Last chance to help Obama in Columbus

www.uaprogressiveaction.com

Last chance to help Obama in Columbus

Nervous?

We all are. Everyone we talk to right now is feeling some mixture of excitement, anxiety, and anticipation. We're hoping, we're praying, we're checking the polls—or just trying to ignore them.

Here's the thing: Worrying won't help Obama win. But talking to voters will.

You have an important role to play in this election. Please sign up to volunteer.

There are thousands of people in Ohio who will only vote if someone knocks on their door or calls them in the next 36 hours. You have the power to affect the outcome of this election—even if you only have an hour to give.

Now's the time. Right now. Today. Everything we've worked for is on the line—in two days it'll be too late.

You have an important role to play in this election. Please sign up to volunteer.

In 2000, the entire election came down to a small number of votes in one county in Florida. Four years later, we came up short by an average of nine voters per precinct in Ohio.

So please do whatever you can to help out in Columbus in the next 36 hours. And let's win this!

UAPA issue endorsements

Here's a summary of UAPA's position on ballot issues 1, 2, 5 and 6:

• Issue 1: Vote YES.
• Issue 2: Vote YES.
• Issue 5: Vote YES.
• Issue 6: Vote NO.

ProgressOhio has conveniently deciphered the ballot issues and summarized them in one page. And here's a sample ballot of endorsed Democratic candidates to print and take with you to the polls.

UAPA's positions on the ballot issues align closely with those of the editors from Ohio's largest daily newspapers:

And here's the the rationale for our positions:

Read more here.

Dispatch features lead op-ed pieces from UAPA members

As part of UAPA's letter writing campaign, two members' Letters to the Editor were published as lead editorials in the Opinion section of the Columbus Dispatch this week --- one on Monday and the other on Tuesday.

Deb Linville and Mike Lorz both made strong progressive arguments that caught the attention of the Dispatch editors. With the volume of editorials submitted in the weeks before an election, this is quite an accomplishment

In case you missed the editorials, Mike's is entitled 'Pro-life means more than anti-abortion' and Deb's is 'Republican Rankin can't rest on record'.

Mike is a pro-life Catholic who makes a strong case that Obama's policies and his Christian values supporting those policies "represent a culture of life, not just birth."

Many other Catholics are supporting Obama, too. Check out the 'Catholics for Obama' web site.

As a long-time Upper Arlington resident, Deb has watched Tim Rankin's divisive political tactics and far-right agenda over the years. In her LTE she calls him out on some of his most divisive wedge issues he championed during his time on City Council in UA.

UAPA has further elaborated on Deb's editorial on Tim Rankin on our web site.

Also this week, the UANews published these two LTEs from UAPA members:

• Rankin has not done enough to reject negative mailings
• Library board appointment reflects badly on Rankin

Catholics for Obama: a culture of life, not just birth

Catholics for Obama has found common ground on the single most divisive issue in American politics today: abortion.

Their booklet, 'The Catholic Case for Obama', is an expose on Obama's core values and how he put them into practice as a community organizer working with Catholic parishes on the south side of Chicago.

They tackle the big questions head on:

• Reducing abortion now vs. criminalizing it later
• Stem cell research and the origins of life
• On the death penalty
• On the question of health care for all Americans
• On the question of preemptive war and the tragedy in Iraq

Here's their abortion stance in a nutshell:

ROE V. WADE V. REALITY

As a practical matter, the effort to overturn Roe v. Wade hasn’t stopped one abortion. Nearly 20 of the last 30 years, our country has had a prolife, Republican president. In that time, they have offered little more than campaign stump speeches.

Even if Roe v. Wade were somehow reversed, most states would continue the practice under state laws.

WE DON’T NEED TO CHANGE OUR FAITH.
WE NEED TO CHANGE OUR STRATEGY.

Given that political reality, the real question becomes which candidate’s programs will make a difference. Which candidate will actually reduce the number of abortions? The answer is Senator Barack Obama. Three-quarters of women having abortions say that they do so because they can’t afford to raise a child. The data shows antipoverty programs prevent abortions. That’s why abortions fell so much faster under Clinton than under Bush.

OBAMA OFFERS RESULTS, NOT RHETORIC.

The Democrats, under President Obama, will push for programs that help prevent unintended pregnancies and help women have their children. For example, initiatives like health care for pregnant mothers and their children, day care and job training will reduce the number of abortions. That’s the practical difference between Republicans and Democrats. Between being pro-McCain and pro-Obama. And between rhetoric and results.

"Nobody is pro-abortion. I believe we need to do more to address the underlying factors that may lead a woman to make these heart-wrenching decisions. We should do everything we can to reduce unintended pregnancies and support women who choose to have a child. So we should be focusing on pre- and postnatal care, we should be making adoption far more available.

If we can create a situation where young women and young men are acting responsibly and recognize the sacredness of human sexuality, then we can drastically cut the number of abortions. That is something that I intend to work with people from all perspectives on, when I’m president of the United States."

---- Barack Obama

How to Vote Early

It's easy to vote early! Save yourself time and hassle by casting your ballor before November 4th. Here's how!

Vote Early by Mail

When you vote by mail, you won’t ever have to wait in line. To vote by mail, send your application to the board of elections by noon on Saturday, Nov. 1. Here's how to request your ballot. Your voted ballot must be received by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day or by Nov. 14 if postmarked by Monday, Nov. 3. Return postage of your voted ballot is prepaid by the County, so it won’t even cost you a stamp!

Vote Early in Person

To vote with an absentee ballot for the November 4, 2008 General Election in person before Election Day, go to Franklin County Veterans Memorial located at 300 West Broad Street in downtown Columbus. (See map.)
Weekday Hours: Monday through Friday from 8 AM until 7 PM beginning September 30 and ending November 3.
Saturday Hours: From 8 AM until 5 PM on October 4, 11, 18, 25 and November 1.
Sunday Hours: From 1 PM until 5 PM on October 5, 12, 19, 26, and November 2.

Voters must bring identification to the polls in order to vote a regular ballot on Election Day. Acceptable forms of identification are: current and valid photo identification, military identification, or a copy of a current utility bill (including cell phone bill), bank statement, or paycheck that shows the voter’s name and current address.

For more information, visit the Franklin County Board of Elections website.