It is not that I would never vote for a pro-life candidate, I would have voted for Mario Cuomo, but in the years since I decided I didn't have the wisdom or the right to make the choice for another woman the pro-life label even on a Democrat has given me serious pause.
This year I find myself not only voting for a pro-life candidate but actively supporting his campaign.
Tom White impresses me on a lot of levels. His bio is here. What impresses me the most and is so telling about the kind of Representative Tom will be, is unlike his opponent Lee Terry, being pro-life isn't just empty activism on his part.
The joke around CD02 is Terry has been in Congress for 12 years and named a Post Office. But there is so much more to his Congressional record, it is all the votes against the very people he is there to serve.
According to the Nebraska State Department of Health and Human Services 3 out of 4 Nebraskans are WITHOUT health insurance 6 months or more out of every year. Terry voted against HCR, or as he refers to it, "Obamacare". He is running on repealing HCR even tho he has very little understanding of what is actually in the law. He still believes that Medicare Part D has no donut hole, that it was in fact fully funded. When reminded the provisions implemented to date have stopped rescissions, lifted lifetime caps, allowed parents to keep dependent kids on their insurance until they are 26, elimination of pre-existing conditions for children and the coverage of autism, he agrees they are good things, however. Rather than acknowledge HCR while imperfect is a great start, he counters with it has to go and everything needs to be done differently. No clue as to how that might be done, just throw the baby out with the bath water.
About those children who have been helped by HCR. Terry has consistently voted against any initiatives to provide healthcare for kids. Nebraska ranks significantly higher in maternal death rates than neighboring states. 2 out of 3 babies who did not survive their first year were low birth weight. Pre-natal care is a very important part of SCHIPS, giving Nebraska's children the very best possible start for a healthy life. Terry has voted against SCHIPS every time because in his own words he is "philosophically opposed to growing government". This is from a man who proudly runs as pro-life.
Tom White by comparison used his 4 years as a State Senator to not only advance affordable healthcare at the state level, he introduced and passed a bill to allow dependent young adults to stay on their parents insurance. This was ahead of the Health Care Reform bill passed last year. Tom while acknowledging the short comings of the HCR bill also sees not only the good it has done for so many Americans but sees it as a foundation to build upon. He sees his job as not taking away the hope and stability it has given to so many families but to enhance and expand for a larger number of people. Every day he is out there countering the lies and misconceptions from Terry, I am sure a good number of the people hearing his message had no idea the new Healthcare Bill is already impacting their lives in positive ways.
I met Tom first, not as a pro-life candidate but as a green candidate. Nebraska could be a leader in wind energy and Tom wants to help make that happen. It's obviously good for Nebraska, but it is good for the whole country and will help lessen our dependence on fossil fuels. It will create good paying jobs here and elsewhere. Tom will be a fierce advocate for the President's green initiatives in the House.
Tom has been busy telling Nebraskans the truth about what has been accomplished the last two years. Not just in health care but the "failed" stimulus bill.The jobs saved, the budget balanced and the taxes not raised, all things the Republicans want to take credit for without ever mentioning the stimulus making it all possible.
Right now Tom White and Lee Terry are within the margin of error with 12% of voters undecided. A race that has gotten virtually no national attention, tho Joe Biden paid us a visit. This is a very winnable race but the base needs to come out, not stay home. Today is Tom White's 54th birthday, here is the link to his Act Blue page. Lets show him some support, help him make this final push and take CD2 completely BLUE! I am starting it out with $54.00 but any contribution will be appreciated and used to help send a great progressive to the House.
Tom's remarks to his colleagues his last day in the Legislature.