This week, I witnessed a very touching and effective campaign video featuring Florida Republican senatorial candidate Marco Rubio's children saying very cute lines about their dad's platform generally and that he is hard on the issues in their household, like the strict bedtime rule. It does an excellent job of painting him as a family man with very smart kids. In the past, various candidates have included images of their spouses and children in campaign materials no doubt to pull at heart strings and maybe sway parents, families and those who care about family values. Rubio’s Democratic challenger Kendrick Meek’s Twitter handle is MyDad4Senate and his bio on his official Twitter page starts "husband and father of two great kids!"
By now, savvy and sophisticated voters should know that it is never a good idea to assume the candidate on the campaign leaflets pictured with his wife and children will be the one that will vote with the interest of working families and parents in mind when in office. They also should not necessarily believe the campaign flier. For example, Dan Quayle’s son Ben Quayle, who is running for Arizona's 3rd congressional district, released a campaign leaflet with him, his wife and two children featured on it stating they plan to raise their family in Arizona. The problem is that Ben Quayle has no children. The two girls in the flier were his nieces. The lesson: you can never trust what is packaged by a public relations firm and presented to you, the voter.
As a matter of fact, I just got a leaflet today in the mail for Charles Lollar who is running to fill the Maryland's 5th congressional district seat against longtime Democratic congressman Steny Hoyer. The leaflet starts out by mentioning that Lollar is a husband and father of four daughters. There is a photo of him which is striking as he looks like a family member of mine. Nowhere in all four pages does it mention that Lollar is a Republican. Perhaps this is because he is seeking office in a heavily democratic state of Maryland.
Here is where parents, an important voting block, have to do their homework. With less than a week to go until midterm elections next Tuesday, November 2, it is not too late for parents and working families to make one last effort to learn about candidates up for office and to discover what issues they say they will promote if elected.
In 2000, the Center for Work/Life Policy did a series of reports on the “Parent Vote” and found that “50% percent of fathers and 54% of mothers – 52% of all parents – say that being a parent is one of the top two factors they consider when they vote, compared to only 13% who said gender and 6% who said race.” They found that “issues that could galvanize parents include easing work-family time pressures, stemming the violence threatening their kids, and improving public education.”
Across the country, family advocacy groups and faith-based groups often times assemble information packets about candidates and how they stand on issues that matter most to families. Catholic churches traditionally advise parishioners about their decision to vote for candidates that may support abortion or stem cell research. In New York, the Working Families Party “fights to hold politicians accountable on the issues working- and middle-class families care about, like good jobs, fair taxes, good schools, reliable public transportation, affordable housing, and universal healthcare.” Taking a page from this party’s book, here are some key issues that parents may want to consider as they make their final decisions about which candidate to vote for next week.
Good jobs /Living Wages- Working families should be mindful of candidates proposing to scale back the minimum wage. They should look into candidates’ stance regarding outsourcing and find out how incumbents have voted on measures that would discourage shipping of American jobs overseas. Candidates that have proven or pledged a commitment to creating work opportunities in your jurisdiction deserve the parent vote. There is a growing hostility towards government workers that is tied into nationwide anti-big government sentiments. The frustration with government is compounded by the fact that several states are having difficulty maintaining their budgets while having to meet their government payrolls. A recent poll revealed that 52% of Americans believe government workers do not work as hard as private sector workers and are overpaid. The anger and frustration towards federal workers of late is troubling because an assault on them is also assault on millions of working families as well that work for the government.
Affordable Housing - In recent years while the nation was amidst a boom, the real estate industry was successful in getting local and state governments to support their efforts to build new retail, residential and housing developments. The problem is in the process the industry priced many working families out of neighborhoods and contributed to the housing crisis in many cities and suburban counties. In urban epicenters, gentrifiers squeezed low income residents out of crème de la crème areas in cities. This November, working families may want to vote for candidates that will provide real solutions to creating affordable housing options. Families may want to look for the candidate and/or the party that will assist families facing foreclosure or who are struggling to pay for or find affordable housing.
Family Leave – Families with children or that include elderly parents usually require extra leave from work, however, today 78% of people who need family leave cannot afford it and less than 10% of American workers get paid time off to take care of family members. Currently, 66% of mothers with young children work outside the home and 20% of adults care for an elderly relative, according to the WorkingFamiliesParty.org. Parents may want to consider candidates that have taken a position on this issue or voted for local ordinances, state or federal legislation that support family leave. Although it may be controversial at this time, given the current state of finances and as states struggle to meet payroll, candidates shouldn’t run away from the issue. Parents should see if a candidate has promised to work on creative options that balance the needs of working families and restraints on the economy.
Education – Irrespective of whether their child is in private or a public institution, parents should be mindful of candidates that have education atop their agenda. A candidate that is working to ensure appropriate investment in the public school system and working for accountability from teachers and school systems may at the same time work to help out private school kids. After all, private institutions offset the government's burden to educate the state's schoolchildren and therefore warrant benefit as well. The two interests are not necessarily mutually exclusive.
Parents may also want to consider the candidate and/or party that will be working to help lessen the tax burden on families. Democrats in Congress can take credit for increases in the 529 college savings plans, increases in the child tax credit and increases in the earned income tax credit for families that were in the Recovery Act . They also can claim the inclusion of support to community colleges and other benefits in the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act which amounts to the largest investment in college aid in history, and does among other things increase the Pell Grants. It may be a good idea to research how an incumbent has voted on both Acts and look into what the Republicans will offer if they are able to regain the majority seats in the House of Representatives in Congress this year as predicted.
Public Transportation - Maintaining an affordable reliable mass transit system may be a priority item for many families with children, especially those that use public transportation to get to school and work each day. In the District of Columbia, the rail, bus and parking prices are hiked ever so often cutting into already tightened family budgets. Because many families rely on the public transportation system in their communities, it may be a good idea to pay attention to those candidates that have made promises to ensure quality transport, expanding anchor stops and maintaining affordable prices fares.
Veteran Families- Service men and women who are currently serving or retired should be mindful of certain issues central to their veteran status and how candidates are talking about those issues. For example, there are currently a half million veterans who cannot access the Veterans administrations health care system for various reasons. Veterans may be more susceptible to being priced out of the housing market in many suburban and urban epicenters. Also, there are 30,000 noncitizens serving in the armed forces who are looking to government to usher a path to citizenship after serving for the United States. There are other issues related to veteran families that they should consider when looking at candidates' priorities.
Faith & Values - For those who are pro-life, beyond learning about a candidate’s stance on abortion, parents may want to consider how candidates have come down on stem cell research and use of embryonic stem cell lines for research. Voters that are Pro-Life may become conflicted when it comes to voting because their preferred choice who they may align with on social or fiscal issues may not be pro-life. It is a balance and a judgment that only the individual voter can make. Reconciling one's faith and views on sensitive issues with other important matters can be a tough call.
In the end, an informed vote is best but getting out there and actually voting can teach a tremendous positive lesson to your children about civic engagement, exercising the right to vote and not taking that right for granted. It is a privilege.
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