McBush: Eliminating women's access to health care, one term at a time.

Planned Parenthood PA Advocates reproductive freedom fighters held a visibility outside John McCain’s York town hall meeting yesterday, to let residents in on McCain’s dirty little secret.

During his 25 years in Congress, the Republican presidential candidate has consistently voted against medically accurate sex education, birth control, and even family planning funding to pay for breast and cervical cancer screenings for low-income and uninsured women. He’s earned a 0% rating from Planned Parenthood Action Fund for his long history of votes against women’s health.

You might wonder, “How does one earn a 0% rating without my hearing about it?”

The simple answer is that McCain doesn’t want you to know. Thanks to his reputation as a "maverick," many Americans have come to think of him as a moderate. As many as half of women who support John McCain actually think he's pro-choice. Asked about his views on insurance coverage of birth control in July, McCain flat-out told a reporter, "I certainly do not want to discuss that issue."

But McCain can't hide from his voting record if pro-family planning, pro-choice voters choose to make it an issue, as Planned Parenthood supporters did in York on Tuesday. Holding signs with slogans such as "Stop McCain's War on Women," supporters encouraged passerby to Know McCain. Check out these three media spots featuring Planned Parenthood:

1. Anne Laird of Planned Parenthood PA Advocates was featured on the local WPMT FOX43 news coverage of John McCain's stop in York, PA on August 12. Click here to see Anne and several PPPA signs, including a great slogan from Sari Stevens: "McBush: Eliminating women's access to health care, one term at a time."
2. Sara Reed of Planned Parenthood of Northeast and Mid-Penn was featured in a York Dispatch article about the event:
   
   "As John McCain supporters streamed into the York Expo Center Tuesday, they passed a couple dozen sign-bearing opponents protesting his stance on abortion rights, the Iraq War and the economy.
   
   'It's important for us to educate women and men about John McCain,' said Sara Reed, who works for Planned Parenthood of Northeast and Mid-Penn. Planned Parenthood staff and volunteers were holding handmade signs to bring attention to McCain's voting record, which has received a zero percent approval rating from the Planned Parenthood Action Fund for his votes on sex education, birth control and abortion rights. The action fund gave Democratic candidate Sen. Barack Obama a 100 percent approval rating for his support of abortion rights and other reproduction-related issues."
3. Planned Parenthood interns are featured in YouTube coverage of the event by Keystone Progress, a Pennsylvania progressive advocacy organization

I wish I could write about seeing McCain firsthand. I wish I could say that I'd asked a question of the senator, that I'd been able to raise this issue with him directly. Unfortunately, I'm not a registered Republican with a conservative reputation. McCain's campaign pre-screened everyone requesting a ticket to the event, and only people fitting that description (and their children) were admitted. Doesn't this negate the implication of a "town hall" meeting? Only one side of the town is allowed to present their opinion.

Obviously, this meant that McCain faced only his supporters, and wasn't challenged with any tough questions. Given the layout of the York Expo Center, where the meeting was held, McCain didn't even have to see the signs or hear the chants of those who showed up to voice their disagreement. Hardly preperation for leading a diverse nation, where one isn't just the president of people who already agree with you.

America needs a president who respects all constituents, including women. McCain has spent the past 25 years telling us he will not be that president. America needs a president who listens to and considers all points of view. At least in York, the McCain campaign made it clear that only conservatives can have a seat at the table.

- Cassie, Harrisburg.

Does your vote matter?

As an intern for Planned Parenthood, I’ve found that the most important task at hand is to educate voters about the importance of women’s health in politics, and then come November, inspire them to vote! However, many Americans are skeptical about voting. We think, in the overall outcome of the 2008 election, my vote won’t really matter, right? After all, according to the Federal Elections Commission, 122,267,553 people voted in the last presidential election.[1] There is just no way that as an individual, my vote will make a difference on the outcome.

But, to me, voting is more than whether my candidate wins or loses. It’s about my voice being counted – I want to send the message to all politicians that young people vote, women vote, and (more importantly) young, pro-choice women vote - therefore they are going to have to listen to what we are saying. When I started working as an intern for Planned Parenthood, I found out about their One Million Strong Campaign, and I was ecstatic! The first thing we can do as a coalition of one million people is demand that women’s health be a priority in this election. John McCain has an extreme (and extremely scary) record on women’s health, but right now the issue is just not being talked about, and people simply don’t know. Secondly, we can gain the strength in numbers to start turning politics in Pennsylvania and across the country around to support women. That’s why I willingly spend my time calling strangers, petitioning in the streets, and signing up new members in the health center. For me, none of these tasks are easy, but this is a grassroots movement built one member at a time.

If we really do get 1,000,000 people to the polls to vote for a pro-choice, pro-women’s health, pro-family planning president, our impact as voters goes from miniscule to enormous. Yes, 1 in 123,000,000 is not such great odds. But, being 1 in every 123 voters is not such a bad impact after all, huh?

- Lindsay, Harrisburg

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[1] Source: Federal Elections Commission Electoral and Popular Vote Summary

Always a busy day in Harrisburg

As a public affairs intern at the state advocacy office, I have to be ready for anything. One of the things I love most about my position is that there’s never a dull moment, and the day’s schedule can change at any time. Last week, I was enjoying my usual bus trip into the office. As we passed Soldier’s Grove, bright yellow and red Wendy’s trucks were blocking traffic. I could see Wendy’s employees setting up booths and tents on the lawn across from the Capitol Complex. Later that day, Lindsay (my fellow intern) and I walked to the Grove to sign-up new One Million Strong supporters.

On several occasions, Lindsay and I have worked independently while Anne and Sari have been on business trips. It’s a great honor that they trust us to open and close the office by ourselves, and to work entire days without supervision. Even alone in the office, there’s still lots to be done! On one such day, I learned a new software, emailed a band manager about tabling at a show, wrote a blurb about Campaign Organizer Action Camp 2008 for the national office, and contacted public policy staff about a public affairs meeting, among other things.

Of course, another fun aspect of this internship has been meeting all the other interns and making friends. Planned Parenthood Facebook and MySpace accounts make it easy to keep it touch with everyone, even though we’re spread across the state. Plus, we’ll each be updating this blog throughout the summer, for your entertainment and ours!

- Cassie, Harrisburg