Hope you had a wonderful holiday with family and friends and are starting to think about how we can make sure that 2014 is a better year for all of us in North Carolina.
We’ll be officially launching our Turning North Carolina Blue campaign at our January 12 2014 DDW meeting.
Our campaign has two critical and related goals: to win back a number of state house and senate seats this year so that the Republicans no longer have a supermajority in either house of the General Assembly. And to make sure Kay Hagan is re-elected to represent North Carolina in the U.S. Senate.
There is a simple strategy to achieve both of those goals: increase the turnout of Democratic voters and democratic-leaning unaffiliated voters in 2014. A simple strategy, but it’s going to take lots of work all across the state.
First of all, we need to register more new voters. Since the 2012 election the Republicans have done a much better job than we have in registering new voters: Democrats account for only 32% of new voters registered.
Second, we need to make sure that every Democratic voter shows up at the polls on election day and gets to vote. Obama lost the state in 2012 even though he had more votes than in 2008 because the Republicans were better at getting out their troops. One million registered Democrats didn’t vote. Imagine what a difference it would have made if they turned out to vote! And this year we will have two obstacles against us: the fact that this is not a Presidential election year, and fewer people turn out to vote in off-year elections (that’s how we lost in 2010!) and the new voter suppression law that have already convinced thousands of North Carolina voters that they can’t vote without a voter ID, even though that part of the law doesn’t go into effect until 2016.
To accomplish both, we need to do a lot of outreach and a lot of voter education, using every medium and every avenue available to us, ever day we can, between now and Election Day 2014 – that’s November 4, 2014. Part of our job is getting out the word about what the Republicans have done at the state level to make life harder for all of us and making clear to every voter that we can change it. And part of our job is going to be fighting the disinformation put out by the Republicans – about who can vote and about the issues and candidates.
If you’ve been following the news you know that the national GOP has targeted Kay Hagan’s seat. Karl Rove is in North Carolina trying to raise money for her Republican opponents and Americans for Prosperity has already spent more than $2 million on negative ads against her – most focused on linking her to the Affordable Care Act and President Obama’s so-called “broken promises.” We need to be ready to tell the truth about the promises Kay has kept for all of us and how the Affordable Care Act is making a positive difference for all of us. There’s lots of good information on this…just check out our website athttp://www.durhamdemwomen.org/healthcare.html
But don’t wait until 2014 to start working for change in North Carolina.
There’s lots we can do…starting today.
Sunday, December 1. We Can Expand Medicaid in North Carolina.http://www.change.org/petitions/gov-mccrory-expand-medicaid-to-500-000-and-unemployment-benefits-to-170-000-north-carolinians. Start the week out right by signing on to the NAACP petition to Governor McCrory, calling for a Special Redemption Session of the General Assembly to “rescind the regressive and mean-spirited laws that deny Medicaid to 500,000 poor North Carolinians and emergency unemployment benefits to an estimated 170,000 long term unemployed North Carolina families.” And after you sign it, send it on to your friends…
Monday, December 2. We Can Warn Shoppers about the Thorns at Roses.
Wondering what to do this Moral Monday? Join the educational picket outside of Rose’s and Maxway stores to let shoppers know what owner Art Pope stands for and how he profits by underpaying his workers.
Chapel Hill: 4 PM, Roses, University Hall, 201-C36 Estes Drive, Chapel Hill 27514
Raleigh: 4 PM, Maxway, 1905 Poole Rd, Raleigh 27610
Tuesday, December 3. Come to Raleigh for a Crucial Conversation.
Join NC Policy Watch, Equality NC and the NC ACLU in a lunchtime crucial conversation about efforts to overturn the North Carolina ban on second-parent adoption and marriage for same-sex couples. 12:00 PM at the Center for Community Leadership Training Room, Junior League of Raleigh Building, 711 Hillsborough Street (corner of Hillsborough and St Mary’s) Register here:https://salsa3.salsalabs.com/o/50825/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=74971#regForm
Wednesday, December 4. Sign Up to Help Durham Residents Get Covered.
The Saturday before Thanksgiving lots of DDDW members joined Durham CAN in a neighborhood canvass to help more low income Durham residents get registered for coverage under the Affordable Care Act. There are more events coming up next week at City of Medicine High School and NCCU. Sign up too help athttps://www.getcoveredamerica.org/events/?radius_unit=mi&zip=27705&radius=10&submitted=1
Or contact Caitlin Metzguer, Get Covered America Field Organizer for Durham atcmetzguer@enrollamerica.org or 919-2880-8270
Keep reading us and keep checking our website at www.durhamdemwomen.org for more ways to fill your days and evenings doing good this holiday season.
We do make a difference. Every day.
Sondra