SNAP Endorses Patricia Madrid for Congress

I'm excited and honored to announce that SNAP will be supporting Patricia Madrid, a sterling progressive and New Mexico's current attorney general, in her fight this year to unseat the ultra-conservative Rep. Heather Wilson in New Mexico's First Congressional District.

Patricia Madrid has been a pioneer for women in both law and politics in New Mexico. Madrid was the first woman elected to serve as a district court judge in New Mexico. In 1998 she became the first woman to be elected Attorney General of New Mexico, and was re-elected overwhelmingly in 2002. She is one of only four female attorneys general in the nation and the first ever Latina to serve in the position of state attorney general.

Madrid has proven herself to be a true progressive leader on issues that matter to women. Her top priority in office has been fighting violent crime, particularly violence against women. She established New Mexico's Violence Against Women division to set standards for law enforcement officers dealing with domestic violence. She also helped procure over $560,000 to provide critical training on domestic violence to first responders. These concrete policy changes especially helped victims of domestic violence in rural areas of New Mexico, whose voices are so often silenced by authorities who do not know how to recognize or deal with domestic violence and sexual abuse. Her office has also taken on what EMILY's List calls "extremely challenging domestic abuse cases that other prosecutors wouldn't touch – securing convictions against serial abusers and murderers in case after case."

Madrid is also decidedly pro-choice, and has effectively used her position to fight legislative attempts to suppress reproductive freedom. Heather Wilson, on the other hand, has repeatedly voted to prevent women's access to abortion and family planning, supporting the ban on so-called "partial-birth abortion" as well as Bush's global gag rule. Time and time again, when called on by the Republican leadership to stand against the rights of women, Wilson has gladly answered their call. Last year, NARAL Pro-Choice America gave Wilson a rating of 0%.

Patricia Madrid also understands the ways in which issues of gender and economic status intersect and impact poor women. She has expressed the desire to reexamine the current welfare framework that was "reformed" under Bill Clinton, and has especially pointed to how the changes have prevented poor women from escaping poverty. "While welfare reform has led to fewer people on welfare, it has also led to fewer women enrolled in secondary education," Madrid told EMILY's List, which is also backing her candidacy. "We need to look beyond the numbers and see if our reforms are actually providing pathways out of poverty or merely off the welfare rolls."

All in all, it's incredibly clear that Madrid is someone whose progressive values line up not only with the values of her district (which, despite having sent a very well-funded-by-Tom-Delay Wilson to Congress since 1998, actually leans to the left) but also with the vision of America that SNAP wishes to make into reality. And unlike many who claim to stand for progressive values without being willing to make progressive policy, Patricia Madrid has shown a fierce commitment to her work so that whatever the issue – be it immigration, health care, access to prescription drugs, reproductive freedom, etc. – she is determined to create progressive change that really matters in the lives of ordinary Americans. That’s why I am so excited that SNAP interns will be working on the ground this summer for Patricia Madrid.

Living On the Wedge

Here's CNN's headline on the latest GOP response to not being so popular right now:

GOP hones its core agenda: Flag burning, gay marriage, abortion top Republicans' Senate plan

This will certainly provide fodder for those left of the center who like to argue that the problem with right-wingers is that they focus on intangible "wedge issues" rather than material issues that actually affect people. It's an argument that has some popularity not only with center-left folks but with a fair number farther to the left too. I don't think it's a good one. Thing is, these so-called wedge issues affect real people in ways that are all too real - and often are economic as well. The problem with right-wing politicians isn't that they focus too much on so-called "social issues." The problem with them is that they are wrong. The problem with them is that they want to reverse social progress. Progressives need to expand the public understanding of what is an issue of values. But they also have to make the case better on the issues that are already commonly identified that way (Thomas Frank is right to argue that taking stronger populist stands on the economic issues could help to sap right-wing "culture war" politics of their ostensibly anti-elitist appeal).

All that said, one can hold out hope that the image of Bill Frist scheduling hearings on how to amend the first ammendment to ban flag burning will do some damage to conservatives' credibility as responsible stewards of the Congress.

Doing Good Work

Just wanted to give a quick shout out to our friends at the Goodworks PAC, which helps progressive candidates to organize and promote community service activities. Goodworks is engaged in pursuing positive grassroots alternatives to negative attack ads and to supporting progressives with demonstrated commitment to their communities. You can read more about their methodology here. And check out their blog here.