro-choice candidates running for the Democratic nomination, and we praised both Sen. Clinton and Sen. Obama for their leadership in standing up for women's reproductive rights. But only one candidate can advance to the general election.

NARAL Pro-Choice America PAC is making our endorsement now because every day that passes, Sen. McCain gets a free ride on the issue of choice. That free ride ends today.

Too many voters think that McCain is a moderate. Can someone who's voted anti-choice 125 times out of 130 opportunities on abortion and other reproductive-rights issues be a moderate?

It's time to put that myth to rest. To win in November, NARAL Pro-Choice America will educate swing voters who can tip this election: Republican and Indepdendent women. And we cannot let one more day go by without comparing Sen. Obama's fully pro-choice record to Sen. McCain's anti-choice record.

On one hand, we have Sen. Obama—who has been a fully pro-choice ally from day one and whom women can trust.

And on the other hand, we have Sen. John McCain—who has gone even further than George W. Bush in his anti-choice rhetoric by directly calling for the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade.

I believe that Sen. Obama is the leader who can unify our country behind commonsense ways to prevent unintended pregnancy.

We need you to be a part of our work to defeat Sen. McCain and elect Sen. Obama.

Send an ecard to your friends to educate them about Sen. Obama's record on choice.
Make a donation to our work to elect Sen. Obama, other pro-choice candidates, and protect choice at all levels.

Thank you for your support and I look forward to working with you for a pro-choice White House in 2008!
Nancy Keenan
President, NARAL Pro-Choice America
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NARAL Pro-Choice NY Doesn't Follow National's Lead
In a show of loyalty to its home state senator, Hillary Clinton, NARAL Pro-Choice NY declined to follow the lead of its national organization in endorsing Barack Obama, proclaiming it "premature" to pick a favorite in the Democratic primary contest.

In a terse statement, the NY-based abortion rights group said the decision by NARAL Pro-Choice America to back Obama was made in Washington, D.C. and "without the consultation" of state affiliates.

"NARAL Pro-Choice New York will not be issuing an endorsement at this time," continued the statement, which isn't attributed to anyone in particular.

"NARAL Pro-Choice New York believes that this endorsement in the Democratic primary is premature. We are fortunate to have two pro-choice candidates in Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and Senator Barack Obama."

"When a nominee is named, NARAL Pro-Choice New York will stand proudly with the pro-choice Democratic candidate in order to defeat anti-choice Republican candidate John McCain in November."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CALL THEM NOW!! 1-202-973-3000