July 15th, 2008 at 5:46 pm | posted by Virginia Simmons
Senator Obama delivered a long speech in Washington, DC this morning. A relevant part to our work:
“We will have to provide meaningful resources to meet critical priorities. I know development assistance is not the most popular program, but as President, I will make the case to the American people that it can be our best investment in increasing the common security of the entire world. That was true with the Marshall Plan, and that must be true today. That’s why I’ll double our foreign assistance to $50 billion by 2012, and use it to support a stable future in failing states, and sustainable growth in Africa; to halve global poverty and to roll back disease. To send once more a message to those yearning faces beyond our shores that says, “You matter to us. Your future is our future. And our moment is now.”
Yesterday, Presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama promoted national service at home and abroad in an effort to renew American diplomacy, asking individual citizens to stand up and “change history’s course.”
He addressed an audience at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs:
“I am running for President, right now, because of what Dr. King called the fierce urgency of now…Our country faces determined enemies abroad, and definitive challenges at home. But I have no doubt that in the face of these odds, people who love their country can change it. That is why I am running for President. That is why I’m determined to reach out - not just to Democrats, but to Independents and Republicans who want to move in a new direction. And that is why I won’t just ask for your vote as a candidate - I will ask for your service and your active citizenship when I am President of the United States.”
His plan on voluntary public service, according to the campaign website, includes, among other things:
Expanding Americorps from 75,000 to 250,000 and Peace Corps to 16,000 slots.
Extending opportunities for professionals and senior citizens to serve overseas.
A $4000 American Opportunity Tax credit for college students who volunteer 100 hours of community service.
Creating an agency within the Corporation for National and Community Service to promote the effectiveness of nonprofit organizations.
The senator noted:
“This will not be a call issued in one speech or one program - this will be a central cause of my presidency.”
June 30th, 2008 at 10:50 am | posted by Matthew Bartlett, ONE Regional Organizer
On Friday, Sen. Obama returned to the Granite State to campaign for President with Sen. Clinton. Some ONE members and I made it out to the event as early as possible to try and reach the two senators and make sure that the world’s poorest people were not forgotten in Unity, NH.
Waiting in the crowd, I was amazed by the number of ONE bands I saw on people everywhere! As New Hampshire Rep. Paul Hodes made his way to the stage, ONE member Tucker Jadczak was able to reach out to him and offer him a ONE band, which he immediately put on.
Sen. Clinton and Sen. Obama finally made their way down to the stage and even through the large crowd, we were able to slip them ONE bands to remind them of the world’s bottom people.
You can see us with Sen. Clinton here:
And with Sen. Obama here, when Tucker thanks him for his efforts to fight AIDS and poverty in Africa:
In much of the media coverage and in many newspapers in New Hampshire and across the nation, you could prominently see Sen. Clinton’s ONE band on her left wrist!
As we move forward in the general election it can be tougher and tougher to have direct engagement with the candidates - but ONE members everywhere are helping to advocate for the world’s poorest people by wearing a ONE shirt, passing a ONE band to a candidate, and finding ways to make our voices heard like writing letters to the editor, and calling their own congressional representatives.
“Today, an estimated 40 million people around the world are living with HIV/AIDS, with over 4 million new infections in 2006 alone. HIV/AIDS is a global health crisis that demands a comprehensive and immediate response. I am proud to cosponsor this legislation, and I urge my colleagues to bring this important bill to the Senate floor for a vote as soon as possible.”
This weekend, ONE members spoke with delegates from all over Minnesota at a booth during the Democratic Farmer Labor Party, State Convention in Rochester, MN. There were about 2,000 delegates and alternates present at the convention plus media, campaign staff and volunteers.
ONE hosted a booth in the exhibitor section and members spoke to people about the campaign, our successes, what our goals are, and of course how they can get involved! We were thrilled to meet many people who were already ONE members, and wearing their ONE bands! People were excited to hear about efforts and of course that their Democratic presidential candidate, Senator Barack Obama, as well as Republican presidential candidate John McCain, have both been supportive and participated in ONE’s On the Record challenge.
During the event, US Congressman Tim Walz stopped by the booth to thank ONE members for being at the convention as well as for the work they are doing. Congressman Walz said he has been a supporter of the campaign for years and is glad we could be there to spread the word about the campaign. He put on a band and took a photo with ONE members.
ONE members also took a photo with Democratic Presidential candidate, Senator Barack Obama, or at least his cardboard cutout counterpart!
Overall the event was great and many of the delegates were very supportive, wore ONE stickers, bands and signed the ONE declaration!
June 9th, 2008 at 10:02 am | posted by Virginia Simmons
ONE Vote ‘08 staff and volunteers continue to trail the presidential candidates as they campaign around the country. Last Tuesday night, when Senator Barack Obama clinched the Democratic nomination, ONE volunteer Tzviatko Chiderov was at the Minnesota rally to make sure that fight to end extreme poverty remains a part of this election.
“After nearly 3 hours of waiting on the slowly advancing 15-block-long line of human anticipation I barely made it inside the Xcel Energy Center in St Paul, MN on the evening of June 3, 2008. The feeling inside the arena was fantastic.
As Obama spoke of the need for America to address the common global threats of the 21st century, specifically mentioning poverty, genocide and disease, it immediately brought to my mind that this is what ONE fights for.
He spoke of restoring our global image as the best hope for the world and I knew that Americans involved in the ONE Campaign are already engaged in this effort by raising awareness and encouraging their local leaders to take action in helping poor and struggling countries.
As Barack Obama was concluding his speech, I realized that our country’s next leader - and Americans - must have a dedication to the global issues our generation faces and commitment to true change for the better. When Americans get involved with the ONE Campaign they can do exactly that - help shape local and national change to positively affect global issues.
Wednesday night Senators Clinton and Obama engaged in their first debate in weeks. While they were inside the National Constitution Center discussing their plans for the country, ONE was outside making sure someone was speaking up for all those suffering from extreme poverty around the world. We were out there handing out literature, speaking with Clinton and Obama supporters, giving a voice to those who so often lack one. It was an amazing sight, being part of a crowd of hundreds of supporters, protesters, and activists. The campaign trail is hot here in Pennsylvania and we’re keeping the heat on the candidates about their commitments to fight global poverty.
-Tyler Bond, ONE Vote ’08 organizer, Philadelphia, PA
Sunday night’s Compassion Forum, hosted by Messiah College in Grantham, PA, brought Senators Obama and Clinton together. The event was put on by Faith In Public Life and sponsored by ONE and Oxfam America. Although he was invited, Senator McCain did not attend the forum.
With a question and answer format, moderated by Newsweek’s John Meacham and CNN’s Campbell Brown, questions ranged from the role of religion in public life to those about AIDS in Uganda and federal funding for poverty relief.
Questions were also taken from religious leaders in the audience. Reverend William J. Shaw, of the National Baptist Convention asked Senator Clinton how her administration would deal with the difficulties of providing poor people in “developing countries†with “inexpensive, generic drugs for the treatment of AIDS and other sicknesses.”
Clinton said, “I believe that our government must do so much more to get generic drugs and low-cost drugs to people suffering…not only from HIV/AIDS, but the range of diseases that affect disproportionately the poor…” Clinton went on to commend PEPFAR, calling it “a very bold and important commitment, but it didn’t go far enough in opening up the door to generics and getting the costs down.”
To work toward solutions to these and other problems, citing lack of education, malaria, and TB among them, Clinton said, “I want us to have a partnership, government to government, government with the private sector, government with our NGOS and our faith community to show the best of what America has to offer.”
Senator Obama was questioned by religious leaders as well. Frank Page, of the Southern Baptist Convention, questioned Senator Obama about faith and abstinance-based AIDS prevention programs in Uganda. In his answer, Senator Obama also complimented the PEPFAR program as “one of the success stories of this administration. We’ve seen a drastic increase in funding. And terrific work is being done between the CDC, the NIH, local AIDS organizations, NGOs.”
Obama said that as president, he would “use whatever the best approaches are, the scientifically sound approaches are, to reduce this devastating disease all across the world…” and would seek to “make antiviral drugs available to people who are in extreme poverty.”
April 10th, 2008 at 8:56 pm | posted by Virginia Simmons
Bono was just on Idol GIves Back encouraging everyone to sign up at ONE.org, saying: “Tonight, save a life. Tomorrow, change the world.”
After, the three current presidential candidates spoke about the importance of fighting poverty. In December, ONE members sent tens of thousands of petitions and got all the candidates to go on the record with their plans to combat global poverty.
April 8th, 2008 at 7:01 pm | posted by Virginia Simmons
ONE Vote ‘08 has sent field staff to key swing states to raise the issue of global poverty at the candidates’ events leading up to the election. Below posts from Tyler in Pennsylvania and Jedidiah in Florida.
Well, I just landed here in Pennsylvania and I’ve already hit the ground running. On April 4, a panel of Senator Obama’s senior foreign policy advisors met at the University of Pennsylvania to discuss Senator Obama’s positions on foreign affairs. While many of the questions focused on the War in Iraq, relations with China, Russia, and Pakistan, and the tension between international law and national security, one question did address issues of concern to ONE.
Dr. Susan Rice, a former assistant secretary of state for African affairs, responded to a question on economic development and combating major disease in Africa, especially in light of Senator Obama’s personal connections to the continent. She said America and the world had been “ill-served by relegating Africa to the back burner” because it is in our strategic and security interests to be involved on the continent. She said Senator Obama would pursue a more “holistic” approach, addressing “trans-national” security challenges, from terrorism and proliferation to disease and environmental degradation. She claims that one of Senator Obama¹s unique foreign policy insights was the recognition that “our national security depends on the security of people in every corner of the globe.” She said as president, Senator Obama would double foreign aid and would work to strengthen the healthcare infrastructure in developing countries.
-Tyler Bond, ONE Vote ‘08 field organizer, Pennsylvania
Friday was my first day and I had the job of going to a McCain roundtable event in Pensacola, Florida, and making sure the poorest in the world weren’t forgotten at the event.
At the event I was able to reach out to Republican leaders in the panhandle for the ONE Campaign and the global fight against extreme poverty. Clay Williams the Republican Field Staff for the Panhandle and Clay Ingram the Chairman of the Escambia County Republican Executive Committee received our platform well. I am excited to work with them in the future.
-Jedidiah Hall, ONE Vote ‘08 field organizer, Florida
The ONE Blog is a daily log of the anti-poverty movement. The site is operated by ONE staff, volunteers, members and coalition partners.
The content of each post and each comment represent the views of that author and does not necessarily reflect the views of the ONE Campaign or ONE Action. ONE does not support or oppose any candidate for elected office, and any posts expressing support or opposition for a candidate is not endorsed by ONE.
