By Faith Chatham - Arlington, TX - Oct. 15, 2013
Wise Women Won' t Wait Any More is coming back to life. There are hopeful signs on the horizon for women in Texas and in the USA. The majority male "leadership" of the U.S. Congress and of the Texas Legislature and Texas and U.S. Senate has dominated the domestic scene. Habitually ignoring women, the failure to address the priorities of families, workers, business owners and investors, of educators, parents, neighborhoods and communities may result in serious changes in the structure of state and national legislative bodies. Strong women are emerging - claiming key places in the national dialogue and on the political scene in Texas and the United States of America. Wise Women Won't Wait Any More will be here to celebrate the journey.
Women figure prominently in 2014 campaigns.
State Senator Wendy Davis has captured the attention of the nation. Challengers usually have trouble getting press coverage but that is not a problem currently for Sen. Davis. Prior to her announcement of her candidacy for Governor, Senator Davis was the keynote speaker for the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Davis appears to many to be a true champion for positive change in Texas. On the Republican side, the strongest contender appears to be Attorney General Greg Abbott's. Abbott's strength lies in his war chest, accrued during his long tenure as Texas's Attorney General. His record in office may prove to be his strongest negative. Fighting U.S. policies on immigration reform will not strengthen his position with the fastest growing segment of Texas voters. Acting as the attorney fighting the US Government on implementation of the Affordable Care Act, Abbott stood with Gov. Rick Perry in preventing the expansion of Medicaid in Texas. Texas's refusal of Federal dollars to expand Medicaid resulting in Texan tax dollars going to pay for expansion of Medicaid service in other states while Texas residents were denied the benefit. A Dallas Morning News report says that Texas's refusal to accept Medicaid Expansion is expected to cost Texas. The Dallas Morning News reported that according to a study by nonprofit research organization Rand Corp. the failure of Texas to accept the Medicaid expansion is expected to cause private health insurance premiums to rise 9.3%.
Lt. Governor's Race: There are "rumblings" that State Senator Letissa Van De Putte may jump in that race for Lt. Governor. However, at this time, we know that there is one strong Democratic woman already running. Maria Luisa Alvarado won the contested primary for Lt. Governor in 2006 and continues her quest to serve as Lt. Governor of Texas. A grassroots populist candidate, Alvarado won a highly contested Democratic primary in 2006 for Lt. Governor by energizing enough voters in the counties she carried to defeat her opponent who carried most of the state. She continues with her quest to energize the 10 million Texans who do not vote. In the Air Force, Alvarado was frequently cited as the "first woman to" serve in various capacities. From a large family of educators and U.S. Military Veterans, Alvarado returned to civilian life in a state that excluded more citizens from the American dream. Watching the self-serving patterns of elected officials which damaged rather than enhanced quality of life for "hard-working ordinary Texas citizens", Alvarado began talking to Texans and placing herself forward as an improvement to the status quo in Texas Legislative politics. We are certain, that women members of the Texas Senate will not be marginalized by Senator leadership should either of these strong Texas women be elected as Lt. Governor of Texas.
On the Federal scene, despite her not having declared her candidacy, Hillary Rodham Clinton, is viewed by many to be the strongest Democratic contender for the Presidency in 2016. Since leaving the State Department, she has continued to travel internationally as a speaker. This past week she was awarded Great Britain's highest award for International Leadership, the Chatham House Prize.
Another source which will not help Greg Abbott's position in the Governor's race emerges this week. The Texas Tribune (published 10/15/2013) wrote: "Texas has the greatest number of poor, uninsured adults who will fall in a "coverage gap" created by states that chose not to expand Medicaid eligibility under the Affordable Care Act, according to a report released Wednesday by the Kaiser Family Foundation. One million of the 5.1 million Americans who won't have health insurance options available under the new law reside in Texas, according to the report. "
ReplyDeleteAnother quote from the same Study: Texas Tribune article that is harrowing is: "Texas has the highest rate of uninsured in the nation. More than 6 million people — nearly a quarter of the population — lack health insurance, according to census data. And Texas only allows poor parents whose incomes are at 19 percent of the federal poverty level, or about $3,737 a year for a family of three, to enroll in Medicaid."
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