Last Friday on the Ken Murray Show on KQMS Radio in Redding I made a statement about a woman’s right to choose which has been misunderstood. Here’s my stand on abortion rights.
I support a woman’s right to choose to have an abortion. It is her personal, very private and difficult decision. It is something that no law should attempt to overturn. It is not the business of government.
I am in favor of doing everything possible to make abortion rare. I support education about pregnancy prevention and improved access to contraception including insurance and Medicaid coverage for contraceptive products. Guttmacher Institute estimates that expanded contraception coverage for low-income women through Medicaid would lead to up to 500,000 fewer unwanted pregnancies and 200,000 fewer abortions a year. The choice to prevent pregnancy should be extended to all women regardless of economic circumstance.
I said I am pro-life and also pro-choice. I should have said I am pro-child and also pro-choice. Every child born should be welcomed and wanted. No child should be an unwanted consequence.
May 3, 2008
Wow what a great event I had at the home of the MacDonald family in Anderson this week! A bunch of good hearted, Republicans with a history of lumber and various other businesses. We met for a couple of hours over Chinese food and talked about many of the issues facing our district now and in the years to come. They are smart, articulate and so generous with their time and grub. Guess what? By the end of the evening we had logged onto my website and changed 8 voter registrations to Democrat or Decline to State so they could all vote for me in the primary coming up on June 3! I mean these people have been Republicans since Lincoln!
I couldn’t be more proud and excited to have their support.
Together we are truly better and I believe that Democrats, Republicans and all the rest are truly ready to come together and embrace a new direction for District 2, a direction of ideas, energy and consensus building which I vow will be the hallmark of my campaign and my tenure in office. Thanks for the vote of confidence MacDonalds….and the Chinese food.
Sincerely, John Jacobson
P.S. Notice the yard signs. We’ve got a lot of them. If you want one to display let us know. We even have some 4 foot by 8 foot ones if you’re a fanaticJ….Mom!?
I received this email this morning that went out to Larry Stevens’ email list. He is the former mayor and council member of Red Bluff, and a good Democrat. I am honored by his endorsement, and proud to post his kind words.
John
Hello,
It is not often that I endorse a candidate for public office. Why you ask? Because there are so few that I think value public office as a trust.
Few appreciate the gift while holding office and even fewer that remember who put them in office in the first place. John Jacobson is one of those I feel will value our trust and demonstrate it by listening and reacting to our community needs and concerns.
Wally has not done anything I can remember to assist, solve or listen to our concerns with any action except NO ACTION! This is why when choosing our Democratic Party candidate this June 3rd to run against Wally voting for John Jacobson is so important.
Please remember his name when you go to the polls on June 3rd.
Thanks,
Larry Stevens
The question of one’s experience for public office is paramount in any election. The real question is what type of experience is most valuable in carrying out the tough business of representing constituents’ needs and concerns. In this time of great division and rancor in Congress, getting the people’s business done requires more than understanding issues and holding strong opinions. It requires a deep knowledge of the process of building bridges to new solutions.
I understand and practice a fine art of consensus building in the collaborative work that is the hallmark of my success as composer, arranger, and teacher. There is a profound difference between “compromise” where often a decision is reached that nobody is completely happy with, and “consensus” where a decision is reached that satisfies everyone. I want to go to Congress as a consensus builder, bringing to Washington a clear idea of the needs of my constituents and a willingness to build consensus with my colleagues on how to address those needs.
Last night at a house party the subject of my focus on children came up. Several supporters expressed concern that by focusing on children I’d lose the senior citizen vote.
Yes, it is true that seniors are voting down school bond measures in ever greater numbers. Yes, most seniors list Social Security, health care and the economy as their top concerns.
Here’s the thing. I’ve put the phrase “Together we are better” on all my materials because I believe it. Kids vs. Seniors is another one of those divides that fails to serve any positive purpose for either group.
High school graduation rates of under 50%, something just reported for a number of major cities, isn’t a kid’s issue, it’s a national issue. There aren’t enough low skill fast food restaurant jobs in the world to provide the social security benefits for our existing Senior population. Forget that whole “lock box” discussion of a few years ago. Social Security has always been basically a pay it forward system. Your kids work and pay into SS so you can have the benefits. Their kids pay in so they can have it and so on. There has been a surplus in the past, but never a “lock box” with your name on it waiting to be opened when you’re 66. So, Seniors need an educated workforce paying maximum SS benefits so their checks will keep coming.
Seniors need the services of an educated workforce, the doctors, nurses, physical therapists, computer geeks, policemen etc. to provide the services they depend on.
Seniors need the comfort of a safe living environment. Whereas not all high school dropouts become criminals, a huge percentage of criminals are high school dropouts! Give kids a quality, fulfilling education from kindergarten on and watch crime drop.
Educate kids to take the jobs of the 21st century and watch our economy soar.
Teach them to be entrepreneurs and watch our small rural towns flourish.
Focus on creating a healthy environment for the next generation and air and water quality improves for everyone right now.
Bring our kids home from Iraq this year and promise ourselves never to send our young people into an unnecessary war again. Support that with a diplomatic surge and watch our standing in the world soar again.
When it’s about the kids, it’s about everyone. We’re in this together and yes, together we are better.
Several months ago, I spent a lot of my own money on some cool campaign postcards that said we should pass the Farm Bill that was before Congress ASAP. It seemed like they were going to have a bill that a lot of us could live with. I was particularly pleased because the House version would increase spending on nutrition programs — mostly meaning food stamps but also including emergency domestic food aid and school lunch assistance — by $11.5 billion over 10 years. That’s really not a lot of money in the big picture, spread over ten years, but it was a step in the right direction. I was also pleased because it seemed that the farm subsidy side of the bill was at least getting into the “reasonable range” using subsidy money for farmers when they needed it instead of as a regular pay out even when times are good.
The trouble is, in our wise attempts to pay as we go, the bill is about $10 billion from being reconciled. *See above paragraph to determine what you think is being targeted by the committee. To me, that’s unacceptable.
No bill should pass that cuts those food and nutrition programs in order to protect an impractical $5-billion disaster-assistance program intended to help growers whose crops are destroyed by drought or flood, but that in practice, simply encourages farmers to plant in drought-prone areas, knowing the government will bail them out if their crops fail. That kind of subsidy also encourages them to farm on environmentally sensitive land now being held in the Conservation Reserve Program — mostly poor farmland that otherwise would be considered too risky for planting, at the expense of a food and nutrition program desperately needed as a life preserver for the indigent. This is totally unacceptable.
Now, I have to spend more money on white out for my postcards.
We DO need a farm Bill passed now. But it ought to be a bill that keeps the honest needs of small family farmers at the forefront and the needs of our children and the poor hand in hand with them. Agribusiness should get government help when it needs it. Children and the poor should get help when they need it. This is not rocket science and we can do it if we make it a priority.
We can have a win-win…if we sit down at the table and work together. We were close when my cards were printed. Come on Congress. Work it out. I’m not printing any more!