News release
Moms Across America Want to Know, ‘Do the Presidential Candidates Have a Clue?’
August 5, 2015
Lisa Lederer, 202-371-1996
National Moms Organization Presses Candidates to Address Issues Affecting America’s Families
When the Republican Presidential candidates discuss their stands on what they believe to be the important issues of the day at the first presidential debate on August 6 in Cleveland, Ohio, moms across the country will be listening to see if they address the bread-and-butter issues that affect America’s families and the economy every day. Those issues are part of the new MomsVote platform developed by MomsRising, an on-the-ground and online grassroots organization of more than a million people focused on family economic security.
“To make sure that every major candidate for President hears the top priorities of real people, and not just orders from corporate lobbyists, MomsRising conducted a survey of our more than one million members to determine their top policy issues,” said MomsRising Executive Director and CEO Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner. “The issues they identified formed the basis of our MomsVote platform. That platform is on the MomsRising ‘Do the Presidential Candidates Have a Clue?’ detective card that our members will use to track the candidates’ positions during the debates. We will also share the MomsVote platform created by the survey results with every major candidate for President over the coming months and will hold the candidates accountable for sharing their position on each priority issue.”
Debate-watchers will be able to track whether the candidates, from any political party,address issues affecting family economic security using the “Do the Presidential Candidates Have a Clue?” tracking sheet in real time during the debates, which can be downloaded from: http://action.momsrising.org/sign/momsrising_detective/.
“The ‘Clue’ tracking sheet and MomsVote platform truly speak to the priorities of moms, dads, and working families across our nation,” Rowe-Finkbeiner said. “MomsRising continues to hear from our members about how important issues such as paid family leave, earned sick days, equal pay, gun safety, racial equity and justice, raising the minimum wage and protecting public benefits such as Medicaid and Medicare are in their lives. Not surprisingly, in recent polls these issue areas are also highly supported by working families. In particular, moms in Ohio have been telling us what issues they want the candidates to address in the upcoming debate. In our view, the more candidates that pay attention to these issues, the better.”
Monique from Cleveland
Monique Lowther, a custodian from Cleveland, wants to hear the candidates discuss how to protect public benefits for working families during the debates. When her husband lost his job, her family of three was forced to live on $40 a week and feared losing their home. Eventually Lowther applied for food benefits, which allowed them to use her paycheck for rent and keep their home. Food stamps provided a safety ladder for her family until Monique’s husband found another job, she said.
Monique also wants to hear a discussion about raising the minimum wage. “After getting on welfare I met so many people who were working long hours but were still on welfare, all because they couldn’t get a decent wage,” Lowther said. “I think the welfare rolls would empty if people could earn a living wage.”
Charity from Convoy
Charity Storey from Convoy, OH, would like to hear the candidates discuss access to paid sick and family leave for workers. When her husband, a decorated U.S. Army veteran, became ill, Charity had to cut her work hours to part time to care for him. She had no paid family leave and only a few days of sick leave, not nearly enough to deal with a serious illness.
Protecting Medicaid is also important to Charity. Her son has relied on Medicaid for treatment of epilepsy and her husband was able to receive the treatment for his chronic illness thanks to Medicaid.
“Not everyone is fortunate enough to get the type of job that has benefits,” Storey said. “If they cut Medicaid both my husband and son could die because they can’t get the care they need. People’s lives depend on this.”
Lisa from Oberlin
When registered nurse Lisa Kavanaugh of Oberlin, Ohio became ill with mitochondria, a rare, degenerative disorder for which there is no cure, she lost her job and her health insurance. (Prior to the Affordable Care Act there were no coverage renewal options available for a person with a pre-existing condition.) She was distraught at the thought of becoming a burden for her family. However, thanks to Social Security Disability Insurance and Medicare, she was eventually able to receive the care she needed and leave hospice to stay in her own home.
“No one wants to be sick and when they are sick they need help,” Kavanaugh said. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard people criticizing people on Disability, accusing us of not wanting to work. But I would give everything if I could have my health back and be working again.”
Elevating the stories of families from Ohio and across the country is part of MomsRising’s efforts to bring the real needs of working families to the forefront of the presidential debates, Rowe-Finkbeiner said. “Sadly, moments of Presidential candidate cluelessness about what’s really going on with real working families, moms, dads, and kids in our nation aren’t rare. By using the MomsVote platform we're going to put the major Presidential candidates to the test to see if they really have a clue!”
Media Note: The Ohio storytellers mentioned above are available for interviews upon request. Monique Lowther will be available in person for interviews in Cleveland on August 6. Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, Executive Director of MomsRising, is also available for interviews. Please contact Kim Hayes or Gretchen Wright, 202/371-1999 for more information.
This is a nonpartisan program, taking no position in support of or opposition to any candidate or party.