Truth to Power … just the facts from Stephanie

I think the first item in this week’s tipsheet — The Life of Julia — lays out the impact this election will have on millions of American women more clearly than anything this campaign has done so far.
It’s a great tool for the Truth Team and our goal of making sure everyone gets the facts they need. So let’s get to it:
#1 The Life of Julia The Life of Julia is an interactive online tool that looks at how President Obama’s policies help one woman over her lifetime compared to Mitt Romney‘s plans. Whether it’s allowing young people to stay on their parents’ health insurance until age 26, expanding access to Pell Grants, or passing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act that allows women to stand up for their right to equal pay for equal work, President Obama has fought to help women of all ages. Under a Romney administration, Julia’s story would look a lot different: Romney would reverse many of President Obama’s accomplishments to pay for tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires. Take a lookat how the policies the President has put in place would affect a woman at each stage of her life, then share it with others:

#2 Romney: Too extreme for women Romney’s right-wing positions — like promising to “get rid of” Planned Parenthood, refusing to say whether he would have signed or vetoed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, and his over-the-top praise for controversial public figures like Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett and Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell — make it clear just how out of touch he is when it comes to women’s issues. We put together a videohighlighting some of Romney’s most extreme stances. Check it out, and make sure others see it, too:

#3 Romney: “It’s not worth moving heaven and earth” On Tuesday, our nation marked the first anniversary of Osama bin Laden’s death. Romney and his allies spent the day claiming that anyone would have made the same call President Obama did. Of course, with the benefit of hindsight, it’s easy for Romney to boast that he would’ve ordered the bin Laden mission. But his own past statements on the issue simply don’t back him up. We chronicled some of these statements– take a look and let others know how Romney felt about things in 2007:

#4 Standing up to the Koch brothers In case you missed my email earlier this week, I recorded a video responding to the Koch brothers’ latest dishonest attempt to smear the President’s energy record. We’re going to call this sort of BS when we see it. If you haven’t already, please pass the videoalong and help set the record straight:

As we saw this week, our opponents are ready to throw anything at us in the hopes that something sticks. You’re an important part of how we’re going to fight these attacks and put the facts in the hands of voters this November. So I want to thank you for all that you do for the President, and all that you’ll continue to do this year.
Until next time,
Stephanie

Weekly address – President Obama

May  5, 2012 by     whitehouse

President Obama calls on Congress to take the money we are no longer spending at war, use half of it to pay down our debt, and use the other half to rebuild America.

all who donated helped … Match Rove

Democratic Activists Match Rove’s billionaires; DSCC Airs First Ad

Thanks to the tremendous support of our grassroots donors, we were able to meet our $1.2 million goal, matching Karl Rove’s group’s most recent multi-state ad buy. It was an absolutely remarkable feat, but one only  made possible because of the support of our grassroots donors.  As Republicans come to rely more than ever on unlimited  outside spending from SuperPACs and other organizations to fund their  attacks, grassroots support has become more important than ever.
And because of grassroots support, we were able to air the first (of many)  rapid response ads that will help defend our Democratic candidates when  they are under attack. You can watch the ad here.

Democrats Have Changed The Map

 A recent Salon article examines how “a Senate map that looked bleak a year ago (for Democrats) is now littered with surprise pick-up opportunities.” Thanks to strong Democratic recruiting and Republican missteps, Democrats have put Senate seats in Massachusetts, Maine, North Dakota, Arizona and Indiana in play.

 This could not be true without the strong support we have from an energized base of grassroots supporters, who make 97% of contributions to the DSCC.

** Top Action **

Help Keep Student Loan Interest Rates Low

 

If Congress doesn’t act soon, interest rates on many types of student loans will double.
President Obama’s plan would keep today’s rates in place, but  Republicans are determined to sabotage his efforts.
Join the DSCC and tell Republicans to  pass President Obama’s student loan proposal before it’s too late!
Add your name »

Congressional Budget Office: Black Hills, Coal Miners and more

S. 2061, Former Charleston Naval Base Land Exchange Act of 2012

• H.R. 2489, American Battlefield Protection Program Amendments Act of 2011
• S. 1998, DHS Audit Requirement Target Act of 2012
• H.R. 3409, Coal Miner Employment and Domestic Energy Infrastructure Protection Act
• H.R. 3874, Black Hills Cemetery Act

the Progress Report

The One Thing You Need To Know About Today’s Jobs Report

By         ThinkProgress War Room

4.2 MILLION Private Sector Jobs

Most of the press coverage of today’s jobs report has been focused on the two topline findings — that the economy created a less-than-expected 115,000 jobs last month and that the unemployment rate edged down slightly to 8.1 percent.  While these numbers are certainly important, they miss the forest for the trees.

The biggest news today is the economy has now recovered all of the private sector jobs lost since President Obama took office.  The Center for American Progress’ Michael Linden explains:

Unfortunately, the news is not nearly so good when it comes to the public sector, where there are currently 607,000 fewer people working than there were when President Obama took office.

The chart below tells the whole story. Under President Obama, the private sector experienced a relatively robust recovery, and is now back to where it started when he took office. But due in large part to spending cuts at the state and local level, the public sector continues to shed jobs, and as a result, the overall jobs picture in the United States remains weak.

Keep this chart in mind the next time you hear someone rail about “big government” and complain about the slow pace of overall job creation.

The job losses at the state and local level could have been significantly curtailed if conservatives had not rejected a larger (or additional) aid package for state and local governments. Last fall, Republicans, of course, also rejected the president’s jobs plan that would keep hundreds of thousands of teachers, cops, firefighters, and others on the job. What’s more, the deep spending cuts being proposed under the Romney-Ryan GOP budget plan would only dig the hole deeper.

IN ONE SENTENCE: Instead of the GOP plan to slam the brakes on the recovery and go back to the Bush economic policies that caused this mess in the first place, we need Congress to get serious about passing a jobs bill to help the millions of Americans still looking for work.

Evening Brief: Important Stories That You May Have Missed

The New York Post indulges in reprehensible casual racism by printing this column about rapper Jay-Z.

The founder and chairman of the “grassroots” group Veterans for a Strong America admits that yes, he is attempting to swift boat President Obama with the group’s new ad attacking Obama for politicizing Osama bin Laden’s death.

In his remarks at the annual Cinco de Mayo reception at the White House, President Obama says “no is not an option” for the DREAM Act and he is ready to sign the legislation as soon as Republicans stop blocking it.

Arizona House candidate Jesse Kelly Etch-A-Sketches his earlier plans to privatize and phase out entitlements.

A new super PAC forms with the aim of…eliminating all super PACs.

An offensive Chicago billboard from the climate denial group the Heartland Institute compares belief in climate change to mass murder.

Mitt Romney demands Obama create 500,000 jobs — which has only happened four times in the last 50 years.

That other time Mitt Romney fired a gay aide in 2004. Meanwhile, Romney says we should just let states decide whether or not it’s okay to fire someone just for being gay. (29 states have decided it is.)

R.I.P. MCA.

Other recent Progress Reports

May 3, 2012: Michele Bachmann’s TOP 10 Attacks on Mitt Romney

Minnesota Not-So-Nice Today, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), one of Mitt Romney’s formal rival for the GOP nomination, shook her own Etch A Sketch and endorsed him during an appearance in Virginia. In honor of her newfound fondness for Romney, we wanted to resurrect a few of her greatest hits on the presumptive nominee. 1. CAN’T [...]

May 2, 2012: President Obama Seeks The Right Balance In Afghanistan

Striking the Chord Between Ending the War and Offering Long-Term Support Yesterday, President Barack Obama signed a Strategic Partnership Agreement with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, outlining a plan to withdraw combat troops from Afghanistan by 2014 and to continue aiding the Afghan government through 2024. The agreement assures the Afghan people of long-term support during [...]

May 1, 2012: THREE Charts For May Day

Why Our Economy Isn’t Working for Workers Today is May Day, an international holiday honoring workers.  Unfortunately, our economy — and its tax code rigged to benefit the wealthiest few — isn’t working for many workers. ThinkProgress’ Annie-Rose Strasser highlights three charts showing why we need an economy that works for everyone, not more conservative [...]

Apr 30, 2012: The Facts About The Death of Osama bin Laden

Obama: “I Said That We’d Go After bin Laden if We Had a Clear Shot at Him and I Did.” This week marks the one-year anniversary of the death of Osama bin Laden. The president’s campaign has taken the opportunity to remind the American people of one of his greatest achievements, as well as Mitt [...]

Media Matters for America: Bin Laden, FOX, Right-Wing

Unlike The Right-Wing Media, General Petraeus Thinks We Should Talk To The Taliban Right-wing media are attacking the Obama administration for engaging in “direct discussions” with the Taliban over the future of Afghanistan. But General David Petraeus and other national security experts who have served in every administration since the presidency of Richard Nixon say that it is in America’s interest to negotiate with the Taliban. Read More

Contrary To Claims On Fox, Obama Has Repeatedly Thanked And Praised Troops Who Killed Bin Laden Fox News figures celebrated the anniversary of the operation that killed Osama bin Laden by attacking President Obama for not giving the military personnel that carried out the mission “the credit that’s due to them.” But Obama has repeatedly praised and thanked the Navy SEALs and other military and intelligence individuals who participated in the mission. Read More

Fox Promotes Deceptive Ad Accusing Obama Of Taking All The Bin Laden Credit Fox News figures are promoting an ad produced by Veterans for a Strong America that deceptively edited statements by President Obama to portray him as taking all the credit for the raid that killed Osama bin Laden. In fact, fuller context of the speeches that the ad excerpts makes clear that Obama did give credit to the troops for the bin Laden raid, a fact that Fox’s own Megyn Kelly has noted. Read More