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By Denny HeckCandidate for Representative, 10th Congressional District

T he pundits and talking heads on cable televi-sion spent yesterday

trying to fig-ure out the politics of yes-terday’s his-toric Supreme Court ruling on health care – who won,

who lost, whose campaign is most affected.

With all that happening, it’s easy to forget that it’s not Pres-ident Obama or Mitt Romney who will be most affected by this ruling. The people who will

Affordable Care Act brings strong consumer protections, and the tools needed to make informed choices

be most affected by this ruling are the millions of Americans whose healthcare will become stronger and more secure once the patient protection re-forms go into effect.

Millions of Americans are affected by this ruling – myself included. Now that the Afford-able Care Act has been upheld, my 21-year-old son Trey will have confidence knowing that he will still have healthcare through his parents as he en-ters the job market. All children and other Americans under the age of 26 will be able to have that same security.

Other Americans will no longer be denied healthcare because of a pre-existing con-ditions. Others with ailments that are expensive to treat will benefit from the end of lifetime benefit caps. Still other Ameri-cans will now have access to preventative healthcare – a change that will save money and, for some of them, their lives. In short, these reforms make our nation and American middle class families stronger and more secure.

Unfortunately, those run-ning the United States House

of Representatives right now disagree. They’ve already an-nounced they’re going to vote to repeal these patient protec-tions. That vote, coming in Ju-ly, is nothing but a distracting, partisan game at a time when Congress should be focused on helping create jobs. This misguided set of priorities is more evidence that we must elect new leaders to the U.S. House.

Furthermore, America’s healthcare crisis is still very real. Too many American fami-lies are met with financial ruin because of a loved one falling ill. No one in America should go bankrupt just because they get sick.

There are a number of steps experts in the field recommend our healthcare system take to lower healthcare costs.

For example, better disin-fection practices in hospitals would go a long way towards reducing in-hospital infection rates – a major factor in health-care costs. We also need to crackdown on Medicare fraud so seniors who need health-

Nancy Pelosi’s push for health care vindicated by Supreme Court ruling

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, who pushed through the healthcare overhaul, took delight in the Supreme Court ruling upholding the law. Pelosi had earlier predicted the court would uphold the law. “I know the Constitution – this bill is ironclad,” she said.

“Being a woman is no longer a pre-existing medical condition.”

Nancy Pelosi, House Democratic Leader

Please turn to page 2

A t a June 25 lun-cheon in Olympia for Jay Inslee, Cyn-

thia Iyall, Nisqually Tribal Chair, announced that they have chosen to endorse In-slee for Governor of Wash-ington State.

“This is a good partner-ship,” said Iyall. “His values echo tribal values – jobs, energy and environmental issues among them.”

Iyall also invited Inslee to ride in the Nisqually canoe in the 24th Annual Canoe Jour-ney. The flotilla of more than 100 canoes will make a stop at the Port of Olympia on July 29. As many as 12,000 people, representing U.S. tribes, Canadian First Nation and New Zealand, will partici-pate in the event.

Nisqually Tribe endorses Jay Inslee

Cynthia Iyall, Nisqually Tribal Chair, presenting Jay Inslee with a beautiful cedar basket made by tribe member Mary Leitka.

2 THE DEMOCRAT July 2012

www.thurstondemocrats.org

Membership MeetingsFourth Monday of every month at Thurston County Courthouse

Bldg. 1, Rm. 152, 7 p.m.

2011-12 OFFICERS

Stew Henderson, Chairstew@thurstondemocrats.org

Doug Bell, 1st Vice Chairdoug@thurstondemocrats.org

K.D. Chapman-See, 2nd Vice Chairkd@thurstondemocrats.org

Seamus Walsh, Secretaryseamus@thurstondemocrats.org

Christine Garst, Treasurerchristine@thurstondemocrats.org

Elizabeth Shepard, State Committee Womanelizabeth@thurstondemocrats.org

Roger Erskine, State Committee Manroger@thurstondemocrats.org

Cheryl Selby, Committee Member-at-Largecheryl@thurstondemocrats.org

Mizanur Rahman, Committee Member-at-Largemizanur@thurstondemocrats.org

The Democrat NewsletterPublished Quarterly: January,

April, July, OctoberDennis Mansker, Editor

dmansker@comcast.netLee Doyle, Design

lendoy@comcast.netTo plan your advertising,

email: lendoy@comcast.net

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care are able to receive it.The next steps in healthcare

reform cannot be approached in the same polarizing way that the Affordable Care Act was. Healthcare should not be a par-tisan issue; the stakes are too high for it to get bogged down in politics as usual. Going for-ward, Democrats and Repub-licans in Congress must work together to find solutions that lower out-of-control healthcare costs. It’s what the American people want and it’s what the American people deserve.

Affordable Care Act brings strong consumer protectionsContinued from page 1

By Sandra Romero,Thurston County Commissioner

Farmers Market, West Olym-pia Farmers Market, Tumwater Town Center Farmers Market, Lacey Community Market, Tenino Farmers Market, Yelm Farmers Market.

There are 43 farms in the County that do mostly direct sales at farmers markets, di-rect to restaurants, CSAs, and farm stands.

Now for the bad news.Between 1950 and 2008,

Thurston County lost 90,023 acres of farmland to urbaniza-tion.

Results from a satellite imagery-based study show that more than 32,000 acres of lands were converted to ur-ban lands between 1985 and 2000.

The average age of farmers in Thurston County is 57 years. Farmers are finding it difficult to sell land to the next genera-tion of new farmers because young farmers cannot afford to purchase resource land at market values.

In an effort to preserve what agricultural land we have left, Thurston County has add-

ed over 800 acres to our Long Term Agriculture designation, adopted the County’s first Working Lands and Forestry Preservation Plan and adopted the Voluntary Stewardship pro-gram for working farms.

This year Thurston County

adopted an Agritourism Or-dinance, giving south county farmers who are distant from urban markets a much needed boost.Sandra Romero, Thurston County Commissioner, is running for re-election as County Commissioner of District 2.

I have some good news and some not so good news about the state of agricul-

ture in Thurston County.

But first the good news.Thurston County has a

significant farmland base and local farm economy: 68,247 acres of farmland represented by 3,338 parcels and 1,518 ownerships.

In 2007 Thurston County’s farms generated an estimated $117 million in market value sales.

Through the growth of community-supported agricul-ture (CSA’s), demand for local organic foods, and significant increases in organic pastures, there are over 2,900 acres of certified organic acres.

Thurston County ranks third in certified organic acres out of 17 counties in western Washington.

Thurston County has six farmers markets: Olympia

Agritourism comes to Thurston County

3July 2012 THE DEMOCRAT

By Karyn Lindberg

W hile much of the nation celebrated the Supreme

Court decision about the con-stitutionality of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Washington State has been aggressively improving health care for its citizens for decades. For 15 years, by law, insurance com-panies must provide coverage for all licensed healthcare pro-fessionals. More recently, the ACA has resulted in tens of thousands more Washingto-nians joining the ranks of the insured.

“I’m very pleased the Su-preme Court chose to uphold the Affordable Care Act,” said Insurance Commissioner, Mike

Kreidler says Affordable Care Act on track in WashingtonKreidler. “We’ve been busy for two years now implementing the reforms and have made great progress, but there’s a lot left to do before 2014. With the court decision out of the way, we can continue our focus on where it should be – bringing relief to families strug-gling to find quality, affordable health insurance.”

All necessary statutory changes have been put in place so state code conforms to ACA requirements. Washington’s new Health Exchange, set to take affect in 2014, will help 477,000 people afford health insurance.

Already 50,000 seniors who are covered under Medi-care have saved money on prescription drugs. When they hit the donut hole in their cov-erage, the ACA provided an av-erage of $600 in assistance to get them through to the other side. Seniors are no longer charged for preventive servic-es and also receive home care if it is needed after hospitaliza-tion.

For young people under the age of 26, some 52,000 of them have been able to re-main on family policies. Many struggle with working two jobs, neither of which provide healthcare coverage or it is un-

affordable.Over 2.4 million Washingto-

nians who are already insured, no longer have to worry about lifetime caps on coverage. Since 2010, preventive care

has also covered exams, colo-noscopies, mammograms and other procedures at no cost.

“We need both parties to fi-nally come together and make this law work for the American

Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler

people,” said gubernatorial candidate, Jay Inslee, respond-ing to news of the Supreme Court ruling.Mike Kreidler, Washington State Insurance Commissioner, is running for re-election.

THURSTON COUNTY DEMOCRAT CENTRAL HEADQUARTERS: Nancy Wicker (left) and Karen Bowen along with Roger Erskine have accepted the arduous task of recruiting individuals to serve as Precinct Committee Officers, the backbone of our organization. If they contact you, please step up to the plate to represent your community’s Democratic values.

4 THE DEMOCRAT July 2012

By Karyn Lindberg

T he 2012 Kennedy Din-ner held on May 11 was a first class picnic.

Old fash-ioned red, white and blue bunting and sparkling Un-cle Sam hats d e c o r a t e d

the room. Chairing the event for the second time, Cheryl Selby came up with the popu-lar theme. “I think the men re-ally appreciated being able to wear casual attire instead of coats and ties,” said Selby. “And I know the women en-joyed finding something fun or glamorous to complement the theme.” Fashions ranged from cowboy boots and jeans to col-orful summer frocks.

“It was exciting to see a number of people attending for the first time,” said Chris-tine Garst, TCD Treasurer. This important election year also brought out some who hadn’t attended in several years.”

The evening opened with a stunning rendition of the “Star Spangled Banner” by Marylin Ball-Brown. After TCD Chair Stew Henderson introduced the elected officials, Ralph Chappell and Lee Doyle pre-

Kennedy Dinner: A festive and very successful celebration

sented the Democrat of the Year Award to Dennis Mansker. Among his many contributions over the years, his contribution as news reporter and editor in the TCD newsletter was espe-cially applauded.

The keynote speaker was Dana Laurent, the new Execu-tive Director of the Win/Win Network. Formerly Political Di-rector for Planned Parenthood Votes! Washington, her talk reflected her knowledge and passion for reproductive rights issues.

The auction generated over $17,600. One of the more popu-lar items was a Margarita party hosted by Cheryl Selby. At $35 a ticket, lots of hands shot into the air to show bid numbers, promising a fun event this Au-gust. To even things up a bit, newcomer to the event, Gene Brown, talked Stew Henderson into cosponsoring a men-only brats and beer party for the 2013 auction.

Total net revenue for the evening was just under $22,000 according to Chris Garst. These funds will help elect Democrat candidates to office, and a portion of the cost of running the downtown office during the campaign season.

2012 Kennedy celebrants (clockwise from top left): Cheryl Selby and Jeff; a surprised Democrat of the Year Dennis Mansker with Lee Doyle and Ralph Chappell; Kathy Cox bringing in the raffle; Kim Reykdal anticipating the Dessert Dash; revelers Margie and Bruce Reeves; dessert maven Meren Gadman and Jeff; and a few of many amazing volunteers.

5July 2012 THE DEMOCRAT

By Dennis Mansker

I n one of the most ant icipat-

ed rulings in court history, the United States Supreme Court ruled on June 28th to uphold most of the provisions of the Affordable Care Act – widely trumpeted in the media as “Obamacare”.

Oddsmakers were giving it something like a 7-3 chance of surviving, but due to appar-ently a last-minute switch by, of all people, Chief Justice John Roberts, the law was, for the most part, upheld. Roberts joined the “liberal” – actually they are more centrist – wing,

Supreme Court upholds “Obamacare” – But why?judges Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Steven Breyer, Sonia Sotomay-or and Elena Kagan, in the 5-4 decision.

Immediately the cry went up from the Right calling for Rob-erts’ impeachment, but that’s to be expected from the “nat-tering nabobs of negativism” in the Republican Party. Anyone who has the temerity to take even a baby step outside the dogmatic Republican line must expect to be shunned, shouted down and smacked into sub-mission.

Mitt Romney, the presump-tive Republican nominee, lost no time in strutting around proclaiming that he would overturn Obamacare on the first day of his presidency.

Ironically, the skeleton and much of the flesh of the Afford-able Care Act came directly from the 2006 Massachusetts health care reform law, which Romney gladly supported and cheerfully signed into law when he was governor. Even more ironic is the fact that the ACA originated in the bowels of the right wing think tank Heritage Foundation way back in 1989. Republicans were all about it for many years, right up to the point where That Man in the White House adopted it; then they fell all over themselves to decry it as communist-fascist-socialism while spewing the scary – but totally false – spec-ter of “death panels”.

Roberts’ siding with the majority came as a surprise to those of us on the left as well. Immediately speculation began as to why he did it. One group, the more high-minded among us, claimed that he is concerned about his legacy, and since universal health care will come eventually, inevita-bly, inexorably to the United States, he didn’t want to be seen by history as the Chief Justice who tried to destroy it over partisan politics. In short, he didn’t want to be seen a hundred years from now as the Roger Taney of the 21st Cen-tury. (Taney, you might recall, was Chief Justice when the Su-preme Court handed down the infamous Dred Scott decision in 1857; that decision, credited by historians as being one of the indirect causes of the Civil War, held that the government had no authority to restrict the spread of slavery into fed-eral territories and sent former slave Dred Scott, who thought he was a free man, back to his master in Missouri.)

Another view, from the less high-minded among us, is that Roberts is nothing more than another cynical and cunning politician/judge, slyly laying the groundwork for a future court challenge to the law. In

the decision, he reasoned that the Commerce Clause of the Constitution was not the con-trolling section, and if it were, then the ACA would be uncon-stitutional. Rather congress’s constitutionally valid ability to impose taxes was the control-ling section. This remarkable conclusion is based on the somewhat shaky ground that if someone refused to purchase health care insurance, he or she would be “fined” by the Internal Revenue Service, and that this taking of money from them would then constitute a tax.

It’s some kind of specious reasoning all right, right up there with those abstractly philosophical musings on how many angels can dance on the head of a pin, but that’s what he chose to go with.

It makes me wonder if he’s leaving a big door open for a future challenge to the law on the specific grounds of the Commerce Clause, and he’s already said in this opinion that the ACA was not constitutional under that provision.

About the only victory for the Right Wing in this entire ruling was that the Medicaid portion of the ACA was held unconstitutional, in that the Please turn to page 8

6 THE DEMOCRAT July 2012

By Kathy Morris

T here is a war against American women. I trust you’re not overly

surprised by this statement. It began rough-ly 236 years ago when Abigail Adams b e s e e c h e d her husband

to “remember the ladies,” and it has continued through abo-litionist, suffragette, reproduc-tive rights, and sports equality movements – all successful in producing the desired results. However, the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitu-tion became a ghost in 1982. I would suggest that when there

The War Against American Womenis a war against American women, there is a war against America as a whole.

Republicans are fast to criticize Democrats’ asser-tions that there is a strong and active “campaign against American women,” thus ig-noring very pertinent facts: a Congressional panel on re-productive rights having zero female representation and a crazy tea party Reverend mak-ing insanely absurd statements about women being “too emo-tional to vote” (Webster) as well as massive attacks on both the Federal and State levels (“Top Ten”) that could reduce a wom-en’s standing to the days when we were denied the right to exercise reproductive freedom and treated as second class citizens.

Just what is it about the words, “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex” that make people like the Reverend Jesse Lee Peterson go rabid? Some claim that equal rights are already pro-tected under the 14th Amend-ment. Problem is, according to Supreme Court Justice Anto-nin Scalia it does not apply to women. On Sept. 17, 2010, he said, “Certainly the Constitu-tion does not require discrimi-nation on the basis of sex. The only issue is whether it prohib-its it. It doesn’t.” (Gruffernan, UC Hastings Interview)

In 1991, Susan Faludi’s book, Backlash: the Undeclared War Against American Women, demonstrates how popular culture, the media, and histori-cal roots have taken a toll on advances made by feminist movements of the 1970s, 60s, 50s, 40s, 30, 20s, etc. She says, “This pattern of women’s hopes raised only to be dashed is peculiar neither to American history nor to modern times.” Male dominated societies have discriminated against women since ancient Roman times, by the early Christian church, and during the European medieval period.

In 1968, at Jefferson Ju-nior High, I nearly flunked my 8th grade math class, but it was not because I did not un-derstand the concepts. My girlfriends and I had cooked up this scheme to wear pants for an entire day. We felt, given the socially approved apparel of young women in those days, the school district’s policy of allowing us to wear pants un-der our skirts or dresses on the way to and from school, but not while at school, was il-logical and unjust.

Problem was my compatri-ots progressively caved to the school district’s policy. I can remember hearing how Carol changed from pants to skirt during first period, how Cathy changed during second, and how Peggy did the same dur-ing third. Not having brought a skirt to change into, here I sat in Mr. Sommers’ fourth period class trying to hide my sins with my coat. Long story made short, after my mother spoke to the principal, he saw to it that I was allowed to take the final exam, provided I agreed to abide by school district pol-icy if and until the rules were changed.

This is the situation that faces American women today. Yes, policies have changed,

thankfully, over the past 236 years. But, as Faludi also says, “An accurate charting of Ameri-can women’s progress through history might look more like a corkscrew tilted slightly to one side, its loops inching closer to the line of freedom with the passage of time – but, like a mathematical curve approach-ing infinity, never . . . arriving [at its final goal].”

As long as American wom-en are prevented from achiev-ing full freedom and equality, America will not be the Amer-ica envisioned by The Found-ers.

If you, like me, are desirous of living in an America where logic prevails, might does not make right, and women can find no fault with who they are because of their sex, then I pray you will exercise your right to vote Democrat in our upcoming primaries. Until the screw stops turning and the cork is removed, none of us will be able to enjoy the prize that waits inside!

Kathy Morris has taught English in Japan and locally since 1991. At South Puget Sound Community College she designed the college’s first offering in women’s liter-ature, was Union Rep for Adjunct Faculty, and advisor to the first GLBT student group, “Three Points & Beyond.”

By Roger Erskine,State Committee Man

If you’re looking for excite-ment and worthwhile activities, stop by the Thurston County Democrat Headquarters! We are always prepared to give volunteers meaningful work to help any of the amazing Demo-crat candidates seeking office in this upcoming election cycle.

Thurston Democrats are especially fortunate to have two highly qualified volunteer coordinators, Karen Bowen and Nancy Wicker. Updating our databases, sending infor-mation to more than 9,700 Democrat members, creat-ing walking lists for PCOs and overseeing the details for numerous events are among their many responsibilities.

Our space is buzzing with vigorous activity every day. Candidate and issues phone

TCD Campaign Headquarters is powerhouse of activity

banks, voter registrations, new volunteer recruitment and training activities are in full swing.

Organizing for American/Obama for President, Heck for Congress, Inslee for Governor, Drew for Secretary of State, Romero for Commissioner – all have staff and office space in our headquarters. There is a good chance you’ll meet your candidate or “campaign top dog” on any given day.

If you have not visited our office, please do so. Our office is located in downtown Olym-pia at 423 4th Ave. We will be open every day of Lakefair, July 18-22. Upcoming events are: Phone banks, every eve-ning between 4:00-8:00 p.m. Sign up for the Thurston Coun-ty Democrat newspaper and news blasts for events.

7July 2012 THE DEMOCRAT

By Patrick Babineau and Rita R. Robison

O n June 6, the Secre-tary of State’s office announced that op-

ponents of our new marriage equality law turned in more than enough signatures to get marriage equality on the ballot in November. Note: The Sec-retary of State’s office also announced that Initiative 1192, which would have defined mar-riage as only between a man and a woman, fell far short of getting enough signatures to even be on the ballot this No-vember.

As a result of Referendum 74, Washington State becomes one of the four states to have marriage equality on the bal-lot in one form or another this year. In addition to Washington, the other states are Maryland, Minnesota, and Maine. And it is in these states that the nation-al anti-marriage equality forces could be stopped.

Washington was one of the few states ever to pass a mea-sure at the ballot box affirming same-sex relationships. It hap-pened in 2009 and, in our opin-

APPROVE REF. 74: DEFEND MARRIAGE EQUALITY IN WASHINGTON STATE

ion, was not given the national news coverage it deserved. At that time, Washington voters passed Referendum 71, which kept in place the state’s “every-thing but marriage” version of domestic partnerships – one of the most comprehensive do-mestic partnership laws in the United States. Arizona also, by popular vote, rejected placing an anti-marriage equality provi-sion in its state’s constitution.

A recent poll in Washing-ton found that 54 percent of voters say same-sex couples should be able to legally marry. The vast majority of Democrats support retaining the mar-riage equality law passed by the state’s legislature with the support of Gov. Chris Gregiore (D-Wash.).

This year for the first time, self-described moderates and independents in Washington are following the lead of Demo-crats in supporting marriage equality. Republicans still over-whelmingly oppose it by almost 80 percent, but younger Re-publicans are showing greater

support for marriage equality.According to the Washing-

ton Poll, marriage equality is supported by a wide segment of the Washington’s population and carries a majority in all age groups – even a polarity among those over 66. It is supported by males as well as females, in every part of the state except Eastern Washington and is sup-

ported by liberals, Democrats, moderates, and independents. Only self-described conserva-tives and Republicans oppose these rights for gay people.

The new measure this No-vember is called Referendum 74 and voters can either “ap-prove” or “reject” the new marriage equality law. Vote to approve it!

In Maryland, opponents also recently qualified to put the state’s newly passed mar-riage equality law up to a majority vote. Public Policy Polling found that 57 percent of voters would uphold the law for marriage equality, which represents a major shift for marriage equality in the state.

Governor Chris Gregoire celebrates with Sen. Ed Murray (right), and Rep. Jamie Pedersen (second from left) and other legislators after signing a bill legalizing gay marriage in Washington State. The law will go into effect if voters approve Referendum 74.

Please turn to page 8

8 THE DEMOCRAT July 2012

congress has no authority to order states to comply with the regulations. Instead, the federal government can offer grants to states, along with associated mandatory regula-tions, but states have the right to refuse those grants.

Immediately, in a collective fit of pique, the Republican governors of several states– including, naturally, Wisconsin, Florida and Texas – threatened that they will refuse the Med-icaid extension grants. It is of course easy enough to bluster and threaten that you won’t take them, but if they actu-ally refuse them, it will mean far poorer health care for the impoverished in their states and an inevitable rise in the death rate for individuals who have no health care coverage other than Medicaid. The Re-publicans were notorious for dangling the scary so-called “death panels” in front of the public during the ACA debate, but sadly, ironically, inevitably

Supreme Court upholds “Obamacare” – But why?Continued from page 5 their actions will result in a /de

facto/ system of “death pan-els” if people who can’t afford health care and won’t be able to get Medicaid are left to die.

Lest we forget, Washing-ton’s attorney general and Republican candidate for gov-ernor Rob McKenna joined in the lawsuit that ultimately re-sulted in this Supreme Court ruling. What are the chances that he will have the guts to stand his ground against this tide of Republican tantrums and not refuse the Medicaid extensions? Not much, nor has he indicated any feelings to the contrary.

Bottom line, we can rejoice some now, but the fight is not over by a long shot. Mitch Mc-Connell in the Senate and John Boehner in the House have al-ready vowed to dismantle it. We need to elect Democrats like Jay Inslee for governor and Denny Heck and Maria Cantwell for congress, each of whom are on the side of The People.

APPROVE REF. 74: DEFEND MARRIAGE EQUALITY IN WASHINGTON STATEMuch of that shift occurred within the black community after President Obama publicly supported marriage equality.

In Minnesota, PPP found a 10-point swing toward the pro-marriage side in four months, with independents driving fresh support. Now 49 percent of voters are against amending the Minnesota constitution to ban same-sex marriage.

In Maine, marriage equality supporters were able to bring to the ballot in November a referendum to decide whether to reverse a previous decision made at the ballot box in 2009, when voters scrapped the

state’s marriage equality law. Polls there also show support for marriage equality ahead early on.

In Illinois, Cook County State Attorney’s Office has an-nounced that it will concede that the state’s ban on mar-riages for same-sex couples is unconstitutional in conjunction with two lawsuits filed against the Cook County Clerk, who was not issuing marriage li-censes to same-sex couples. Same-sex couples in Illinois are currently able to enter into civil unions.

In Ohio, Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), a possible choice as Mitt Romney’s vice presi-

dential candidate, told Think Progress recently that he does not believe it should be illegal to fire someone for being gay because doing so would make businesses more “comfort-able.” Mitt Romney signed a pledge that if elected he would work for a national constitu-tional amendment to forbid marriage equality.

In Nevada, which does of-fer some domestic partnership protections for gay people, the Public Policy Polling poll finds the state’s Republicans support legal brothels by 66, but support marriage equality

by only 20 percent. PPP de-scribed this odd juxtaposition on the part of Nevada Republi-cans as “an interesting take on family values.”

Nevada’s brothels have no legal restrictions on sexual ori-entation, so according to the state’s Republicans, it is okay if gays and lesbians pay for sex, just so long as they do not set-tle down and start families in monogamous, committed re-lationships. The anti-marriage equality logic gets stranger and stranger each year.

Although surveys show an increasingly larger support for marriage equality here in Wash-ington and elsewhere, the real-ity is that those who are able to get their support base to the polls to vote or to send in their ballots are the ultimate

Continued from page 7 winners. The opposition to marriage

equality knows how to moti-vate – even if it is often with misinformation and fear – its conservative base to vote. A large voter turnout is critical this November to ensure peo-ple keep their basic civil rights and also to elect President Obama and those congressio-nal, state, and local Democrats we need in office.Patrick Babineau is a Thurston Dem. PCO, state employee, and a Union Member. He is host of “Around Thurston County” on Cable TCTV Chan, 22, which airs Mondays at 6:30 p.m. and Fridays at 5:00 p.m. August show is with Denny Heck.Rita R. Robison is a resident of Tumwater, consumer activist, journalist and blogger. Her blogs are the “Boomer Consumer,” on the Seattle Post-Intelligencer website, and The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide.

Earlier this year, with the full sup-port of Governor Christine Gregoire, the state legislature voted in favor of marriage equality for gay and lesbian Washingtonians. Voting YES to Referendum 74 is your best chance to stand with the legislators who stood for equality.

9July 2012 THE DEMOCRAT

E valyn Poff would be proud of the 2012 win-ners of scholarships

awarded in her name. Dedi-cated to Democrat causes and candidates both locally and statewide, Poff worked her way through college as a performer in a three-ring circus. While this option may be less available to an ambitious young college-bound student today, each of the winning candidates ap-pears to be equally dedicated to getting a good education. They also already reflect a strong appreciation for Demo-cratic party principles.

According to Roger Ers-kine, who chaired the schol-arship committee, there were 49 applicants this year. Dylan Carlson assisted him in the process of winnowing the list down to four winners and four alternates. “This year I was really impressed at the level of financial need — parents unemployed and illness, for example,” Erskine explained. “The committee looks for stu-dents with GPAs of 3.0 or high-

Evalyn Poff 2012 Scholarships awarded at Kenney Dinnerer. We are also very interested in their community service. This year applicants are more deeply engaged in community work than in the past.” All of the hard-working Poff winners have received additional schol-arships.

Communications Academy in Woodburn, Oregon, she devel-oped a love for the theater as well.

Two years ago, Coburn experienced liver failure. The cause was never determined. The illness required six months in the hospital until she finally received a liver transplant. She owes her survival to state health care and credits Demo-crats for putting it in place. “Even private health care might not have paid for the trans-plant,” Coburn said. “I like liv-ing — living is good!”

She transferred to Capital High School in her senior year and became an active support-er of the gay community. Co-burn believes “All the reasons for denying gay marriage are based on religious beliefs and that’s not the American way.”

S imon Bakke will attend Western Washington University and plans

to pursue renewable energy science. “I have always been concerned with environmental

issues,” Bakke stated. “They have always been part of the Democratic platform,” he said,

ductions,” Kelly enthused. She hopes to continue this pursuit in college. As a Capital Lakefair Princess, she has put in over 120 hours of community ser-vice. She also hopes to join the rowing team in college. With a happy little chuckle, she con-cluded by saying, “...and I love ice cream.”

K atelyn Coburn is head-ed to Portland State and plans to study

history and would eventually like to teach, perhaps at the college level. She also has an interest in anthropology. A stu-dent at the Woodburn Arts &

Katelyn CoburnWinner

Simon BakkeWinner

and to him that means Demo-crats are for progress. “They are trying to keep up with change rather than to stop it.”

M arissa Kelly’s will attend the Univer-sity of Portland

where she will major in second-ary education. One of her life goals is to become completely bilingual. She plans to continue her studies in Spanish so she can teach it at the junior high school level.

“I really enjoyed participat-ing in high school music pro-

Marissa KellyWinner

G ailon Pursley also has received other scholarships which

will enable her to study social work and psychology at Pacific Lutheran University. She has already participated at PLU in various music programs which she plans to continue.

Her high school resume includes lots of community service. She was in the High School Link program help-ing freshman adapt to a new school. Volunteer work with Thurston County Parks and Recreation led to a summer job in special recreation programs.

At the Olympia YWCA, she grew to appreciate laws and programs put in place by Democrats. “I like how they empower women. Pursley said. “Democrats work for women’s rights.”

Gailon PursleyWinner

Scholarship Alternates

Marta Grzankowski Daniel Sebring Jaron Williams

Katherine Williams Jessie Riley

Thurston County Democrats congratulate each of these outstanding students for their

achievements, and wish them great success in future academic endeavors. Bravo!

10 THE DEMOCRAT July 2012

District 22 Democrat

By Dennis Mansker

I t’s a statement that has been issued by the Reli-gious Right with surprising

regularity: The United States is a Christian nation.

But is it?Much of the putative evi-

dence for this extraordinary claim lies with the Founding Fa-thers of this nation. Admittedly many of them were deeply re-ligious men, but many others, products of the Enlightenment, did not believe in a Christian concept of God. They were es-sentially Deists – that is, they believed in a First Cause, which could be considered a “god,” but one who had essentially wound up the clockwork, set it into motion and then stepped back from the whole thing.

Even though they were cer-tainly free to do so, the writers of the Constitution did not in-clude a single reference to God or to Jesus or to The Bible in the entire document, which is an unfathomable oversight if they were intent on establish-ing a Christian nation. Instead the framers added the explicit First Amendment guarantee that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establish-ment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”. Even more unequivocal, Article VI of the U.S. Constitution provides that “no religious test shall ever be required as a qualifica-tion to any office or public trust under the United States.”

If we were truly intended to be a Christian Nation, would those words be in our found-ing document? Or would their opposite appear, i.e., a decree that only Christians could hold office?

The 1797 Treaty of Tripoli, negotiated during George Washington’s administration and passed unanimously by the senate during John Ad-ams’ administration, contains unequivocal language that the “government of the United States is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian reli-gion…”

To an unbiased observer, then, it seems pretty clear

The Myth of the “Christian Nation”

that the founders of this nation went out of their way to set up a secular state unbound by re-ligious doctrine in the adminis-tration of its laws.

So how did this concept of America as a Christian Nation get started? Well, it started early, with many of the del-egates to the constitutional convention arguing for a for-mal recognition of Christianity in the constitution, which one religious leader/delegate said was a necessity in order to “hold out some distinction be-tween the professors of Chris-tianity and downright infidelity or paganism”. When this view was voted down and our secu-lar document adopted, some pastors delivered outraged sermons to their congrega-tions that we would never be a successful nation if we did not give special treatment to Christianity.

But the most outspoken of the founders, Thomas Jeffer-son, James Madison and John Adams, believed that this “wall of separation” – Jefferson’s words – between church and state would be good for the country and good for all reli-gions within it. This has been borne out by the facts of the last 200+ years of this nation’s existence. Today the United States has the most religious – and religiously diverse – popu-lation in the world.

However, if you take a quick glance at the letters to the edi-tor of The Olympian or such talking heads as self-appointed and self-educated historian Da-vid Barton on Fox “News” you will see that the issue still has not been laid to rest. Represen-tatives of the Religious Right continue to trumpet loudly their Christian Nation theory. If you ask some serious questions, though, and back them into a corner, they will generally fall back onto some vague state-ment that “the Constitution is based on Judeo-Christian val-ues”. Okay then, so what are those Judeo-Christian values?

The United States Con-stitution is a document that enshrines representative gov-ernment with the concept that the people are sovereign. It also inculcates the ideals of separation of powers, per-sonal responsibility and indi-vidual freedom, even though it may honor some of those freedoms in the breech. For example, when the constitution was adopted in 1789, slavery

was tolerated – slaves were counted as only three-fifths of a person – and only white adult male property owners had the right to vote.

A cursory examination of European history shows that, for at least the millennium leading up to the American Revolution, governments were largely maintained, supported and controlled by the Medieval Catholic Church, with the con-sequence that they were all to varying degrees authoritarian, dictatorial, repressive, dog-matic and non-representative. For a long time, the Pope in Rome was the final arbiter of pretty much everything in

Medieval Europe. In fact, you would be hard pressed to find any Old or New Testament foundations at all for the kind of government that the Found-ers established here.

So where do we look in-stead? No further than the Haudenosaunee, also known as the Iroquois League, a con-federation of Native American tribes in the Northeast who were pervaded by the con-cepts of liberty, equality and consensus government. Many of the Founders from New England, especially Benjamin Franklin, and their families had lived cheek-by-jowl with Indians for several generations. The ideals espoused by their neigh-bors couldn’t help but rub off on the colonists.

Back to the original ques-tion: Is America a Christian Na-tion? Despite the shrill ranting from the Religious Right, the answer is still, as it always has been this: No, it is not.

While some of the Found-ers were deeply religious men and others were not, it was the genius of the framers of the constitution that they created a secular government estab-lishing, among other things, a veritable wall of separation between church and state, and this was accomplished despite – and not because of – the in-dividual religious beliefs of the men who wrote it.

“... one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

11July 2012 THE DEMOCRAT

A Smart Sustainable Vision for Thurston County

Thurston Co. Commissioner Dist. 2, DemocratMore information at www.sandraromero.com

Paid for by Citizens for Sandra Romero for County Commissioner

Downtown Olympia120 State Ave NEOlympia WA 98501-8212

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2012 was a tough session that lasted from November into April. It

clearly showed the difference between the two parties, and provides

strong reasons to elect Democrats.

Democrats take the tough votes and provide funds to move the state

forward; Republicans vote no and show up at the ribbon cutting to claim

credit.

Democrats do not cut funds for K-12 and higher education; Republicans

propose $44 million in K-12 cuts and $30 million in higher education.

Democrats prevailed.

Democrats proposed $1 billion jobs package; Republicans fought to kill

the package. Democrats prevailed.

Democrats funded family planning services; Republicans proposed

elimination. Democrats prevailed.

Democrats supported Disability Lifeline for disabled citizens who are

unable to work; Republicans tried to kill it. Democrats prevailed.

Democrats supported funding for Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment;

Republicans proposed elimination. Democrats prevailed.

Democrats supported funding for Housing and Essential Needs

program for people who are incapacitated from work related issues

and homeless; Republicans proposed elimination. Democrats prevailed.

Democrats supported funding for the New Americans Program;

Republicans proposed elimination. Democrats prevailed.

Democrats opposed more furlough days for state employees;

Democrats versus Republicans

Republicans proposed five weeks without pay. Democrats prevailed.

Democrats opposed further privatization of state jobs; Republicans

proposed more. Democrats prevailed.

Democrats supported teachers and state employees; Republicans

spent the session attacking teachers and state employees. Democrats

prevailed (mostly).

Democrats oppose Eyman’s Initiative 1053 and challenge its

constitutionality; Republicans march lock-step with Eyman.

Democrats will prevail in the Supreme Court.

Democrats sponsored marriage equality legislation; Republicans

opposed it. Democrats prevailed and will prevail by passing

Referendum 74!

Democrats work hard to follow the rules. A Senate Republican staff

member is suing the Senate over Pam Roach’s deals and staff abuse;

three former House Republican staff members are suing the House

because they say they were fired by Rep. DeBolt for not working on

campaigns; and the chief Republican Senate budget writer gets a $600

a month disability check while trying to cut disability programs – this

is the same senator who was in the news a few years ago for illegally

drawing unemployment between legislative sessions.

Yes, my friends, there is a difference between Democrats and

Republicans, and it is much more than a donkey and an elephant.

I am proud to call myself a Democrat!

By Representative Sam Hunt – A synopsis of remarks made at the 2012 Thurston County Democratic Convention

30 Years of Legal ExperienceFormer Assistant Attorney General and Deputy ProsecutorCurrent Land Use Attorney in Private Practice

! 30 Years of Community Service! Member, Olympia School Board! Former President: United Way of Thurston Co., Olympia Rotary, and Thurston County Bar Association

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! Former Chief Justice Gerry Alexander! Judge Cork Hicks! Judge Bob Doran

“Well Qualified” rating by the Latino/a Bar Association of WA“Exceptionally Well-Qualified” rating by the GLBT Bar Association

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12 THE DEMOCRAT July 2012

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