Week of January 4, 2005

Christine Gregoire wins closest Governor's race in WA State history

After a bruising election and two recounts, Democrat Christine Gregoire emerged as the winner by a 129-vote margin in Washington state's astonishingly close governor's race. "The election is over," Gregoire said at a news conference on December 23. "I hope we can move forward, unite our state and address the problems our state is facing." (Seattle Times)

Gregoire's victory makes Washinton the first state in history where women – Governor Gregoire along with Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell - hold the top three political offices. Now EMILY's List is gearing up to help Cantwell build a strong reelection campaign against potential 2006 challengers, who may include the man Gregoire narrowly defeated, former state senator Dino Rossi, an anti-choice conservative. Click here to renew your EMILY's List membership and help us build upon our political strategy in 2005 and defend all of our important incumbent pro-choice Democratic women.

First day in Congress for our new pro-choice Democratic women

Today, when the 109th Congress convenes, five new impressive EMILY's List candidates will report for duty -- including Gwen Moore, the first African-American elected to Congress from Wisconsin. Moore and her freshman colleagues, Melissa Bean (IL-8), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-20), Allyson Schwartz (PA-13), and Stephanie Herseth (SD at-large) will be important progressive advocates in what could turn into one of the most contentious congressional sessions in modern times. They can be counted on to weigh in on important issues like Social Security reform, immigration law, reproductive rights, and environmental issues like drilling for oil in Alaska's national wildlife refuge.

These five EMILY's List elected women help make the 109th Congress one of the most diverse in history, with record numbers of women. Though Republicans return to Washington with bigger majorities than they had in the last session of Congress, Democrats still have enough votes to be formidable opposition.

New Year, Old Nominees

In the Senate, Democrats still hold enough seats to mount filibusters. This delaying strategy will be critical again in the 109th Congress now that Bush is determined to use the federal courts to push through his conservative agenda. He's resubmitted 20 old judicial nominees with extremist records who failed to be confirmed in the last Congress, including Pentagon general counsel William J. Haynes II, who appointed the group of attorneys responsible for the memos contending "the president wasn't bound by laws prohibiting torture," California Supreme Court Justice Janice Rodgers Brown, who believes, "Today's senior citizens blithely cannibalize their grandchildren because they [feel] they have a right to get as much "free" stuff as the political system will permit them to extract," and former Alabama Attorney General William Pryor who considers Roe v. Wade to be "the worst abomination of constitutional law in our nation's history."

Rep. Matsui, a top Democrat, dies at 63

Rep. Robert T. Matsui, a 26-year congressional veteran, died this past Saturday of complications from a rare blood disorder. Matsui, who was interned with other Japanese-Americans in government prison camps during World War II, juggled political and policy roles during his years of service, most recently serving as chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, where he headed the party's effort to regain control of the House.

"He represented the best in politics," said longtime colleague Sen. Barbara Boxer. Sen. Dianne Feinstein called Matsui a "a master of balanced, practical public policy."

California Gov. Schwarzenegger will call a special election for a new representative in this solidly Democratic, Sacramento-area district.

Unbought and Unbossed: Shirley Chisholm, first black congresswoman, dies at 80

Shirley Chisholm, the first African American woman elected to Congress and one of the first major party presidential candidates, died Sunday, Jan. 1. Chisholm was elected to serve New York's Brooklyn-area district in Congress in 1968 after campaigning on the slogan, "unbought and unbossed." In 1972, she made history again by mounting a bid for president. Chisholm's courage and refusal to accept the status quo made her a hero and a political pioneer to women and all Americans.