10 Comments

I would like to see Momsrising prepare an analysis of where the candidates stand on issues, and, if they have held office, what their actual votes have been on the MOTHER issues. Then I would like to see momsrising recommend a candidate, and try to get those of us who care about these issues to vote as a bloc for someone and make contributions to that candidate. We will never be a force for change until we can get our act together – we need to take a cue from the rightwing religious nuts and the business community, which have moved in lockstep for their chosen candidates for decades and consequently have forced candidates to adopt their agenda. We need to take a cue from EMILYS list and raise money for candidates who pass muster on our issues. And we need to get some people out there in the media – we need someone on the Sunday talk shows, and someone to counter the incessant drumbeat of corporate and rightwing concerns in the 24-hour cable blather. If we could organize – every family in this country would be a pretty potent force against the various forces, mostly corporate, that are lined up against us. Since the California primary is 70-some days away, I would like for momsrising to get cracking on this!

[Reply]

I’m voting for Fred Thompson. He is the most conservative GOP canidate, and the one that I most identify with. He will protect my children’s right to be born, allow me to choose and buy my own healthcare, and do his best to protect the United States from those who might try to harm us. I know that I am probably a minority on this site, but I enjoy reading your comments, and I ask that you would respect and even comment to mine.

[Reply]

I think it’s terrible that you would critisize Amy for taking her husband’s last name. However, I don’t actually agree with her either. I am a stay-at-home mother (who took my husband’s name!), and there’s no place I’d rather be. I always sign my husband’s name first, because HE is the head of the household. He is the breadwinner, the only source of income in our home, and I respect him for that. Women and men are not equal, and never will be. Each sex has its place in society. Men are strong, protectors, providers. Women are strong, too, yet also feminine, maternal, and ladylike. While I believe that women are meant to be more feminine, more gentle, that certainly does not mean that they can’t have a career if they want it (or need it). But to march into a workplace and DEMAND that they be treated any less than the ladylike creature they were created to be is wrong. Go to work, have fun, and talk about your kids. I think it’s wrong to NOT disclose the fact that you are married with children when applying for a job. It’s unfair to your employer to give an impression that you are available 24/7, when you are responsible for your family after you clock out. Your boss has the right to know where your priorities lie. And if you don’t get a job because you have a family, you probably would have been miserable working for someone like that.

[Reply]

Seriously, get over yourself. Who cares whose name comes first? If she wants to take her husband’s name, what business is it of yours? Perhaps you are overlooking the fact that Amy and Marc wrote in together. Obviously Marc is a supporter of women, mothers, and momsrising. I think you want to complain for complaining’s sake. Again. Get over yourself. There are bigger issues in the world than if Amy took Marc’s last name.

[Reply]

How can we get mobilized and find out who to support in the 2008 election? What candidate(s) are looking at the “Momsrising” ” Families” a priority in 2008? We need some leadership and I think Momsrising is the perfect platform. Hiliary has a good start but 2016 is not soon enough!!!

[Reply]

There is a huge need for paid FMLA so that it will be available for everyone who qualifies and needs it, not just those who can afford it.

**opmom.com
From your Command Center you can organize your family’s medical information & create wellness reminders, find & rate local service providers, plan & book the perfect vacation, get a handle on your photos, create & plan events and parties, stay in touch with your community using the innovative “HeadsUp” local broadcast feature, plus find inspiration for tonight’s dinner.

[Reply]

This issue is a big one for me and my family for the upcoming presidential debates. I’m eager to hear what John Edwards has to say about the matter versus the other candidates. He seems to be the strongest voice out there on the matter!Much more so than Hillary!

[Reply]

We are sorry the previous poster feels disappointed. Our aim, however, is to unite women AND men for a common cause rather than to continue to see family politics as a mothers-only issue. Yes, discrimination of mothers in the workplace is a huge problem; but men do not entirely escape this issue either. As fathers begin to take on more caregiving (which is what we stand for), discrimination will become fully their issue as well. By harnessing the power of both genders, we can get past blaming or accusing and have our best chance at real change.

To “insist that every father must take equal responsibility for housework and childcare” is, in our opinion, a very short-term solution. We’re not about to browbeat men into equal sharing. There are many reasons why this lifestyle can appeal to men, but being forced into it is not one of them.

The reasons for my name choice are personal, as they should be for everyone faced with this dilemma that has no perfect answer. The poster makes a lot of assumptions in her/his accusation; this serves no one.

Finally, the order of our names is unimportant to us – but given that we post on FamiliesRising (for which the focus is fathers), we figure that putting Marc up front makes some sense.

Let’s all move forward together!

- Amy Vachon

[Reply]

You lost a lot of credibility when you said, “Discrimination against parents.” Face it–MOTHERS are discriminated against in the workplace, but fathers are privileged. Fathers make more money, get more promotions, and yes, they have more workplace flexibility than mothers. It is time to end MATERNAL profiling and insist that every MOTHER has a right to economic independence, and every father must take equal responsibility for housework and childcare.

Admit the truth: We are still in a patriarchal society. Indeed, it shows in your name. Amy “chose” to drop her name and take Marc’s name. To add insult to injury, Marc’s name comes first. Amy, I want to know your real name.

I hate to say it, but Amy < ???> and Marc Vachon’s article subtly reinforced male privilege.

[Reply]

Don’t forget Chris Dodd, who was a drafter of the current FMLA. He too has been pushing for an expansion in eligibility and paid leave (The FMLA Insurance Bill) and a further exception for families of wounded military personnel. Also, he co-authored the childcare block grant bill, which provides state funding for childcare providers- with the goal of keeping childcare cost down.

[Reply]

Leave a Comment