National Nurses United

RAD.Oct 2006 10/11/06 1:35 AM Page 13 Rose Ann DeMoro Executive Director, CNA/NNOC Game Over Passing Prop. 89 is the only way to end the pay-to-play system big corporate campaign donors use to control California at working people's expense. the november election is right around the corner. Already, absentee ballots have gone out and people are beginning to vote. I can honestly say that unless Proposition 89, CNA/ NNOC's Clean Money initiative, passes, nothing will fundamentally change in our lives. We need to put the brakes on the cash registerbased, politician-buying debacle that passes for representative democracy in our state, and now. The political system is rigged against everyday people, against patients, and against a better California. If our political leaders truly cared about our lives and our works, they would not jump on board with every corporate-sponsored legislative nightmare that encourages and propels trade agreements that shift American workers' jobs offshore, leaving jobs that provide low salaries, no benefits, and which destroy any security for the retirement years. They would invest in education, genuinely clean up the environment, and make healthcare a right and not a privilege to which fewer and fewer people have access. Our country and our lives are in decline, and the power of a corporate agenda has made collective opposition ever more urgent. Nurses fought the governor and the nurses won. They defeated a governor that the conventional wisdom had declared unbeatable. They defeated a man who took, and continues to take, more money from special interests than any governor in the history of California, a man who is ranked third in the history of the U.S. for taking campaign contributions from special interests. But the nurses fought Schwarzenegger, and won. They won because they believed that patients' right to access to care is a democratic right and not an economic privilege. They won because they had the courage of their convictions to take a stand for their "Democracy is now up for grabs to the highest corporate bidder. Large corporations are running amok and politicians are in effect bought and sold in a political market dominated by a corporate elite that knows only one value—the dollar. The human costs engendered—poor health, a crumbling natural environment, shoddy and dangerous products, poor pay, a rising poverty rate, a loss of dignity in the workplace for millions—all these are borne by ordinary citizens while corporate profits and executive compensation are at levels unthinkable a few short decades ago." patients' health, for the nursing profession's dedication to its practice, and to answer the demands of their own moral compass. Nurses know what we all know if we but ask the question: The caring profession's commitment to themselves and their patients does not begin and end at the hospital door, but includes protecting Medical Justice for all wherever, whenever, and however it is threatened in our community, our state, You Can Help Pass Prop. 89! and our nation. First, get connected by joining Californians The nurses see the human pain of an for Clean Elections at www.Yeson89.org. inhumane world where people work You can learn more about the initiative longer and harder, for less and less and yet and also ways to help, such as speaking to still are denied access to care or find themneighbors and community groups or donatselves isolated in understaffed hospitals ing to the campaign. You can also request with little if any community support. bumper stickers and other Yes on 89 gear. Democracy is now up for grabs to the OCTOBER 2006 highest corporate bidder. Large corporations are running amok and politicians are in effect bought and sold in a political market dominated by a corporate elite that knows only one value—the dollar. The human costs engendered—poor health, a crumbling natural environment, shoddy and dangerous products, poor pay, a rising poverty rate, a loss of dignity in the workplace for millions—all these are borne by ordinary citizens while corporate profits and executive compensation are at lev- W W W. C A L N U R S E S . O R G els unthinkable a few short decades ago. The nurses of California are trying to save lives—and they are offering Californians an opportunity to reinvigorate a truly participatory California democracy and to stop the insanity that allows these abuses of our lives. Please join me in voting YES on PROPOSITION 89, the Clean Money & Fair Elections Act, and please ask every one that you know to do the same. If you don't know a lot of people, come volunteer with us by phone banking and reaching out to educate and inspire your fellow voters. Together we can win this important social change. ■ Rose Ann DeMoro is executive director of CNA/NNOC. REGISTERED NURSE 13

• Cover