Received this e-mail today from the great Senator Elizabeth Warren (D. MA) in support of her colleague Congressman Ed Markey's (D. MA) bid for Secretary of State John Kerry's (D. MA) Senate seat:
I can't believe we're fighting about women's rights in 2013.
Since I was sworn in as a U.S. senator in January, Senate Republicans have voted twice against the Violence Against Women Act. They've voted against a woman's right to choose. And they've voted against access to birth control.
Each of these votes has been close, and I've seen firsthand how important it is to elect Democrats that women can count on -- not some of the time, but all of the time.
That's one of the reasons Democrats like First Lady Michelle Obama and I are working so hard for Ed Markey in the upcoming Massachusetts Senate special election. We need to win every race we can.
Help elect candidates like Ed Markey and add to the Democratic pro-women voices in the Senate -- chip in $5 or more now:
https://my.democrats.org/...
Throughout his career in public service, Ed has been a champion for women's rights. He's sponsored fair pay legislation, voted repeatedly to protect a woman's right to control her own body, and has a 100 percent positive rating from Planned Parenthood. Ed's been great!
It's up to Democrats to do everything we can to make sure that we don't lose the pro-choice votes we need in the Senate. Donate now to help Democrats like Ed Markey who protect choice represent us in the Senate:
https://my.democrats.org/...
Thank you for being a part of this,
Elizabeth
Senator Elizabeth Warren
Massachusetts
You can click here to donate:
https://my.democrats.org/...
In other related news, looks like Markey is going to get another big endorsement:
http://www.masslive.com/...
Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno plans to endorse Democratic U.S. Rep. Edward Markey in the U.S. Senate race on Monday.
Sarno will make a formal announcement at 3:30 p.m. at Markey’s campaign headquarters on Island Pond Road.
Markey is competing with Republican private equity investor Gabriel Gomez in the June 25 special election.
Sarno, a Democrat, has led Springfield since 2008. As he has previously, Sarno waited until late in the election campaign to endorse.
During the 2012 race for U.S. Senate, Sarno waited until the end of October to make his choice public for the November election. Though Sarno endorsed Democrat Elizabeth Warren, he had a good relationship with Republican Scott Brown, then the state’s junior senator.
This time, Sarno’s endorsement appears timed to create momentum for Markey in Western Massachusetts in advance of the U.S. Senate debate in Springfield. Gomez and Markey plan to meet Tuesday night for an hour-long debate at WGBY studios in Springfield. It will be the candidates’ second of three debates and will be hosted by the Western Massachusetts Media Consortium, which includes MassLive.com/The Republican. - The Republican, 6/10/13
Markey's opponent, Gabriel Gomez (R. MA), is trying to paint himself as a Washington outside in an attempt to win over support:
http://bostonherald.com/...
A fiery Gomez accused Markey of being exactly what he’s accused Gomez of — “hyper-partisan” and beholden to his party’s D.C. leadership — as the Democrats’ top attack dog, U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, stumped for Markey here yesterday, with a Senate PAC launching a major ad campaign for him, and scandal-plagued President Obama due to fly in Wednesday to give him a boost.
“Congressman Markey is going to have his army of people and they are all from Washington. His army is the army of D.C.,” the Cohasset Republican told the Herald yesterday. “But my army is the people of Massachusetts.”
After nearly 40 years in Washington, Gomez said of Markey, “He is Washington, D.C., and that’s who he has campaigning for him. He can continue to bring them in but it’s not going to help.” - Boston Herald, 6/9/13
But Markey brilliantly shot back and called out Gomez's support from top establishment Republicans:
“Gabriel Gomez has had Rudy Giuliani and John McCain come into the state and he welcomed and embraced their support, and similarly I welcome the support of the president coming into the state of Massachusetts,” said Markey, campaigning at a diner in Arlington yesterday. “I think each of us is asking for help from those with whom we agree on the major issues and Gabriel Gomez agrees with John McCain and Rudy Giuliani and I agree with President Obama.”
Markey said that he’s co-authored several bills with Republicans as proof that he is able to cross party lines to get things done in Washington, D.C.
“I could keep going with dozens of additional bills and every one of them is with a Republican,” Markey said. -Boston Herald, 6/9/13
By the way, Markey and Gomez recently showed how different they are on foreign policy:
http://www.gazettenet.com/...
Among the key areas of disagreement between the candidates is the future of the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay.
“The Guantanamo Bay prison does not keep (the) U.S. safe. Instead it serves as a recruitment tool for extremists,” wrote Markey, who blamed congressional Republicans for blocking President Barack Obama’s efforts to close the prison.
Gomez wrote that he would not entertain discussion of closing Guantanamo Bay until there was a “clear plan” for dealing with all of the detainees.
“The last thing I want is for terrorists to be returned to their home countries, only to join the fight against us,” he wrote.
The ongoing bloodshed in Syria also elicited differing responses, with Gomez preferring a more aggressive stance to help topple the regime of President Bashar Assad.
“At this point I would support a no-fly zone over Syria as well as sending equipment and intelligence to the people we trust in the Syrian resistance opposing Assad,” Gomez wrote.
Markey was more cautious, writing that the U.S. should continue providing “non-lethal assistance” to rebels. If conditions continue to deteriorate, he wrote, there might come a time to revisit the possibility of arming “carefully vetted elements” of the Syrian opposition.
“But we still need to be very careful that any assistance that is provided to the rebels ... does not end up in the wrong hands — in the hands of radical groups who are hostile to the U.S., our interests, and our allies, including Israel,” Markey wrote.
Both candidates said it was imperative to keep Iran from becoming a nuclear power and expressed support for continued economic sanctions without ruling out military force as a last resort. But a difference in tone emerged, with Markey insisting that “crippling sanctions” already imposed on Iran are working.
“We are seeing successful results from these sanctions: Iran’s economy is buckling and its currency is plummeting,” the congressman wrote.
Gomez seemed less convinced.
“I know many in Congress (of both parties) believe that there is more we can do to impose sanctions on Iran and I agree,” he wrote.
Asked about specific steps they would pursue in the Senate in response to the marathon bombings, Markey raised gun control, citing a 2011 online video in which an al-Qaida spokesman urges followers to exploit U.S. gun laws. Markey has called for a federal assault weapons ban, which Gomez opposes.
The Republican said the government can do a better job of sharing information internally and with other nations, alluding to reports that Russia had raised concerns about bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev before the attack. - AP, 6/10/13
You can read the article to get some more information. Both men agree that spending cuts do need to be made to the Defense Department. The Special Election is Tuesday, June 25th. If you would like to get involved with the Markey campaign, you can do so here:
http://www.edmarkey.com/