Greetings Staunton Democrats and Happy Halloween ! My scary Halloween costume this year is Ben Cline ! Enclosed are more news, opportunities, future and past event details, and pleadings for volunteers and funds and whatever else we think of. We hope you will look forward to this post every Monday and use it to keep fighting for our democratic values and dedication to all members of our communities. If you wish to submit information to be published by the SDC then please email the information to publicity@staunton-democrats.care . We can publish to the blog weekly, and social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc) more frequently. Please send all comments and feedback to publicity@staunton-democrats.care . And now for the show ! This week: Opportunities and calls for action ! The SDC Candidate Forum for the Win ! VOTE ! Our Democracy at Stake ! Events SDC Coffee The SDC blog - NEW Posts ! What is a living wage for Staunton ? News from our friends Ben Cline (Sigh!) Jennifer Lewi
Greetings Staunton Democrats !
Enclosed are more news, opportunities, future and past event details, and pleadings for volunteers and funds and whatever else we think of. We hope you will look forward to this post every Monday and use it to keep fighting for our democratic values and dedication to all members of our communities.
If you wish to submit information to be published by the SDC then please email the information to publicity@sawdemocrats.care . We can publish to the blog weekly, and social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc) more frequently. Please send all comments and feedback to publicity@sawdemocrats.care .
And now for the show !
This week:
My Apologies !
Opportunities and calls for action !
The SDC Candidate Forum for the Win !
Constitution Day
VOTE !
Quote of the Week
The Unfortunately True Protest Signs of the Week
Some Good News for the Planet
Events
Other Candidate Forums
SDC Coffee
The SDC blog
News from our friends
Democratic achievements and news
Meanwhile, the Republicans …
Ben Cline (Sigh!)
Jennifer Lewis (YAY !)
Staunton City Council and School Board races
From The Lincoln Project
My Apologies !
I mistakenly neglected to include Augusta Free Press profiles on Michele Edwards and Yvonne Wilson in last week’s SDC Weekly ! The articles are included here and in the “News from our Friends” section below (where I should have put them last week).
Michele Edwards https://augustafreepress.com/focus-on-good-governance-michele-edwards-is-running-for-staunton-city-council/
Yvonne Wilson https://augustafreepress.com/diversity-of-ideas-yvonne-wilson-is-running-for-staunton-city-council/
Opportunities and Calls for Action !
ANYTHING That You Can Do Is Helpful !
Where will your money go ?
Donations may be used in election related activities (mailings, radio issue ads, events for voter registration and candidate support, door to door canvassing for local regional candidates, etc).
Donations can also be used to support the SDC office and printing capabilities that are needed during the non-stop elections seasons. We are also looking towards the future since there is a Virginia Legislature election in a year then the 2024 elections. The fight is a continuing effort !
Join the Staunton Democratic Committee and Join an SDC Committee (SDC membership is required)
Volunteers are the lifeblood of our organization. Without volunteers you would not be reading this very fine publication !
The SDC is trying to organize some canvassing efforts and some individuals are interested in canvassing their neighborhood on their own. Regardless, we NEED volunteers since leaflets don’t distribute themselves.
answer phones, talk to visitors, data tasks, distribute canvassing and electoral information, etc.
The Jennifer Lewis for Congress campaign needs volunteers to help. Get in touch with Peri Price at peri@friendsofjenniferlewis.
The SDC Candidate Forum for the Win !
The SDC sponsored non-partisan Candidate Forum was an incredible success on September 13, 2022 ! We learned a lot about the candidate positions and I, for one, am a better informed.
The Youtube video of the SDC Candidate Forum is here.
The following people deserve thanks:
The public who attended the event in person or by live-streaming
The Candidates who participated
Nathan Selove (I love the bowtie) who moderated and spent a lot of time generating great questions and was a joy to work with. His service dog, Blake, also deserves credit for being cool, calm and collected.
The Clocktower who donated the space and supplied mucho support
The Clocktower staff who kept us satiated with good food and drink - I hope we gave you lots of tips
Nitch Narduzzi and Staunton Organizing for live-streaming and posting of the youtube video
Cindy Connors and Staunton Visioning
The following from the Staunton and Augusta Democratic Committees - George Gruner, Mason Kilbourn, Tracie Skipper, Barbara Lee, Yvonne Surrette, Diane Kowal and others I am most likely forgetting !
All of the Staunton City Council and School Board candidates were there as well as the 6th Congressional District candidate Jennifer Lewis.
BEN CLINE never bothered to respond to our invitation despite multiple calls and emails and even going to his Staunton office to deliver an invitation.
The Forum was live-streamed on Facebook and a posting of the video is pending on Youtube.
Here are some resulting press stories:
From the Newsleader (excellent coverage):
From WHSV:
https://www.whsv.com/2022/09/14/candidate-forum-held-upcoming-staunton-elections/
Constitution Day
Did you realize that Saturday September 17 was Constitution Day ?
Pop Quiz (answers are at the bottom of this blog post):
What year was the US Constitution signed ?
How many amendments are there ?
Ben Cline voted against extending the deadline for approving which proposed amendment ? (Sorry but I just had to dig at Cline).
Constitution Day resources:
The National Archives “Celebrating Constitution Day” page
More from the National Archives on the Constitution
Pocket sized US Constitution booklets are available at the SDC headquarters.
VOTE !
Since the 15th, 19th, 24th and 26th Amendments to the Constitution guarantee a right to VOTE, I think we ought to exercise that right !
Early Voting starts September 23, 2022 and continues through November 4, 2022.
Early Voting Hours: 9-5, M-F located in the Staunton City Hall Lobby at 116 W. Beverley St
OPEN Saturday from 9-5 for Early Voting on October 29, 2022 and November 5, 2022
Send your selfies after you vote with your “I Voted” sticker visible to: publicity@sawdemocrats.care and we may post them in this newsletter and blog !
Quote of the Week
Apropos to the upcoming Queen City Mischief and Magic ! When discussing that the political knives are out for Rick Scott regarding his mismanagement of and already having spent 95% of the millions of dollars of the fund for the National Republican Senatorial Committee (charged with retaking the Senate for the Republicans in 2022), Jon Lovett said in the podcast Pod Save America “Good luck trying to take out Rick Scott, we don’t even know where half of the horcruxes are”. Google Rick Scott and Voldemort.
The Unfortunately True Protest Signs of the Week
Some Good News for the Planet
North America’s largest birds return to Northern California after a 130-year absence - a wonderful story about how the Yurok Tribe and government partners are succeeding to return the California Condor to the wild. This article has audio and video. Very well done.
Events !
Other Candidate Forums:
September 27, 7pm Marquis Memorial Church on W Beverly. All City Council Candidates have been invited. Sponsored by the Staunton West End Business Association
October 15, 1pm-4pm Gypsy Hill Gymnasium. All Local Candidates have been invited. Sponsored by Building Bridges
SDC Coffee at Serendipity – NEW DAY ! Serendipity has changed their hours so we have changed the date and time of the Coffee to: the first and third Thursdays from 9-11 AM. The next SDC Coffee is on Thursday September 22.
What could be better than sitting at a local coffee shop with a great cup of their fresh brew (supplied by the SDC) and talking to compatriots about the news of the day.
I have been attending the SDC Coffee at Serendipity Java Bar and Eatery since I joined the SDC in May 2022 and have met wonderful people and learned much in the subsequent discussions.
This happens on the first and third Thursdays of each month from 9-11 AM.
Donations are welcome to help pay for the coffee or you can order something else for yourself (including food).
Serendipity is located at https://bit.ly/3Pru44b .
The SDC Blog
The SDC blog is coming along slowly but nicely. There are 6 sections.
Learning from our Readers - We are now publishing letters to the editor from our readers. Three letters just this week. Go read them to appreciate our fellow local Democrats
Staunton Democrats Speak ! - this section is more issue specific and currently has articles like “Vote Like Your Pants Are On Fire !” and “Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House, is my HERO !”
Ben Cline. Where’s the beef ? - this section is dedicated to the appalling and anemic performance of our current VA 6th District Congressional Representative. With your help we can retire this section on November 9, 2022. Snippets of his record will occur weekly in this Email with more discussion of the bills and vote on the SDC blog.
Thoughts from Yvonne Surette – NEW POST TODAY ! Yvonne is a well known local columnist who always (to use a basketball reference) swishes her jumpshots.
Democratic achievements – Democrats are generally humble people and think more about the world as a whole rather than just themselves. Thus, we are generally very bad at tooting our own horn when we do something good. Talking points included.
Community Voices - In this section the Staunton Democrats hope to soon publish content from users and organizations from the Staunton area that have a unique perspective on life and where they fit into the American melting pot. There are many voices that are not often heard so we hope to help them ! This may include contributions from the LGBTQ community, from younger voters, those who are struggling to help others and those who are just struggling. We want to hear about your lived experience. Knowing and caring about our neighbors better is why we are Democrats.
New Section coming - a section called something like “Thoughts from the Chair” does not encourage you to be sedentary but gives us the insights of the SDC Chairperson.
Of course I am going to ask for volunteers and writers and any ideas and feedback you may have.
The SDC blog is at https://blog.sawdemocrats.care
News from our friends
From Cindy Connors at the Staunton Visioning Coalition Steering Committee:
Greetings all !
With just over two weeks until early voting begins, our candidates Alice, Brad, Michele, Fontella, Kristin and Stephanie need our active support. What can you do ? We have lots of great suggestions! Don't stop reading here...check them all out and choose the best ones for you.
Candidate Forums:
September 27, 7pm Marquis Memorial Church on W Beverly.
All City Council Candidates have been invited. Sponsored by the Staunton West End Business Association
October 2, 2pm Staunton Equity Coalition will be hosting a City Council Candidate forum at Ciders from Mars.
This event will be open to the public! Attendees will purchase their own ciders but we will likely have some light snacks available. This event is non-partisan and includes all current Council candidates, (not including the school board due to space limitations). Joamarie Garcia and Meghan Kramer will be hosting. Please message Meghan Kramer or Joamarie Garcia with your questions
They want to ask you:
What do you want to know from our candidates?
What questions would you like us to ask?
October 15, 1pm-4pm Gypsy Hill Gymnasium.
All Local Candidates have been invited. Sponsored by Building Bridges
There are others in the works and we will keep you posted as we receive additional information
Volunteer on Election Day:
The Staunton Visioning Coalition plans to have a table/information supporting our candidates at each voting location.
We need volunteer "Captains" to adopt each of the 5 polling locations to assist with volunteer recruitment, set up and clean up.
We need pairs of volunteers to work two hour shifts (with the exception of the first shift). 6-9am, 9-11am, 11am-1pm, 1-3pm, 3-5pm, 5-7pm
We need canopies and tables.
The locations are:
Ward 1 Third Presbyterian Church 1313 Barterbrook Rd
Ward 2 Christ United Methodist Church 1500 Churchville Ave
Ward 3 Gypsy Hill Park Gym 229 116th Regimental Rd
Ward 4 Seventh Day Adventist Church 1000 North Coalter St
Ward 5 Memorial Baptist Church 224 Taylor St
RSVP to stauntonvisioningcoalition@gmail.com if you are interested in Captaining a location (we have a captain for Ward 4). A sign-up sheet will be sent at a later date for the shifts, but we are happy to hear from you now if you are interested.
Educate yourselves on all the candidates:
There have been several articles in the Augusta Free Press (no need for a subscription), hopefully they will cover all the candidates soon.
Alice Woods: https://augustafreepress.com/woods-seeks-to-bring-unity-of-purpose-to-staunton-city-council/
Eric Curren: https://augustafreepress.com/why-would-anybody-want-to-run-for-staunton-city-council-erik-curren-gives-his-reasons/
Brad Arrowood: https://augustafreepress.com/talk-about-the-city-we-want-brad-arrowood-runs-for-staunton-city-council/
Michele Edwards https://augustafreepress.com/focus-on-good-governance-michele-edwards-is-running-for-staunton-city-council/
Yvonne Wilson https://augustafreepress.com/diversity-of-ideas-yvonne-wilson-is-running-for-staunton-city-council/
Communicate your support for our candidates
Door Knock - the number one way to help candidates earn more votes
Donate - help them pay for materials to connect with donors
Write your own letter to the editor - News Virginian is currently the only paper we are aware of doing LTEs - https://newsvirginian.com/site/forms/online_services/letter_editor/
Share your support on your social media pages - write your own post or share from their sites
Reach out directly to the campaigns and offer assistance:
Democratic Achievements and Related News
Senate Democrats to force a vote on Marriage Equality Today ?! The Republicans would like to delay this vote until after the election but Chuck Schumer wants to force the vote early so Republicans can be held accountable for their position and their vote on a popular and human right.
As Virginia religious leaders, we ask Youngkin to stay in the RGGI. A very nice opinion piece from two Northern Virginia religious who oppose Youngkin’s attempt to withdraw from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).
Payment processor Visa Inc. said Saturday that it plans to start separately categorizing sales at gun shops, a major win for gun control advocates who say it will help better track suspicious surges of gun sales that could be a prelude to a mass shooting. It joins Mastercard and American Express, which also said they plan to move forward with categorizing gun shop sales.
Robert Reich talks about how SCOTUS has allowed corporations to donate political money without limits and how it has altered a key portion of our democracy - elections. FYI, did you know that Jennifer Lewis for Congress does not accept PAC or corporate money ? Please consider donating to her campaign. Compare this to Cline - see the report from Clinewatch in the next section.
The Inflation Reduction Act - A Youtube short clip from Brian Tyler Cohen (he usually wears a suit !) detailing the huge benefits of the bill.
Without hesitating, Martha’s Vineyard Democrats and other caring people show compassion and support for 50 Venezuelan migrants (see the details of this story in the next section).
Remember to vote BLUE in Roevember !
Meanwhile, the Republicans …
Ron DeSantis - human trafficker ? Abuser of human rights ? Felon and kidnapper by inveiglement ? Never in my life have I treated people this way ! As a long time Nurse Practitioner who has worked with people and cultures from all over the world, I have found that immigrants from other countries are kind, humble, appreciative, hard working and family oriented people that deserve our respect and equal treatment as fellow human beings. DeSantis treated them like political pawns but the Martha’s Vineyard residents treated them with support and kindness. Please watch the video commentary and read the articles and you too will be outraged. This is why I am a proud democrat.
Brian Tyler Cohen is incredibly passionate about this abuse.
WaPO coverage here DeSantis move to fly migrants to Mass. stokes confusion, outrage from critics and here Migrants sent by Gov. DeSantis to Martha’s Vineyard depart for Cape Cod.
NPR reports After migrants arrived in Martha's Vineyard, a community gathered to welcome them.
Glenn Kirschner, former federal prosecutor, explains the potential felony by DeSantis in this video (go to 4:50 for the start of this section). He explains kidnapping by inveiglement.
Texas leads the country in the percentage of uninsured people - Nearly 1 in 5 Texans have no health insurance as Republicans refuse to accept Medicaid expansion. This is the worst in the nation.
Remember Youngkin’s 11 executive orders/directives on day one of his administration ? He is a wolf in sheep's clothing - someone not to be trusted. More detail on these executive orders and directives in the future
Executive Order Number One delivers on his Day One promise to restore excellence in education by ending the use of divisive concepts, including Critical Race Theory, in public education.
In this Executive Order Youngkin points to the usual false boogeymen like Critical Race Theory (which has never been taught in Virginia school systems or in any K12 system in America), political indoctrination, teaching children what to think and not how to think to justify action and scare parents.
His action points mostly revolve around identifying and removing all “divisive” concepts, materials and teaching in all curricula. Of course, these appear to be all in the paranoid minds of Republicans.
Another Youngkin gem - Virginia will block schools from accommodating transgender students. I told you that he was a wolf in sheep’s clothing and now showing his true colors.
Graham introduces bill to ban abortions nationwide after 15 weeks. After telling the nation 1 month ago that he wanted the states to decide their own abortion laws, Lindsey Graham introduces a national abortion bill with severe restrictions and compares Democrats positions to those of Iran and Syria. His position also has no exceptions after 15 weeks so a woman could be forced to carry a fetus that is not compatible with life for the entire term of the pregnancy.
Ruth Marcus from the WaPo writes that Graham’s aborion bill is deceptive. Graham previously proposed 20 weeks and now 15 and this is the maximum - there is nothing in this bill that prevents Texas or any other state from taking away abortion rights entirely (like they are doing right now). Graham says the 15 weeks is scientifically based on when a fetus can feel pain - this is a lie. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) states “Rigorous scientific studies have found that the connections necessary to transmit signals from peripheral sensory nerves to the brain, as well as the brain structures necessary to process those signals, do not develop until at or after 24 weeks of gestation.” This is just the beginning of the GOP plan to ban abortions outright - do not take them at their word.
Virginia’s ‘Election Integrity Unit’ achieves the opposite of its stated purpose. A good WaPo analysis regarding Republican paranoia that has come to Virginia.
Louisiana woman carrying unviable fetus forced to travel to New York for abortion - the fetus had no skull and doctors were unable to perform abortion in Louisiana due to uncertainty of the legality given the law.
Rick Scott Horror Stories
Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) is the Senate leader in charge of the Republicans taking control of the Senate in November 2022. He devised a 12 point plan to “Rescue America”. Please don’t go to his website without nausea medication. I will be highlighting some of the absolutely harmful or hypocritical Republican proposals and providing some commentary..
“Today’s Democrat Party is trying to rig elections and pack the courts because they have given up on Democracy. They don’t believe they can win based on their ideas, so they want to game the system and legalize voter fraud to stay in power. In true Orwellian fashion, Democrats refer to their election rigging plans as “voting rights”. We won’t allow the radical left to destroy our democracy by institutionalizing dishonesty and fraud.”
This is the way Rick starts the “Fair, Fraud-Free Elections” section of his rescue plan. He and many Republicans believe that there is vast amounts of voter fraud and this is why Trump lost the election.
Trump’s own Attorney General (Bill Barr) found no fraud. The Trump campaign lost 60 court cases over voter fraud.
There has been NO evidence of voter fraud.
It is delusional and a cover up for a party that has no values, only wants power, does not have ideas that will actually help the individual and the nation. Almost all of his bullet points in this section reflect the voter fraud mentality.
Rick Scott doesn’t realize it but he perfectly describes the current GOP in his assessment above.
More to come !
Ben Cline (sigh!)
This section of the SDC Weekly Email has been voted the hands down favorite of our readers ! Not really but like a fender bender on the highway you cannot avert your eyes from Ben Cline’s appalling voting record !
More detailed information about Ben Cline’s voting record is located on our Staunton Democrats Speak ! Blog – Ben Cline has his own section called “Ben Cline. Where’s the beef ?”
Here is a compilation of what we know about Ben Cline so far based on his voting record - What does it tell you ?
Remember to vote BLUE in Roevember !
Jennifer Lewis
More about Jennifer at:
Staunton City Council and School Board Races
- The Staunton Newsleader has summary profiles of some of the Staunton, Augusta and Waynesboro School Board candidates.
Newsleader profile on Kristin Siegel for Staunton School Board
From the Lincoln Project
A long list of investigations about “He who shall not be named” detailed by Fox News.
Seriously scary - Salutes at Doug Mastriano’s Rally
Thanks for reading !
If you have any suggestions or corrections then please email to publicity@sawdemocrats.care and put Feedback for Weekly Email 9/19/22 in the subject line.
Answers: 1787, 27, Equal Rights Amendment
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