Endorsement The Minnesota Women’s Press endorses a candidate for the second time ever: Barack Obama for President
We endorse Barack Obama for president of the United States.
Unpredictable, you say? You might think we would endorse the ticket with a woman. Or predictable, you say? You might think we would endorse the liberal ticket.
Historic, we say.
Political endorsements are not something we do lightly or on a whim. In the 24-year history of the Minnesota Women's Press, we've only endorsed one other political candidate. In 1994, inspired by the groundswell of women organizing to elect a woman to the U.S. Senate, we endorsed Ann Wynia.
If you are a regular reader, you know that our publication is about women. Women are the experts we quote in our stories. Women are the people we profile in every issue. We are a publication by, for and about women. That has never changed and it never will.
So, why, in this year, when there is a woman on a major party presidential ticket, are we endorsing the ticket with two men?
If Hillary Clinton were the candidate facing John McCain, we would proudly endorse her. She is a woman who supports issues that positively impact women and girls.
We endorse Barack Obama and Joe Biden because they support efforts that will most
effectively advance the lives and roles of women, men and families, including:
• Peace, especially a speedy end to the war
in Iraq
• A woman's right to reproductive choice,
including upholding Roe v. Wade
• Education, with a strong investment in public education
• Healthcare, with a commitment to affordable healthcare for all
• Economic justice, in particular ending the tax cuts for those earning over $250,000
• Environment, with a focus on solving our climate crisis
• International leadership, modeled by talking with those we disagree with.
The Minnesota Women's Press history has been one of empowering and honoring women. Not surprisingly, we champion the election of more women to all offices, from city council to the
president of the U.S. It makes a difference when women are in positions of power. We think women should be school board members, county commissioners, vice presidents and presidents.
Before our foremothers won the vote, it was said that we didn't need that right. It was assumed that our votes would be the same as our husbands'. Since the Republican convention, it is being said that women will automatically vote for a woman candidate. We say, gender alone is not reason enough.
We support women in elected office who not only share our gender, but also support values that we believe would do our mothers, grandmothers and great grandmothers proud. We support candidates who we think would build the best future for our daughters and our sons.
We are not interested in advancing just one woman. We want the lives of all women, and also of men, children and all living things, to be bettered.
Because we choose to envision a world of hope-a world with enough hope, empowerment and justice to go around for everyone-we endorse Barack Obama for president of the
United States.
-The Minnesota Women's Press
Reader Comments
Posted: Monday, October 06, 2008
Article comment by:
Gretchen Lee Bourquin
I was so happy to see this endorsement, the McCain-Palin ticket is dangerous-- whether you are a women or not. The aggressive way the want to pull our natural resources is equivalent to buying groceries for a month and eating them all within two days. They are simply irresponsible.
Posted: Friday, October 03, 2008
Article comment by:
Barbara Boldenow
And for his arsenal of skills, we have Stanley Ann Dunham Obama Soetoro to thank. She was an amazing woman.
Courage and determination beyond belief. I just wish she could see him now.
Posted: Thursday, October 02, 2008
Article comment by:
Jeff
I am not a woman but I think I understand your priorities and don't necessarily disagree. But if you address this to women,what I learned from my mother was accountability and self responsibility. If government should improve education- with more money- and health care- with more funding-with a greater take from upper income earners is there a call for all of us to do more to better our own lives and those of our children by taking care of ourselves, working with our own children's education and relying less on government to take care of us? That's, in large part, what my mother taught me and I hope that's not inconsistent with your priorities. And if it isn't, wouldn't it be useful to mention, perhaps in the context of "ask not what your country can do for you..."but what can we do for ourselves?
Posted: Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Article comment by:
Jessica Hiveley
I'm so thrilled about the endorsement for Obama and Biden! I do wish, though, that your endorsement would have mentioned the Violence Against Women Act that Joe Biden was virtually single-handedly responsible for getting enacted. By that alone, he has done more for women than most other politicans combined.
