Democratic Party of Georgia

Help Move Georgia Forward

David Perdue & His $23,400 Vote for DeVos

Release:  Tuesday, February 7, 2017  

Atlanta, GA – Today, billionaire Betsy DeVos joined the Trump administration’s swamp cabinet as the next Secretary of Education. DeVos and her family have spent millions of dollars pushing a for-profit schools agenda…and large sums of campaign cash to the very Senators who just voted to confirm her nomination. Including Senator David Perdue:

devos

From the Huffington Post:

Fifty Republican senators stuck with billionaire heiress and conservative mega-donor Betsy DeVos, making it possible for her to be confirmed as secretary of education on Tuesday. DeVos and her wealthy family had previously helped fund the campaigns and super PACs that make it possible for GOP senators to win election. 

Betsy DeVos has personally donated $115,000 to the current crop of Republican senators since 1980. Those lawmakers received more than $950,000 from the full DeVos family over the same period. The family has further donated $8.3 million to Republican Party super PACs in the past two election cycles.

… During her confirmation hearing, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) asked DeVos whether it is true that her family had donated $200 million to support the Republican Party going back over the years.

“That’s possible,” she answered.

According the report above, David Perdue—in office for two years—received $23,400 from the DeVos family. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, serving in the Senate since 1981, received close to $2000 less than Perdue.

“David Perdue just gave sweeping authority of a department he believes should be defunded to a well-heeled campaign contributor who has spent the last several years undermining public education. We must send a message to Senator Perdue that Georgians deserve to know that our leaders in Washington and their votes cannot be bought. We’re better than that, and our children deserve better than that.” – Rebecca DeHart, Executive Director

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DPG Statement on Final Presidential Debate

Release:  Wednesday, October 19, 2016                          

Atlanta, GA – Democratic Party of Georgia Executive Director Rebecca DeHart issued the following statement on tonight’s third and final presidential debate.

“Tonight Hillary Clinton was stronger than ever. She showed us the qualities we should expect from a President— sound judgement, even temperament, thoughtful in response, caring for others and true leadership. The contrast between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump is staggering. But the choice presented to each of us is so much more than party affiliation. This election is about our values, and who we are as people.

“That’s a wrap, now we act. It’s time to vote and then help others vote. We need to prioritize the making of a plan to vote, and then stick to that plan. It has never been more critical for every single Georgian to make their voice heard and use their vote.

“I’m proud to stand with Hillary Clinton and Georgia Democrats are ready to make history in November.” – Rebecca DeHart, Executive Director

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Marco Rubio Fundraises in Atlanta Days After Politicizing and Fearmongering the Nation on Terrorism

Release:  Wednesday, December 2, 2015                                                                                        

 

Marco Rubio Fundraises in Atlanta Days After Politicizing and Fearmongering the Nation on Terrorism

 

 

Atlanta, GA – Proving that it’s not just the GOP’s frontrunners that pander with appeals of a darker nature, Marco Rubio—in Atlanta today for a fundraiser—has spent the last several days sowing fear and division on the campaign trail.

 

A little over a week ago, Rubio claimed the tragic acts of terror in Paris were a “positive development” for the presidential campaign.  Rubio even paired the Paris tragedy with a fundraising pitch. Keep in mind this is the same guy who skipped several critical national security hearings to raise money for his campaign.

 

While his response to the horrific tragedy in Paris was swift (albeit distasteful), his silence after the Planned Parenthood shooting in Colorado was deafening. Marco Rubio, like most of his Republican colleagues running for President, failed to respond for days. Rubio’s response to the act of domestic terrorism paled to the actual tragedy that took place, saying “the vast majority of shootings happen when a criminal is shooting another criminal.” Three Americans were murdered that day—including a police officer and Iraq war veteran—and nine were wounded. These brave women and men were not criminals.

 

“I’m fed-up listening to the fabricated tales spun by Republicans like Marco Rubio about reproductive healthcare. That kind of propaganda not only leads to destructive legislation barring access to affordable and quality healthcare, it incites violence against our friends and neighbors,” said Rebecca DeHart, the Executive Director of the Democratic Party of Georgia.

 

“We have real problems in this nation. Mass shootings are becoming a rule, not an exception. And pulling a Rubio, that is burying your head in the sand while spewing talking points, is not the kind of leader our nation needs. We need someone willing to stand up for victims of terrorism and violence—and address the culture and environment that allows the perpetrators of these heinous acts to carry them out.”

 

“Women, men, and children are dying in the streets, in the classroom, in places of worship, and in health clinics. We cannot become numb to this crisis. President Obama and our 2016 democratic candidates have laid out clear plans to make our communities safer. I’ve yet to see anyone on the Republican side have the guts to try and see these plans through.”

About Today’s Supreme Court Decision…

Today’s Supreme Court Decision, granting craft store giant Hobby Lobby the right to discriminate against women feels like another well-aimed shot in the gut.

 

As a woman, I constantly wear a target—and not by choice. Whether it’s a corporation arguing that its CFO’s religious preference against contraception is more important than my rights, or if it’s the Georgia’s Republican legislators doing all they can to keep me from safe, affordable, and judgment-free access to contraception, the simple fact that I’m a woman makes me a target. And this target I wear, that all women wear, is getting heavy.

 

When the Affordable Care Act became law it ensured that basic, preventative healthcare measures for women, like access to contraception, were covered by insurance and delivered sans co-pay. This made the owners of Hobby Lobby flip-out. You see, the family that founded the Hobby Lobby Corporation, and a variety of other for-profit retail stores, is part of a radical minority that doesn’t believe women should have access to contraception.

 

Today.

In 2014.

No Contraception.

(I can’t help but shake my head even typing that.)

The owners of Hobby Lobby filed suit seeking exactly what they got from our conservative court this morning—a decision that allows the religious beliefs of a corporation to trump the health care options of its individual employees.  Now your healthcare options could be determined by your boss, and not by you or your doctor.

 

Citizens United made corporations people. Today’s decision gave these ‘corporate people’ religion, and the right to hate and discriminate.

 

What does that mean here in Georgia? There are 31 Hobby Lobby stores in Georgia and possibly more places of business owned by this family throughout our state. Nearly 70% of their employees are women.

 

Today’s decision:

 

  • takes money out of the pocket of women and their families in Georgia and allows for-profit employers to deny contraception to women.
  • interferes in a fundamental way with a women’s ability to follow a treatment plan prescribed by her doctor (nearly 60% of women who use birth control pills do so for reasons other than preventing pregnancy—they are treating ovarian cysts, endometriosis, migraines, or working in addendum with chemotherapy, in hormone replacement therapy, etc.)
  • targets a woman’s ability to decide when and if she wants to become a parent.

 

Furthermore, this decision will no doubt embolden Republican legislators in Georgia who already seek to destroy a woman’s right to safe, comprehensive and affordable reproductive healthcare—including access to preventative measures, like contraception. One doesn’t have to look any further that the flurry of legislation they introduce year after year targeting women’s rights for proof.

 

Today’s decision hits the target we women are forced wear dead-on.  And this one really hurt. And it will continue to hurt every day moving forward until we can make a change.

 

Women don’t wear this target willingly.

 

So we need to fight back and work hard to put Democrats in power. We need to speak up now and then again and again. And most importantly- we, as Democrats, must vote.

 

Democrats will vote so that our state starts targeting failing education policies, government corruption, and toxic air and water. Democrats will vote to put a target on unfair wages, discrimination and on anyone who refuses to expand Medicaid.

 

Democrats will vote to remove this target on women—and we will win.

 

Rebecca Sig

 

 

 

 

Rebecca DeHart

Executive Director, Democratic Party of Georgia

Why Don’t Republicans Trust Women?

Why Don’t Republicans Trust Women?

 

 Georgia Republicans are at it again, targeting women and taking away our rights. And I’m fed up.

 

Monday, our State Senate will vote on SB 98, a bill that will prohibit any health plan sold through the health care exchange from providing abortion coverage, for any reason except for an unconstitutional definition of “medical emergency.” It also bans abortion coverage for every single person covered by the state health benefit plan in this state.

 

I could go on and on about the awful intricacies of this bill—how it’s unconstitutional, how it will leave victims of horrific crimes without options, how it unfairly targets low-income women and their families, how all its authors are men and it was vetted by an all-male committee… And believe me, there is a lot wrong with this bill, and all of that deserves to be aired. But instead, I’m going to share with you why I’m taking this latest assault so personally. And then I’m going to share with you a glimmer of hope.

 

This week, I’ll be a happy 36 weeks pregnant. Like my mother and sisters before me, I have now experienced, and continue to do so, the highs and lows of pregnancy.  Specifically, I’ve felt the fear, the absolute terror, of having to endure extra tests to see if my pregnancy was healthy.

 

Luckily, my son appears to be in good health. But that’s not the case for a lot of women. Unfortunately, a lot can go wrong during pregnancy, and for that reason termination may become a necessity.

 

And it should be covered by insurance.

 

As of December 2012, more than 650,000 people were covered by the State Health Benefit Plan—and the average annual pay for a state employee was $20,548. Now imagine a woman, making $20k a year, who finds out at her anatomy scan that her child is anencephalic, or without a brain, and will die at birth. How can she possibly afford the thousands of dollars that surgery will cost because Georgia Republicans think they know what’s better for her and her family than she does? Their absolute callous disregard may force women to become walking tombs.

 

Georgia Republicans have no right telling us what medical procedure we may or may not have. Because the truth of the matter is, not one of the men pushing SB 98 has experienced pregnancy. And not one of those men deserves the authority to make a decision for me or any other woman. And we need to call our legislators every day telling them as much, take our anger to facebook and twitter and talk about our rights with our friends and colleagues.

 

Simply put, we can’t let the Republicans win.

 

Because there is hope. And for me, my hope is in the Democratic Party right here in Georgia.

 

I was seven months pregnant when I started on the job as the Executive Director of the Democratic Party, and I can tell you that the leadership here didn’t bat an eye.  It never crossed our Chairman’s mind that my pregnancy should be seen as a liability to my employability. Instead, he stated we should do more to model how maternity leave should be for women across our state.

 

Friends, this is not a small distinction. When it comes to truly supporting women and families—our parties could not be more different.

 

Republicans are fighting against contraception coverage, against access to health care, against privacy rights, against equal pay laws and against laws that keep women safe from discrimination.

 

Democrats are fighting for laws that protect and empower women, laws that preserve our rights to health care, demand equal pay for equal work and laws that prevent discrimination.

 

Our parties could not be more different when it comes to supporting women, and I’m so proud to be on the side that seeks to lift women up, rather than tear them down.

 

Monday, I’ll be down at the Capitol and I hope you will join me. Keep an eye out for me. I’ll be the really pregnant lady fighting back.

 

Sincerely,

 

Rebecca DeHart

Executive Director of the Democratic Party of Georgia