Fresh off the heels of Gov. Palin's deliberate misstatement of a Madeline Albright quote from her Starbucks cup, the N.O.W. makes a rare foray into Presidential politics. Yes, the National Organization for Women endorses Barack Obama.
For more than a decade, Barack Obama has said "yes" to women's rights, while John McCain has consistently said "no" - NO to pay equity, NO to contraceptive access and reproductive rights, NO to appointing Supreme Court judges who will uphold women's rights and civil rights, NO to funding shelters and other anti-violence programs, and NO to supporting working moms and dads with policies that support work/life balance.
NOW supported Sen. Hillary Clinton in the primary, and now we join with her in saying "NO" -- No Way, No How, No McCain!
They have even launched an "Obama Page" on their own website. Awesome!
http://www.nowpacs.org/...
Although it is very unusual for us to endorse in a presidential election, this is an unprecedented candidate and an unprecedented time for our country. The NOW PAC reviewed Sen. Obama's record and public statements on issues that disproportionately affect the women of this nation, and I spoke with him at length about his commitment to women's equality. For example:
**On pay equity
**On reproductive rights
**On violence against women
**On the Supreme Court
The below is an excerpt from a forwarded email from my aunt who alerted me to this endorsement.
We are writing to you because of the fury and dread we have felt since the
announcement of Sarah Palin as the Vice-Presidential candidate for the
Republican Party. We believe that this terrible decision has surpassed mere partisanship, and that it is a dangerous farce on the part of a pandering and rudderless Presidential candidate that has a real possibility of becoming fact.
snip
To date, she is against sex education, birth control, the pro-choice platform, environmental protection, alternative energy development, freedom of speech, gun control, the separation of church and state,
and polar bears. To say nothing of her complete lack of real preparation
to become the second-(and possibly first)-most-powerful person on the
planet.
Ouch. That will leave a mark. Should we see if this kind of ass-whooping is covered under Sen. Joe Biden's Violence Against Women Act?
So to wrap up...(braces self)
We want to clarify that we are not against Sarah Palin as a woman, a mother, or, for that matter, a parent of a pregnant teenager, but solely as a rash, incompetent, and altogether devastating choice for Vice President. Ms. Palin's political views are in every way a slap in the face to the accomplishments that our mothers and grandmothers and great-grandmothers so fiercely fought for, and from which we've so demonstrably benefited.