JUST SAY NO to the dccc and emily's list!

yesterday's endorsement by emily's list of tammy duckworth in the il06 OPEN SEAT race wasn't exactly a shock -- but still sent a chilling message to any woman (or man) running for congress or thinking about it: the democratic party is the self-appointed arbiter of who will run, and will do anything it can to hijack races and derail candidates not of its choice.

this time the dccc used a woman (a vet, who doesn't live in the district) against a woman (who helped drive out henry hyde, the congressman pro-choice women love to hate), and has been openly supporting her over christine cegelis in a primary -- and now the cherry on top is endorsement from a party appendage that is part and parcel of the the scheme to elect democrats no matter what or who.

in 2004, christine cegelis got the most votes in hyde's district than any other democrat in 30 years. at the same time she helped organize the cd for her party -- the same party that tells candidates running as democrats to accept their roles as "agents of change" even if it means spending their own money when they don't get party support. the party has it's spending priorities, and a track record to prove it.

cegelis has spent a lot of time -- too much time, in my humble opinion -- trying to get the support of both the dccc and emily's list. but she was NOT their candidate, and therefore expendable now that the seat is within grasp of democrats. shame on them, and on anyone who falls for the party line claiming duckworth can win and cegelis can not. of course she can, which is why she has received her rightful share of endorsements from a cross-section of supporters!

it's time for us to JUST SAY NO to those powers-that-be that toy with candidates, especially women -- and to open our wallets for chris cegelis to get her through the 3/21 primary. please visit her website and give generously

let's be clear: when you give $$$ to christine cegelis, you know that it's going to elect a woman to an OPEN SEAT. when you give $$$ to emily's list, you cannot be sure how it's going to be used -- to elect women or to shore up the democratic party and help elect men, which are NOT the same. if this is a not a big problem for those of you fighting for equal representation, it certainly should be!

(more on this another time, now please get out those visa cards and go to cegelisforcongress.com -- thank you!)

jimmy carter, we hardly know ye..

it's very difficult t get around the notion of jimmy carter as world statesman and trouble-shooter when he doesn't help much at home. reminds me of my father when i was a little girl -- he would come home after work and sit in "his chair", eat dinner, watch tv, and go to bed. he worked hard, but it wasn't till he retired and my mother got sick that he took home-making seriously.

yesterday's papers were full of jimmy carter's opinions about the palestinian political situation and arab control of six major u.s. ports -- but it seems that equal representation for u.s. women isn't even near the top of his to-do list. on 9/14 i faxed and then mailed the letter asking for his support, which is posted on my website withoutboundaries.com -- and so far no answer. oh, a few days after thanksgiving i did get a mass-mailed fund-raising request from the carter center (which has nary a word on it about equal rights for any women on its website). back went the letter in the postage-paid return envelope, and again no answer...

how can jimmy carter justify his international gallavanting on behalf of democratic ideals such as elections, when u.s. women hold a measly 15.4% of the seats in congress? where was he when president bush proclaimed equality for women to be a touchstone of the administration's foreign democratization programs, and we don't have equal rights here at home? how high on the hill is the jimmy carter center, anyway?

president carter, we are sick -- sick of being second-class citizens in a self-proclaimed world's greatest democracy. when are you going to come home and help right this gross injustice. seems like you could help...if you wanted to.

monday morning qb --

for those who got a buzz a couple of days back when i mentioned that the highest number of retirements in recent cycles came in 1992 when 65 members opted not to seek re-election -- yes, it was the infamous "year of the woman," but let's look at the numbers, which never lie: only 14 more women went to congress in 1992. in the 7 subsequent cycles, women gained just 28 more seats. there were 35 open seats in 2004, seven won by women or 20% -- this is no formula for 5050X200!

that's why the powers-that-be MUST take a serious look at programs to implement "every OPEN SEAT a woman's seat", to accelerate the election of women to congress. party rules and pac endorsement policies must be changed, at least temporarily. how about a 14-year moratorium until 2020?

don't tell me "not now," we're busy with campaigns, wars, and hurricanes -- because we are always busy with something... there is never a good time, it seems, to talk about parity. so let's make time NOW. please put your thinking caps on, ladies and gentlemen. who will cast the first initiative to make real progress happen? all the credit to the real democrats (small "d") out there -- who are you?

the paulax challenge!

(BREAKING NEWS: According to the Rocky Mountain News Joe Hefley (R-CO05) will retire from Congress, creating another OPEN SEAT!)

so many people support the election of women and always nod their heads vehemently when supporting women candidates comes up -- but do you take action? do you look to see who needs help and make contributions? do you realize that most women candidates are very good regardless of what you hear and even if you don't care for them personally? do you really do your part?

one of the biggest challenges for a candidate is to get out of the primary, and that's where many women fall out of races, especially for OPEN SEATS -- too often because they couldn't raise enough money and couldn't get their party to support them either. all they get is lip service, which does not pay for mailings or palm cards. do you realize how hard it is to run for congress -- and then not to get the support you deserve?

one of the biggest challenge for a donor is to decide NOT to send money to political parties or PACs -- to decide for yourself who should get the money. the women running won't all win, but we will be stronger for their efforts. donors should give DIRECTLY to women's campaigns, which need the money more than those entities with overhead and not always transparent agendas. there are plenty of women who need your checks now, and too few open seats this cycle for us to hem-and-haw about this.

for a complete list of women running for OPEN SEATS, please click
HERE and access the websites of each. every person reading this can make a difference by making a gift or two tonite. and please tell'em that paulax sent you!

another congressional seat opens up!

tennessee rep bill jenkins (r-tn01) announced his retirement today, bringing the congressional retirement total to 22 (14 gopers and 8 dems). this is a heavily r seat, and so far one woman has been mentioned: appalachian regional commission co-chair anne pope.

note: "The combined 22 House retirements -- if it remained static -- would be the lowest number since the 1984 cycle. In 2004, 34 Members did not seek re-election while there were 35 retirements in 2002 and 30 in 2000. The highest number of retirements in recent cycles came in 1992 when 65 members opted not to seek re-election." (Washington Post 2-15-06)

complete OPEN SEAT list!

the plot just gets thicker and thicker...

news of iraq vet paul hackett's withdrawl from the OH senate race due to disgust with a manipulative dscc came as no big surprise -- but it should give the "band of brothers" something to think about.

the bob is comprised of 56 veterans (3 of them sisters, oops!), who have been recruited by the dccc to run for congress -- no kidding, they even have their own website. but are the bobs just so much fodder for democratic party ambitions, rather than standard-bearers for the cause of democracy? the party wants to pick, if not manufacture, its own candidates...then it supports them regardless of party primary rules to the contrary, until someone better comes along. yep, i bet the bobs have now figured out that they are totally dispensable -- so no marching to different drummers, boys!

still, the bunch that gave a press conference on the national mall last wednesday scored big style points with me. most looked like they'd rather be anywhere else than in front of c-span trying to put together a few lines of campaign-speak. but in just about 60 minutes, those naive, well-meaning vets upset some political groundrules that have been around for too long. 40 bobs just went out there and looked like...well, like everyman -- all shapes, sizes, and sensibilities. if everyman is ok with the d party, then every woman who ever thought about running for congress can now feel free to think again -- and anyone who demands rainmaking, cookie-cutter candidates can just put his or her viability-meter away!

"We don't need a female Eistein. We just want a female schlmiel to get promoted as quickly as a male schlmiel." Bella Abzug

thanks, bobs -- and we're really sorry about your friend paul hackett.