Yesterday Connie Saltonstall announced she was withdrawing from the Democratic Primary for U.S. Representative in Michigan’s First Congressional District, and blamed a lack of support from the state’s Democratic Party for her decision. She had been hoping to replace Rep. Bart Stupak, an Ignorant Male Legislator recipient.
In a statement, Saltonstall said, “I am forced to do this because it has become apparent to my campaign that the leadership of the Michigan Democratic Party has preemptively anointed Gary McDowell as their Democratic candidate. … While I think Gary MacDowell is a very nice person, I cannot support his anti-choice politics, and I cannot support a party that endorses candidates who vote to restrict women’s legal rights and access to healthcare.”
State Representative McDowell voted against an amendment that would allow late-term abortions if a physician determined the procedure was necessary to preserve the health of a woman. Some have even referred to McDowell as Bart Stupak’s hand-picked successor.
After reading Saltonstall’s comments about the Michigan Democratic Party (MDP), I visited their website to get a better understanding of the group’s mission and values. What I discovered: the MDP has a big but problem.
There is a document on the website called Party Platform. It starts with this encouraging sentence, “The Michigan Democratic Party believes that government must be open, honest, responsive, and accountable to the people it serves,” and goes on to say, “… Democrats in this state are seeking the Common Good – the best life for each person of this state. The orphan. The family. The sick. The healthy. The wealthy. The poor. The citizen. The stranger. The first. The last.”
However, deeper into the document, I discovered a big but.
“We pledge our support for reproductive freedom, BUT we respect the individual conscience of each American on this difficult issue.”
Perhaps that “but” (emphasis mine) doesn’t seem that outrageous to you. But what if it was applied to other statements in the party platform? For example,
“We will champion the cause of Civil Rights for all citizens, working to eliminate all forms of discrimination, and nurturing more than tolerance… ”
Now add a but.
We will champion the cause of Civil Rights for all citizens, BUT we respect that some individuals feel the need to discriminate.
Or,
We oppose the insurance industry’s unfair practice of redlining when setting insurance premiums BUT sometimes it’s okay.
We will vigorously promote measures that ensure the full civil rights of Michigan’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) citizens BUT we will not pass legislation to protect those rights.
We will insist on ending the insidious practices of racial profiling and unlawful targeting of African-Americans, Arab-Americans and LGBT citizens (among others) but…
We will fight age discrimination in all its forms but…
We continue our commitment to Native American tribes and their sovereignty, self-governance, but…
But what? It’s not okay to compromise on the rights of any group, and that includes women. No if, and or buts about it.
Saltonstall’s campaign is a tough reminder that women face an uphill battle in getting elected. The hill is even steeper when they run on a platform of protecting women’s rights. BUT if we work together, we can make it happen.
Gloria Feldt reminds us how, “… when there are two candidates–one male and one female–who are both well-qualified and represent my positions major issues I care about, I will support the woman until such time as women have our fair 50% share of the elected official slots. Then and only then will gender not matter.”
To learn about and support qualified women candidates visit the Women’s Campaign Forum.
