You Just Can’t Make This Stuff Up

These could be headlines tomorrow:

No legal abortion for rape because it would “destroy evidence” like the legislation introduced this week in New Mexico  

No limits on high-capacity magazines like the ones used in Newtown

No equal pay for equal work

Elected Officials who use their power to limit access to abortion providers, like Lt. Gov. candidate Susan Stimpson is proudly proclaiming

Discouraging voting by defeating keeping polls open later and allowing busy and perpetuating long lines on Election Day

African-American and other minority voters marginalized down to just a few districts

No reasonable voice in key committees that have killed extremist legislation in the past

A veto-proof majority, meaning they could over-ride any veto a Democratic Governor penned.

Sounds crazy, right?

But you just can’t make this stuff up.

These examples, and many more, are why we should all be concerned about the Senate Republican redistricting power grab from earlier this week. It’s not just politics, it’s the long-term repercussions and legislation we need to be worried about.

Like many of you, I am continually amazed that, after celebrating 40 yrs of Roe v. Wade, we are continually assaulted by right-wing efforts to turn back the clock.

What’s next, taking away our right to vote?  Well, they may as well have – if this plan goes into effect, our vote will mean almost nothing.

Virginia ranks 40th nationwide in women serving in the legislature. Together, we must change that.  Everyday The Farm Team is working to recruit, train and elect more Democratic women to the legislature and at all levels of public office.

And, with Republican women like Delegate Kathy Byron (R-HD22) and Senator Jill Vogel (R-SD27) carrying legislation that began the fight on trans-vaginal ultrasounds last year, it is imperative that we marshall our resources now to elect more Democratic women.

In four years, we have supported 45 women who have ran for office at all levels in Virginia, from local town council to Lieutenant Governor.  The first woman we supported, Delegate Charniele Herring, continues to break down barriers – as the first African-American woman elected in Northern Virginia, to the first African-American to serve as Democratic State Party chair.

Just last week, we joined with EMILYs List to train more than twenty women who are running for office this year or will run for office in the future.  We will hold another training next month.

Don’t let them take away your voice and your vote.  Join us today to ensure we have the resources to put these women in office today, and not wait until the fall-out from the recent Republican power grab rains down on us.

If you know of a candidate, would like to run yourself, or want to get more involved, find us at www.farmteam.org and

Sincerely,

Susan S. Platt

Founding member, The Farm Team