BlogHer Politics: Looking Ahead
by Morra Aarons Mele

First off, try this: Google “earn women’s votes.” BlogHer posts are the first three. What a great association for our community. As BlogHer's political director, I want to present Draft One of our BlogHer “Voter Manifesto” for your delectation and debate. What is the Manifesto? The BlogHer community has developed 12 questions they want each and every candidate running for president to answer. Below, I explain why our Manifesto is more than just a fun exercise. These questions are non-partisan. Every asker will need a different answer to be satisfied. The questions fall under four topics, which were voted most pressing by the BlogHer community. These topics are:

Iraq
Health Care
Economic Future
Environment and Global Warming

These questions originated from breakout sessions at the Conference. The questions, as they exist now, are below. If you don’t like them, don’t think they are accurate, representative, etc., comment below with changes. This IS a Democracy!

At the conference our community kick-started BlogHer’s Election 2008 programming with three great sessions on politics, blogging, and the women’s vote.
Here’s some of what our community had to say about the session, the candidates, and political blogging:
Deborah Siegel : "One of the panelists comments that married swing voters have trouble with Hillary because she, as a professionally successful married woman and mother, has been able to have it all. Say WHAT? Way to fuel the overblown mommy wars with false ammo."

Dana Singiser , Director of Women’s Outreach for Hillary Clinton: "is [there] a difference between political bloggers and bloggers who write about politics (the consensus answer in the room - a surprise to me that made sense after listening to the discussion - was yes..."

BlogHer CE Dana Tuske: "many campaign workers do not feel Republican and conservative groups of women are a targetable audience. Why? They do not know how to approach us."

Silicon Valley Moms: "this session... does not have enough women in attendance....interestingly enough, international issues, humanitarian assistance, and world-wide support have not registered on the polls. Perhaps it's due to the Hurricane Katrina crisis and the lack of government assistance homeland?"

Toledo Lefty : "there are a lot of misconceptions about what women voters think based on conventional wisdom. Women care a lot about policy. Despite popular notions, most of us are not just voting for candidates based on personality or other superficial characteristics."

This is a fun exercise, but why does it matter?
Look, women vote more than men. We’re online more than men are! You do the math. BlogHer is the largest site for women bloggers; we represent a force of vocal, voting women. If our members actually write in and state questions, just imagine how many friends, readers, lurkers are thinking the same thing. I think the statistic for commenter to lurkers is something like 10% comment, 90% read. Our questions are representative of much larger numbers, and they are representative of a really valuable constituency for each and every politician out there. If you want to read more about women online, and why we are politically valuable, please click over to this post on TechPresident.com.

Once the questions are voted final by our community, we will get them to the candidates. What happens next, no one knows, but I hope these questions form the crux of a really powerful Election 2008 campaign for BlogHer’s members. After all, from Hillary to Sam Brownback, these people need to earn our votes.

The Questions

Iraq:

1. Will you work to end the Iraq war before the 2008 election? If so, how?

2. The war is draining our country’s finances, and even with a significant troop pullout, the costs will not end soon. How do you propose to keep paying for the costs of war?

3. What are you physically going to do to help the Veteran's Administration and soldiers in need, instead of just paying lip service?

Environment and Global Warming (we have four right now- our community needs to vote and rule one out!)

1. We are reaching the point of no return on climate change. What will your legacy to the environment be?

2. How will your policies help to protect people’s bodies from pollution in the environment?

3. What is your position on expanding public transit as a means to reduce carbon emissions, create additional jobs, and provide a resource to communities? How will you incentivize states and municipalities to take these steps?

4. Sometimes, an attitude of "Not invented here" keeps politicians from adopting very good policies from other countries. For example, will you support participating in Kyoto and other international efforts to address climate change? Will you consider ideas and standards from other countries as a guideline to federal policies, rather than trying to create new standards from scratch?

Our Economic Future:

1. Will you give a tax credit to people who are self-employed and need to buy health insurance? (Find out why women in small business are a real force to be reckoned with here).

2. How will you address predatory lending practices to ensure Americans buy homes they can really afford? (For a very clear article on why bad mortgages wreak havoc, click here.

3. How will you create federal public policy that helps families break the cycle of poverty?

Health Care:

1. Most of us believe every American deserves health insurance, but what are you going to do about the fact that we just can't afford to give everyone everything they want? How will you allocate scarce resources?

2. How do you intend to make sure that everyone gets health insurance?

3. What is your position on requiring all major private, Medicaid, or federal health insurance plans cover birth control?

So that’s where we are at. Please send feedback.

Also, during the session, some folks asked how to get in contact with various staffers at presidential campaigns. TechPresident has a great page at its Staff Wiki.

Submitted by Morra Aarons Mele (view blog) on Wed, 08/08/2007 - 10:22am

Comments

 

Ruling one out

If we have to rule out one of the four environmental ones, I vote for #4. Here's my reasoning.

1. The answers to this one have be sweeping and immediate. We have to have workable ideas for our own country and for ways to encourage other countries to change as well. Any meaningful answer to this one will include using the best ideas from other places.

2. This one includes all sorts of issues about air, water, food, chemicals, farming practices, building practices and how they all relate to human health. Again, the answer but include a willingness to follow successful ideas from other places.

3. Most of the good examples for how to minimize the impact of the American's love affair with their cars can be found in other countries. Everything from high density dwelling to public transportation systems that are easy and fast is proven in practice elesewhere.

4. The answers I'm looking for the the first three must include this one to really be comprehensive and show and understanding of what must be done. So I think #4 is the one to omit.

http://www.webteacher.ws/
http://first50.wordpress.com/

Submitted by Virginia DeBolt on Wed, 08/08/2007 - 10:47
 

Good point, Virginia

Although I'm not sure that if you don't ask specifically about using standards from other countries that politicians would necessarily talk about it. Unfortunately, they usually want to advertise their proposals as their own solutions rather than something proven adapted from another source.

I had originally thought that questions 1 and 2 under health were the same, and that they could be combined and the pollution in our bodies question moved to health. But reading them again, 1 is about priorities and 2 is about goals.

Personally, under health, I'd like to see #2 be changed from "health insurance" to "affordable ccess to health care" and see questions #1 and 2 switched in order, since priorities build on goals (Ideally, everyone would have access to health care, but how do you make the tough decisions when there aren't enough resources for that?)

I'm thrilled to be a part of this process. I think we're doing important work here.

----
Jen
http://yawwblog.blogspot.com
http://angryfatgirlz.blogspot.com
http://toledolefty.blogspot.com

Submitted by toledolefty on Wed, 08/08/2007 - 11:16
 

Agreed: no. 4 could go

Also, Kyoto has become such a loaded term...used by different politicians to signify different things, few of which have anything to do with the groundrules of the actual protocol!

Thanks, Virginia.

Submitted by Morra Aarons Mele on Wed, 08/08/2007 - 13:45
 

Health Care: questions 1 and 2. Shall we
create a new question..

Jen- I like where you're going with this:

"I'd like to see #2 be changed from "health insurance" to "affordable access to health care" and see questions #1 and 2 switched in order, since priorities build on goals (Ideally, everyone would have access to health care, but how do you make the tough decisions when there aren't enough resources for that?)"

Indeed, Jen, there has discussion that 1 and 2 are similar. I actually think they are 2 different questions- and to paraphrase Maria Niles, who scribed the original session:

"My interpretation in my words of what they told me: healthcare is rationed, universal access does not mean complete, total, unlimited access to any and all procedures and treatments so if rationing now is lack of access, inability to purchase insurance, use of emergency rooms for primary care, etc... how do candidates propose a "universal access" system and how will it ration (because any system will)? e.g. limits on end of life care that only postpones the inevitable for a short amount of time, limiting certain procedures, etc..."

Because honestly, we must be dreaming if we think that just because everyone has access to health care, everyone will get every kind of health service. I think providing universal health care just magnifies the scarce resources question (look at the NHS's challenges in the UK, etc).

Maria also mentioned that in the session, Esther Dyson and others "forcefully expressed the opinion that the first two questions are contradictory or overlap." Again, I disagree.

HOWEVER!! If the question is already causing this much debate, maybe it's not a good fit. Maybe it becomes a two-parter, a la Maria: How do you guarantee universal access, and what will you ration to achieve it-- and then maybe we should create a new question.

I'm open to including the environmental pollution one in health. Maybe environment expert Zoe Chafe has some ideas?

Submitted by Morra Aarons Mele on Wed, 08/08/2007 - 13:44
 

Healthcare Questions

First, great points made by Jen and Morra. I think that questions 1 and 2 are quite different, and I don't think the order in which they're presented is too concerning.

The first question is about rationing care - this is a very, very challenging ethical dilemma. In Britain, they've made the choice to limit NHS coverage for IVF procedures based on age (only women 39 and younger will qualify) and for organ transplants based on age as well (if you're over a certain age, you don't get on the donor list). These kinds of rules do not sit well with Americans - and yet the reality is that we can't afford to provide all services to all individuals all the time (this problem will exist if we have a single payer system or not). The question is: are we willing to ration care, and if so, where will we cut coverage? Will it be services at the end of life? Who decides if these services are truly futile? When will we "pull the plug" on the ICU patient? Very scary issues - but we need to talk about them.

The second question is about how the candidate plans to get everyone in this country some kind of access to coverage. Will it be mandatory (like car insurance)? Will it involve tax credits? Will it be Medicare for all? What is included in basic coverage and how do we make sure that everyone has access to that? These are the issues that roll up into question #2.

My 2 cents.

All best,

Val

Submitted by ValJonesMD on Wed, 08/08/2007 - 14:03
 

Diff with Clinton/Edwards Universal Health
Care Plan and Obama's

Specifically, new estimates say that a plan resembling Mrs. Clinton’s would cover almost twice as many of those now uninsured as a plan resembling Mr. Obama’s — at only slightly higher cost.

Let’s talk about how the plans compare.
Both plans require that private insurers offer policies to everyone, regardless of medical history. Both also allow people to buy into government-offered insurance instead.

The Clinton plan forces insurance companies to give coverage to everyone, ending discrimination based on pre-existing conditions. Drug companies would also be required to offer fair prices.ice as many of those now uninsured as a plan resembling Mr. Obama’s — at only slightly higher cost.

And both plans seek to make insurance affordable to lower-income Americans. The Clinton plan is, however, more explicit about affordability, promising to limit insurance costs as a percentage of family income. And it also seems to include more funds for subsidies.

But the big difference is mandates: the Clinton plan requires that everyone have insurance; the Obama plan doesn’t.
Mr. Obama claims that people will buy insurance if it becomes affordable. Unfortunately, the evidence says otherwise.

Mr. Obama, contradicting his earlier assertions that affordability is the only bar to coverage, is now talking about penalizing those who delay signing up — but it’s not clear how this would work.

So the Obama plan would leave more people uninsured than the Clinton plan. How big is the difference?

a plan without mandates, broadly resembling the Obama plan, would cover 23 million of those currently uninsured, at a taxpayer cost of $102 billion per year. An otherwise identical plan with mandates would cover 45 million of the uninsured — essentially everyone — at a taxpayer cost of $124 billion. Over all, the Obama-type plan would cost $4,400 per newly insured person, the Clinton-type plan only $2,700

That doesn’t look like a trivial difference to me. One plan achieves more or less universal coverage; the other, although it costs more than 80 percent as much, covers only about half of those currently uninsured.

a 2003 study, commissioned by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, that compared health reform plans and found that mandates made a big difference both to success in covering the uninsured and to cost-effectiveness.

If Mr. Obama gets to the White House and tries to achieve universal coverage, he’ll find that it cannnot be done without mandates — but if he tries to institute mandates, the enemies of reform will use his own words against him, as Obama has demonized mandates.

If Mrs. Clinton gets the Democratic nomination, there is some chance — nobody knows how big — that we’ll get universal health care in the next administration.
If Mr. Obama gets the nomination, it just won’t happen.

The reforms flow naturally from that point. Hillary Clinton and John Edwards both propose an "individual mandate" to ensure universal coverage. Under their systems, every American would have to purchase health coverage, and a system of subsidies and tax credits would be constructed to make sure coverage was affordable.

Barack Obama would channel healthcare through employers to the employed, but he doesn't build in mechanisms to ensure that adults outside the employee labor force are covered. (self employed or those not working would not be entitled)
Universal healthcare will not work without mandates....

So in essence Obama mandates children only
Clinton mandates everyone.......so her plan covers all
Obama's covers only children and employees, but not out of work people or self employed.or independent contractors..it leaves out half the population

and the cost>>Over all, the Obama-type plan would cost $4,400 per newly insured person, the Clinton-type plan only $2,700
No wonder two people were for it and only the first term senator against........I'll go with the Clinton plan

Submitted by sb11 on Sat, 02/23/2008 - 18:04
 

I don't like the word ration

I think it's a bit loaded for a lot of people. A lot of times when people talk about some kind of national coverage, the word "ration" comes up to scare people away from it. We already ration care in the sense that people with more money or better insurance get care and people without usually don't.

Rationing implies an arbitrary restriction -- everyone gets X dollars worth of care or Y visits to the doctor and that's it, no matter what they need.

Rather than the word "rationing," I think something like "set priorities," "make decisions about," or "allocate resources." Making decisions is important, and should be based on policies that make it clear where our priorities as a nation lie.

For example, basic health care (wellness visits, screenings, antibiotics) might have priority over things like IVF.

Maybe that's getting too hung up on words, but how we word our question could have a huge impact on answers. Also, we can't assume that all the candidates would make providing access care for all people a platform plank. That currently is not the mainstream position and I'm not expecting it to change that much by the time the election rolls around.

----
Jen
http://yawwblog.blogspot.com
http://angryfatgirlz.blogspot.com
http://toledolefty.blogspot.com

Submitted by toledolefty on Wed, 08/08/2007 - 15:41
 

I heart this project

I second Jen's "I'm thrilled to be a part of this!" comment. When the manifesto is finalized, I'm happy to do what I can to share it with the women's research and policy orgs I consult for. Thank you, Mona and all, for keeping it rolling - ! GREAT work!

-Deborah Siegel
www.deborahsiegel.net
www.girlwithpen.blogspot.com

Submitted by girlwithpen on Wed, 08/08/2007 - 18:39
 

We need to learn rationing....

Jen, indeed, rationing is a scary word. But I think we need to learn it: we need to ration resources, consumption, spending on heath care...but anyway, perhaps it is a poor word choice.

Val: thank you for clarifying. But do you think we need to re-word no. 1 to clarify? How would you re-word it?

Submitted by Morra Aarons Mele on Thu, 08/09/2007 - 03:44
 

What a great idea!

This is a fantastic idea! My 2 cents, and off the topic of health care: For question 1 under Iraq, it currently asks what they'll do about Iraq BEFORE they become president. I'd rather know what they plan to do about it after they're elected plus, I don't think total withdrawl by 2008 is feasible at this point or necessarily the best way to go. I'd hate to make things any worse than they already are by being in a rush to exit.

I'd rather leave the question more open ended. Something along the lines of: Do you have an Iraq exit strategy? If so, please describe including key objectives, milestones and time tables.

Submitted by Absurda on Thu, 08/09/2007 - 11:13
 

the rationing thing

Morra -- I agree that we have to be thoughtful in how we use our resources. The only problem I have with the word "ration" is the connotation that the limits are arbitrary and not based on people's actual needs.

The question as originally written is pretty good. My suggestion for a rewrite would be:

"1. Most of us believe every American deserves access to health care, but resources aren't limitless. What policies should guide us in making decisions about how to allocate health care dollars? How will you set priorities?"

----
Jen
http://yawwblog.blogspot.com
http://angryfatgirlz.blogspot.com
http://toledolefty.blogspot.com

Submitted by toledolefty on Thu, 08/09/2007 - 16:07
 

To Ration or To Allocate

I think the question is fine as written: "Most of us believe every American deserves access to health care, but resources aren't limitless. What policies should guide us in making decisions about how to allocate health care dollars? How will you set priorities?"

Whatever word we use (ration or allocate), the effect is the same: budget cuts could result in discontinuing "heroic measures" in some cases, and some people might not get care based on age or circumstance. It is indeed tragic that many Americans don't have health insurance (which is a passive form of rationing) but the active form of rationing seems even scarier to me.

The scenario of people choosing not to buy health insurance feels very different than a doctor having to say, "I'm sorry Mrs. Smith, I know you might live another 20 years, but you're 60 years old and so you can't be on the transplant list."

Submitted by ValJonesMD on Thu, 08/09/2007 - 18:10
 

supplemental insurance?

In places like Canada where they do have national health care, people have the option to supplement that with additional coverage. So I don't necessarily think that we're talking about an either/or situation.

But, the issue here is what questions we should ask, not a policy on national health care. Personally, I think it's unlikely that any of the candidates will come out in favor of a system like that anyway. I'd just like to see a movement toward helping more Americans to get the care they need, no matter how it's accomplished.

I'm surprised this list of questions isn't generating more discussion.

----
Jen
http://yawwblog.blogspot.com
http://angryfatgirlz.blogspot.com
http://toledolefty.blogspot.com

Submitted by toledolefty on Fri, 08/10/2007 - 05:28
 

As a Jamaican representative

As a Jamaican representative of a world watching and feeling that America is a country that 'does what it wants' regardless, I feel leaving in #4 is important.

The loaded 'For example, will you support participating in Kyoto and other international efforts to address climate change?" could be left out. Could 1 & 2 be combined?

Angela

"Angela's Voice" Blog
Spirituality Information Self Help

Submitted by Angela Chen Shui on Sat, 08/11/2007 - 10:40
 

I'd like to see that question as sort of an
uber-question

In all things -- foreign policy(Iraq), health care, the economy and the environment, our country does seem to want to go it alone and ignore what's going on in the rest of the world. So if we could ask a 13th question, sort of a baker's dozen manifesto, I'd like to ask:

"What ideas from other countries would you most like to see tried here in the U.S.? With which other foreign leaders would discuss foreign policy decisions? In what ways can the United States and its citizens benefit from being more in tune with the ideas and needs of other nations and their citizens?

I guess I just have a lot of questions.

----
Jen
http://yawwblog.blogspot.com
http://angryfatgirlz.blogspot.com
http://toledolefty.blogspot.com

Submitted by toledolefty on Sun, 08/12/2007 - 17:09
 

"baker's dozen manifesto"

"baker's dozen manifesto" ... I like that, Jen and "I guess I just have a lot of questions."

;-)

"Angela's Voice"
Spirituality Information Self Help
Internet Home Based Business Training

Submitted by Angela Chen Shui on Tue, 08/14/2007 - 07:12
 

just wondering...

What's the next step?

----
Jen
http://yawwblog.blogspot.com
http://angryfatgirlz.blogspot.com
http://toledolefty.blogspot.com

Submitted by toledolefty on Wed, 08/15/2007 - 05:18
 

The next step on the Voter Manifesto

Is that we are going to send it to the campaigns for responses. Sorry for the delay!

I've been glued to the politicians in Washington throwing Larry Craig under the bus...

Submitted by Morra Aarons Mele on Sun, 09/02/2007 - 13:49
 

voting for hillary clinton

1
AN ODE

MY VOTE FOR HILLARY CLINTON

THREE WAYS TO SEE ME

JANE WOULD UNDERSTAND

Do you know who I am?
I am dignity
Finally my self esteem
Speaks of me
Sees me
To place me
Before thee

That you will spare me
The indignity that
Has happened in my past
Set before me
In your morbid light
That would set you
So above me

You think this does
Not happen now
Yet it does
Jane would know
You think it has changed since far ago

And know
Now I can realize
I can look down upon you
From the height of myself
As you once did me

AS
YOU YET KNOW THIS NOW
I WILL NOT BEAR THAT SHAME SHAME ON YOU

2
AN ODE
MY VOTE FOR HILLARY CLINTON

For do you know who I am

I am Artemee’s and Robert’s
Dutiful granddaughter
This boatman and farmer and that constable
Salted in the rights of
Cuchulainn’s daughter
Raised in the dignity of the Mystic Carmen Sylva
Named for her raised for the pride of her
Raised beyond your slight of her
A Jew A Greek A Roumanian
Scandanavian French Scots Irish
The Roumania Greek Orthodox, Jew and Protestant
The spirituality that is as a thread woven through my life from her

You are forgetting who we are from her
You Anglicized past her
And I held my grace with her
I can not forget my common past
The greatness I felt in being Earl’s daughter

You think I can forget the dignity & passion
That drove those men to find their place in this harsh world and land
Jane would know
I so feel the self respect from her/them

Do you know your place?

Remember that

Do you know who I am?

I am Americas 2nd daughter
Not the pride of the DAR the seed of the revolution

I am the seed of the émigré’
Coming here to fill the vast empty spaces
Sheltered in those spaces by invitation

“Give me your tired, your poor
Your huddled masses yearning to breath free”

3
AN ODE
MY VOTE FOR HILLARY CLINTON

I am the 2nd daughter 2nd generation 2nd wave of the future
Umbrellaed by the Thomas Jefferson and the Constitution
He so knowingly wrote
Knowing that émigré would not stop at Scots & English & Welsh Anglican
It would encase, enclose and enmesh all
All nations all races ALL GENDERS

So knowingly he embraced all of the freedoms
we would need to protect our
freedom and freedoms

ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL

And I and my sister Hillary Clinton stand under that light
Though you belittle us make us only slightly smaller
That slightly is enough for me to say

Do you know who I am

I am America’s daughter
Granddaughter
Daughter
Niece
Niece
Sister
Aunt
Mother

grandfather Quarter Master Sargent Zenofor Hortopan WWI
daughter Sargent Earl Melvin Johnston WWII
uncle Petty Officer Walter Swick WWII
uncle Petty Officer Guy Robert Johnston WWII
brother Lance Corporal John Zenofor Englemann Vietnamese War
nephew Airman Ben Englemann Civil duty
son Lance Corporal Christopher Marc Lenehan Desert Storm

4
AN ODE
MY VOTE FOR HILLARY CLINTON

Do you know who I am

A woman

Hillary’s sister

Jane would understand

The cradle at
Whose breast
We nurtured
This nation

I NEED HILLARY

SHE KNOWS MOST

What this nation needs

WHAT WE NEED

DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM

A WOMAN

A SINGLE 2ND GENERATION MOTHER

WHO RAISED A CHILD ALONE IN AMERICA

HAASE JOHNSTON
MOON TWP.
PITTSBURGH, PA
This is written for Hillary Clinton and she may use it any way she chooses with my permission Virginia haase johnston

Submitted by ghingh34 on Wed, 03/05/2008 - 13:31