Skip to main content
News release

When It Comes to Electing a President, M.O.T.H.E.R.S. Know Best

February 1, 2008
MomsVote

Lisa Lederer, 202-371-1996

MomsRising.org Launches Moms Vote ‘08
Healthcare for all! Support my family
- Natalie, 2 months.
 
All Kids deserve Healthcare. I heart health
- Zoe, 2/22/07.
 
I'm worth the effort.
 
Quality Care for Kids! 
 
 
Me or $?
 
These are some of the messages emblazoned on baby ONEsies that the Republican and Democratic presidential candidates saw as they arrived for their respective debates in California this week. The displays, made up of ONEsies that were decorated and sent in by moms across the country, were organized by MomsRising.org, the unique and rapidly-growing online grassroots organization that promotes family-friendly public policies. MomsRising.org is working to focus the candidates’ attention on the kitchen-table issues that matter to American families, including health care coverage for all children. More than nine million children in the U.S. have no health insurance, including 763,000 in California.
 
“It’s time for Mom Power,” said MomsRising.org Executive Director Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner. “Women make up 54 percent of the total vote, and the vast majority of us are mothers. There are 80.5 million moms in our country and we want to see the presidential candidates address the issues that affect us every day and we’re going to get out there and hold them accountable.”
 
MomsRising.org has created Presidential Bingo cards for debate watchers to use to track discussions of the issues on MomsRising.org’s agenda: Maternity and Paternity Leave, Open flexible work, Technology and other afterschool programs, Healthcare, Excellent childcare, Realistic and fair wages and paid Sick days. Viewers can mark the cards in the appropriate square each time a candidate or moderator raises one of the MOTHERS issues.
 
MomsRising.org is asking debate watchers who fill out the cards to blog about the results on the web site. People interested in tracking the candidates’ attention to these issues during the debates can order cards from the web site at www.momsrising.org. Following the first debates, MomsRising.org members tallied the mentions of MOTHERS issues, and while the numbers varied, most members agreed that the Democratic candidates talked about issues in the MOTHERS agenda far more often, but also agreed that debate moderators need to ask more questions about family issues in order to get the candidates’ stands on them.
 
“MomsRising.org members will continue to use these bingo cards while they watch upcoming debates and keep track of where the candidates stand on these crucial issues,” added Rowe-Finkbeiner. “We’d also encourage anyone who’d like to see for themselves how things came out this week to download the cards from our web site and either watch the debates on the CNN web site or read the transcripts, and see who they think did the best job.”
 
MomsRising.org’s presence at the debates and the Presidential Bingo cards are the first activities in Moms Vote ’08, an election year campaign to shine a light on the MOTHERS issues and encourage candidates and the political parties to address these issues in their platforms.
 
In December, MomsRising.org joined Take Care Net and several other organizations in soliciting the responses to a survey on family-friendly policies from the twelve leading Democratic and Republican Presidential candidates. The survey and responses are online at
 
 
MomsRising.org (www.momsrising.org) is bringing citizens together to work for common sense solutions to the profound challenges facing American families today. With more than 130,000 members nationwide, and 20,000 in California, the dynamic and fast-growing new organization is working for paid family leave, flexible work options, excellent childcare and healthcare for all children, and to stop the wage and hiring biases that penalize so many mothers today.
 

# # # #

MomsRising.org is an on-the-ground and online grassroots organization of more than a million people who are working to increase family economic security, decrease discrimination against women and moms, and to build a nation where businesses and families can thrive. Established in 2006, MomsRising and its members are organizing and speaking out to improve public policy and to change the national dialogue on issues that are critically important to America’s families, including criminal justice reform, immigration policy reform, and gun safety. MomsRising is working for paid family and medical leave, affordable, high quality childcare and early learning, and for an end to the wage and hiring discrimination which penalizes women — particularly moms and women of color — and so many others. MomsRising advocates for access to healthy food for all kids, health care for all, earned sick days, and breastfeeding rights so that all children can have a healthy start. MomsRising maintains a Spanish language website: MamásConPoder.org. Sign up online at www.MomsRising.org — and follow us on our blog, and on Twitter and Facebook.