for being a voice of reason. Rec'd. And I go get my wallet from my vehicle.

...and shot over $50.

$10..thanks to alegre's diary

you should embed some videos of McCain, (1) talking about being in favor of overturning Roe v. Wade, or (2) laughing along with the crowd when he was asked "How do we beat the bitch [Clinton]?".

Remind everyone that McCain and the GOP (and NOT NARAL or Obama) are the real enemies of reproductive rights.

Great diary.  I've donated tonight and will donate in the coming days simply to offset this petulant charade.

politics based on the Crashing the Gate theory of coalitional politics.  That said, I may make a donation out of either my political or my charity account (yes I actually budget for both) to offset a  pile of petulance that they have been forced to endure.

they endorsed Hillary.  I don't see any problem with them endorsing a candidate that has a 100% rating with them.

They endorsed him because in Their opinion he's the best choice and the best bet to beat McCain.

Obviously it owuld be extremely insulting to suggest that they endorsed him because he's not a woman, coming from NARAL that would make Absolutely no friggin sense.

Thanks for being a voice of reason on this site.

If they endorse Obama they're bad.  If they endorse Clinton they're good.

that's pretty much the basis of these arguments anymore.

It is getting really...unsettling to watch.

Just made my first donation and sent an email affirming my appreciation for their work. I hope they don't sweat the hate mail too much. In any case, I should have donated long ago, but it's never too late, I guess.

Nice diary. NARAL has done great work. They're not perfect but then, nothing is in life. The reaction from women to them supporting Obama was hideous. I was shocked at the threats and call-outs.

I donated $200 today and will donate more. This nonsense of voting McCain or not voting is so destructive.

Revenge is an ugly thing to put on display. You know, I thought what would these women say if by some horrific chance McCain got elected and Roe v. Wade (amongst other rights) disappeared...who would they blame. Certainly not their petulant selves.

We all need to come together and put a Dem in the WH (Obama). Thanks for the diary of common sense.

You know I was actually told by an older (50+) woman that if I (21 years old) voted for Obama I and everyone else my age would DESERVE to lose our reproductive rights and that at her age, no longer needing them, she simply didn't care what we "asked for" by not voting for Hillary?

This was said to me.

My jaw just dropped.

I have the most to lose. The other women my age have the most to lose. I respect and am eternally grateful to those who have fought their ENTIRE LIVES to pave the way for us, but it turns out that apparently comes with a price. It turns out there's a sect of women who believe that we are BEHOLDEN to them, and if we don't forgo our own choices to fall into lockstep, we deserve what we get and that's that. This NARAL endorsement and the subsequent explosion heard 'round the blogosphere only proves that for some women, CHOICE means "do as I say and vote with your vagina, you silly, hysterical child."

NARAL endorsed the only viable pro-choice candidate for president left.  I don't blame them.

My wife and I are both in our early/mid 30's. My wife has worked in progressive nonprofits for years and is an ardent feminist. We have both supported Obama pretty much since the convention speech.

She thinks it would be great to have a woman for president, make no mistake. But she is comfortable enough with the idea that a woman will be president some day that she feels no great pressure to select this woman as president. Obama is more in tune with her ideals and is, of the two, the person she would prefer to have as president. My impression is that some older feminists haven't really come to grips with the fact that they won this particular battle. Is there still a long way to go? Absolutely. But I think we have come a lot farther than the people on the original front lines realize sometimes.

I will also be donating NARAL.

This reminds me of those second wave feminist days when the purity police were telling people what you had to do and be to be truly feminist. It wasn't every feminist, to be sure, but there were enough that it became quite the joke in some the settings but quite painful in others where there were purges within organization.  

I'm also not pleased to see one progressive group (Emily's List) and progressive individuals coming out to criticize another progressive group's endorsement.

Normally each person or organization makes its own endorsement and that speaks for itself.

No union criticized another union for its endorsement.  

And those who bring up the present vote are either unaware that this done as part of a legislative strategy crafted with Planned Parenthood or they are deliberately repeating a misleading line that is campaign spin.

"We worked on the 'present' vote strategy with Obama," said Pam Sutherland, chief lobbyist for the Illinois branch of Planned Parenthood, an abortion rights group. "He was willing to vote 'no', and was always going to be a 'no' vote for us."

Sutherland said Planned Parenthood calculated that a 'present' vote by Obama would encourage other senators to cast a similar vote, rather than voting for the legislation. "They were worried about direct mail pieces against them. The more senators voted present, the harder it was to mount an issues campaign against the senator."
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fact-chec ker/2008/02/obamas_voting_record_on_abor ti.html

Tell NARAL to stop supporting Joe Lieberman.

Oh, I see, now NARAL is the greatest organization ever because they endorsed Sen. Obama.

I stopped supporting NARAL when they endorsed Lincoln Chafee, a Republican who votes for anti-choice judges, against Sheldon Whitehouse, a Dem with impeccable pro-choice credentials.  Either they have some other agenda or they're just politically clueless, I decided.  Other pro-choice organizations have gotten my money since then.

Their decision to endorse Joe Lieberman, after what he said about rape victims, just confirmed I had made the right decision.

I imagine this is part of NARAL's calculus here - win back some of their lost credibility with the progressive left by endorsing Obama.  Even if I were the most fervent Obama supporter on earth, though, it still wouldn't change my feelings about the organization.

Rec'd and sent $40.

Alegre may convince me to send more.

Note to Hillary supporters:  Attacking every asset progressives have because you don't want to acknowledge that the nomination process is essentially a done deal won't change it.  It won't make Hillary the nominee.  Why not make sure that the nomination race is the only thing of value that you lose?

I am an Obama supporter but I think NARAL should have kept their mouth shut until the primary was over. Or they should have endorsed both. Hillary may be many things, but she deserves at least a co-endorsement from NARAL.

We're all too willing 'round here to throw anyone or anything to the wolves if it doesn't suit our purposes.  

Thanks for reminding SOME that some things matter more than endorsements.

"NARAL Affiliates Question Obama Endorsement"

Full article here

Read this: http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/5/15/1427 30/254

I stopped supporting NARAL when they endorsed Chris Shays and another CT Republican (who lost) in 2006. Obviously it's their right to push their interest even if it's at times for the party that generally doesn't support their cause, and I respect a lot of what they have done, but my money is going elsewhere.

Recced.

Well done.

... other pro-choice groups to donate to--NOW, Planned Parenthood, which don't engage in this sort of pointless political preening.

NARAL's endorsement was bandwagoning, no more no less. They wanted to pretend to have some influence, and so they chose Obama. Their reasons for doing so had nothing to do with the difference between the two candidates. This decision was so popular that a half dozen of their state affiliates immediately distanced themselves from it.

Feel free to donate to them, of course. It's your money, and your right. And indeed, that was the whole point of NARAL's political stunt to begin with.