21st Century Democrats Endorse Jocelyn Benson for Secretary of State (MI)

For Immediate Release
October 5, 2010

21st Century Democrats Endorses Jocelyn Benson
for Secretary of State (MI)

Washington, D.C. - 21st Century Democrats has endorsed Jocelyn Benson for Michigan's Secretary of State. A civil leader dedicated to equal representation for all of Michigan's citizens, Jocelyn Benson will work to restore fairness to the election process when elected.

"We're excited to endorse Jocelyn Benson, a champion of voters' rights," said Jim Scheibel, Chairman of 21st Century Democrats. "She has literally written the book on how to be a fair and effective Secretary of State. In the post Citizens United world, it is vital that voters have an advocate that will put voter rights before corporate interests and we know Jocelyn will be that advocate."

As Secretary of State, Benson will work to maintain impartiality in monitoring elections, pledging to take the Oath of Nonpartisanship upon taking office. Benson will fight election fraud by investigating how ballot initiatives are collected, and protecting voters from intimidation and deception at all levels of the voting process. Furthermore, Benson will strive to limit corporate influence in elections, restoring control of elections back to the hands of Michigan's citizens.

Benson earned a B.A. at Wellesley College; immediately afterward starting a successful career at the Southern Poverty Law Center, investigating hate groups and hate crimes throughout the United States. she earned a Master of Philosophy as a Marshall Scholar at Oxford University, later receiving a law degree from Harvard University.

Throughout her career, she has fought to protect voter's rights, from preventing the use of foreclosure lists to deny voter access on Election Day, to blocking the closure of a Secretary of State branch office, citing a violation of the Voting Rights Act. In addition, Benson has aided in the passage of the Help America Vote Act, a federal mandate which improved election law in light of the controversy surrounding the 2000 Presidential recount. In 2004, she coordinated efforts on the national level to establish Voter Protection officials, who worked to restore integrity in the voting procedure established by federal law.

For more information about 21st Century Democrats or to learn more about our endorsed candidates, please visit our website: www.21stcenturydems.org.

Middle Class Families Need Your Help

In these economic times, working class families are shouldering the nation’s tax burden more than ever. Why then, are tax cuts which overwhelmingly favor the wealthiest of Americans, still in place after 9 years, stalling economic recovery? President Obama’s proposal to cut taxes to the middle class will benefit millions of families across the country, yet faces stiff opposition by Republican activists. The Bush tax cuts are essentially writing a check to wealthy Americans to the tune of 830 billion dollars, while the middle class foots the bill. Mary Jo Kilroy (D-OH) along with Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) and Alan Grayson (D-FL) are leading the charge, campaigning to end favoring the wealthy over everyday Americans, to choose Main Street over Wall Street for a change. They have drafted a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, asking that the fight continues to implement tax cuts for the middle class and to urge Congress’ support before adjourning in October.

Millions of families across the country depend on this reform. Click here to add your name to Mary Jo Kilroy's letter to Speaker Pelosi calling for an up-or-down vote on the Bush tax cuts today.

In Coordinated Effort, GOP Moves To Disenfranchise Native American Voters in South Dakota

In the latest instance of decades of blatant, racially motivated, voter disenfranchisement in South Dakota, Republican officials at the state and county level have begun the process of limiting Native American access to the ballot. Shannon County, home of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, faces the prospect of no early voting access this fall. Worse still, there remains the very real possibility of no Election Day voting at all in Shannon County.

There is little ambiguity to what has transpired in South Dakota in the last month. According to the 2000 Census, Shannon County is 94.2% Native American. Lying entirely on reservation land, Shannon County is the second poorest county in the United States. In the 2004 and 2008 elections, Shannon County has been the highest Democratic performing county in the country. In 2008, Barack Obama received 88.6% of the vote in Shannon County. Because of the rural nature of the county, it has traditionally seen much higher levels of absentee and early voting than the South Dakota averages.

Because Shannon County is one of two unorganized counties in South Dakota, elections have been administered by neighboring Fall River County. This has been standard procedure for over thirty years. Frustrated and seeing a political opportunity however, Republican officials at the state and county level decided to act. In August, county officials in Fall River County made it clear they would resign if asked to administer the same early voting opportunities in Shannon County that every other county receives. When they were formally asked to do so on September 3, 2010, a number of county officials subsequently resigned, leaving no one to run the election in Shannon County.

The next Thursday, September 9, Republican Secretary of State Chris Nelson met with officials from both Shannon and Fall River County. As reported by the Rapid City Journal Nelson arbitrarily declared that Shannon County had only until the next Monday, September 13th, to resolve the situation. In addition to only giving Shannon County two business days to respond, Nelson repeatedly suggested that there was nothing that the State could do to help. Brazenly, Nelson told those gathered at the meeting, “you all have a huge challenge on your hands.” Nelson, the chief elections officer in the state and a former Republican candidate for Congress, is prepared to sit idly by and watch an entire county be disenfranchised.

As of now, there is no plan in place for how any elections are to take place in Shannon County, South Dakota. Voting rights groups believe the turnout for the 2010 cycle in Shannon County could be as high as 5,000 votes, a sizeable percentage of the state vote in South Dakota. Because many of those votes will be for Democrats, South Dakota Republicans are willing to take on lengthy legal fights to protect those votes, because they know it can’t be resolved before election day.

None of this is new. For the past several years, South Dakota has openly flaunted the 1965 Voting Rights Act, considering fair and equal access to the ballot an unnecessary hassle that the state need not worry about. This has led to numerous lawsuits, all of which have been lost by the state. The problem is that by the time the court resolves the issues, the damage has been done.

Since announcing his candidacy in October of 2009, Ben Nesselhuf, the Democratic candidate for Secretary of State, has campaigned for fair and equal elections in South Dakota. Nesselhuf has demanded that every county in the state, have the resources and facilities they need to have early voting and smoothly run elections. On September 8, Nesselhuf was quoted in Indian Country Today saying that he considers the way the state has run previous elections as “systematic disenfranchisement.”

Predictably, Nesselhuf’s opponent has said nothing on this issue, and has run a RNC-directed campaign based entirely around fear-mongering about voter fraud. For Republicans in South Dakota, every time a Native American votes, it’s “fraud.”

The only way to stop this cycle of disenfranchisement is to elect a Secretary of State that is committed to ensuring that every citizen who has the right to vote and the desire to vote will have the opportunity to vote. Ben Nesselhuf is the only candidate in the race committed to this goal. Ben and his team have run a very aggressive campaign but the South Dakota GOP has made clear their intention to do whatever it takes to hold on to this seat and control future elections. Ben can win, but not without your help. Learn more about Ben and how you can help his campaign at www.benforsouthdakota.com.

Boston Globe Endorses D'Alessandro

The Boston Globe recently celebrated Labor Day by announcing its endorsement of pro-labor candidate Mac D’Alessandro in the race for Massachusetts’s 9^th congressional district against incumbent Representative Stephen Lynch.

Citing concerns that Lynch’s insistence to go his own way often puts him at odds with Democratic Party leadership, the Globe portrays D’Alessandro as a candidate more likely to foster unity and cooperation for the sake of Massachusetts voters. Despite Lynch’s nine years of service, the Globe argues, the only way to repair shattered party relations may be by electing a fresh face.

The Globe writes of Lynch, “When others saw opportunity for historic reforms, he offered skepticism. When others stepped forward to shape legislation, he held back. D’Alessandro would be quite different: More cautious about military interventions, including Afghanistan; more willing to do the necessary work of reforming the economy, even when it involves unpopular fixes like bailing out the banking and housing industries; more eager to be a leader both in extending health coverage and in bringing research dollars to Massachusetts.”

D’Alessandro, best known for his service as New England Political Director for the Service Employees’ International Union, has criticized Lynch in the past for corporate ties. If elected, he promises to protect the rights of working families against abuse from special interests.

Florida wants a REAL Democrat, NOT a Charlie come lately!

Congratulations to Kendrick Meek on his overwhelming victory in the Florida Democratic Primary for US Senate. This victory shows that the people of Florida are tired of politicians who will say anything, do anything, or flip flop on issues just to get elected. Yeah, that means you Charlie Crist. This is going to be a tough fight for Kendrick, but we know Kendrick is the only candidate who will fight for Florida's working families. His two opponents are the exact opposite of what this country needs.

Marco Rubio, darling of the Tea Party. Dedicated to rolling back the important gains we've made as a country over the past two years.

And Charlie Crist, who's waffled on his own positions so many times, he could open up a restaurant. He said he was running as a Republican period, now he says he's an independent. He supported off-shore drilling, now he doesn't. It seems like no one knows where Charlie Crist will be on the issues next, including Charlie Crist!

Let's tell Charlie that we ain't buyin' what he's sellin'. We know that Kendrick Meek is the TRUE DEMOCRAT in the race. He's stood by his convictions and worked his entire life to help others. Now let's send Kendrick Meek to the US Senate.

Michele Bachman's Acting Debut

Tea Party standard bearer Michele Bachman made her acting debut recently in a “documentary” titled, “Socialism: A Clear and Present Danger”. In the film Bachmann is identified as an “anti-socialism expert”. Thankfully they didn’t label her a government or civics expert, because that would have just made this whole exercise ridiculous. Wait, we meant MORE ridiculous.

We do applaud the producers of the film, Coral Ridge Ministries, for attempting to get an expert known for her studious and intellectual discourse. Saying that the media should investigate whether members of Congress are anti-American, that President Obama had turned our nation into a nation of slaves or her concern that BP might be fleeced is true evidence of Michele Bachman’s “expertise”. But hey, what do you expect from an organization that blamed evolution for the Holocaust.

This is why we have endorsed Tarryl Clark for Congress. Minnesota’s 6^th District deserves a representative who worries more about helping constituents than helping the right wing fringe. That knows the best way to get things done is to work towards change that will help everyone, not just corporations. Tarryl Clark is not just the best choice, she’s the right choice.

Florida is Not for Sale

Kendrick Meek has spent his whole career serving the people of Florida and he has the record to prove it. In Congress, Meek has already worked to keep struggling families in their homes, create more jobs and provide health care to everyone. He proved his commitment again when he voted in favor of legislation that will hold the Big Banks accountable, modernize the financial regulatory system and prevent future financial meltdowns. Meek commented, "As I’ve said time and again, the Big Banks cannot and will not police themselves. We’ve witnessed a small group of Wall Street insiders wreak immeasurable havoc on the backs of too many middle-class Floridians. It is time to stop turning a blind eye to the greed and recklessness of Wall Street and rein in these practices once and for all. This legislation is about siding with Floridians instead of the Big Banks, and I am proud to take the side of consumers over the powerful insiders.”

Meek has proven he’s not afraid of a fight and that’s why he’s running a true grassroots campaign. He was the first person to qualify for the ballot by petition, having received more than 140,000 signatures from everyday Floridians. Jeff Greene bought his was onto the ballot saying, "I'll spend whatever it takes.” Months later, Floridians still don’t know who Jeff Greene really is, and he still hasn’t filed his required Personal Financial Disclosure Form, something every other candidate in the race has done on time – which leads us to ask – Why the delay?