I can't get there tomorrow, but I can come on Thursday - By Elizabeth Warren

[DonViejo]

Don,

One Tuesday night back in 1979, I rushed from my new teaching job at the University of Houston to pick my son Alex up from daycare. He was sitting on a small cot in the crowded daycare, his diaper soggy. He clung to me and cried when I tried to change him, and by the time I got him in the car I was covered in tears, pee and baby snot.

When we got home, I gave Alex a bath, crumbled hamburger in a skillet, and started a load of laundry. By the time I got Alex and his big sister Amelia in bed, I was so tired my bones hurt.

My 78-year-old Aunt Bee called to see how I was doing. I started out ok, but finally I broke down and started to cry. I was failing my kids and I loved teaching, but I was doing my class preparations after midnight. I was always behind. I told Aunt Bee I was going to quit my job.

Aunt Bee matter-of-factly told me, "I can't get there tomorrow, but I can come on Thursday." She arrived with seven suitcases and a Pekingese named Buddy, and she stayed for 16 years.

The reason I'm here today as a United States Senator is because my Aunt Bee rescued me on that Thursday in 1979. I know how lucky I was, because so many working moms don't have a family member who can rush in and save the day.

In fact, the deck has been stacked against working moms for years. And even though women are the main breadwinners, or joint breadwinners, in two-thirds of the families across the country, it's only getting worse.

When I was a law professor, I spent years studying why middle class families were going broke. In my academic research on bankruptcy, I uncovered some grim facts:

*In one year, more women will file for bankruptcy than graduate from college.
*Having a child is the single best predictor that a woman will end up in financial collapse.
*Single moms are more likely than any other group to file for bankruptcy – more likely than the elderly, more likely than divorced men, and more likely than people living in poor neighborhoods.
*Single moms who had been to college are actually 60% more likely to end up bankrupt than their less educated sisters.

Women get hit hard. They still earn, on average, only 77 cents to the dollar that her male colleague earns. Bloomberg analyzed census data to find that women are paid less in 264/265 of major occupations – in 99.6% of jobs, women get paid less than men. Yet Republicans have blocked the Paycheck Fairness Act – a law that would make sure women don't get fired just for asking what the guy down the hall makes.

Minimum wage workers haven't gotten a raise in seven years, and today nearly two-thirds of minimum wage workers are women. Mothers of very young children disproportionately work low-wage jobs in every state in the country. A minimum wage job no longer keeps a mother and baby above the poverty line, yet Republicans continue to block legislation to raise the minimum wage.

And seniors? Because women make less than men throughout their lifetimes, they receive, on average, more than $4,000 less a year than men in Social Security benefits, yet women rely most heavily on those checks. At a time when Social Security is the only safety net keeping 14 million people out of poverty, Republicans continue to try to cut Social Security for women.

I know how lucky I was to have a woman in my life who was there when I needed her. She's gone now, but the best way I know to honor her memory is to help another woman – or maybe join with a lot of people and help millions of women.

It's time. It's long past time. Minimum wage. Equal pay. Social Security. Doing something tangible in honor of the women who helped us.

Happy Mother's Day!

Elizabeth

[winter is coming]

1. We should be hearing messages like this from a lot of candidates. n/t

[MannyGoldstein]

3. Put Warren in the White House, and we will. nt

[1StrongBlackMan]

9. Put EL in the Whitehouse with the current Congress ...

And there will hear all the pretty speeches, as folks complain wonder why/complain that nothing of substance is getting done.

Sound familiar?

[MannyGoldstein]

10. I think Warren will fight much harder for working Americans

I could be wrong, of course.

[1StrongBlackMan]

17. By doing what the Constitution allows for ...

Just like the current administration.

[MannyGoldstein]

20. We'll have to agree to disagree

On whether the current administration is doing whatever it can.

[1StrongBlackMan]

25. I give PRO ...

LBJ's Congress and you'd be surprised what would be done.

[oneofthe99]

47. free trade..... free trade .... Obama sure loves those two words

You know who else loves them

The republican party and corporations

Maybe Obama can hang out with Ron and Rand Paul a little more.......they love those words also

[dotymed]

73. Remember when "we" gad a Democratic congress?

It was during this administration. What was done?
Party 1 st? That is ridiculous in this "brave new world."

[1StrongBlackMan]

74. Do you want a list? ...

It would start with the Lily Ledbetter Act, the end of DADT, , SALT2, Frank/Dodds, the ACA, that little recession thing, but I g you're right ... that time was wasted.

[Bandit]

89. You mean like he had his first two years in Office.

[oneofthe99]

46. ha ha

[Demo_Chris]

76. Quote me the part about domestic spying, killing americans without trial, drone wars, etc

[1StrongBlackMan]

84. How is you remark related to this discussion? eom.

[Demo_Chris]

90. You're the one talking Constitutional authority and limits.

[1StrongBlackMan]

91. Yes ...

I was ... In the specific context of separation of powers. Right?

[joshcryer]

45. By what manner would "fighting" subvert the division of power?

[MannyGoldstein]

52. No need to subvert.

If two-thirds of the American People are behind the President on an issue, if issue doesn't become law then they totally suck as a President.

Two-thirds of Americans are on the Liberal side of fairly taxing the rich, raising the minimum wage, slashing the Pentagon budget, not starving senior citizens, Medicare for All, etc.

[joshcryer]

55. You give the tea party wackjobs too much credit.

[MannyGoldstein]

58. Put their private parts in a vise

Figuratively, of course. Hence the Johnson pic.

[1StrongBlackMan]

62. LBJ had the luxury of governing ...

In the pre - smart phone, pre - whiny politician calling a press conference era.

[MannyGoldstein]

66. The fundamentals haven't changed, I think.

The really new thing is the complete takeover of government by Jamie, Lloyd, and the rest of that crowd.

We need them out.

[joshcryer]

65. The country was on the precipice.

The current wackjobs want to send the country into the abyss. It's like negotiating with terrorists. It doesn't work.

[MannyGoldstein]

67. We agree then. Negotiating with terrorists is ludicrous.

The only thing they understand is a raw, terrible power applied against them. Anyone who dealt with schoolyard bullies knows that.

Warren will apply it until they beg for mercy.

[joshcryer]

71. Again, what power does the executive hold?

It's called the separation of powers. LBJ was successful in only the fact that he held Congress and he leveraged his own party, that, again, had the majority.

LBJ's most famous quote? "We have lost the South for a generation." Well golly was that not the most prophetic thing ever said by a President.

LBJ's actions resulted in a fracturing of the party as we saw with RFK.

You do know that things like, I dunno, DOMA repeal, ACA, they passed along, completely along, party lines? And that ultimately there were a lot of Third Wayer's voting for it.

[merrily]

80. LBJ's Congress was a lot more divided than anyone today admits, esp. on the Civil Rights Act of 1964

And, no, Republicans were not all on his side on that one, either.

He wheeled and dealt.

[1StrongBlackMan]

57. lol, because the President has the final say, right?

Let's just forget that the President can't sign any bill into law that hasn't passed Congress. Let's just pretend that our former of government poll the electorate and the will of the people becomes the law of the land.

[MannyGoldstein]

59. LOL, LBJ got the Civil Rights Act passed

When the support wasn't there.

He didn't hover above the fray, blaming "those on rhe Left", then ask to cut Social Security. Instead, he got the thing done.

I think presidents can still do that. I think Elizabeth Warren will.

[1StrongBlackMan]

60. Please review the history of the CRA ...

And apply the current political realities.

[merrily]

81. I have reviewed it. What is your point?

Both Republicans and Democrats opposed LBJ and he risked losing the South for the Party, so he got a lot of pressure from within the party to sit down and shut up.

He strong armed people on both sides until he got it passed.

[1StrongBlackMan]

86. My point is ...

today's political reality is not that of the 1960s.

In LBJ's day, politicians took political a$$ whippings and kept it moving, without running to the press to whine about how terrible they had been treated ... Today's politicians would record the "strong-arming" and have the revealing press conference scheduled before they left the ranch.

Today's political climate is not the climate of the '60s.

[merrily]

87. That is a truism.

Yesterday's political reality was not today's either. The Democratic Party was a lot more deeply divided behind LBJ (and Truman and FDR) than it ever has been behind Obama.

In LBJ's day, politicians took political a$$ whippings and kept it moving, without running to the press to whine about how terrible they had been treated

Who told you that? It's not true. Besides, politicians' whining to the media is not an excuse for anything. In Lincoln's day, there was no radio. That didn't make passage of the 13th through 15th amendments any easier--or any less dangerous to Lincoln.

Lincoln knowingly risked both his political future and his life and LBJ did the same (though by LBJ's day, Secret Service somewhat reduced the risk to his life. They both lost their risks, but they fought like hell anyway.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

11. yes, and they'd blame EL

2014 first. Change the Congress.

[1StrongBlackMan]

18. Oops ...

I meant EW ... auto - correct.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

61. Oh dang it....

I can't blame auto correct. It was me, I spaced out.

[Historic NY]

34. Exactly change the Congress first....

w/o that goal nothing else will come.

[winter is coming]

39. If people want to elect politicians with EW's message *and* we run politicians who

legitimately share that message, Congress will change. As much as I admire Warren, it's her message, not Warren herself, that I truly identify with.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

64. I agree. just want to say that we have to vote

Get as many good ones as we can, and......vote dem anyway, if it's between a lousy one or a teapuke.

Her message is where it's at, yes. Without a clean up of the pukes in House and Senate, her message won't spread.

[Aerows]

12. Sorry, no

The thing about Elizabeth Warren is that she doesn't just say things, she actually DOES things. It isn't enough to pay lip service then turn around and do the exact opposite.

That lady fights like hell to get convictions against bankers, even if it might be a lost cause. She doesn't just say she will, throw her hands up and do the convenient thing.

[1StrongBlackMan]

19. I think you have romanticized ...

EW. While I believe she is sincere in her passion ... what has she actually done to secure the convictions you speak of?

[Aerows]

21. I think a lot of people

romanticize President Obama.

[1StrongBlackMan]

26. Probably so ...

And just as many have demonized him.

[Aerows]

30. To someone that romanticizes him

valid criticism probably does sound that way.

[1StrongBlackMan]

31. and to someone that demonized him ...

Even made up controversy seems legitimate.

[Aerows]

32. Well obviously

there is no meeting in the middle. He's either your romance or a demon.

[1StrongBlackMan]

56. Actually"he" is my neither. eom.

[Aerows]

63. I can't decipher that post

It just seemed like a rebuttal that ended up as a flyswatter that only caught air. I'm describing yours, in case you were wondering. Because I believe, hopefully, that you aren't that defrauded and deluded to believe that everyone must agree with you to signal support for the Democratic Party. Hardly.

[MannyGoldstein]

22. She's demanded that Holder explain himself.

Elizabeth Warren Reads Riot Act to Holder for Not Prosecuting Big Bank Mortgage Fraud

Okay, so Senator Warren actually wrote a polite, detailed letter to Attorney General Holder. There was no shouting or acrimony.

However, in Washington, for a freshman senator to imply in official correspondence made public that the Department of Justice is not doing its job in investigating, prosecuting and even fining banks and secondary lenders in regards to multiple counts of mortgage lending violations is akin to a freshman at high school accusing the principal of letting teachers steal milk money from the desks of students.

It may be professional in tone, but Warren's letter is a direct challenge to the criminal impunity provided to and limited fines assessed by the DOJ on Wall Street for their multiple schemes to defraud both mortgage borrowers and investors.

...

"I am concerned that this might be yet another example of the federal government's timid enforcement strategy against the nation's largest financial institutions. I believe that if DOJ and our banking regulatory agencies prove unwilling over time to take the big banks to trial or even require admission of guilt when they cheat consumers and break the law -- either out of timidity or because of a lack of resources -- then the agencies lose enormous leverage in settlement negotiations."

[Maynar]

27. +1000

[Aerows]

33. Yep

But praising anyone but President Obama (and his entire administration by extension) is obviously unacceptable - see the exchange above.

We are obviously romanticizing the wrong person/administration/policy.

[winter is coming]

41. She's asked a lot of embarrassing questions.

Perhaps anyone thinks such questions hold no weight could explain why every suggestion that Warren might run for President is responded to as if it were a four-alarm fire. For a "no-hoper", people sure spend a lot of time telling us that we shouldn't even consider the possibility.

[rhett o rick]

48. Are you daring to imply that H. Clinton-Sachs wouldnt be as tough on Wall Street? nm

[MannyGoldstein]

50. Hillary would be pretty tough

If they don't pay the vig.

[rhett o rick]

51. They'll pay. the vig is small potatoes for what they will get in return. nm

[JDPriestly]

38. More than the Justice Department. She has spoken out in Congress and raised consciousness

in the Senate and the country about the issue. That is more than Holder, Obama or Hillary have done.

[JDPriestly]

40. Elizabeth Warrern has fire in her soul.

Poverty and inequality matter to her because she has felt what it is like to be poor and treated like -- well with the disrespect dealt to the poor just because they are struggling.

Obama had to deal with race, but he never had to deal with poverty. He was not extremely wealthy, but he was not poor.

The Dunhams then moved to Honolulu, Hawaii, where Stanley found a better furniture store opportunity, and Madelyn started working at the Bank of Hawaii in 1960 and was promoted to be one of the first female bank vice presidents in 1970.[2] In 1970s Honolulu, both women and the minority white population were routinely the target of discrimination.[14] Ann attended the University of Hawaii, and while attending a Russian language class, she met Barack Obama, Sr., a graduate student from Kenya. Stanley and Madelyn were unhappy about Ann's marriage to Obama, Sr., particularly after receiving a long, angry letter from his father who "didn't want the Obama blood sullied by a white woman."[8] The Dunhams adapted, however, as Madelyn was quoted as saying, "I am a little dubious of the things that people from foreign countries tell me."[15]

After Ann and Barack's marriage fell apart, the young Barack Obama, Jr. spent four years with his mother and stepfather in Jakarta, Indonesia. He returned to Honolulu at age ten to live with his maternal grandparents in the Makiki district of Honolulu and enrolled in the fifth grade at the Punahou School. The tuition fees for the prestigious preparatory school were paid with the aid of scholarships. Ann would later come back to Hawaii and pursue graduate studies; she eventually earned a PhD in anthropology and went on to be employed on development projects in Indonesia and around the world helping impoverished women obtain microfinance. When she returned to Indonesia in 1977 for her Masters' fieldwork, Obama stayed in the United States with his grandparents. Obama writes in his memoir, Dreams From My Father, stated: "I’d arrived at an unspoken pact with my grandparents: I could live with them and they'd leave me alone so long as I kept my trouble out of sight."[15]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madelyn_Dunham

In contrast, Elizabeth Warren's father sold carpets and then after becoming disabled worked as a maintenance man. Elizabeth Warren's mother worked at Sears. I think she answered phones. Read Elizabeth Warren's book and you will learn her story. It's very moving.

[heaven05]

77. true

E W would ony be able to do what the corporations and bankers would ALLOW her to do for the american people. Nothing of substance. These pollyannas answering you here with their delusions and false idealism, based on who knows what fantasy they have about the reality of the american political money machine, will wake up one day. NOT!

[tosh]

4. Truth.

It's a crying shame there aren't more like Warren.

[KoKo]

2. Tell It...Elizabeth!

[Skidmore]

5. Is there a link for this? Can it be distributed?

Was it sent to you?

[DonViejo]

6. No link; it's an e-mail and can be distributed. eom

[Skidmore]

7. Hey, I have one too!

Just hadn't checked my e-mail today. Thanks.

[Le Taz Hot]

28. It's an excerpt from her latest book,

"Fighting Chance." I'm reading it now.

[ProSense]

8. Elizabeth Warren says she is not a socialist, warns against G.O.P. take over of Senate

Elizabeth Warren says she is not a socialist, warns against G.O.P. take over of Senate
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024939863

[stuffmatters]

13. Powerful and poignant

What a great letter. I hope one arrives in my mailbox too (I donated so usually receive EW's emails) I want to sent it on to my sister who's a very active Republican. But my sister is also a woman with a big and generous heart and a brain. The facts and reality of this letter will really, really speak to her, pierce the RW propaganda bubble.

I was especially shocked by Warren's fact that more women declare bankruptcy every year than graduate from college. And those are primarily (60%) college educated women!

[bvar22]

14. Thank You, Elizabeth Warren.

DURec.

[reformist2]

15. She "gets it" like so few leaders ever have, or ever will.

[ProSense]

16. Republicans blocked the Paycheck Fairness Act

From the OP:

Women get hit hard. They still earn, on average, only 77 cents to the dollar that her male colleague earns. Bloomberg analyzed census data to find that women are paid less in 264/265 of major occupations – in 99.6% of jobs, women get paid less than men. Yet Republicans have blocked the Paycheck Fairness Act – a law that would make sure women don't get fired just for asking what the guy down the hall makes.

It's great that Senator Warren is bringing attention to the minimum wage and this issue. The vote was April 9.

Senate Republicans Block Bill on Equal Pay

By DAVID S. JOACHIMAPRIL


WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked legislation meant to close the pay gap between men and women, framing an election-year fight between the parties over whose policies are friendlier to women.

<...>

Republican lawmakers have said that given existing anti-discrimination laws, the legislation is redundant and is a transparent attempt by Democrats to distract from President Obama’s much-criticized health care law.

Supporters of the bill, called the Paycheck Fairness Act, say it would bring transparency to worker pay by making it illegal for employers to penalize employees who discuss their salaries and by requiring the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to collect pay information from employers.

Mr. Obama signed executive measures on Tuesday that imposed similar requirements on government contractors.

- more -

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/10/us/politics/senate-republicans-block-bill-on-equal-pay.html

President Obama to Take Major Executive Action on Equal Pay

WASHINGTON – President Obama will announce two new executive actions aimed at closing the wage gap for women during an event at the White House on Tuesday, April 8. Tuesday is Equal Pay Day, which marks how far a woman must work into 2014 to earn the same as a man did in 2013 alone.

The President will sign an executive order banning retaliation against employees of federal contractors for disclosing or inquiring about their wages. He will also instruct the Department of Labor to establish new regulations requiring federal contractors to submit data on compensation paid to employees. This information will encourage voluntary compliance with equal pay laws and assist with more focused enforcement where possible discrimination exists with taxpayer funds. The ACLU has helped lead coalition efforts to push for these actions for several years.

“This is a huge victory for the one in five American workers employed by federal contractors,” said Deborah J. Vagins, ACLU senior legislative counsel and co-chair of the National Paycheck Fairness Coalition. “From making the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act the first bill he signed into law to these actions, the President has proven himself to be a true champion for women in the workplace. Congress still needs to do its part and pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, but we’re one step closer to achieving pay equity thanks to this White House.”

In addition to the President's announcement on Equal Pay Day, the Senate is expected to vote to open debate on the Paycheck Fairness Act as soon as Tuesday. The Paycheck Fairness Act would strengthen the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and bar retaliation against all additional workers who ask about their employers’ pay practices or inquire about their own wages. It would allow women to receive the same remedies for sex-based pay discrimination that are currently available to those subjected to discrimination based on race and ethnicity.

To read the ACLU's letter to the President on both executive actions, visit https://www.aclu.org/files/assets/coalition_sign-on_letter_to_president_obama_re_pay_equity_4_4_13.pdf

To learn more about the anti-retaliation executive order, visit https://www.aclu.org/womens-rights/aclu-factsheet-anti-retaliation-executive-order-april-2014

https://www.aclu.org/womens-rights/president-obama-take-major-executive-action-equal-pay

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024790793

[JDPriestly]

37. Did you see the map posted on DU the other day about paid maternity leave?

It compared the status of paid maternity leave around the world. The US and a couple of islands somewhere don't require it.

Paid maternity leave is not just needed for women. It is also very important for children.

Lower pay than men and no paid maternity leave. It's Mother's Day, a good day to remind America that mothers and women in general need a better deal in the workplace.

[Ash_F]

23. Someone tell me why she can't be president. /nt

[Thespian2]

35. Fortunately

she is not owned by various corporations. She can't be president because she does not kowtow to greedy bastards. She can't be president because she would be a hell of a lot better that Hillary, Corporate Shill, Clinton.
She can't be president because these greedy, corporate bastards will not allow it.

[AllyCat]

44. That is true. Sad, but true.

Good to see you post!

[oneofthe99]

49. grass roots baby....a few dollars from millions

She would expose Hillary for what she is during the debates.

I can't stand that woman..............

[heaven05]

75. the truth of american politics in a nutshell

have plenty of corporate $$$$$$$$$$$ backing you, so that you owe them, or you don't get elected. Period.

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

69. She can be. I just want her to be my Senator for a little while longer.

If she were to win the Presidency then there would be a Senate seat in Mass up for grabs, and there are a lot of GOP D-Bags that would love to get their Mitts on it.

[Jefferson23]

24. Powerful! K&R

[Hekate]

29. A real life. All the best to Elizabeth Warren, whatever she decides to do. KnR

[JDPriestly]

36. Elizabeth Warren. From her heart to ours.

She knows what it's like out here because she has been here. She is brilliant and well educated and understands the issues that matter to Americans right now. And on top of that, she has heart.

What more could you ask in a president?

What good is government experience if the person having it has no heart?

[yellowwoodII]

42. Been There. Done That

Only I didn't have an Aunt Bee.
Warren understands people like me.

[AllyCat]

43. Elizabeth Warren is my hero!

[Hoyt]

53. That's a powerful message.

[scarletwoman]

54. That is beautiful - thanks for posting. (nt)

[freshwest]

68. The truth hurts over time. There are reasons why the suicide rate is up among middle aged women. n/t

[AzDar]

70. K & R

[davidpdx]

72. I recognized the story from the first chapter of her book as I just started reading it

I recommend it for those who haven't read it. I need to get off my ass and read another chapter tonight. There is too much shit going on right now. Argh!

[Overseas]

78. K&R. Well said.

[father founding]

79. mysogynistpublicans

I guess the repubs don't have mothers or sisters.

[merrily]

82. Which mom hasn't been there? And how many will give up their lives for a niece?

16 years. Wow. Bless Aunt Bee.

[daleanime]

83. And people wonder why I want her to be president....

[myrna minx]

85. Magnificent. K&R

[yellowwoodII]

88. Inevitability

Could we just stop talking about the inevitability of any other candidate and just jump on Elizabeth's bandwagon. She speaks for me.